416 N 2nd St, Albemarle, NC, 28001 | (704) 982-2910
Toward the end of the Lord’s Prayer, we implore God to protect us from temptation and from the evil one. Fr. Mike clarifies what we mean when we ask God not to “lead us into temptation” and emphasizes the importance of discerning between trials and temptations. Lastly, we review the conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer, known as the final doxology. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 2846-2856.
Click on link: https://youtu.be/NnYtXZpsZ_Y?si=35x0Udkmmdv9A8dq
What motivates our prayer? Do we see God as our “divine genie,” or do we look to him as our Father? We learn that the most common temptation in prayer is a lack of faith. Another major temptation is acedia or sloth. In the face of these temptations of presumption and discouragement, we must respond with filial trust in God our Father, the giver of all good gifts. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 2732-2737.
Click on link: https://youtu.be/kX78YMw1Lpw?si=g6ydkNZ6NbRItAaj
Together, with Fr. Mike, we examine the mysteries of Jesus’ Baptism and temptation in the wilderness. Fr. Mike unpacks how Jesus’ Baptism is yet another Epiphany or manifestation of Christ as Messiah. We also explore Christ’s acceptance of his mission as God’s suffering servant. Fr. Mike emphasizes that Jesus’ temptations in the desert mirror the temptations of Adam in the garden, but, unlike Adam, Jesus does not succumb to these temptations. He remains faithful to the Father. Through this obedience to the Divine Will, he conquers the Devil, and in our own obedience, we are participating in this victory. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 535-540.
Click on link to play video: https://youtu.be/MwcOsOz5xFc
Fr. Mike explores the hard battle which each and every one of us must face, the battle with sin. Together, we examine the mystery of us being both free and under the power of the Devil. Fr. Mike emphasizes that if we are unaware of our wounded nature, it can lead to grave errors in our own lives. If we have an attitude that, “since I’m made good, then everything I’m drawn to must be good,” we can fall into temptation and evil. We conclude on a hopeful note; however, that even after we sinned, God did not abandon us to the “domain of death,” and with God’s grace, evil will never have the last word. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 407-412.
Click on link to play video: https://youtu.be/5O48kn2gosM
“Writing Checks Does Not Change Hearts”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
February 25 – 26, 2023
Remember when reading scripture, you must consider the culture. Forty days and forty nights in Hebrew means a long time. They used hyperbole. Just last week a minister took Jesus at His word literally, and he fasted for forty days and forty nights. He didn’t even come close to forty days before he died. “Jesus will save me from having no food and no water.” Not from being stupid He won’t. Jesus prepared Himself for His public ministry by going a long time without food or water. Forty days may not be accurate, but then again, He is God. So, there is that to consider.
The temptations of Christ all lead, in their own way, to what He came here to do . . . to suffer, die, and open the gates of Heaven for us if we imitate Him. If we want to be with Him, we have to imitate Him. The temptations of Christ are the same temptations we will face. He endured everything as we do because He was true man but without sin. We will have those same temptations. “People are bad because they don’t have stuff.” That’s not true. How about that murderer in South Carolina. He was a rich man and brilliant. You can’t get through law school on your looks. He had money, so what happened to him? How many millionaires wind up in prison? A lot. If you do something stupid and get caught, that’s what happens. “People need a computer.” Not so much a computer anymore because that’s old school. They need an iPhone, iPad, or whatever. But it’s not a lack of stuff that makes us sinful. It’s willfully turning our backs on Christ. Is everyone at Felon University (a prison) there because they didn’t have access to an Android cell phone? No. They are there because they chose to be evil. Being poor doesn’t cause you to be bad. Not having the latest Android phone won’t cause you to rob a bank or inhale cocaine. Those are self-inflicted wounds. You are choosing something instead of Someone. Our faith is centered around a Person and in a Person – Jesus Christ.
Almsgiving covers a multitude of sins but after the almsgiving you must have Jesus. You cannot make people better by simply writing checks. Look at the Church which has become Church, Inc. Recently, I received a nice brochure from the Office of Planned Giving. It said, “Father, talk to your people. Encourage them when they die to leave their estates to the Church and the Foundation of the Diocese in Charlotte. Are you kidding me? All this money we send them is for the magnificent buildings and tons of staff they have. “Oh, we all work for the poor.” Ah, have you been to Albemarle? We are poor. “Can you leave us some money for the DSA, priest retirement, and administrative expenses?” Really? I’d be better off working with Tony Soprano. At least there I’d get some protection if I paid Tony 10%.
The second temptation of Christ was to throw Himself down and have the angels support Him. Religion is not a show. “Give them a show and they will come.” Remember Herod? Jesus came to him and said, “Herod, what. . . no show? Nothing?” We want a show even at Mass. “We come to Mass, and it’s the same boring stuff.” How you can call Christ boring is beyond me and is kind of blasphemous. I was about to have Mass in Statesville when somebody came up to me and said, “Father, we can’t start Mass. We don’t have a reader.” It will be alright; I’ve been doing this a long time. “But we need someone.” I’ve got this. It’s not a big problem. “Father, we have no music.” That’s alright . . .they didn’t have a band at the Last Supper either. And I’m pretty sure there also wasn’t one at Calvary. You’ve got me and the elements. That’s all we need. If you go to other churches, they sing six verses of songs. I believe that’s sinful because Church Law says that music should not interfere with the progress of the Mass. I offer Mass at Felon University (the prison), hospitals, and nursing homes and there is no music, and nobody sings. Although at the hospital I get some pretty odd reactions. I was saying Mass one day and this one guy said, “Father, so-and-so said I could be a priest.” Another said, “I’m a saint.” Well, not yet but you are headed toward it. The first step to sainthood is death. When I say Mass in nursing homes, they fall asleep . . . just like you. So, I’m used to it.
We all want a show. Instead of focusing on the Blessed Sacrament, we focus on the process and who does what. Some of the guidance I’ve received is silly. “People must take their proper role at the Mass.” Well, we have people, and we have Christ. Perfect. That’s all we need. There is nothing else. We cannot give greater meaning to Christ. Whether it is holding your hands up during the Our Father (a priestly gesture and should not be done) or joining hands, it is all made up stuff. It doesn’t make anything more meaningful. You cannot put more meaning into Christ. We can only receive Him with greater love through the Sacraments, prayer, and mortification. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is not a show – it’s an act of love.
We need to talk to everyone and be part of the political system.” No, you don’t. Everything can become political fodder. For example, I’m curious about why the Vatican has a representative at the United Nations, and I’d like to ask a few questions. “Excuse me. How much does that cost? Who pays for that?” If you are so concerned for the poor, knock it off. I don’t know if you have heard about it, but these days we have something called email. So, I think we can get the message out. We don’t need someone physically present in a dress to talk to people who don’t care for them. How many converts are you getting there, Bishop? Are you getting as many as Saint Theresa by tending to lepers in their disgusting condition? They don’t smell like they do on television. Ask any nurse. There’s not enough Lysol to cover that smell.
“We are called to be holy. By being holy, we can change things. We don’t change people by creating more laws. We have more laws than we know what to do with. It’s not that we have bad laws. We have laws we cannot enforce. I love reading the sheriff’s blog in the newspaper. “Felon caught with a gun.” Don’t you think they know they’re not supposed to have a gun? I don’t think they bought it legally at Walmart. Shocking! Don’t you think they know that possession with intent and a laundry list of other crimes is bad? “Oh! I didn’t know selling heroin was bad.” Public schools! We don’t change laws – we change hearts. We change hearts by Christ and not by someone with a badge and a gun.
It’s not about a show. It’s not about political power. It’s about the power of Christ. You do not change society by changing laws. We have more laws than we can possibly enforce and too many for lawyers to remember. But we can change society by first changing our hearts and then changing the hearts of others. True power in this world is not gained by holding a political office. It comes by having Christ in our souls and being holy. Then we can change things because we are changed. We bring that agent of change which is Christ to others. When our own hearts are changed, then we can influence others. We change hearts that way and not by changing laws. It can be very difficult when we try to do the right thing, and sometimes people won’t appreciate us. That’s okay. They didn’t appreciate Christ either. But you are “worthy to suffer for the name.” And just as they tempted Christ, they will tempt us. When you are tempted, say, “Hey, I must be doing okay because I’m being tempted like Christ was. Jesus came to change hearts. He did not create one piece of legislation. He did not call for conferences or senates. He called us to holiness and communion with Him. To walk with Him, to be one with Him and, especially during this season of Lent, to be one with Him on the Cross.
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.”
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry” (Matthew 4:1-2).
Our temptations aren’t likely to come to us from a mysterious figure in a deserted place. But often they revolve around the same basic human drives: hunger, emotional security, safety, status, ambition. Many of the stories told about St. Francis reveal his struggles with temptations of various kinds. The message of the Gospel today, like the message of Lent itself, is twofold: “Repent and believe the good news.” We are called to do both. It’s easy to think that the repenting is the hard part. But in all honesty, often it’s far more difficult to believe in good news. We know our weaknesses far better than we know our strengths.
—from the book Lent with St. Francis: Daily Reflections by Diane M. Houdek
Through a puppet show, Sarah and her friends remind you that God loves you and wants to show you the best way to live. That’s why he sent his only son, Jesus.
Click on link to watch:
https://www.dynamiccatholic.com/plus/blessed/first-reconciliation-2-4.html
“The Temptations”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
March 12 – 13, 2022
Gospel: Luke 9:28-36
Pop quiz: Do you know what hypostatic union is? I didn’t think so. Hypostatic union is the union of the two natures in Christ. Christ is one “Who” or one person and two “What’s.” We, however, have just one “what.” Our nature is human, and it’s the only one we have. Christ has two natures – one that is human and one that is divine. The human nature He took from the Blessed Mother was assumed and lost in His divine nature. That’s why in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, when I’m preparing the gift, you see me pour wine into the chalice and then one drop of water. That blood and water is a symbol of His human nature being assumed and lost into the divine nature of Christ. If that drop of water is not in there, it is not the proper matter, and the chalice cannot be transubstantiated, i.e., it cannot change into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. For the Sacrament to be valid, there must be proper matter and form. The proper matter consists of the wine and the drop of water. The proper form is to say the words that Christ said. If one of those two things is missing, the Sacrament is invalid.
Sometimes people complain that they no longer get the wine. Well, you never got the wine. When it was possible, and only in this country did it happen and probably won’t happen ever again, you were offered the Most Precious Blood of Christ. You were not offered the consecrated wine. You were offered the wine with water that had been transubstantiated or changed into the Most Precious Blood of our Savior. Anything else would be blasphemous. Priests were trained, unless they were sick during that time, to say the correct words. People have an appreciation for that because anything else would be blasphemous. Blasphemy is holding something sacred up for mockery or ridicule. During the transfiguration, our Good Lord exposed and made present to the three apostles His true nature in Christ. He lowered the veil of His humanity so that they could see some of His divinity. They could see on Earth what will happen in Heaven, and so can we. If you have any doubts about getting to Heaven, come see me and I’ll help you out. It’s my job.
Moses and Elijah were talking to God face-to-face as one man talks to another. There was no knowledge gap because, like God’s presence, Heaven is the eternal now. God has no time. They talked about the events about to happen in 10 days. So, how did Peter, James, and John know who Moses and Elijah were? Of course, Christ may have called them by name. But they were also enlightened and could see. It was a gift. One of the great miracles was the manifestation God when the apostles heard His voice, “This is my Son, the Chosen One.” It was no coincidence that this miracle occurred 10 days before the Passion. It was to prepare them for the scandal of the Passion. Our good Lord comes and gives us consolations although not as often as we would like them. He comforts us when we need it . . . sometimes before a great tribulation and sometimes afterward. I don’t get consolations as often as I would like. Maybe you do, but I don’t. I’m a real whiner in prayer. I don’t normally admit that in public, however I just did.
What happens after He gives us His consolation? The great temptation of the devil: “You are not doing something right, so God is allowing this to happen.” “He is punishing you.” “He withdrew Himself from you; therefore, you are bad.” And none of that is true. It’s the great lie of the devil. “If you prayed right, God would be with you all the time.” No. If you thought God was elevating you all the time, you’d be in a mental hospital. It’s not true. We do not constantly live in God’s consolation like what Peter, James, and John experienced. But we do have the consolation that He is always present to us. So, God will come to us every now and then, not as often as we want, but more often than we think. He comes to us to show His love. He loves us not because we’ve said the right word or combination of words in prayer. No. God comes and consoles us because He loves us. God comes to even the most hardened sinner. Why? Because He loves them too. His Son died on the cross for them too. God wants them to turn around and embrace Him. He did not make them to be condemned to hell. He made them, and all of us, so that we could know Him and love Him.
If you want more heavenly consolations, the tangible and non-blasphemous ones, pray for them. It couldn’t hurt. You can pray for anything you want; just don’t be discouraged if you don’t get it. But keep praying. I’m still not a Monsignor after 38 years in the priesthood, and I haven’t given up. I’ll be writing my Christmas card to the bishop on the back of a $100 bill. It’s the Rhode Island way.
Keep praying but be careful about the temptations of satan. Pray even if you don’t feel it. Feelings are so fickle and are not a basis of spiritual life. People say, “I don’t feel consoled” and “I don’t feel this or that.” I don’t care what you feel. Feelings are not reality. Reality is that God is always with us. Where else is God supposed to be other than with us? “I feel alone.” That’s a temptation. Where is your guardian angel? Your guardian angel is always with you. The Church is always praying for you. So, you are not alone. You are not unprayed for, and you are not unloved. That is another great temptation and an easy one for us to fall into because like Peter, James, and John, we want our heaven here on Earth.
Do not be discouraged if you don’t receive the consolations that you think you should have. It doesn’t mean you are bad. It doesn’t mean you are praying wrong. It doesn’t mean you have to give more to the church although that would be a good thing. . . you should do it anyway. Just saying! Right after Communion is the best time to receive certain gifts. We need and appreciate them. Remember when your parents let you walk to school all by yourself? You didn’t know that half the neighborhood was watching as you walked to school. You didn’t see the trooper behind the tree watching all the kids as they walked to school. You thought you were so grown up, right? No! The neighbors and the state troopers made sure you were safe and got to school okay. So do not be discouraged with your passions. Do not be discouraged with your ordinary walk in life or think that God is not with you. Because that is a lie.
How will you apply this message to your life?
You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to http://AnnunciationCatholicAlbemarle.com/ and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.” Sermon notes can also be found on the church Facebook page by searching for “Facebook Our Lady of the Annunciation Albemarle”
“Where is the Love?”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
March 5-6, 2022
Gospel: Luke 4:1-13
One of the great temptations that snares a lot of people because it sounds really good, besides bacon, is to do things for other people out of compassion. There is a lot of false compassion out there. “If you love me, you will do this for me.” “Oh, doctor, I hurt really bad. May I have some OxyContin?” That’s false compassion. Saint Luke recounts our Lord’s first three temptations. There are others, but these are the first three. With the first temptation of Christ, which happens to us in one form or another, the devil used false compassion. “People are bad because they lack stuff. They lack food. They lack education. They lack computers. They don’t have Facebook. They are poor, and they need stuff. If they had stuff, they wouldn’t be bad.” None of that is true. How many rich people have had abortions? In my own life, my mother’s family was very poor, and none of them went to prison. I take that back – my uncle went to prison, but he worked there. He was a Correctional Officer. The State of Massachusetts had him on work release for thirty years and finally told him he was too old and gave him his pension. He was from the Joe Cutrone School of Correctional Officers. He was a nice guy, and the murderers liked him. Give them some cigarettes, and they were happy. My cousin Philip was murdered, and they sent his murderer to the prison my uncle retired from. The inmate state employees there knew who he was. “We’ll take care of it as a favor.” They were going to take care of some business for him. My uncle told them, “No, no. Don’t do that.” That’s false compassion. Now, I go out to our local FU (Felon University), and there are doctors there, people with medical degrees, and lawyers. There are people there with advanced degrees and people with no degrees. There are rich people and poor people. People choose evil. If they don’t have a choice, they are put into a state hospital. They choose evil because they choose satan over Christ. It’s not a lack of anything. It’s a choice. Fat people go to prison. And believe it or not, inmates get fat in prison. So, it’s not a lack of anything. People are using false compassion when they say, “Let’s give all this charity to poor people, and they won’t be bad.” We have spent nine trillion dollars on various charities, but we don’t tell them about Jesus. Instead, we tell them how to work on a computer. I don’t have much computer knowledge, so I’m lucky that I know people.
The next temptation was all about power. Do you know who the most powerful person in the Church was? Saint Theresa of Calcutta. She wasn’t zealous for power, nor did she flaunt it. But look at the power of this little nun. She weighed about 120 pounds soaking wet with lead weights in her pocket. Which of our cardinals ever went up to the sitting president and vice president wagging their finger about abortion? Which one? Which one could have an audience with the Pope anytime she wanted? Which one spoke at the United Nations? Which one taught us how to love by living that love? Saint Theresa was the most powerful person in the Church. It’s not about getting into office, being ordained, having big titles after your name, or anything like that. I have titles after my name and some before my name. Whoopee! They mean nothing. They don’t even get me out of tickets anymore with these atheist cops down here.
There is power in love. It’s not political power, and it’s not power in the Church. “Oh, I have a position in the Church. I’m so and so!” Shut-up! Where is your love? When you are sitting with a sick person about to die, where is your love? “I’m in charge of programming.” You come with me, and we’ll see how that love in action does. I’ll have you throwing up in about an hour. That’s love in action. Come and take care of the sick. Sometimes, they’ll make it just inside the door before they catch a whiff of the smell. Ugh! What? Love is action. It’s not a position.
We don’t need to change any laws. We have more laws than we know what to do with. We can’t even incarcerate people because there’s no room for them. People want to change the Mass. They want to change the Sacraments. If you can do it better than Jesus, let me know. Now, husbands and wives . . . has your spouse ever told you they love you? I would hope so. Does that ever get old? Does it need to be changed? Does it need to be updated? Does it need to be made more relevant? Do you need a praise band going on there? Do you want some dancing down the hallway? We don’t need to change the Mass or the Sacraments. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a divine act of love, and it doesn’t get old. What gets old is our pride when we think we can make it better. During the Sacrifice of the Mass, what is Jesus saying? He is saying, “I love you. This is how much I love you.” That never gets old. It only gets old if you don’t have room in your heart to say to Jesus, “I love you too.”
How will you apply this message to your life?
You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to http://AnnunciationCatholicAlbemarle.com/ and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.” Sermon notes can also be found on the church Facebook page by searching for “Facebook Our Lady of the Annunciation Albemarle”