416 N 2nd St, Albemarle, NC, 28001 | (704) 982-2910
Have you ever wondered, “who was the first saint?”
From common-criminal to canonized saint, Matthew tells the beautiful and soul-stirring tale of the penitent thief, the first saint. This is the story of the crucifixion like you’ve never heard it before.
St. Dismas (1st c.) is the name Church tradition has given to the “Good Thief,” one of the two criminals who were crucified alongside Jesus Christ on Good Friday. All we know about St. Dismas is what is mentioned of him in the Gospels: “Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.’ The other [St. Dismas] however, rebuking him, said in reply, ‘Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.'” Then St. Dismas, as an expression of his faith in Christ as the Messiah, said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus replied to St. Dismas, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:39-42). The feast day of St. Dismas is March 25.
//The Catholic Company//
“It’s Not a Spectator Sport“
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
March 13 – 14, 2021
Gospel: John 3: 14-21
Jesus said that the Son of Man will be lifted up. He also said, “When I am lifted up from the Earth, I will draw all men to myself.” And, He does. However, He doesn’t draw people up to Him on the cross just for them to say, “Gee, that must hurt.” This is not a spectator sport. Rather, our good Lord reaches down from the cross and says, “Take My hand and come up to Me, because this is the way to salvation. Join Me on the cross.” Paul finally learned that lesson. He wrote, “Now, I rejoice in sufferings for Your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, that is, the Church.” Our sufferings, all the crosses we carry and the crosses we carry for others are redemptive. They are not only for ourselves, but for others. We join Christ in the sacrifice like the good thief on the cross. We unite ourselves to Him, so that He will raise us up. You do that when you make your Morning Offering: “I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day.” All those crosses God allows us to carry…Ugh. I don’t know about you, but I’m not crazy about mine.
We also join Christ in the sacrifice during the Mass by true and active participation. So, what is true and active participation? It’s not those who sing the loudest, pray the loudest, or run a ministry. Whatever that is. The term “ministry” really means nothing. It only applies to Holy Orders, but it has been so overused, it means nothing now. True and active participation is the giving of your human nature to the priest who acts in the person of Christ on the altar. He takes your human nature in the offertory, immolates them, and makes them one with the sacrifice of Christ. He immolates them on the altar as part of the sacrifice of God’s love for us. That is true and active participation. This is how we unite ourselves and become one with the sufferings of Christ just as the Blessed Mother, Saint John, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala did at the foot of the cross…especially the Blessed Mother…her human nature was suffering for Him. For us, it’s only intellectual, so it doesn’t matter whether you feel it or not. That has nothing to do with its effectiveness. However, it’s only when you do that you are one with Christ on the cross.
There will always be temptations from the cross. Just as Christ was tempted many times to come down from the cross, we will be too. What were the first three temptations? “All religion is just a show.” “If you have good music, a praise band or whatever, people will come.” Our Lord says this is not a show. This is an act of love. “Well, you know with religion, you gotta give people food and stuff.” “Everybody will be happy if they take your stuff and give it to somebody else.” “It’s all power.” “It’s all Socialism.” “True religious charity is just giving them bread…they will be fine.” How many fat people are there in prison? A lot. It’s not that they lack food. Their problem is that they practice evil. Now, there are a lot of people outside of prison who practice evil, but they haven’t been caught yet. It’s all about power. “Well, if we had fairer laws, then we wouldn’t have any problems.” That’s not true. We have more laws than lawyers know about. Oh, by the way, drugs are illegal. Did you know that? Apparently, a lot of people don’t. Read the sheriff’s blotter report, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Another temptation is to deny the divine message. You see, we are much brighter in the 21st Century. We know better, because we are so enlightened and so highly educated. We can’t write in cursive, but we are really educated. We know what God’s word truly means. Before, they weren’t too sure, because they were all stupid. When Christ proclaimed that marriage was between one man and one woman unless separated by death, everyone left Him except the 12 apostles. People didn’t like that. Also, when Peter tried to sway Christ from going to the cross, He called Peter, “Satan.”
The third type of temptation is the Eucharist. “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” “Oh, He didn’t really mean that.” That’s what He said, and He meant it. The words really mean that. Everyone left Him except the 12 apostles. The last temptation was, “Come down from the cross, and we will believe in you.” In His heart, Christ was saying, “You don’t understand. You’ve forgotten your education.” “If the Church changes its laws, everyone will come back.” Really? We have Mass in English. We have Mass in Spanish (Spanglish). We have Mass on Saturdays at 5 pm. We have Mass on Sundays at 9:30 and 12:15. We have confessions face-to-face, although not here, because it’s not safe for the priests anymore. So, where is everybody?
Temptations in one form or another will assail us. “Am I doing something wrong because I’m tempted?” No, you are doing something right, because you are tempted. Our Lord says, “Come up to Me. Come up. I am trying to give you eternal happiness. I am trying to give your soul peace.” So, we have a tug of war with Christ on the cross. He wants to pull us up, and we want to pull Him down. Instead, we can unite ourselves in the sacrifice of Christ in the Morning Offering prayer, resignation to our exterior and interior crosses, and resignation of the will…the most difficult cross. In the midst of temptation, the good thief on the cross accepted the suffering for his sins, and was united with Christ. What did Christ tell him? “Today, you will be with Me in paradise.”
How will you apply this message to your life? Will you unite yourself in the sacrifice of Christ by saying the Morning Offering prayer? Will you accept your interior and exterior crosses and join Christ in His suffering?
You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to https://annunciationcatholicalbemarle.com/ and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes. From a cell phone, click on “Blog” then “Menu” and then “Categories” (located at the end of page). There is also a search box if looking for a specific topic.
“Our Blessed Lord, bound like a thief, is conducted through the public streets of Jerusalem accompanied by a large body of soldiers who indulge their rage and hatred by ill-treating Him in every possible way, and surrounded by a multitude of people who overwhelm Him with insults and maledictions, and rejoice over His misfortunes. Jesus advances, His feet bare, and His strength utterly exhausted by all His mental and bodily sufferings, offering up the ignominy and tortures He is now enduring, to His Eternal Father, for the salvation of my soul. The soldiers render His position still more painful, by inviting people to approach and see their renowned prisoner, while Jesus proceeds on His way in the midst of them, with a humble demeanor and with downcast eyes, to teach us what value we should set on the esteem and honor of the world, and the applause of men. But a few days previously Jesus had passed through these same streets, applauded and honored by the crowd as the Messiah, and now, abandoned even by His disciples, He is followed only by perfidious enemies who seek His death, and unite in deriding and insulting Him as a malefactor, and the last of men. Such is the duration of the honors and praises of the world! Learn hence to seek the good pleasure of God alone, to labor for the acquisition of a right to the immortal honors of Paradise, and to practice patience under humiliation, from the example of Jesus.”— Fr. Ignatius of the Side of Jesus, p. 79-80
//The Catholic Company//