Tag: Sermon Notes

Posted on

Sermon Notes – November 3, 2024 – “Things I Wish I Could See – Part 2”

“Things I Wish I Could See – Part 2”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

November 2 – 3, 2024


Gospel:   Mark 12:28-34

Let’s see how your memory is.  Remember last week when I talked about vision?  Okay, obviously you don’t remember but there are Sermon Notes at the back of the church.  Pick one up and refresh your memory on what I said.  What I said was that I wished I could see what truly is.  Dr. Billingsley is great, but there is just so much he can do.  I want to see our good Lord truly present in the Blessed Sacrament, in the Confessional, in the Mass, and in the Sacraments.  By the way, do you know why deacons cannot perform the Sacraments?  Because only those who can celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass are allowed to perform the Sacraments.  The Sacraments come from the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  Anyhow, I want to see our Lord as He truly is . . . the brilliant light that is the light of the world. 

I had my picture taken in New York for an Army advertisement, and I had to put on makeup.  That was the first and last time I will ever wear makeup outside of the box.   I was a member of the 101st Airborne . . . so hell no!  You wouldn’t believe all the lights they shine on you to put on the makeup.  While I was sitting under all those lights, I felt like a rotisserie chicken.   That’s the same kind of light here in the church – the light of truth – that shines on us as we sit in front of the Most Blessed Sacrament and in the Confessional.  That light allows us to see ourselves.  We see ourselves in three ways:  how we see ourselves, how others see us, and how we truly are.  It takes humility to see ourselves as we truly are.  That’s why the vision to see ourselves as we truly are is so necessary for advancement in spiritual life.  

We find that vision by seeking the light of Christ whether it is in front of the Blessed Sacrament or in the Confessional.  In His light, we see ourselves as we truly are . . . our crosses, our failures, our talents, and our abilities.  Too often we avoid His light because we see ourselves with all these problems.  “God, I have all these problems.  I’m not good enough for you Lord.”  First of all, we cannot earn God’s love.  I don’t care how good you are, you cannot earn His love because God’s love is free.  Look at all that God has given us, including our crosses which are actually gifts.  But when we look at our crosses, we see pain. We see all our troubles, all our failures, and all our wants and desires. 

In spite of everything, we are all loved by Christ.  Nothing that we have done can stop God’s love for us.  Nothing.  God will always love us.  How we love God is another matter, but that is up to us.  But God will always love us.  We are children of God.  When I was in Hospice the other day, I was talking to this man while the EMT’s were with him.  I asked him if he would tell me his religious denomination so that we could take proper care of him.  He said, “I’m not Catholic; I’m Baptist.”   I said, “May I tell you a secret?”  He whispered, “Yeah, go ahead.”  I said, “You are a child of God, and no one gets better than that.” 

As you sit here in church, you are sitting in the presence of God, Himself, in the Blessed Sacrament.  You are also sitting in His presence during Confession.  It is then that we see ourselves as we truly are – loved by God.

How will you apply this message to your life? _______________________________________ 

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to AnnunciationCatholicAlbemarle.com, clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and 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.”

Posted on

Sermon Notes – March 17, 2024 – “We Want What We Want When We Want It”

“We Want What We Want When We Want It”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

March 16 – 17, 2024

Gospel: John  12:20-33

Our Good Lord said, “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit” (John 12:24).  He calls us to be grains of wheat.  But why must we die?  I’m glad you are interested, otherwise the sermon would be over.  It’s so that we may bring forth life.  The means to do it is really easy; it’s right in front of us.  Keep the Commandments.  By keeping the Commandments, we die to ourselves.  Dying to ourselves is the resignation of the will.  De-egotazation is the basis of every 12-Step group.  De-egotazation steps are the keys to recovering from whatever addictions people have.  However, it’s not just obeying the Commandments – there are more than 10, and those 10 have a lot of other things in them.   

There are two ways in which to obey the Commandments.  One way is objectively by obeying the law.  For example, if you are driving to Misenheimer you will go through Richfield.  Near the VFW, there is usually a highway patrol officer or deputy sheriff sitting there.   So, you reduce your speed, and once the coast is clear, you kick your speed back up to 65.  But when you get to the university, you slow back down in case a Misenheimer police officer is hiding behind the bushes.  Once you are on the other side of the university, you floor it again to Salisbury.  When you don’t want to get into trouble or get caught, that is objective obedience.   But that is only the beginning of de-egotazation. 

People say, “We are studying scripture.  What do you think this means?”  Every time our Lord asked the Apostles a question, they always got it wrong.  Peter got it right once, but Jesus said, “My heavenly Father revealed it to you” (Matthew 16:13-19).  So, we cannot say we know what ‘this’ means.  Jesus said only male and female were created and for that reason, a man and a woman shall leave their families and the two shall be as one.   During the first week in Latin class, we learned the words male and female.  It’s really easy!  Yet now, in principle, people say, “Well, I think that means this, and we can change it.”  No!  He said it.  That’s like telling Christ, “You were wrong.”  How is that for ego?  “You were wrong.”   Really? 

The second part of obedience is when you truly die to self.  Spiritual growth really takes over with interior ascent.  This is not just the objective obedience of simply following the law but the interior ascent.  “I do it because of my love of the Lord.  I resign my will to Him.”  That is the hardest part of all.  Soon, I will have been a priest for 40 years, and because I can take tests, I’ve got some letters after my name and some titles before it.  I’m a really big guy.  Sometimes the bishop will say, “I want this done.”  Are you kidding me?  Granted, his Excellency has more information than I do.  But sometimes I think, “Is he telling me how to do my job?”   That is the ego speaking.  It’s like pastors who don’t take suggestions or even listen to people.    Look at the history of this place, and you realize that previous pastors never took any advice from anybody.  That’s why we have had to fix everything in the past few years – because they built it wrong.  They wouldn’t listen. 

Subjective obedience is the most difficult because it’s when we truly die to self.  The first one, the objective part, is tough enough.  I can handle driving 65 in a 55 . . . I really can.  However, in North Carolina, law enforcement can give you a ticket for driving 56 in a 55.  I don’t think a judge would hear it, but according to the law, there is no grey area.  It’s the ego – not just the objective ego but also the subjective.  And that is the hardest part of dying to oneself.  The objective is hard enough, but the subjective is worse.   That’s where real spiritual growth exists. 

We bristle at rules.  “Oh, the Church has too many rules!”  Well, flying has a lot of rules too.  I suggest you follow them, otherwise we will be coming by with a squeegee to clean up your body parts.  There are a lot of rules in a lot of things.  Pharmacology has a lot of rules.  Trying it on your own usually doesn’t work out well.  Rules are there to keep us from doing stupid stuff.  They are there to warn us that something will hurt really bad, and we won’t be able to fix it on this Earth.  Rules are there to keep us safe and to point us in the right direction.  But we don’t like the rules because of our egos.  I want what I want when I want it!  Our daily dying to self: “Yes, Lord.  I will try to do what you ask of me not only because it’s for my own good, but it will also enable me to love You even more.” 


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.”

Posted on

Sermon Notes – December 10, 2023 – “Oh, the Sorrows I’ve Seen!“

“ Oh, the Sorrows I’ve Seen! “

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

December 9 – 10, 2023

Gospel: Mark 1:1-8

The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Behold, I am sending My messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths.” John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He fed on locusts and wild honey. And this is what he proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of His sandals. I have baptized you with water; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Here’s a little quiz from the Gospel: What do grasshoppers taste like? Chicken? No. They taste like grasshoppers, and the best dipping sauce is honey mustard. Just putting that out there for you. I’m hearing eye-rolls out there.

In the second reading of the Divine Office, there are writings from Saint Charles Borromeo who wrote that Holy Mother Church prepares the faithful for Christmas and the coming of Christ through hymns, readings, and liturgies. And that’s true. They all focus on the great mystery of His love.

During the Christmas season, we think about our past Christmases. Some were really good, and some were maybe not so good. We wish we could have Christmases like in years past. But all of those are temporary, although very teachable moments. The fulfillment of the joy of Christmas will come later. This is just a taste. All of those that disappointed us with all that pain, sorrow, and regret will be gone and transformed by the love of Christ. Christ is love Himself.

Some people ask me what my best Christmas was. I don’t know. I’ve had a lot of nice ones. Growing up, I had a great family despite me. One not so good Christmas happened when I was overseas, and I ran out of Spaghetti’Os. Oh, the sorrows I’ve seen! “Father, how about when you came home from overseas?” Well, it was quieter; I’ll give you that. It was also nice to have fresh plumbing; I’ll give you that too. “But don’t you have a favorite Christmas?” Well, I haven’t had it yet. My favorite Christmas will be when Christ comes to take me from this world and, hopefully, I will be found worthy to be possessed by Him. That will be my favorite Christmas. All the other Christmases are a foretaste, an encouragement, and mere teaching moments. So, keep your eyes fixed on the last Christmas to come.

Father’s Reflections . . . The Christmas parade yesterday was very nice. It was a long one, lasting over an hour, and continued during the Mass. People from our parish were volunteers. They did a fantastic job, and I want to thank them for that.

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.”