Tag: Sermon

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Sermon Notes – Miracle of the Loaves & Fishes

“The Miracle of the Loaves & Fishes”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

July 28th and 29th, 2018

Scripture: John 6: 1-5

1 After this, Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee [of Tiberias]. 2 A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish feast of Passover was near. 5 When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?”

Philip told Jesus that they didn’t have enough money to feed everyone. The apostles never quite got it right. Even after all of the miracles they had seen, they still flunked the lesson because of a lack of faith.

At the wedding in Cana, Mary told the servers to “do whatever He tells you” (John 2:5). We, too, must do whatever he tells us by using whatever talents we have.

God has given us talents, and we must use them. Our talents are not limited to skills, but can include the crosses we bear, illnesses we have endured, or experiences that have shaped us. Our essential talent is to love God.

For example, there are priests who are more talented, but in different ways. There are those who have advanced degrees. Some are skilled administrators. Others are eloquent speakers. However, those priests may not be able to make people laugh when they are going through the darkest of days, or know how to help soldiers with PTSD, or they may shy away from hospital “yuck.”

The Lord asks us to do things for Him, but we find reasons for why we cannot even though He has given us what we need to go out and tell the good news. He has given us firm, concrete instructions…to spread His love and help save souls wherever we are.

Our common mission on the divine scale is huge…make God’s love manifest in the world. We may never see the results of our efforts, but, that’s not what is important. We are planting seeds and doing “whatever He tells us to do.”

How will you apply this message to your life? Will you “do whatever He tells you”?

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Sermon Notes – Tend Your Garden

“Tend Your Garden.”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

August 11 – 12, 2018

Scripture: John 6: 41-51

41 The Jews murmured about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” 42 And they said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered and said to them, “Stop murmuring* among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets: ‘They shall all be taught by God.’Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

Keeping our homes neat and clean takes constant effort….so does maintaining our lawns and gardens. But, when our children and/or grandchildren arrive, it takes no time at all for our homes to be ransacked. Also, when it rains, the weeds come back with a vengeance. Everything is changing, so we can never rest.

Our spiritual lives are like that too. We must be diligent to remain close to God. We can draw closer to Him by receiving the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion.

We do not go to Mass…We do not participate in Mass…We are a part of Mass. We live and die with Christ at the alter and become part of his sacrifice. You can’t get any closer than that!

Prayer is heart speaking to heart. It is our conversations with God. How do we know if our prayers are working? They are drawing us closer to Him.

Propaganda Ministry. If you ask people how things are going at their church, they might say “great!” They may go on to say that their church is supporting various types of missions or maybe they’re working on important projects. However, the important measure of how a church is doing is in how many are a part of Mass, how many are going to confession, and how many are entering into vocations. Everything else is just busy work.

How will you apply this message to your life? Will you tend to your spiritual garden diligently, growing ever closer to Christ?

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Sermon Notes – Trials and Suffering

“During Your Times of Trial and Suffering,

It Was Then That I Carried You”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

October 27 – 28, 2018

Scripture: Mark 10: 46-52

46 They came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. 47 On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.” 49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage; get up, he is calling you.” 50 He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. 51 Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” 52 Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.

Throughout His life, Jesus never denied anyone who asked for the miracle of healing. Because He loves us, He never said “No.” We all have maladies. And, sometimes we think that He does not hear us if nothing happens when we pray for relief. It may seem like He is falling down on the job, but we will never know how many of our burdens He carried for us until we finally meet Him. If He says “No” or “Not Now”, you can be sure that it’s for another good reason.

The apostles had their own trials and sufferings. Paul suffered from a thorn in the flesh, and he prayed to the Lord three times to relieve him of the pain. But, Christ told Paul “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12).

Saint Therese of Lisieux endured her share of suffering. She lost her mother when she was just four years old, and she suffered from depression. It was her love of God that enabled Therese to always put others first by through self-sacrifice. These daily sacrifices of self were her gifts to Our Lord. Both Paul and Therese understood that the more one is weak, without selfish desires, the closer we grow to Him.

Saint Teresa of Avila also endured trials and tribulations. Teresa entered a Carmelite convent during a time when women did so if they had nowhere else to go. Often, Teresa felt that she was surrounded by hostility and gossip. When she complained about this, Jesus said, “Teresa, that’s how I treat my friends”. Teresa responded, “No wonder you have so few friends.”

The suffering we bear is a prayer for our penance and for others. We can imitate His suffering at His passion if we keep our focus on the crucifix. Our pain keeps us humble and holy. It also opens our hearts to others who suffer in the same way and enables us to connect with them because of our shared experiences. Christ wants us to be His representatives and bring people to Him. But, you cannot reach an alcoholic, veteran, inmate, or sexual assault victim unless you’ve been to the same level of hell as they. Only then can you reach them and offer them hope and peace in their suffering. We can tell them how we have dealt with a similar trial or suffering.

Enduring pain and suffering can be relentless and unpleasant. Therefore, we must seek the sacraments to increase our faith and love. Also, we need to pray unceasingly. How? At the start of each day, pray the Morning Offering so that everything you do during the day is for Him:

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,

I offer You my prayers, works,

Joys and sufferings of this day

For all the intentions of YourSacred Heart,

In union with theHoly Sacrifice of the Mass

Offered throughout the world, In reparation for my sins,

For the intentions of all myRelatives and friends, and

Also for the intentions ofThe Holy Father. Amen

How will you apply this message to your life? Will you share in His passion by offering up your suffering to the Lord? Will you seek the sacraments to increase your faith and love? Will you pray unceasingly?

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Sermon Notes – Want to be More Holy?

“Want to Be More Holy? Follow the Instructions.”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

July 14 – 15, 2018

Scripture: Mark 6: 7-13

7- He summoned the Twelve* and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. 8 – He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts. 9 – They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. 10 – He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there. 11- Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” 12 – So they went off and preached repentance. 13 – They drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

When we bake a cake and closely follow the instructions in our recipe, the result is a delicious cake.

When we follow God’s instructions and do as we are told, the result is we become holy.

His instructions cover every area of our lives. But, it is hard to listen if we think we are too smart. God always keeps his word. But, we doubt how much he loves us, even though we hear it over and over again in Mass and at Confession. When we doubt His word, we are committing the sin of pride.

Our first parents, Adam and Eve, did NOT follow God’s instructions. God gave them one rule: Do not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. When they disobeyed God, they were kicked out of the Garden of Eden.We do not need to form a study group or a committee to do research about what God wants and how to be holy.

We do not need to recreate the wheel. The work has already been done. He left us precise instructions on how to be holy. We just need to follow them.

Will it always yield results? No.

But, do not be discouraged if you think your efforts are unsuccessful and not yielding results….just keep doing what God asks you to do…you are doing His Will and planting seeds.

So…show YOUR compassion

YOU visit the sick and the elderly

YOU help the homeless and the hungry

YOU get your hands dirty.

But…we must be holy first. People need to see Him in us. Remember…the only time your neighbor may see God is in your face. Mother Angelica once said: “I am a mirror to my neighbor, and in that mirror, he must see a reflection of Jesus. If that mirror is cloudy or distorted, Jesus’ reflection will be so vague it will hardly be seen.”

How will you apply this message to your life? Are you ready to get YOUR hands dirty?

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Sermon Notes – The True Bread of Life

“The True Bread of Life”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

August 4 – 5, 2018

Scripture: John 6: 24-35

24 When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 25 And when they found him across the sea they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26 Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life,*which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.” 28 So they said to him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God that you believe in the one he sent.” 30 So they said to him, “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? 31 Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 So Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 So they said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.

Prayer is when we bind ourselves to God. Receiving the Holy Eucharist is when we become one with Him in body and spirit. We die and rise with Christ at the alter.

Holy Communion is a “who” not a “what”…it is a “person” not a thing.” It is a supreme act of faith and love. Christ said “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him” (John 6:56). You cannot stay home and read a book to accomplish that.

In a letter to the Romans, St. Ignatius of Antioch spoke of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist: “I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David; and for drink I desire his blood, which is love incorruptible.”

From our first moments of life, we began to learn about the Eucharist. Our mothers’ cooking is the best, and through her cooking, she showed her love. She conveyed her love for us from our very first meal. If our parents can do that, so can God. After all, He made the world from nothing. So, why can’t the bread and water be transformed into His body and blood? Take Him at His word.

There has been no change in the teachings about how to receive the Eucharist. We are careful to take our medications according to our doctors’ instructions; otherwise they might be ineffective or worse. Likewise, we must prepare for Mass as prescribed by Christ through the apostles, so that we can receive the Holy Eucharist properly. We must get our minds and hearts focused on the Beloved. But, we tend to focus on ourselves…it’s all about us.

Rules of fasting (one hour before Mass):

  • No eating
  • No drinking coffee, tea, or soda (only water)
  • No chewing gum
  • No candies, breathe mints, lozenges, etc.

Arriving Late – Leaving early:

Participating in Mass is about our relationship with God. Very likely, we would be offended if we met a friend for dinner, they got there late, and then left as soon as they were finished eating without really taking the time to talk. In the same way, we are being disrespectful when we arrive late for Mass or leave early. Remember, Christ is present among us at Mass even while the last hymn is being sung. “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20). Also, keep in mind that the only person who left the Last Supper early was Judas.

It is such a great gift that He offers Himself to us every day, and even though we may not be Catholic or in a state of grace, we can receive Him spiritually. But, some people say that Mass is boring or that they don’t get anything out of it. Bishop Sheen said that those people are parasites in the body of Christ. He is present at the Mass…how much more exciting could it be?

How will you apply this message to your life? Will you prepare to receive the Holy Eucharist properly? Will you respect God by not arriving late to Mass or leaving early?

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Sermon Notes – Miracles are Free Acts of Will by God

“Miracles are Free Acts of Will by God“

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

June 23-24, 2018

Why does He perform miracles? Because He loves us. And…there are no requirements for His love. He doesn’t ask us if we have been to church lately or how much we have given. He intervenes in our lives because He loves us. We will never know the extent of how great His love is. Regrettably, many of us never take the time to give Him thanks.

Never give up praying for miracles. Some of God’s “epic” miracles include:

• Feeding the 4,000: “Then He took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. They all ate and were satisfied.” Matthew 15: 36-37

• Walking on water: “Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: ’Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’” Matthew 14: 25-27

• Turning water into wine: “Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.’ They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine.” John 2:7–9

The Lord gives us miracles all the time, although not as obvious as those mentioned above. Often, we are too busy to notice them, or perhaps we do not understand that a miracle has occurred. We need to pay more attention to the ordinary events happening around us.

Some examples of “ordinary” miracles: people coming into our lives exactly when we need them; a job, family, and friends; good health; volunteers who sit with hospice patients so that they don’t die alone; police/fire personnel who sometimes risk their lives to keep us safe; a blue sky and white clouds; the changing of the seasons; etc.

God always answers our prayers…perhaps not in the way we wanted or expected. His greatest act of love is inviting us to participate in a divine life. His greatest gift is the gift of Himself.

God is an Olympian; He will always pursue us and will be waiting for us at the finish line. God is not subject to time. Matthew 28:20 “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

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Sermon Notes – The Nature of God

“The Nature of God”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

September 29 – 30, 2018

Scripture: Mark 9: 38-43, 45, 47-48

38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” 39 Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. 40 For whoever is not against us is for us. 41 Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward. 42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe [in me] to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna,* into the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, 48 Where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’

God is love Himself. He created us out of His nature, to know Him, to serve Him, and to be with Him in the afterlife. He sustains us in love which is generous, without reservation or limits, and is forever. God seeks us, and wants to bring us back to Him. He wants to shower us with good things. So, shouldn’t our natural response be to love Him and to share His love with our neighbor?

“Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Christ’s suffering on the cross was a blind act of love, and we are to return His love without reservation. We must love Him above all things. We have the ability and resources to love, but many times we give in to our love of self. We throw away our love on vain, temporary, contemptible things of the world. Satan will whisper in your ear that God doesn’t love you. Not true! You stopped loving Him.

God has two wills:

Directive – keeping the planets in orbit; maintaining the laws of physics

Permissive – God gives us the freewill to follow him or to sin, to love or not.

Spiritual adultery is knowing that something is wrong, but pursuing it anyway because it’s what we want. The human condition is that we want things our way all the time. We want to entertain ourselves with all of our baubles and toys. But, giving in to our passions does not lead to happiness; that can only happen by uniting ourselves with Christ. Our love for God should exclude all others including love of ourselves.

As today’s scripture says, if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off…if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off…and if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Don’t let anything get in the way of loving God and serving Him.

Christ said “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross every day and follow me” (Luke 9:23). To follow Him, we must love Him, and sacrifice is the evidence of that love. We all have our crosses to bear….and some are heavier than others. Some examples are: alcoholism, Post Traumatic Syndrome, sexual trauma, emotional/psychological problems, sickness, and financial stress.

But, we don’t have to let our crosses be a barrier to our seeking a closer relationship with God and becoming more holy. We also shouldn’t use our crosses as an excuse, or say this is how God made me so I’m entitled to behave a certain way. Let nothing block your path to Him for He is everything. By carrying our crosses with grace and love for Him, we can be an example to others and help them learn how to carry theirs. And…if we bring our crosses to the Lord, He will help us carry them.

How will you apply this message to your life? Will you love God above all things including yourself? Will you take up your cross and follow Him?

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Sermon Notes – Junk in…Junk Out

“Junk In…Junk Out”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

September 2nd & 3rd, 2018

Scripture: Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23

1 Now when the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, 2 they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. 3 (For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands,* keeping the tradition of the elders. 4 And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles [and beds].) 5 So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders* but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” 6 He responded, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; 7 In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.’8 You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” 14 He summoned the crowd again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. 15 Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.” 21 From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. 23 All these evils come from within and they defile.”

Physicians sometimes take on the roles of our mothers by advising us of what we should and shouldn’t eat to nourish our physical bodies. We all know that limiting junk food is essential for good health. Kosher food is that which meets Jewish dietary regulations and has been deemed pure and clean. We are not required to eat Kosher foods, which is great news, because bacon didn’t make the list of clean food in those dietary regulations.

People are also spiritual beings with souls that need nourishment too. As with our physical bodies, we must be careful about what we let inside….of what we feed our souls. Consuming too much of the junk media popular today ; i.e., ungodly movies, music, books, and TV, can be detrimental to our hearts and souls by exposing us to temptation.

People commit sin which originates from the heart….it is internal, not external. Sin disfigures our soul and distorts our senses. It is essential that we maintain vigilance in protecting our hearts from the temptation of satan which comes in the form of a person, place, or thing. Nobody really knows how powerful their resistance is to sin. Because we are battling demonic powers, it is extremely risky to have an inflated sense of ego and to think that “I can handle it”. When we are tired, we are particularly vulnerable. The longer we entertain the idea of sinning, the more likely we are to succumb to it. Once temptation has taken root inside, it is almost impossible to dislodge. We cannot blame our sinfulness on someone or something else. Have you ever said: If you weren’t (fill in the blank), I wouldn’t be (fill in the blank)? Instead, we need to ask ourselves, “How can I change?”

Note to Parents & Grandparents: Be sure to use SPE (Spiritual Protective Equipment) which includes prayer & penance so that you limit your children’s exposure to sin and prevent its spread.

How will you apply this message to your life? As much as possible, will you limit the amount of junk food you eat in order to be healthier? Will you limit your consumption of junk (ungodly) media in order to protect your heart and soul? Will you use SPE to prevent the spread of infectious sin?

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Sermon Notes – Feed My Sheep

“Feed My Sheep”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

October 20 – 21, 2018

Scripture: Mark 10: 35-45

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 He replied, “What do you wish [me] to do for you? 37 They answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left. 38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? 39 They said to him, “We can.” Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; 40 but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared. 41 When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. 42 Jesus summoned them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. 43 But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; 44 whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Servant leadership is a philosophy in which the main goal of the leader is not the acquisition of wealth and power; instead, it is to serve others. Christ is all powerful, but He leads His Church with great love by serving us and putting our welfare first and foremost as He did when He died on the cross so that we may have eternal life.

Christ asked Peter three times if he loved Him and three times He told Peter to feed His sheep. What does that mean? It means we are to love others as we love Him, to treat others as we would treat Him, and to serve others, because we see the face of Christ in them. Often, this requires great humility…and holiness. But, you cannot give what you do not have.

The Sisters of St. Theresa’s Missionaries of Charity radiate with joy, and people long to be near them…to have what they have. The Sisters serve the poorest of the poor and the most vile among us. How are they able to do this and maintain a joyous spirit? They get the power from Christ, and that same power is available to us if we seek it. ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.’ (Mark 7:7)

Leprosy is a disease that causes the flesh to rot…it’s smelly and it’s contagious. Saint Francis of Assisi had a fear and loathing of lepers before God led him to serve those afflicted with this horrible disease. After that, Francis expanded his ministry to help lepers by feeding them and caring for their wounds. Through God’s grace, Francis became their friend and served them with humility.

No matter our status, position, or wealth, we are called to serve others….even those who smell, who are rude, who are obnoxious, who are mentally ill…because they are the face of Christ. Like Saint Francis, we can kiss and care for their wounds. We can offer them comfort and compassion. We can lead them to Christ. In return, they teach us to love…they lift us up. We will receive far more from them than we could ever give them. Most likely, they will never say thank you or send us thank you cards. Christ didn’t get them and think of how many He helped. Were they at the foot of the cross? Sadly, no.

How will you apply this message to your life? Will you feed His sheep? Will you look for the face of Christ in others and bring people to Him?

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Sermon Notes – Take Up Your Cross

“Take Up Your Cross”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

September 8 – 9, 2018

Scripture: Mark 7: 31-37

31 Again he left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. 32 And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; 34 then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”) 35 And [immediately] the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. 36 He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. 37 They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and [the] mute speak.”

God is thankful for our used kitty litter and in return gives us the greatest gift of all…Himself. So, get rid of your spiritual kitty litter!

A man at the VA Hospital who was grieving over the loss of his wife told the hospital staff that he needed to speak to a priest who was a combat veteran. When I spoke to the man, who was a former medic in Vietnam, he told me about the many things he does for the Church and that he was in constant prayer. I told him that hyperreligiosity is a sign of mental illness. This immediately changed the direction of our conversation. I asked the man if he knew how many soldiers he had saved in Vietnam, and he had no idea. But, when I asked him how many he had lost, he knew them all by name. It was a burden that he carried with him….his cross. This man’s wife had died two years earlier. She was the one had who helped him deal with the stress, and when she was gone, he was lost. I advised him to go help his fellow veterans at his parish, and that they would, in turn, help him carry his cross.

Our crosses are a gift. God takes our sins and transforms them into good. For example, God used two alcoholics, a doctor and a stockbroker, to start Alcoholics Anonymous. The idea behind AA is that alcoholics keep their sobriety by helping other alcoholics keep theirs. It is the same for us. If we want help with our crosses, we must help others with theirs through our prayers and labor. Doing so helps us see our own crosses with fresh eyes.

Diet and exercise must be used together. We must eat the right food and get adequate exercise to remain healthy. One does not work without the other…it takes both. Likewise, prayer must be coupled with labor. For example, if we see people who are hungry, we can, and should, pray for them. But, wouldn’t it be much better to pray for people AND give them food so they are not hungry?

As we pray and receive the sacraments, we gain sustenance and our energy is restored so that we can continue working to help others. This is our no et labora (prayer and work). Nobody says their crosses are too light, but it takes so little to help others bear theirs. The greatest love we can offer is the gift of ourselves. A smile, helping someone carry their groceries, or visiting someone who is sick can make all the difference and lighten the weight of their cross.

How will you apply this message to your life? Will you take up your cross and help others with theirs?