“There is Only One Truth”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
April 13 – 14, 2024
Gospel: Luke 24:35-48
35 Then they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised Him at the breaking of bread. 36 They were still talking about all this when He himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you!’ 37 In a state of alarm and fright, they thought they were seeing a ghost. 38 But He said, ‘Why are you so agitated, and why are these doubts stirring in your hearts? 39 See by My hands and My feet that it is I Myself. Touch Me and see for yourselves; a ghost has no flesh and bones as you can see I have.’ 40 And as He said this He showed them His hands and his feet. 41 Their joy was so great that they still could not believe it, as they were dumbfounded; so He said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ 42 And they offered Him a piece of grilled fish, 43 which He took and ate before their eyes. 44 Then He told them, ‘This is what I meant when I said, while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and in the Psalms, was destined to be fulfilled.’ 45 He then opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and He said to them, ‘So it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that, in His name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses to this.
I looked this up: there are over 12,000 Protestant denominations. Protestants say they believe in Scripture; however, they must be reading different books than Catholics. God wants us to find our truth. Philosophically, there can be only one truth. There is one God and one truth. There is no different faith for Yankees than there is for people in Aquadale. There is not a different faith for people with different skin tones. We have only one faith and one truth. The Catholic Church teaches the truth.
I get these questions all the time. I see a group of Baptist guys on Mondays at Parkway House. They are good old boys, and I always go up and talk to them. Some of them will start quoting Scripture and ask if I am familiar with it. I feel like saying, “Dude, see this collar? I went to school and, believe it or not, I earned a master’s degree. I really did study, and I have a diploma to prove it.” So yeah, I think I know Scripture. I have people coming up to me all the time trying to prove me wrong. The Catholic Church wrote the Bible, so I know what it says and what it means. “Well, I don’t think it means that.” Do you argue with your doctor too? There is one truth. The Church teaches the truth, and we call that tradition. Truth is also contained outside of Scripture. In John’s gospel, he admitted that Scripture does not contain everything (John 21:25). So, we have the whole truth that the Church has taught from the beginning.
We have all sorts of people who have been “gifted” by the spirit, and they claim, “truth to power.” Uh-Huh. When someone uses that phrase, I always say, “I’ll get someone to check your meds because it sounds like you are on a real ego trip.” In the Catholic Church, those people have fallen by the wayside. They’ve all gone bye-bye. They say, “We have a new and better way. Christ told us so.” How’s that working out for you? Probably not really well. If we stick to what Christ said, we get what He promised: peace and joy in our souls, all the happiness that is possible in this life, and eternal life in the next. We have an inkling of what Heaven is like.
A lot of people say, “I don’t care what happens to my body; the body isn’t important.” Yes, it is. Our Lord said, “See by My hands and My feet that it is I Myself. Touch Me and see for yourselves.” At the end of time, we will have our bodies back . . . our souls will be reunited with our bodies. Nothing imperfect can be in the presence of God. There is only a temporary separation of our soul and body, so at the end of the world, we will receive our bodies back to serve our Lord and love Him. We will be reunited with our bodies and rejoice in Heaven. Hopefully, I won’t be eating fish! Please, Lord!! Although I am sure He will make me like it. This is our future. We will have our bodies back and not the weak and frail ones we have now, but bodies made perfect. We will be able to recognize each other in Heaven because the Apostles recognized our good Lord. If we do as we are told, that is our future. If not, let me know how that works out for you.
How will you apply this message to your life? _________________________________________
You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to AnnunciationCatholicAlbemarle.com, clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and 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.”
