There Is No Other Name (2017)
Fr. Martin Fuchs´s sermon on 17th December 2017, Prague,
Czech republic
***
Sermon for the third Sunday of Advent
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost. Amen.
A Chinese who converted to the Catholic Faith explains
using visual language his way to Jesus Christ.
“I was careless and I fell into a deep pit. I tried to
escape from this trap with the greatest effort but I failed. I could not pull
myself out by my own efforts.”
Finally, Confucius, the famous Chinese master of
wisdom, passed by. He said to me: “My son, if you had better obeyed my lessons,
you would now be in a better position.”
I answered: “I know that but it does not help me now.”
Confucius, however, did not move a finger and went on
his way.
A short time later, another man looked over the edge
of the pit. It was Buddha, the chief master of Buddhism.
He solemnly crossed his arms and explained to me: “My
dear son, when you cross your arms and shut your eyes, you will enter into a
peaceful state of complete harmony. This is the only way to reach Nirvana, the
eternal nothing, the dissolution of all things.” When I looked up again, the
Master had already disappeared.
Then the famous prophet of Islam, Mohammed, approached
with a firm step. He looked into the pit and cried into it: “Hey, don‘t make
such a noise! Be quiet! Certainly, you are in a miserable situation. Are you
scared? Do not fear! Look! This is the will of Allah that you have fallen into
the pit. Remember that! Who can resist the will of the Almighty God, Allah? Who
is allowed to question his decision?“ Mohammed was speaking to me for quite a
long time but he did not care about me.
Now I heard a voice quite different but very
agreeable. “My son!“ As I looked up, I recognized the face of Jesus Christ. No
reproach came over his lips. He looked sovereignly, and in a kind and trustful
manner. Immediately, he came down to me, took me on his shoulders and brought
me back up onto the solid ground. He gave his life to save my life. That is why
I became a Catholic.
Dear faithful!
There is only one Saviour, Jesus Christ. That is why
the angel of the Lord appeared to saint Joseph in his sleep saying: “Joseph,
son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is
conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son: and
thou shalt call his name Jesus. For he shall save his people from their sins.”
(Mt. 1:20-21)
Confucius, Buddha, and Allah cannot save us from the
state of sin, they are the idols. That is why they have nothing to do with
Advent, the special time to prepare for the birthday of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Jesus is our Saviour, He was announced immediately
after Adam’s and Eve’s sin. He was predicted by several prophets. And shortly
after His birth, an angel appeared to the shepherds and said to them: “Fear
not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all
the people: For, this day, is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in
the city of David. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the infant
wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger.” (Lk 2:10-12)
Later on, Jesus was speaking to a Samaritan woman and she told him that
she knew about the Messiah, who is called Christ, and that He will come and
teach them all things. And Jesus said to
her: I am he, who am speaking with thee. (Jn 4:26)
Jesus called himself on several occasions the “Son of man”, the title
used by the prophet Daniel for the coming Saviour; for example, when he healed
the sick of palsy. “But that you may know that the Son of man hath power on
earth to forgive sins, (then said he to the man sick with the palsy,) Arise,
take up thy bed, and go into thy house.” (Mk 2:10-11)
The Pharisees knew exactly that the Son of man is the Messiah.
And when Jesus stood in front of the High priest, Caiphas said to him: “I adjure thee by the living God, that thou
tell us if thou be the Christ the Son of God.” Jesus saith to him: “Thou hast
said it.“ (Mt 26:63)
Jesus is our Saviour. He is the only way to heaven.
There is no other way. He taught it explicitly: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father,
but by me.” (Jn 14:6-7)
Later this was the confession of the Apostles: “For there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby
we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) “Extra ecclesiam non est salus – Outside of the
Church, outside of Jesus Christ, there is no salvation.”
This is a very serious fact that Jesus ordered to preach it all over the
world. Therefore it was and must be the teaching of the Catholic Church all the
time.
“JHS – Jesus hominum salvatorem – Jesus is the
Redeemer of men”, is sometimes written on altars. Without condemning people of
other religions who have not sufficient knowledge but as Catholics we must
reject the false religions and wrong philosophies.
Since Vatican II, Catholic churches are more and more
used for the Protestant, Buddhist and Muslim services. Already in 1965 the
Cathedral of Cologne was given to the Muslims to finish their Fasting month
Ramadan, in 1986 the Buddhists were allowed to use saint Peter’s in Assisi and
a few weeks ago the Protestants were allowed to use the Cathedral of Brussels
to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Luther’s Reformation.
It was very brave act of the young people who prayed
the rosary in this cathedral at that moment. Even at the risk of being taken
away by the police.
Catholic churches belong to Catholics and they must be
used for Catholic preaching and the Catholic sacraments.
If the Catholic faithful have no Catholic sermons in a
Catholic church and if they cannot receive Catholic sacraments there, then it
is useless to go to such a Catholic church.
In May 2010, Mrs. Kässmann, a protestant woman pastor,
was allowed to give a sermon in the cathedral of Munich, the largest Catholic
church of Munich. She said: “The birth control pill is a gift from God.” That
is the logical consequence of allowing non-Catholics to preach in Catholic
churches.
Dear faithful!
We live in crazy times! We must keep the Catholic Faith,
we must confess the Catholic Faith and preach the Catholic Faith! Our Saviour
lies in the manger.
Let us thank Him for His coming, for His graces! Let
us prepare for Christmas by praying and by reading the Holy Scripture, by
making sacrifices and by a good confession.
We often meet three persons during Advent who will
help us prepare for Christmas: the prophet Isaiah, the last prophet of the Old Testament,
saint John the Baptist, and Our Lady with Her Immaculate heart. The prophet
Isaiah strengthens our faith when we read his prophecies about the Saviour (his
writings are called the 5th Gospel because no
prophet in the Old Testament has written so often, so much and so exactly about
the life of the coming Redeemer), saint John helps us with his penance to make
a lot of sacrifices and Our Lady will pray for us to get a pure heart by making
a good confession!
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the
Holy Ghost. Amen.
