Tag: Vietnam

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Sermon Notes – February 23, 2025 – “We Have No Idea”

                                                             “We Have No Idea”

                                       Father Peter Fitzgibbons

                                       February 22 – 23, 2025

Gospel:  Luke 6:27-38


We are called to love our good Lord.  But love is more than just a feeling.  People say, “Oh, I love God.”  Good for you.  So, what do you do about it?  Our Lord said, “If you love me, keep My Commandments.”  Love demands action.  It’s through that action that you grow more in love with our Lord.  When we have God in our souls, we evangelize.  But it’s not always a happy thing.  Sometimes, it is really difficult.  As I like to say, “I’m not much, but I’m all I think about.  It’s all about me.”   We must die to self to live for others.  I’m giving you a little homework.  Read the short story by O. Henry, “The Gift of the Magi.”  Look it up.  Love grows when we die to self, and our Lord tells us how to do that.  If someone comes up to me and slaps me in the face, we are going to have words.  He’s not going to be happy.  But we are not supposed to do that.  If someone insults you and calls you a name, what’s your first reaction?  A hand or arm gesture?  “Do you know who I am? Do you know who you are talking to?”  They cursed Christ, and if they curse you, be thankful.  “Hey, I’m doing good.”  All those things you find distasteful . . . do those things.  Lend with no expectation of getting it back.  If a man wants you to walk a mile with him, walk two.   Those are steps that are good for your heart.  If someone wants your cloak, give them your shirt as well.  These things are hard, but that’s what love is.  It is the renunciation of self and living for others.  The obsession of self must end, and that is very hard to do.  Obviously, you love God because you are here at Mass on Saturday at 5:00.  You could have stayed home and done something else, but you are here.   You sacrificed to be here today. 

Love is proven in our lives by imitating Christ, by being compassionate, and by our long-suffering.  Regarding his illness, Saint Paul wrote, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for Your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking inChrist’s afflictions for the sake of His body, that is, the Church” (Colossians 1:24).  Paul said, “I am bearing this for the sake of Christ and the redemption of souls.”  That is what we do when others persecute, hate, and utter every kind of slander against us.  We forgive them.  Now, if you are thinking, “I cannot forgive,” yes, you can.  You just don’t want to.  Forgiveness is an act of the will.  God never said, “Well, if you feel like it, forgive somebody.  No, no, no.  We forgive because God forgives us. 

Sometimes, it is uncomfortable to do what our Lord asks.  We have a fallen nature from original sin, from the sins we have committed since our baptism, and from the sins that others have committed against us.  We have a fallen nature, so we are not always highly motivated to do good.   We make a choice to love.  That’s when we grow in love the most.  It’s also when we are the happiest.  We have a joy that nobody can take from us because we are doing what our Lord asked.  Notice that our Lord never said, “Do this if it feels good.”  He never said that because He didn’t care how you felt.  Do the right thing, and then you will feel better.  Feelings are transitory, very much so.  Do the right thing.  Go over and above.  Love has no limits.   Christ said, “No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).  And that is true. 

I always enjoyed watching the people in front of the courthouse.  I haven’t seen them lately, but they would be outside the courthouse yelling, “Jesus is Lord” and “You are going to die and go to hell.”  I found them amusing and appreciated their zeal.  The way they screamed showed they had great lung power.  Their oxygen stats must have been off the chart.  They would scream and carry on, and I would think, “Decaf folks. You need to mellow out.”  I’d really like to peek at their medication chart; they may have been short of a pill or two.  Everybody who doesn’t believe their particular brand of Christianity is going to hell.   Really?  Is God that unjust?  “You are all going to hell.”  How do you know?  Christ said, “Judge not, that you may not be judged” (Matthew 7:1). 

In my work at the VA, I have met a lot of men who served in Vietnam.  I talked to one man who said, “I had a couple of tours in Vietnam.”  I said, “Really?  Were you homesteading there or what?”   He said, “I took a 2nd and 3rd tour so my younger brother wouldn’t have to go.”  If you have ever been overseas doing the things those men did, you know that it takes a hell of a toll on your life.  That man may not be the staunchest Christian, and I may not see him at Sunday Mass, but don’t you think that what he did would cover a lot of things in his spiritual personnel record?   But instead, you are saying that this guy is condemned to hell because he doesn’t share your religion.  How can you say that?  You do not know this man.  They say, “You’re going to hell because you don’t believe my particular brand of Christianity.”  Shut up.  You don’t see the crosses we carry.  God judges us. 

Now, you may be thinking, “Father, you are slim, good-looking, and bright.”  Thanks, but neither of those things is correct.  You don’t know the crosses I’m carrying.  I’ve been a priest for over 40 years, and I’m still not a monsignor.  That really hurts!  We have no idea about the suffering other people are enduring.  When I talk to people, I ask them how they are doing.  They often say, “I’m fine.”  I love that word “fine.”  Do you know what it means?  It’s a medical term, and you wouldn’t like the meaning because it’s a bit rude.  We all struggle with our crosses.  Some are visible, and some are invisible.  We have no idea of the heavy burdens other people carry.  So, we don’t make judgments.  But what we can do is pray for them.  Why?  Because we appreciate it when people pray for us.

 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.

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Sermon Notes – March 24, 2024 – “The Sound and Smell of Love”

“The Sound and Smell of Love”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

March 23 – 24, 2024

Gospel: Mark 14:1 – 15:47

We have a young man in our parish who is in his fourth week at Paris Island, and you know, I may be enjoying it a bit too much!  “Oh, Father, it’s so hard there!”  No, not really.  It’s unpleasant, but it’s not that hard.  Your worst day at Paris Island is infinitely better than your best day in Vietnam, Iraq, or Afghanistan.  It’s not that bad.  You won’t get hurt unless you do something extremely stupid.  However, never underestimate the power of people to be stupid.  We can become, what one writer says, overly sensitive, which is a grave character defect.  We are sensitive about some things but not sensitive about others.  I get these emails at the Veterans Hospital (VA) about proper pronoun usage.  “Oh!  You called me by the wrong pronoun!”   Well, I thought ‘jerk’ fit you pretty well.  Do you know what I’ve been called in my life?  In the military anything soldiers said that was prefaced with ‘sir’ and that ended with ‘sir’ was appropriate, and I would take it.  “Sir, you are a bleeping idiot, Sir.”  Understood.  Very good.  Carry on. 

“Oh, oh, the opera of anxiety!”  Really?  All that drama with the psychiatric condition you have.   Really?   We are highly sensitive about the wrong things.   Today you heard a short recitation of the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.   For the Roman soldiers, this was just another day at the office.  They did this all the time.  They were trained professionals, just ask Saint John.  There was nothing special about Jesus’ death except that the Roman soldiers recognized it at the end.  Until then, Jesus was just another schmuck who had been sentenced to death, and they were just doing their job.  They did three that day; it wasn’t a big deal.  But we are here, and we are sensitive to His Passion. 

Now, I’m old, and I’m lucky to be so because a lot of people have wanted to kill me during my life and not just my family.   Go to YouTube and watch “Jesus Christ Superstar.”  One part of the story is about Pilot counting the lashes that were inflicted on our Lord during the scourging at the pillar.   One thing about lashing – when you are hit with a belt, it stings.  However, the Romans used a flagellum that had nail spikes attached to each cord which would dig into and rip away the flesh.  As a result, the wounds would not coagulate with the blood, so the bleeding would continue.  Eventually, you would die of suffocation because you lacked the strength to hold yourself upright.  That was one of the things the Romans inflicted upon people, and it was not a fun way to go.  That is suffering.  It’s not when someone hurts our feelings, “Oh, my goodness!  I’m so hurt!  They didn’t call me by my proper pronoun!”  Grow up!   You have no idea about hurt and about pain.  If you read the Passion, and I especially like ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’, you get an idea of what happened and begin to understand the pain that Christ endured.  After our Lord’s Passion, we cannot say, “My sin only hurts me.  I don’t hurt anyone else, just me.”  Uh no.  “I have no sin.”  Then you don’t need to come to church.  Don’t anybody start running for the doors! 

Love has a sound.  Think about the Passion and meditate on it.  The sound of love is the drip, drip, drip of blood that flowed from the sacred wounds of our Lord on the Cross and onto the ground.   That is the sound of love being poured out for us.  Mary was the first one to be washed in the blood.  Love also has a smell.  It is the smell of blood.  At our Lord’s Passion, they smelled, they heard, and they saw divine love.  This is the price of sin that we try to minimize so much.  Not only the white lies – the color coded sins which I never studied – but any sin.  This is how much God loves us. 

Look at the Passion, and you will see the price of love.  All that misery translates into what we need . . . His love for us, and the love to restore us to God’s friendship.  Do you have any idea of the agony He endured?  The Romans were pretty good at their jobs and intentionally prolonged death.  Think about the agony our good Lord endured when He didn’t have to, but He did so out of love for us.  Look at the Crucifix and that is how much God loves us.  It’s what our sins have caused.  That’s the price of sin that our Lord paid for us because we could not.  Think about how much we have taken for granted the depth of our sins and the magnitude of His love. 

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.”