Tag: Transfiguration

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Sermon Notes – February 25, 2024 – “A Glimpse of Heaven”

“A Glimpse of Heaven”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

February 24 – 25, 2024

Gospel: Mark 9:2-10


2) After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And He was transfigured before them, 3) and His clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. 4) Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. 5) Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”  6) He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.  7) Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him.”  8) Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them.  9) As they were coming down from the mountain, He charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.    10) So, they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant.

We learn what Heaven is like by the transfigurations in the Gospel.  I could preach for hours on that subject.  Would you like me to preach for hours?  Before you respond, the pious answer is “Yes, Father.”   But I know what you are really thinking: “Come on old man.  I’m starving here!”  So, what is Heaven like?  Heaven is being in the presence of Jesus.  It’s not a place.  It’s a Who.  It is the presence of God.  Moses and Elijah were in the presence of God.  They talked about what would happen in the future, so they had knowledge of the future.  Remember that in Heaven everything is in the present.  God is always in the present because He is not subject to His own creation of time, the past, or the future.   Everything is present to God at once.  All time is present.   

How did the Apostles know they were talking to Moses and Elijah?  There was no Facebook back then.  There were no cameras or photographs.  So, like Moses and Elijah, their minds had been enlightened by a gift from God.  They knew Moses and Elijah.  They knew they were talking to Jesus.  So, what does that tell us about death?   It tells us there is forgiveness after death.  What did God say to Moses after he struck the rock three times?  “Because you did not believe in me. . . therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them” (Num. 20:6-13).   Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land, but where was he that day?  He was in the Promised Land.  So, there is forgiveness after death. 

Purgatory is the full expression of God’s love and mercy.  The Apostles wanted this joy to continue; however, Heaven is later and not here on Earth no matter what any bishop or Church deacon tells you.  “If we have just one more collection or one more ministry, we’ll have Heaven on Earth, and everybody will be happy.”  No.  We will never have Heaven on Earth.  That’s akin to a government official saying, “If we pass these great budgets and everything else, we’ll be all set, and everybody will be happy.”  Ahh, no.  You won’t have Heaven on Earth.  Heaven comes later.  If we are holy, we will have as much happiness as possible in this life.  However, full happiness does not come until we are with our Savior forever. 

Holiness has its own crosses.  Bishop Sheen had a television show.  He was a handsome man, eloquent, learned, and gave a great presentation.   Do you know what his daily diet consisted of?  Boiled chicken, graham crackers, and milk.  His stomach was that bad, but nobody knew.  Saint Theresa of Calcutta experienced “interior darkness,” but she was joyous.  Never mind all the crosses Saint John Paul II had as the Holy Father, but he was also shot.  Doctors say that the blood transfusions he received caused his Parkinson’s disease.  However, he suffered joyously for the salvation of souls.  One story about the Holy Father . . . he was a huge lover of classical music.  So, they had a world-renowned orchestra come in with some of the best maestros in the world.  After they finished playing one of his favorite pieces, the maestro turned around to look at the Holy Father and hoped that he liked it.  “Please like it!”  His Holiness was shaking and drooling because of his Parkinsons, but he gave the maestro a thumbs-up. 

Ten days before the Passion, God gave Peter, James, and John the great gift of consolation to prepare them for the scandal of the Cross.   God has given us consolation many, many times to help us endure our sufferings.  Consolations are a glimpse of Heaven.  Some consolations He gives us before we have great trials and some after.  And some just because God likes to give them to us because He loves us.  During that time when we are experiencing great trials and suffering, we don’t experience the consolation of Christ.  That’s hogwash.  “Oh!  I’m struggling!  My goodness!”  Grow up!  Just because we don’t feel the consolation of God and His presence, doesn’t mean He isn’t with us.  You cannot prove a positive with a negative. 

This is our opportunity to respond to His great gifts with acts of faith, hope, and love knowing that He is always with us.  Our guardian angel is always with us.  Mine is tired.  Just because we don’t feel consolation doesn’t mean anything.  This, indeed, might be a chance for us to console God.  How many of us have sinned so grievously against Him and don’t care?  We do not enjoy the times between consolations.  I would love to have them all the time.  But that’s not reality, and it’s the danger of a lot of spiritual programs.  “Pray this way while holding your mouth just right and standing on one foot, and you will receive consolation every time you pray.”  But that’s not true at all.  Look at Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.  God is never, ever away from us.  Between consolations, we make our act of faith that God is with us; our act of hope that He will bring us safely through our trials; and our act of love by turning our trials into acts of love for others.

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.”

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Sermon Notes – August 6, 2023 – Busy is Not Your Friend

Busy is Not Your Friend

 Father Peter Fitzgibbons

August 5 – 6, 2023

Gospel:  Matthew 17:1-9

In today’s Gospel, the transfiguration happened about 10 days before our Lord’s Passion.   The Lord gave Peter, James, and John this great gift to show them His power so that they would be strengthened and fortified for the scandal of the Cross . . . the Passion.  He showed them who He was. . .  true God and true Man.  Our Lord lowered the veil of His humanity to show them His divinity.   His face became like the sun.  The three apostles had a foretaste of Heaven.  They saw Moses and Elijah there.  And it begs the question . . . How did they know it was Moses and Elijah?   This happened thousands of years before Facebook, and there were no pictures.  So, how the heck did they know?   Their minds were enlightened in the presence of God.  Moses, Elijah, and others were discussing with our Lord events that were still to come so we will have knowledge of the future.  Remember, Heaven is outside of time.  There is no time in Heaven.  Everything is in the present at once because God is.  They heard the voice of God the Father call out, a theophany or the manifestation of God.  “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him.”   Peter offered to build three shelters – one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for the Lord.  Peter said he wanted that moment to go on forever, but it didn’t.    Do you know what is interesting?  If you go back to the Old Testament, Moses disobeyed God when he struck the rock two times.  And the Lord said, “You are not entering the Promised Land.”   And where was Moses that day?  He was in the Promised Land which means there is forgiveness after death.  So, Moses made it to the Promised Land. 

The great spiritual consolations our God gives us are never lasting even though we want them to be.  They only last in Heaven.   Now this is a grave thing about the spiritual life or spiritual direction.  I was thinking about laypeople who say, “I’m a Spiritual Director.”  Uh-huh.  I’m Doctor House because I have watched every show.  That qualifies me, right?  If you say this prayer and do this, you will always be happy.  Really?  Check with a qualified medical professional about adjusting your meds.   We are never always happy.  Remember in the Book of Acts, the apostles were thrown into prison.  Prisons back then were very different.  One, they didn’t have cameras; and two, guess what happened to them . . . they got what we call “an attitude adjustment.”   They had the living you know what beat out of them.  But they rejoiced because they were found worthy to suffer for the Lord.   Our Lord said, “You will suffer for Me.”  He prophesied that we would have many trials and tribulations.  Look at Saint Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.   He was shipwrecked three times, stoned, and scourged.  “Hey God, if this is the way you treat your friends, it’s no wonder you have so few!”   He did not have an easy time of it, but he kept going. 

There is a great temptation when our time to suffer comes and everything seems to go bad.  We don’t feel our prayers, we aren’t being listened to, and it’s the same darn thing day after day.  So, the spiritual life is not always marvelous.  It is more like “Oh, if only I could see God.”   How many of the apostles were in the Garden of Gethsemane?   Only one was at the foot of the Cross.  Yet, in three years they saw all the miracles – at least three risen from the dead.   Think about all the miracles our Lord did.  “Oh, if I had just one big spiritual moment, I’d never doubt again.”  That’s not true.  We are no better than the apostles.  Our good Lord’s consolations to us, His appearances to us, and His gifts to us come not when we want them, but when our Lord decides we need them or as a free act of love to let us know He is always there.  But we tend to forget.  We get wrapped up in our daily lives and events, and the crushing work of staring at the coffee pot and microwave willing them to work faster.    Sometimes, we are so busy that we overlook the obvious.  “I didn’t see the police officer sitting there.”   It’s a big black car marked “State Police.”  How could you miss it?   We have tunnel vision while driving.  Father Adrian van Kaam reminds us in his book that many times we are too busy and tend to overlook our Lord’s consolations.  Our Lord reminds us of His presence and His care in the ordinary, mundane, and trivial events in our lives.  That’s why it’s so important at the end of the day to do an examination of conscience.  Take some time to look back over the day, not to see what you did right or wrong, but to see what our Lord is trying to say.   “Hi.  I love you!  It’s Me.  I’m here.”  We overlook it all. 

A couple of years ago, I was going out to visit someone in the hospital.  As I was walking upstairs, a nurse was coming down them.  She asked, “Are you a priest?”   Yeah.   “I was just going to call you.”  Well, I saved you a dime.  “There is someone upstairs in ICU who is dying.”   I told the family that it was just by chance that I was in town and that I was in the stairwell when I met the nurse.  God loves this person who was passing so much that I just happened to be there to give them Last Rites.  It’s tiny little things like that which show how much God loves us, but we are so busy that we overlook them. 

God gives those moments to us because He knows how fragile we are.  The apostles were always filled with fear, and we are no different.  God always gives us reminders of His love.  Not huge ones because that would scare the you know what out of us, but tiny, little reminders and consolations that we often overlook.  Consoling moments sometimes just show up when we least expect them. God speaks to us about the most ordinary things.  Thank Him for them.  He is aware of our strengths, our pain, and our fear.  He has not left us. 

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.”

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The Catechism in a Year – Day 79 – Jesus’ Transfiguration and Messianic Acts

Together, with Fr. Mike, we explore both the mystery of Christ’s Transfiguration and the mystery of his messianic entrance into Jerusalem. We examine how the Transfiguration reveals that Christ’s death was a voluntary act, and that he is truly the “splendor of the Father.” Fr. Mike emphasizes the incredible parallel between Christ’s baptism and Transfiguration. That, on the threshold of his public life, we witness Christ’s baptism, and on the threshold of the Passion, we witness the Transfiguration. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 554-560.

Click on the link to play video: https://youtu.be/Rc30dQHmg7A

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Sermon Notes – August 8 – The Apostles Had a V-8 Moment

“The Apostles Had a V-8 Moment”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

 August 7 – 8, 2021

Gospel: John 6: 41-51

On Friday, the Church celebrated the Feast of the Transfiguration.  Ten days before His Passion, our good Lord took three of the twelve apostles – Peter, James, and John – up to the mountain to give them the final revelation of who He was …the final miracle before His Passion.  He did this to strengthen them for the trial that was to come.  On the mountain, Jesus lowered the veil of His humanity to show them His divinity.  Remember, Jesus was one Who and two What’s . . . one person and two natures.  The human nature that He took from the Blessed Mother was assumed into His divine nature.  On the altar, when I put one drop of water into the chalice with the wine, it symbolizes two natures in one person.  The wine is consecrated and turned into the Most Precious Blood on the altar.  We have a foretaste of what Heaven will be like. 

Now, the apostles saw Moses and Elijah, but how did they know it was them? There were no pictures.  There were no selfies back in the days of the Old Testament.  There were no statues.  So, how did they know?  Their minds were enlightened in the presence of God.  Moses and Elijah talked to our Lord like one man to another just as we will when we are in Heaven.  They talked about what would happen in future events.  How?  Because Heaven is the eternal now.  God said, “I who I am.”  He is the eternal now . . . no past and no future . . . the eternal present.  It’s a foretaste of His gift.  Our Lord gave the apostles this great gift to strengthen them for the terrible scandal of the cross.  And, what happened?  Even though they had seen three years of miracles and the revelation of who Jesus was, they all took off.  They had not comprehended the lessons.   Afterward, they realized that this is what He is.  They had a spiritual V-8 moment.

Our good Lord, as He did for the apostles, He does for us.  Before our great trials, we have a sense of God’s presence when He manifests Himself to us.  He also does that every now and then to remind us of His love.  Oftentimes, like the apostles, we miss it.  We are too busy, too wound up, and too distracted, so we miss it.  I read a book about 40 years ago by Father Adrian Van Kaam.  In the book, he said, “God speaks to us with ordinary signs like the wind and the stars, and we often miss it.  We are looking for something else.”  With these terribly ordinary signs that we miss, God is telling us that He loves us and is with us. 

During this big crisis we have right now, it may be comforting to think that in ages past it was much better.  Ahh…No.  You know why we think the past was better?  Because we didn’t live in it.  That’s why we think it was much better back then.  But it wasn’t   You weren’t there.  Name for me any time period since the beginning of the world that was much better.  You can’t, because there isn’t one.  Everybody has their crosses in this world.  We are much better off today except for our being so self-absorbed especially during this time.  Now that the Corona virus has mutated into the Delta variant and the Lambda variant, people are panicking.  “Oh my God! We are all going to die!”  Well, I hate to bust your spiritual bubble, but we are all going to die.  “Oh!  This is terrible!”   The Corona virus has a 99% survival rate.  Okay?  It’s much better than anything else we could possibly get.  When I work in the hospital, doctors often tell patients, “We can’t fix you.”  And, they panic.  You know, when you panic, you make wrong decisions.  Fear paralyzes you.  “But, the virus is out there!”  So, what are you going to do about it?  You will take the ordinary precautions and move on with life.  Do not be trapped by fear.  That’s a tool of the devil.  When you listen to his suggestions, it causes you to make bad judgements.   God is always present and giving you signs of His love.  That’s why I never stop the Mass when something happens. . .they are signs that God is with us.  Would I like to be sick?  No, I’d rather not.  I’m not a very good sick person.  I’m not a very good person, in general, but I’m really not a very good sick person.  Besides my personality disorder of being a pain, you know why?  Because I’m a soldier.  I can soldier my way out of this.  Ask Stump or Doc or anyone else who has served in the military.  When I had to undergo anesthesia for a couple of procedures, I thought, “I’m good. I can drive.”  I couldn’t walk, but I thought I could drive.  I’ll be fine!  Like a soldier, I do my job…a sign that God is with me. 

If you stare at something with intent, you will miss the obvious, because you are looking at something else. Keep in mind that every now and then, you will see something extraordinary. Remember that our Lord is constantly with us.  He is always present and desperately trying to get our attention.  Whether it’s through a sign by our Guardian Angel or the Blessed Mother, our Lord shows us that He is present and never far away and may even be right next to you.  God talks to us through people, places, and things.  I’m great at loving myself.  Sometimes, I wonder if God loves me as much as I love me.  I’m pretty sure He loves me more.  My vocation tells me that He does.  We can show human kindness to others through Corporal Works of Mercy.  We can act as Christ would have us act.  Perhaps, we can be nice while driving and let someone in.  Maybe, we can let someone go ahead of us in the checkout line at Wally-World or Harris Teeter . . . just ordinary, everyday things.  Showing extra courtesy is so extraordinary these days..  We can show courtesy not by just doing things, but by not doing things.  If someone cuts you off in traffic or is going ten miles below the speed limit or doing what I call “the slinky” . . . their speed goes from 40 to 58 to 25 to 52.  Yo, dude, you’ve got cruise control on that car.  Use it!   If it’s an older driver, you don’t know what’s going on with them.  They may be crackers, so you need to practice patience.  Say the Rosary.  Also, if they are really old people – if you can’t see them over the back seat – they are probably on their way to Florida.  They are like a Q-Tip driving a car.  All you can see is this puff of white hair over the seat.  But they may have just buried their husband.  They may have just buried their wife.  Wouldn’t we love for someone to show us extra courtesy?  We have our troubles too.  So, if we are willing, God can use our human nature, like He used the one He took from Mary, to show His love to the world and make it visible.

How will you apply this message to your life? Will you show human kindness to others through the Corporal Works of Mercy? 

 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 you are looking for a specific topic.

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Feast Day – August 6 – Transfiguration of the Lord

The Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord takes place on August 6th, an event mentioned in all three synoptic Gospels. After revealing that he would be put to death in Jerusalem, Jesus took the three disciples of his inner circle to the summit of Mount Tabor in order to reveal his glory to them. Peter, James, and John saw Jesus transfigured before them, radiant in the fullness of his glory as he truly was, the Son of God. Next to Jesus were Moses and Elijah as witnesses to Christ’s fulfillment of the Old Testament law and prophets. St. Matthew writes of the event by saying, “He was transfigured before them. And his face did shine as the sun: and his garments became white as snow.”

//Catholic Company//

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Sermon Notes – There’s No Apple Pie in Heaven (Darn It)

“There’s No Apple Pie in Heaven (Darn It!)“

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

April 10 – 11, 2021

Gospel:  John 20:19-31

You may remember my sermon on Holy Thursday that was so wonderfully entitled “When a one man band gets hit in the butt with a beer truck, the music stops.”  Our Lord gave the apostles and their successors the ability to carry on with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the ages so that the fruits He won through His death could be passed on.  He told the apostles if you forgive their sins, they are forgiven.  That happens every generation with every priest.  Any priest who says the Mass has the power to give these gifts and to forgive sins.  We have to hear the sins by the way.  Jesus told the apostles, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven, if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”  So, how do we know?  Because people tell us.  The sins we hold bound and do not offer forgiveness for are those you are not sorry for and those you are not going to try to stop.  If you come in and say you are living with two girlfriends as husband and wife, and you are not going to stop, I cannot forgive you because you are attached to the sin.  So, you have now heard part of the penance course. 

Also in the gospel, and the main point I want to get at, is that the transfiguration took place about ten days before the Passion.  Our Lord showed us what the saints are like in Heaven.  They are recognizable, and they know the future because Heaven is the eternal now.  We are in time, but Heaven is not.  Our good Lord shows us what the saints would be like after the resurrection of the body and the General Judgement should we pass that final exam.  The questions come from Matthew Chapter 25… I’ll give you a heads-up so you can prepare for it.  He shows us what it will be like and how to get there.  He shows us that we will have a body and that it will be recognizable and that it can move through walls.  “It’s a ghost!”  No, it’s not.  It has physicality to it.  Touch my hand.  Touch my feet.  In the gospel, Jesus asks for food, and He ate it.  Now, we won’t need food in heaven, which I find quite disappointing. My mother has been gone for several decades, and I was looking forward to her apple pie.  Even her sisters say they can’t bake like my mother did.  Thanks, a lot!  So, there will be no food in heaven, but we know that we will have our body with us.

Heaven is a place.  A physical body needs a place in paradise to be in the presence of God.  Our Lord also teaches us how we can get there.  Probe the nail prints in My hands and the spear marks in My side.  Bishop Sheen said that God will judge us by the resemblance of His Son in us.  He will look at us.  He will look at the three parts of man having suffered with My Son for the admission of sin for the sake of others.  He will look at the body, soul, and spirit.  Not everybody will have physical suffering to the extent Christ had, but everyone will have emotional or spiritual sufferings.  Some suffer greatly depending upon the time, the place, and the person.  This is what our God the Father will look for – to see the marks of His Son.  This is how we become like Jesus, God’s resurrected Child. 

We will have our body reunited to our soul.  Remember, the soul and the body cooperated with Christ, therefore they both will receive the reward.  The soul and body cooperated in sin, so they both need to do the punishment.  Our Lord not only showed us what Heaven would be like, He also showed us how to get there.  As Saint John said in his epistle, “If we love Him, keep His commandments.”   A lot of people forget that one part.   If you love Him, keep His commandments.  After all, His commandments are not burdensome.

How will you apply this message to your life?  Do you love Him?  Are you keeping His commandments?

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 you are looking for a specific topic.

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Sermon Notes – How Did They Know?

“How Did They Know?“

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

Feb 27-28, 2021

Gospel:   Mark 9: 2-10


We’ve heard this Gospel proclaimed year after year.  But, have you ever wondered how Peter, James, and John knew it was Moses and Elijah?  There were no pictures or artists that could paint them; there was no Facebook, no Tic-Toc, and no selfies.  So, how did they know?  You ever ask yourself that?  Remember, Moses and Elijah died a thousand or so years before the apostles showed up.  So, how did they know?  In the transfiguration, our good Lord gave the apostles, Peter, James, and John, a taste of what Heaven would be like…just a little taste.  They saw the glorified bodies of Moses and Elijah.  They knew it was Moses and Elijah.  They saw them with their eyes. They saw Heaven, and the people there were talking to God.  You will know people in Heaven…if you get there.  If you are concerned about that, come see me, and we can work it out.  But, you will know people in Heaven, and you will be able to talk to them about future events.  In Heaven, everything is now, because God is the Eternal Now and not the past, present, or future.  He is the Eternal Now.  He is present always.  So, you will know and be enlightened. 

There is forgiveness after death – in purgatory.  Moses was in the Promised Land; he was right outside Jerusalem.  God told Moses that he would never enter the Promised Land because he had sinned.  But he did.  So, there is forgiveness after death.  Our good Lord, in this vision, lowered the veil of His humanity to show the apostles part of His divinity.  They saw Heaven on Earth.  He gave them this great revelation of what Heaven is like to prepare and strengthen them for the scandal of the Passion which would happen in less than two weeks.  After all of the miracles they had seen, this was their final gift.  Now, all of us would like to receive consolation and great gifts from God.  We pray for them.  We look for them, and if we get one, we want more.  What are the gifts of consolation?  First of all, they don’t come as often as we’d like.  They usually come before our great trials or afterward as consolations. 

Heaven is only meant for after this life and not during, just as it was for the apostles.  Most of us would like to say, “If I had such a dramatic experience with God, I would have no problem believing and would never doubt the faith again.  I would go to confession more often.  I might even go to daily Mass occasionally.  I just need to be convinced.”  But, scripture is contrary to those statements.  Jesus had three years of public ministry.  How many people did the apostles see raised from the dead?  At least three.  Scripture says that not all of the miracles Jesus performed were recorded.  He fed 5,000 people, walked on water, cured lepers, and the apostles cast out demons.  The apostles saw all sorts of miracles, because they were there.  Yet, where were they ten days later? 

We are like the apostles.  We have these great gifts.  “Oh, I will never doubt again.”  Yes, you will.  We all do.  This is the struggle we have.  We are tempted to be disconsolate.  The devil will say, “Well, if you were better; if you were doing what you are supposed to do, what your Lord said to do,  you would always feel good.”  Blah, blah, blah.  That’s a bunch of spiritual fertilizer.  It’s not true.

Our Lord does not distance Himself from us.  He is always with us, we just can’t see Him.  I was driving up to the VA the other day.  I was doing 60 mph in a 55 mph zone, so I was cool.  From out of nowhere, this van comes up right behind me and passes.  Then, all of a sudden, I see the blue light special.  I didn’t see the trooper, but he was there.  You don’t see God, but He is always there. Your Guardian Angel is always with you.  Just because you don’t see Him, doesn’t mean He isn’t there.  You look for Him.  “I cannot find Him.”  But, He is there.  

You might look at someone, and tell them they look great.  But, a doctor might look at that same person, and tell them they don’t look so good.  The doctor has the eyes of a physician.  I have the eyes of a bozo.  My eye doctor says I’m not ready for a stick and a seeing eye quite yet.  But, it’s how we see it. 

Our Lord is always with us.  He is always giving us signs of His love and His presence.  Sometimes, we overlook consolations, because we are too busy to see them, or we are looking the other way.  Our Lord gives us great consolations. Maybe not as many as we would like, but as many as we need. They come and they go as our Lord sees fit.  Look for small consolations, because He is there.  Make sure you do not give up hope, and do not give in to despair.  You may worry and ask Him, “Lord, have you forgotten about us?  Do you see what is happening?”  Yes, I am here.  You cannot see Me, but I see you, and I am with you. 

How will you apply this message to your life?  Are you overlooking the signs of His love and His presence?

Father’s Afterthoughts…

While I was at the VA, I saw a nurse practitioner I know.  I said, “Doc, can I ask you a question?  She’s a medical professional.  She said, “Sure!”  “Doc, does this mask make me look fat?”  You have to make your own fun at the VA.

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 the page).  There is also a search box if you are looking for a specific topic.

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Minute Meditation – Your Shining Life is the Best Proof

Let’s try to talk about the Transfiguration here—although surely in vain, since this is one of those passages that refuses to be “talked about,” as Jesus himself commands when they descend from their mountaintop experience. The stage is fully set for encounter and for divine intimacy. The “apparition” includes the two symbolic figures of Judaism—the law and the prophets—and the two halves of life—Moses and Elijah. Then Jesus appears between them “in dazzling white” that is always the inclusion of everything, all colors, as it were. After this awesome and consoling epiphany, there is clear mention of “a cloud that overshadows” everything. We have what appears to be full light, yet there is still darkness. Knowing, yet not knowing. Getting it, and yet not getting it at all. Isn’t that the very character of all true Mystery and every in-depth encounter?

The verbal messages are only two: “Beloved Sonship” and “Don’t talk about it.” Clearly Peter, James, and John experienced Jesus’ beloved sonship, but also their own—in being chosen for such a mountaintop moment. Peter’s response is the response of everyman and everywoman, “How good it is to be here!” yet it also expresses an emotion that is described as being “overcome with fear or awe”—exactly what Lutheran theologian Rudolf Otto called the “mysterium tremendum,” wondrous fascination and attraction together with a stunning sense of one’s own littleness and incapacity, both at the same time! That is what holy moments always feel like: I am great beyond belief and I am a little dot in the universe. This experience only needs to happen once, just as it did for Peter, James, and John. That is enough. It will change everything. It is available to all, and I believe, offered to all, at one time or another. You cannot program it, but you can ask for it and should expect it. You will never be able to talk about it, nor do you need to. Your ordinary shining life, different now down in the valley, will be its only and best proof. 

—from the book Wondrous Encounters: Scriptures for Lent
by Richard Rohr, OFM

//Franciscan Media//

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Rediscover the Rosary – Luminous Mysteries: The Transfiguration of Jesus

What is the problem in your life? Are you allowing Jesus to be the solution? Or are you looking at it from an earthly perspective and trying to solve it with your own might? Jesus wants to show us what is possible. God is constantly trying to help us to see possibilities that we don’t see because of our blind spots, low self-esteem, attachment to a particular path or outcome, and other flaws and limitations. Most of the time we don’t see many of the options and possibilities that exist for us in a situation. God 

wants you to see things differently. He wants you to see all that you are capable of doing, being, and becoming. With this new sense of yourself, he wants you to live differently.

Today: Pray four decades of the Rosary.