At the heart of Francis’s and Clare’s biblical vision was the Sermon on the Mount, and most especially the Beatitudes. Just as Jesus turned the world upside down, ushering in God’s new age of shalom, liberating captives, and proclaiming God’s shalom (see Luke 4:18–19), Francis’s message of peace and simplicity turned upside down the divisiveness and violence of twelfth-century Italy and the opulence of the Roman Catholic Church.
Francis lived out the prophetic spirit of the Beatitudes, presenting an alternative vision to both church and state, as he sought to be God’s companion in healing the world, beginning with the transformation of church, and expanding his mission to include healing the whole earth, Christian and non-Christian, human and nonhuman. Francis invites us to embody the Beatitudes in our time.
—from the book Simplicity, Spirituality, Service: The Timeless Wisdom of Francis, Clare, and Bonaventure Rev. Dr. Bruce G. Epperly
At the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us to pray through his own prayer to the Father. As we watch Jesus pray, his prayer becomes our template for our own prayer. Fr. Mike emphasizes that our prayer should not just be external, but rather should be an internal conversion of heart. This internal conversion of heart involves many aspects such as, reconciliation, loving our enemies, praying to the Father in secret, and prayerful forgiveness. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 2607-2615.
Together, with Fr. Mike, we examine the New Law or the Law of the Gospel. Fr. Mike emphasizes that the New Law “fulfills, refines, surpasses, and leads the Old Law to its perfection.” He also explains how the New Law of Christ that is expressed through the Sermon on the Mount is perfected by the grace of the Holy Spirit and works through charity and the Sacraments. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1965-1969.
1 Seeing the crowds, He went onto the mountain. And when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He began to speak. This is what He taught them: 3 How blessed are the poor in spirit: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 4 Blessed are the gentle: they shall have the earth as inheritance. 5 Blessed are those who mourn: they shall be comforted. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for uprightness: they shall have their fill. 7 Blessed are the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart: they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers: they shall be recognised as children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of uprightness: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 11 ‘Blessed are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven; this is how they persecuted the prophets before you.
I love our good Lord’s Sermon on the Mount. The interesting part for priests is that our Lord spoke eight sentences and only seven from the Cross. Multitudes heard Him from the mountain side. He didn’t have a microphone, but He sat down and talked to them in eight sentences. It’s a textbook for preaching. Our Lord gave the fruits of holiness. If you live a holy life, you will be blessed, and the Kingdom of Heaven will be yours.
Our Lord spoke about virtues, and if you have these virtues, you are blessed. There are two kinds of virtues: acquired or habitual and infused virtues. Acquired virtues you receive by doing. There are three types of infused virtues: faith, hope, and charity. They are infused because you receive them in the Sacraments. Infused virtues become operative when you cooperate with them. It’s just like some of the medicine we take. I have a pill that I take 30 minutes before I eat. But if I don’t wait 30 minutes and eat right after taking the pill, the medicine doesn’t work and does me no good. I have to cooperate with the medicine in order to benefit from its good effects. It’s the same thing with the grace in your soul. You have to cooperate by doing the right thing, staying away from sin, and doing acts of virtue. When you do acts of virtue by prayer, mortification, and corporal/spiritual works of mercy, you acquire these virtues as long as you don’t lose them by sinning. The virtues come with a blessing. . .a promise of divine favor. And that’s pretty wonderful. “Hey, this is cool. . . I’ve got a road map, and I’m going to make it.” Well, yes and no. Yes, you will make it. But one of the blessings we receive is not really one that we want. What is one of the blessings we will receive? We will be crucified with Him because this world does not accept a life of virtue. As much as the world doesn’t want to hear His message, they don’t want to hear ours.
We are in a gradual degradation of Christianity, and it’s called the “woke” culture. “How do you identify, Mr. Fitzgibbons?” Really? My father isn’t here, but you can call me “Father.” That’s how I identify. My personal pronouns are “Father,” but “Monsignor” is my personal favorite. If the “woke” culture doesn’t like you, they will try to cancel you. It’s all threats. It’s all evil. And they aren’t very good at it. They will try to intimidate you. The people I used to work with went to places where we almost had our birth certificates canceled. That’s very different from getting your feelings hurt. Do you know why the woke culture is evil? “Oh, it’s justice!” No, it’s not. . .it’s evil because of the belligerence. It’s like a drunk: “I only drink because you treat me terribly!” No, you drink because you want to; don’t give me that line. They put the blame on somebody else because they know deep down inside that they are living against moral law. That’s why they are so belligerent, evil, and mean to everyone. “You all have to conform. If everybody would just conform, they would be happy.” That’s not true. They will crucify you in the name of goodness, righteousness, and justice. It has been the same since the beginning. Look at our Lord’s cousin, John the Baptist. What happened to him? He was beheaded because he told Herod, “You cannot live with your brother’s wife.”
The world does not like truth. What is truth? Truth is not a “what.” Truth is a “Who.” Truth is Jesus. Pilot looked at our good Lord and asked, “What is truth?” He got it wrong. “Who is truth” would have been a better question. The Truth was right in front of him. The Truth resides in the Most Blessed Sacrament and in our souls when we partake of the Sacraments and as long as we don’t commit mortal sin or repeated venial sin.
We try to live a life of holiness because of God’s promised rewards. One of the rewards is to suffer with Him. He cried over Jerusalem because they did not accept Him. Remember Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa)? Everybody loved her because she took care of the sick. So what? Bad people are good to the sick. The Nazis took care of their own sick during World War II. But Saint Teresa did it with Christ’s love, and she taught the Catholic message. You cannot call it “Christian Ministries” anymore, because with 50,000 branches of Christianity, they all have different moral standards. I still remember that day on television when Mother Teresa came to the United States and met with the most powerful man in the world, President Bill Clinton, his wife, and Vice-President Al Gore and his wife. What a nice, cute photo op with Mother Teresa wearing her habit. But this 4-foot-nothing woman started lecturing them about abortion and wagging her finger. Now, every man knows when that finger starts wagging, nothing good happens after that. Mother Teresa said, “If you don’t want your babies, give them to me.” You never hear that incident talked about anymore, do you? The “woke” culture canceled her. She was a cute little woman, and that’s all the world remembers.
When you try to live a life of virtue in your ordinary vocations, it will be obvious to others. And you will be persecuted just like Christ was. “They don’t like me on Facebook!” You know what? I’m not on Facebook, and I sleep very well at night. Social media is a disease. If you are so dependent on electronics to make you feel good, you need to see someone professionally. The one Person you need to make feel good is the One who resides in the Blessed Sacrament. That’s the only Person who needs to feel good. With Him, we can stand anything. So be stout-hearted. Do not be afraid of a life of virtue. It’s far easier than you think. The devil always tempts us by saying that the virtuous life is hard and no fun; both of which are lies. Remember when you are suffering by following a virtuous life, your suffering is with Christ. Be glad and rejoice. Your reward in Heaven is kept safe with Him.
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.”
Jesus’ teaching is summarized in one line: “The time is fulfilled, and the Reign of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Gospel” (Mark 1:15). Conversion is not a learning as much as it is an unlearning. Conversion is an unlearning that comes like a dove descending (see Mark 1:10) once the old world order is unmasked and the Great Lover is revealed. No wonder we had to use phrases like falling from a horse, scales falling from our eyes (see Acts 9:18), and the crowing of the cock (Luke 22:61).
Fr. Mike reads the Sermon on the Mount and explains how Jesus’ teachings powerfully fulfill the old testament law, and identify the broken human heart as the source of our sinful actions. We learn that Jesus himself is the remedy to our sins, and that the secret to holiness is living in the perfect will of God. Today’s readings are Matthew 5-7, and Proverbs 18:21-24.
