Tag: Savior

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Sermon Notes – December 25, 2023 – “He Did Not Leave“

“He Did Not Leave“

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

December 24 – 25, 2023

Gospel: John 1:1-18

 I thought we would have a bit of scriptural study today.  Joseph “had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus” (Matthew 1:25).  You might think, “Joseph could have had relations with her afterward.”  But you are presuming facts not in evidence.   Just because it didn’t happen before the birth doesn’t mean it happened afterward.  You are reading into scripture to prove a point. 

What is love?  Love is our Savior in the manger.  It is also our Lord’s presence in the Tabernacle.  But the greatest act of love happened on the Cross.  These are the three greatest acts of love by God.  About Christmas Day, Bishop Sheen said, “On this day, a man no longer has to look up to Heaven to see God.  He can look down at the manger to see Him.”  The Wise Men and shepherds came so that they could look down at God.   You could today, and every day you come to church, replace their faces with a picture of yours because you come here to be in the presence of God Himself. 

Now, you keen observers in the parish may have noticed that we have new figurines for our crèche (manger scene).  The idea of a crèche was created by Saint Francis over 800 years ago.  Here’s a fun thing you can do when you see non-Catholics with a crèche.   You can say, “Oh, I see that you are Catholic.”  “I’m not Catholic!”  “Well, that’s a Catholic symbol.  Saint Francis of Assisi is the guy who came up with the idea.  You know – the guy who liked birds.”  Oops!  So, what is a crèche?  It is visible scripture. When Saint Francis came up with the idea, many people couldn’t read but they could see.  In our creche, we have beautiful, hand-carved wood figurines.  Notice that everyone has their attention on the Savior.  A short distance away, we have the three Wise Men.   They aren’t at the manger yet but will finally arrive in a few weeks to see the infant Jesus.  Have you ever noticed that a lot of people are late for church?  

Who do you find around our Lord whether it’s at the manger or the foot of the Cross?  You find the very holy – the Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph.  You also find those who know that they don’t know anything.   The Wise Men were very educated and had achieved the fruits of their education.  What are the fruits of an education?  You discover that you don’t know everything.  The Wise Men had learned that.  The shepherds already knew that they knew nothing.  Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been in pastures walking around sheep dung in the middle of a Palestinian night.  I’ve been there, and it is very, very cold.  You don’t want to be out there.  It’s 40 degrees, but when the temperature drops from 80 to 40 in a couple of hours, you freeze.  So that’s who you will always find around our Lord.  And when you come here to be with our Lord, you have a choice of which to be…educated or uneducated.  But either way, we come to adore our good Lord.

Christ is coming into the world and made manifest to us all.  But Christ has never left the world.  “Father, didn’t He ascend to Heaven?”   Well, His human nature which He took from the Blessed Mother and with which He taught, healed, suffered, and rose from the dead went to Heaven.  But He has always been in the world.  He is there in the Blessed Sacrament.  His divine nature in the form of consecrated bread and wine is in the Tabernacle.  He did not leave.

At Christmas, Jesus is made manifest to the world in human form.  He was already in the world nine months before that in the womb of His mother.  Now He is made manifest to the world so that all can come see the beginning of the greatest gift of all.  This is the beginning and not the end.  That comes 33 years later which shows the fullness of His love.   I am sure that I will be meditating today on all the gifts my parents gave me.  I’ll meditate about their love, patience, and all the wonderful things they did as parents by God’s grace.  This may be why I became a priest. 

Catholics can celebrate Christmas all year long.  Every day is your Christmas.  Every day you are the shepherds and the Wise Men who came to be in the presence of our Lord.  When you are here, you take their place.  Our Lord shows the greatness of His love, not by taking a human nature upon Himself, but by suffering at the hands of His own creatures and being put to death by His own ungrateful creatures on the Cross.  Mary Magdalene, Mary of Clopas, Saint John, and the Blessed Mother stood at the foot of the Cross.  You take their place at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass by being with Christ during the Mass.  As they were there during His original suffering which is always before the Father and made present during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, you take their place.  So, when you come to Mass, when you come into the presence of our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament, you are a part of that. 

God is with us and not just in the spiritual sense.  He is physically here.  But it was not enough for Him to come into the world; what He wants most is to come into our souls.   We can experience His incarnation.  Today, if you catch me in a good mood, I’ll hear your confession so that Christ can come into your soul and remove your sins.  By the way, I’m running a 3 Hail Mary Special from now until New Year’s Day. 

I hope you all have a crèche at home.  If not, we have them in the bookstore.  Put your family’s faces over the faces of the shepherds and Wise Men.  That’s what we are called to be and what we will be in Heaven.  

Father’s Reflections . . . I was thinking back on the Christmases that I’ve enjoyed.  Some of those overseas, I wouldn’t want to repeat, but that’s the roll of the dice you take.  The gift of love that was given is still unfolding.  I’m still a young man – Hah! –  and I’m still working to understand the gifts of love that were given.  They all have a deeper meaning, not only on a human level that includes your family and friends but also on a spiritual level. 

“Father, we should have a Mass at dawn.”  Really?  I want to see the guy who can get up to do the Mass at dawn after doing the Vigil Mass at 5 p.m. and then the Midnight Mass.  That ain’t me.  I’m getting too old for that.  We have priests in the diocese who are in their 80’s, and I don’t see them celebrating Masses at midnight.  My days are getting shorter on that too.  But like any real man, my mind writes checks my body can’t cash.  I still think I’m 18 with a big red “S” on my chest and able to bend steel with my bare hands.  Uh no. 

How will you apply this message to your life?  ________________________________________

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to AnnunciationCatholicAlbemarle.com and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” then “Sermon Notes.”  On a cell phone: click on “Blog” and then “Menu.”  Scroll to the bottom and click on “Categories.”  Sermon Notes are also available on the Church’s Facebook page at ola.Catholic.Church.  Click on “Groups” and then “Sermon Notes.”

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Sermon Notes – December 17, 2023 – “Christmas is NOT the Season for Giving“

“Christmas is NOT the Season for Giving“

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

December 16 – 17, 2023

Gospel: John 1:6-8, 19-28

 A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light.

And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, “Who are you?” He admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, “I am not the Christ.” So, they asked him, “What are you then? Are you Elijah?”  And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?”  He said: “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘make straight the way of the Lord,’” as Isaiah the prophet said.” Some Pharisees were also sent. They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water; but there is One among you whom you do not recognize, the One who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.” This happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Do you know what the two kinds of people in church are?  Well, there are saints and sinners – we are all sinners, so that’s us.   Some are ordained and not ordained.  There is no second class.   In Rome, they are saying, “Oh, we make the decisions.”  “Women need the power to make great decisions.”  Really?  Did you grow up in a hole?  Women always make decisions.  Are you kidding me?  There is also chatter in the Church about who wants to lead or who wants power.  How about John the Baptist?   He said, “I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of His sandals” (John 1:7).   In those times, do you know who unstrapped people’s sandals and washed their feet?   Slaves.  John said he was beneath the slaves.  Know what Jesus said about John the Baptist?  He said, “Among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11).  So even as great a man as John was, he was not worthy to untie the sandals of our Savior.  We have to remember our state.  Even as a priest, I must remember my state.   I was given this gift for you and not for myself.  I am a better priest when I am more humble as I try to be holy.  So whatever gifts we have been given are for others. 

Have you ever heard that Christmas is the season for giving?   Do you know where that phrase originated?  Walmart and all the stores before them.  Christmas is NOT the season for giving.  Christmas is the season for receiving.  What is Christmas?  It is the reception of Christ coming into our world.  The first Christmas was when we received our dear Savior in a stable in Bethlehem.  We received Him into this world so that He could fulfill His promise to come, suffer, die, open the doors of Heaven, and give us the means to achieve our salvation.   Christmas is the season for receiving.  We are called to prepare ourselves for the reception of Christ not only at the anniversary of His birth in this world but also for that time when we experience our perfect Christmas which is when we get to see Him and enter Heaven. 

Holy Mother Church stresses that we should prepare our souls to celebrate His coming.  He is our true peace and happiness.   We are called to prepare ourselves for all the little Christmas we experience when we receive Him in Holy Communion and the Sacrament of Penance.  We can receive Christ every day.  How often can you receive Holy Communion?  Do you know?  Once a day?  Actually, more than once a day.  Twice if you receive Holy Communion at a daily Mass and then go to a wedding or a funeral.    You can go to Confession once a day too.  Popes and the great saints went every day to receive the grace of our Lord in the Sacraments. 

So, Christmas is the season of receiving.  When we receive, we can give.  Only by the reception of our Lord and welcoming Him into our souls and our lives are we able to give that love to others.  You cannot give what you do not have.  We cannot give love if we do not have the Author of love inside our souls.  We just can’t.  So, this is the season to prepare ourselves to receive our Savior not only on the anniversary of His birth into this world but before every Mass and every time we receive the Sacrament of Penance which could be every day . . .  just trying to drum up business.   When you receive Holy Communion, you receive Him spiritually and physically into your body.  So, for Catholics, every day can be Christmas. 

This is the season for receiving.  I am not telling you to skip giving gifts to your family and friends.  Don’t do that.  I don’t want to make your life harder than it needs to be.  But all that is just an expression of what should be inside.  If it’s not there, you need to receive our Lord a lot more often. 

How will you apply this message to your life?  ________________________________________

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to AnnunciationCatholicAlbemarle.com and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” then “Sermon Notes.”  On a cell phone: click on “Blog” and then “Menu.”  Scroll to the bottom and click on “Categories.”  Sermon Notes are also available on the Church’s Facebook page at ola.Catholic.Church.  Click on “Groups” and then “Sermon Notes.”

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The Catechism in a Year – Day 84 – The Claim of Savior

Jesus’ claim that he is the one true God and the world’s savior was the stumbling block for many Jews. Fr. Mike explains why Jesus’ invitation to the Jewish people to have faith in him was a challenging task. We learn that hardness of heart and unbelief led the Pharisees to a tragic misunderstanding of Jesus. We are also at risk of such error, and recognizing our hardness of heart can help us to grow in faith. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 587-594.

Click on the link to play video: https://youtu.be/WaV8qjH9bMI

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Sermon Notes – February 5, 2023 – “We Are in Combat”

“We Are in Combat”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

February 4 – 5, 2023

Gospel:   Matthew 5:13-16

13 ‘You are salt for the earth. But if salt loses its taste, what can make it salty again? It is good for nothing, and can only be thrown out to be trampled under people’s feet.  14 ‘You are light for the world. A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden.  15 No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house.  16 In the same way your light must shine in people’s sight, so that, seeing your good works, they may give praise to your Father in heaven.

When I was overseas, every day felt like Ground Hog Day.   I was the Catholic priest for the Logistical Command and the area around it.  It was a large area.  We were in the rear with the gear.  A couple of times a w eek, I would do a daytrip up to the war front.  I had to drive up there, do my thing, and drive back.  So don’t complain to me about your commute to Charlotte.  Anyway, I was in my office and a soldier walked in.  He was rather filthy as most soldiers are.  The soldier said, “I was told to report to the chaplain.”  Well, you found him.  Good for you!  Come on in and let’s have a chat.  So, he was telling me about what had happened.  He was infantry, and he and his friends had to take care of business up in the north.  He was upset that he had been sent back to be a convoy guard.  He wanted to stay with his buddies.   I told him that I would feel the same way.  But they want one of the best to be one of their guards.  They are driving around and trying to avoid IED’s and all sorts of other nasty stuff on the road.  They want one of the best to keep an eye out for them so that they can go home too when this is all over.   The soldier said, “Yeah, okay . . . sir.”   I asked him how long he would be here, and he said three days.   Okay . . .for the next three days, I want you to sleep, get some ice cream and pizza, see a movie, and go to the pool.  And those are not suggestions.  “Yes sir.”  Before you leave come back to see me.  Three days later, the soldier came back to see me, and he looked totally different. . .so much better.  I asked him if he was ready to go back, and he said, “Yes, sir.”  I told him he had done a good job and to keep his eyes open so we could all make it home.  The soldiers said, “Yes, sir” and thanked me for talking to him.  The change in him was phenomenal.  A smart officer where he had been saw that this soldier had combat stress or fatigue and sent him back to the rear.   A classic way to deal with combat stress is to take three days of rest and refresh (R & R) and go back.   He would have less problems in theater, be able to keep his mind in the game, and have less problems when he returned home.   The Army would take soldiers out of the field so that they could rest.  No matter how hard we trained them, they had to come out of the game to rest. 

We are all in combat.  We are fighting the devil constantly.  We all need to take time out for our ourselves and to pray.  That’s the most important thing.   Jesus took His disciples aside and said, “Come away and pray.”  We all need time to be alone with our Lord.  We pray to refresh.  The priest who preached at my first Mass said, “You will spend more time on your toes like a boxer, if you spend more time on your knees.”  You cannot give what you do not have.”   Mother Teresa’s sisters, who I had the pleasure of working with in Guantanimo Bay, spent at least two hours a day in prayer plus Mass.   That’s how you keep your Savior near.   It’s how people will see Christ in you.  “Well, I work on Sundays.”  “If I do a good deed on Sunday, do i still have to go to Mass?”   If you are on your way to Mass and get called to an emergency, you have an excuse.  But you cannot use that excuse every week.  And I’m sure that people don’t have a health crisis every Saturday at 5:00 and Sunday at 9:30 and 12:15.  No.  “Well, I watch Mass on television.”  Well, I watch cooking shows on television and I’m still hungry.  I watch golf shows on television and I still stink at the game.  

During marriage preparation, I give couples the key to a happy marriage.  “What’s that, Father?”  Pray the Rosary together each night before you go to bed.  I didn’t get that on my own. . .I’m not that holy or bright.  I got it from Bishop Sheen.   I also advise couples to practice their faith.  When couples come to me with marital problems, the first question I ask is, “Do you pray together?”   “Do you go to church together?”   Yeah, that’s the same reaction I get.  You are carrying a cross that is heavy, and you can become weary.   We think we are a lot tougher than we really are.    

All of us have our crosses, and we all get weary.  We need to spend time in prayer. . .lots and lots of time.  Your work is not your prayer.  Believe it or not, I have a degree in Philosophy.   I learned in Philosophy 101 that work is not a prayer.  Know why?  They are different words with different letters.  Work is not prayer.   Work is a vocation.  Work can be part of your prayer life, but prayer is different.  Prayer is an act of love.  Work is an act of love too, but it’s different.   I know a priest who once said, “My work is my prayer.”   Well, say goodbye to your vocation.  I cannot give what I do not have, so I need to spend a lot of time in prayer. 

We look for comfort in things that are not of God.  Maybe it’s in a bottle, a pill, people, places, or things.   It is important to spend time in prayer.   I don’t care how busy we think we are or how important.  One day I’m going to be heavy into real estate in a tiny house and another priest will be here.  I won’t be cold in my grave, and another priest will be here to take my place. 

Husbands, wives, mothers, and fathers take the crosses of everyone upon them besides their own.  It’s called transference.  In Scripture, when our Lord healed what did He do?  He sighed and groaned as He took their pain upon Himself.  You see the pain of everyone and their sins there on the Cross.  You do that with your family and friends.  You do that with the crosses people place upon you.  This is why prayer is so necessary.  It’s why the Sacraments are so necessary.  We cannot do it by ourselves.  We will fall and we will destroy ourselves.   You must take the time, and that time is the best investment in yourself and those you love.  It’s how you keep your edge.  It’s how people will see Christ’s light in you.  And by taking that time out, you will keep the flame alive.   

We are the salt of the earth, and we can lose our Savior very quickly.  Sometimes it happens slowly and more quickly at other times.  That time away in prayer is so important.  Never minimize it.  Never say, “I have to go to work.”   If you pray and become holy, your work will go much better and faster.  So, tune out all the distractions to pray and to be alone with God.

Father’s Reflections. . .

I heard from reliable sources, and I have authenticated the message, that next Sunday is the Super Bowl.  I’m thrilled about it. . . actually, I don’t care.  I don’t want to watch millionaires play for millions of dollars.  That really doesn’t excite me.  “These guys are great!  They are stars!”  Really?  If you were not at Terri Campbell’s funeral yesterday and you didn’t talk to the family, you wouldn’t know that Terri’s brother-in-law was a hero in the true sense of the word.  Now you probably wouldn’t give this guy a second look.  He has white hair and is beginning to get a stoop.  But he was an F-4 fighter pilot in Vietnam.  That alone is quite impressive.  However, he was shot down over Vietnam and spent six years in the Hanoi Hilton.  There is a real hero. 

How will you apply this message to your life? _________________________________________

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to annunciationcatholicalbemarle.com and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” then “Sermon Notes.”  On a cell phone: click on “Blog” then “Menu” and then “Categories.”  Sermon Notes are also available on the church Facebook page at facebook.com/ola.catholic.church.  Click on “Groups” and then “Sermon Notes.”

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Morning Offering – His First Rule

“What was the first rule of our dear Savior’s life? You know it was to do His Father’s will. Well, then, the first end I propose in our daily work is to do the will of God; secondly to do it in the manner He wills; and thirdly, to do it because it is His will.”
— St. Elizabeth Ann Seton