Saint Margaret Anglican Church: Latest News at St. Margaret

First Sunday after Christmas, December 29th, 2024

In the Fourth Chapter of the Letter to the Galatians, we hear the following: "God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." It is never good to be "full of ourselves." In other words, we should never think too highly of ourselves than we ought, but when you consider the fact that God thinks so highly of His creation that not only did He send His Son into the world to save us, but that as a result we are now considered "sons" and "daughters" of God, the honour is beyond comprehension! Think about it, God has chosen you . . . He has redeemed you . . . He has made you His very own child! The only thing that we have to do is to respond and then act accordingly. So often, when we are out and about, we may see a child in a store who is throwing a fit. And the first thought to our mind is: "What an ungrateful child" or "spoiled child." And, yet, when it comes to the spiritual life, are we not "spoiled children" to Our Heavenly Father? Perhaps, we ignore God completely. Perhaps, we only approach God when we want something. Maybe, we don't hear God speaking to us because we are too far away and not paying attention. We have to always remind ourselves on a daily basis the dignity and honour that God has given to each one of us by being called "son" or "daughter" of the Almighty.

Join us at 10:30 AM on Sundays at St. Margaret church. We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Please consider joining us for Mass. Come hear the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Consider setting aside an hour of your week where you can dedicate that time solely to God. Come hear the Word of God. Listen to God speaking to you directly and hear what He has to say for YOU! Receive the Precious Body and Blood at Communion time to be strengthened and nourished for your journey!

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Fourth Sunday in Advent, December 22nd, 2024

"REJOICE in the Lord always . . . " (Philippians 4:4)

Have you ever tried to do something "non-stop"? In other words, you kept doing the same thing over and over and over. It's gets tiring after a while, doesn't it? And after a while, we get worn out from doing whatever we are doing. Whether it's going to always working on reports or always working without any days off. Whether it's always fixing the same thing over and over and over again. And yet St. Paul is telling the Philippians to "Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS!" As human beings, we rejoice when we are happy. When our favorite sports team scores late in a game and wins, we rejoice. When we are with good friends that we haven't seen for a while, we rejoice. We rejoice when we get a raise at work. We rejoice when a difficult project gets completed. And yet most people don't constantly rejoice, do they? Sometimes our favorite sports team doesn't win the game. Sometimes we get overwhelmed at work. Sometimes we get bad news. Sometimes we get angry. Do we rejoice in these situations? No. And yet St. Paul reminds the Philippians . . . as he does us . . . . to "Rejoice in the Lord always!" The key is to set our mind to rejoicing no matter what. The key is to remind ourselves that life is sometimes good . . . . sometimes it's bad. Sometimes we are healthy, other times we get sick. Sometimes we get a raise at work. But sometimes we get laid off from a job. Again, life is not one constant, straight path where nothing ever changes and always stays the same. If it was that way, it seems to me that it would be somewhat boring. Sometimes things get difficult in life. But if we remind ourselves that God is always with us, even in the bad times, then we can rejoice. Even in the times that things seem the darkest, as long as we keep our minds focused on God being with us, we know that we will get through whatever faces us. God loves us more than we will ever know. How do I know this, you ask? I know it because He sent His only begotten Son into the world to save us from our sins. He sent His Son into the world to walk among us, to be with us, to eat with us, to talk with us, to witness our good times and our bad times. God knows that life is not always easy for us. And yet Our Blessed Lord is always with us . . . in the good times and the bad. And we are called to always rejoice in that fact. As we are on the doorstep of Christmas on this Fourth Sunday of Advent, let us not get overwhelmed by life, but rather let us rejoice that God sent His Son into the world to be with us always. Let us remember that God is with us when we are on the mountain top but He is also with us when we are far down in the valley. Let us rejoice that God is always with us.

Join us at 10:30 AM on Sundays at St. Margaret church. We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

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Third Sunday in Advent, December 15th, 2024

Have you ever been overjoyed by something and before you knew it, the joy had worn off? Or the joy that you had experienced had certainly lessened. As children, especially at Christmas time, we are overjoyed at what Santa Claus will bring us. We anxiously look forward to all the presents under the tree and try to figure out what is wrapped inside. Or it could be the case as you had gotten older and you decided that you just had to have the latest electronic doo-dad or perhaps it is some clothing item such as a new dress or a fancy pair of boots. And so you save your money and finally go and make your purchase and you are overjoyed at what you have obtained. But then after a while your joy lessens because after a while your attention is turned toward the next "item" that you have set your sights on acquiring. Let's be honest, whether as children or adults, . . . whether it is a gift given to us or something we have purchased ourselves .. . . whether it is an actual physical product or whether it is simply a good meal that we look forward to devouring . . . . the point is the same: things of this world do indeed bring us joy for a time but then the joy eventually fades. Even if you look at it from the perspective of someone who turns to drink or drugs to find their "happiness," . . . . what happens when the effect of either drink or drug wears off? That person goes back to feeling like they did before. The "high" feeling . . . the "drunk" feeling only lasts so long. Things of the world . . . whether they be electronics . . . or food . . . . or clothing . . . or positions of honour . . . . or titles at our jobs . . . or booze . . . . or drugs . . . all these things only bring temporary fulfillment. They do satisfy, yes, but only for a time. The joy we find in them is only temporary, never lasting.

For the Christian, on the other hand, the joy that is everlasting is our relationship with God. "Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous, for it becometh well the just to be thankful." (Psalm 33) Our personal relationship with Our Blessed Saviour will never disappoint. Our personal relationship with Our Lord and Saviour is one that will last an eternity. While other things in this earthly life will fade away . . . or be consumed . . . or rust away . .. or go out of fashion . . . . the relationship that God offers to us is forever. God will always be faithful to His people. "Gaudete in Domino semper" ("Rejoice in the Lord always") (Philippians 4:4-5) Rejoice in the fact that God loves you! Rejoice in the fact that God sent His only Son to die for you! Rejoice in the fact that God offers you the possibility of eternal life! Give your heart to the One that offered His Heart to you! Give your life to Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and rejoice in the Lord always!

Join us at 10:30 AM on Sundays at St. Margaret church. We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

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Second Sunday in Advent, December 8th, 2024

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." (Romans 15)

Did you ever order something or send away for something and the item finally arrived and you open it with great anticipation. And when you open the package and see what you ordered, the item that arrived does not match up with what you thought it would be. You were "under-whelmed," so to speak. "This is it?!?" "This is what I've been waiting for?!?" As we have spoken in the past, the faithful Jews were indeed praying for a Messiah to save them. They were anticipating the arrival of the Messiah. They knew that God would save them and they were waiting. But they had a preconceived notion of what the Messiah would look like, I would imagine. They expected the Messiah to arrive as a great warrior riding in on a powerful horse, surrounded by a mighty army in support with flags waving and banners raised. They expected this messiah and his army to wipe out their foes and save them from their misery. And yet we know that, yes, the Messiah did indeed arrive as promised but Our Saviour arrived as an innocent little baby, born to a common family, born in a lowly manger on a cold winter night because nobody would take them in otherwise. In fact, the actual arrival itself was so "low-key" that hardly anyone knew about it at all except for the angels and a few shepherds. I mean let's be honest here. In regards to anticipating the arrival of the Messiah, I am sure that none of us would picture the Saviour of the world arriving as a small baby, born to an impoverished family, with nowhere else to stay other than in a place for animals. But, then again, if we look at a dying man hanging on a cross, if we didn't know any better, we wouldn't picture that as "victory," either. It would seem more like "defeat" than "victory." And yet we know through our faith that hope was born in that little manger at Bethlehem and we know that victory truly was earned on that Cross at Calvary. Sometimes, hope is deceiving to our physical eyes. The important thing for us to always remember as people of faith that we have to look at hope through the eyes of faith if we really want to see how God is working in our lives. So, use this holy Season of Advent to look at things in a brand new way, the way of faith.

Join us at 10:30 AM on Sundays at St. Margaret church. We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

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First Sunday in Advent, December 1st, 2024

"OWE no man any thing, but to love one another" (Romans 13:8)

If you have ever applied for a loan from a bank, you will soon find out how many "hoops" you have to jump through in order to borrow the money you need. You have to provide documentation of every sort: copies of your ID; copies of bills that you currently have; copies of mortgage statements; copies of your latest paychecks. You have to go though background checks and they need to verify who you are. This is certainly understandable considering that banks can not go around handing out buckets of cash to anyone and everyone that walks in off the street. But after a while, it becomes frustrating because you get the feeling that you are jumping through endless hoops. The same process happens when you purchase a car, a house, apply for a credit card, etc. That being said, it would be easy for me as a preacher to use the words of St. Paul in Romans 13:8--"OWE no man any thing, but to love one another" and say how simple and easy it is to love one another compared to getting a loan as described above. But is it really that simple to go out and "love" someone? How about showing love to our enemies? How about loving those whom we are not fond of? Is it ever easy to show love to those who have done wrong to us? How about family members or even spouses that irritate us from time to time? Is it that easy to show them love and to love them? Yes, it's easy to show love to those that are lovable but it is definitely a challenge to love those who are not easy to love. Now what does all this have to do with the season of Advent? It is in the season of Advent that we prepare for the coming of the Divine Child born in Bethlehem. Advent is a time that we prepare for the birth of the Messiah, the personification of pure love. It was at Bethlehem that He was born to begin His earthly journey towards the hill at Calvary. He died on the Cross for all . . .. not just for those who liked Him . . . not just for those who loved Him. He died on the Cross even for those despised Him . .. who hated Him. Our Blessed Saviour came to save all from their sins; a feat we could never achieve by ourselves. So Advent is a time to prepare our hearts for Our Saviour. No, it is not always easy to love but it is something as Christians that we are commanded to do. So, this Advent season, let us prepare our hearts and do our best to show love to all . .. . even to those that it is not easy to do. This is something that Our Lord did and it is something that He wants us to do. Showing love is not always easy but it is necessary if we want to call ourselves Christian.

Join us at 10:30 AM on Sundays at St. Margaret church. We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

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Looking For Help! Help Wanted!

For those of you in Indianapolis . . . or in Central Indiana, for that matter . . . .

Are you looking for a church that helps to draw you closer to God?

Are you looking for a church where you can hear the Word of God?

Are you looking for a church where you can worship God in a meaningful way?

Are you looking for a church where you know you are in the company of fellow believers who encourage you, help you, pray with you and travel alongside of you?

Are you looking for a church where you can receive the Precious Body and Blood of Our Blessed Saviour in Holy Communion?

Are you looking for a church where you are more than a just another person . . . where the members know you . . . where they love you . . . where they care for you?

Are you looking for a church where you will be an important member and one who makes a difference?

Are you looking for a church where God will be speaking to you through: the Bible . . . the Liturgy . . . the Preaching . . . and, yes, even through other members?

Are you looking for a church that combines old fashioned Christian values with love and respect?

Are you looking for a church where you can show love back to the God Who first showed love to us?

Then let me tell you about my church.

St. Margaret of Scotland Church is just such a church. We have traditional liturgy where we listen to the Word of God and hear God speaking to us directly in the preaching. Our liturgy allows us to separate ourselves from the "busy-ness" of our fast-paced world and dedicate that hour to Our Heavenly Father. We step aside from the "ordinary" and step into the "extra-ordinary" of God. We use the King James Version of the Bible. We use prayers from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. And, finally, we receive the Precious Body and Blood of Our Blessed Saviour at Communion time so that He can nourish us . . . sustain us . . . fortify us for the journey called "Life."

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then please make a point to come and visit us. St. Margaret meets every Sunday morning at 10:30 am. We gather together as God’s Family at the beautiful Chapel at Marqutte Manor located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Come join us and let God revitalize you . . . let God encourage you . . . let God speak to your heart. Make a difference in your life and the life of others.

St. Margaret Church: A traditional church for a new generation.

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Sunday Next Before Advent, November 24th, 2024

At the very beginning of the epistle from Mass for the Sunday Next before Advent we hear to following: "BEHOLD, the days come, saith the LORD . . . " (Jeremiah 23:5) Our society is obsessed with upcoming events. For example, this time every year, we get constant reminders about how close we are to Christmas, courtesy of all the department stores, retail stores, online book stores, etc. Behold, the big sale is about to happen . . . . Behold, this sale won't last long . . . Behold, come and spend your hard-earned money here so that your loved ones will be happy at Christmas time. But these "reminders," in all fairness go on all year around, quite honestly. We are reminded on the nightly news about the upcoming summits, or upcoming sessions of Congress, or when a bill is about to be voted on. Even in our personal life, we have to deal with upcoming reports at our jobs being due, and upcoming doctor's appointments, and things to do around the house: whether they be preparing the house for winter or getting ready for an upcoming dinner. So, you see, we are constantly reminded of upcoming events and the days ahead . . .

But this is not what Jeremiah wants us to think about. In the "reminders" that I mentioned above, they are concerned with earthly, material things. And nothing is necessarily wrong with with the things that I mentioned: it's good to give gifts as a token of affection to loved ones; it's good to prepare your home for the winter; it's good for politicians to do their job, etc. But we have to keep everything in perspective of what is important. Jeremiah continues: "BEHOLD, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth" We need to be concerned with the coming of the Lord as Christians. We need to concern ourselves with making a place ready for Him when He comes. And, quite frankly, we can make that happen now! Yes, we can prepare our hearts for Him and prepare a place in our heart for Our Blessed Lord. You see, all of the daily routines in life have their place: the daily chores, preparation of meals, going to work, paying bills, etc. But there is one more daily "chore," and it should not even be called a "chore," it would be better described as a "daily necessity," . . . . and this "daily necessity" is time spent with Our Lord and preparing a place for Him in our hearts! As we come upon the liturgical season of Advent, the Church prepares for the coming of the Lord as a small innocent Infant. Let us also prepare our hearts for the coming of that small Divine Infant by making a place for Him to dwell. Get to know Jesus. Give Him your heart because He has already given His Sacred Heart to you!

Join us at 10:30 AM on Sundays at St. Margaret church. We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

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Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Trinity, November 17th, 2024

In today's Epistle (I St. John 3:1), we hear the following: "BEHOLD, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God" It is good to reflect on the fact that God has chosen us above all other creatures to be His chosen ones. For elsewhere we hear in Scripture: "Being made so much better than the angels, as he has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels said he at any time, You are my Son, this day have I begotten you?" (Hebrews 1:5-6) In other words, It was the intention that Our Blessed Saviour was born as a human being and not as an angel. God proves the love that He has for us by sending His Son to humanity. We should take time to reflect on the fact that we are each chosen to be called the sons and daughters of God. The God that has created the entire universe has chosen us as His sons and daughters. He has sent His Son to be a human being in order to redeem fallen humanity from its' sins. This fact should boggle the mind when you think about "what manner of love" the Father has for each one of us.

Join us at 10:30 AM on Sundays at St. Margaret church. We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

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Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Trinity, November 10th, 2024

In the Ninth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, Our Divine Saviour is coming to the house of the ruler, whose daughter had been very sick for a long time and had died. And her father implored Our Saviour to come to his home and lay hands on his daughter so that she would live again: "And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, he said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn." Now, in all fairness to those who laughed, we need to ask if we found ourselves under the same circumstances, and some stranger came in and announced that our friend was not dead, I am sure that we would be just as shocked and more than likely our reaction would be the same. But Our Lord paid no attention to the laughing or the scorn of the people. He came to the house for the sake of the girl and her father. In other words, He ignored the laughing and the ridicule and went straight to work. And the results were astounding. Sometimes, we are also laughed at and ridiculed for standing firm in our faith in today's society. But we must always keep in mind that holding fast to the faith requires determination on our part as well, no matter what. People will sometimes mock us and "laugh us to scorn" for standing firm in our Christian faith but as St. Matthew so kindly pointed out to us, people laughed at Our Blessed Saviour as well. The key is to stand firm with God. It is never easy to be the target of scorn but we have to realize that if we choose to stand for what's right, we will automatically become the target of those who choose to do wrong. Stand with God and you know that you are always in good company.

Join us at 10:30 AM on Sundays at St. Margaret church. We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

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Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity, November 3rd, 2024

In the Third Chapter of the Epistle to the Philippians, St. Paul reminds us that our true citizenship is not here on earth: "For our citizenship is in heaven" (3:17 ff) For the Christian, we should especially focus on these words at this time. I say this because here in America we will have a national election in two days. And leading up to the election we see countless political commercials on television. We hear political ads on the radio. We open up our mailbox and we get political mailers each and every day. And you cannot turn on the evening news without hearing the latest diatribes from the local, state, and national political candidates. Throughout social media you see endless videos on candidates who spend their time running down their opponent. It is very easy to get caught up in all of this. It is easy to get caught up in the endless debates and the controversies which the media shoves down our throats on a daily basis. And the vast multitude of these political candidates do not care about you or your family. The vast majority of those in political office, I am convinced, only care about what their party is telling them to care about. The vast majority of political office holders tell you the voter anything and everything to win your vote but once they get into office they do not listen to you, they listen to the people that fund their campaigns and tell them exactly what to do. But we should concern ourselves with the words of St. Paul: "For our citizenship is in heaven" Our existence here on earth is only temporary. Our time here on earth is fleeting. It is our citizenship in Heaven which matters. It is our citizenship inn Heaven which should truly concern us. Do not be fooled by what the world promises you. Do not be tricked into thinking that politicians truly care for you and your family. Concentrate on God and have a relationship with Him.

Join us at 10:30 AM on Sundays at St. Margaret church. We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

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Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity, October 20th, 2024

In the Fourth Chapter of St. John's Gospel, we hear the passage concerning the Nobleman's son that was gravely ill. The Nobleman found Our Blessed Saviour and implored His assistance in making his son well again. "Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way." It is certain that Our Lord was not against healing the Nobleman's son. We find many examples where He cures those who are gravely ill. But it seems that He was simply making a point that we should have faith enough that our belief is not dependent on what we see with our eyes. It seems in our own age, we have to see everything with our own eyes before we will believe it and even then we might still be skeptical in the back of our minds concerning the whole matter. Twenty-four hour news channels and sports channels; the internet; You-tube; etc. Everything is filmed and blogged about from major events to the seemingly unimportant, mundane things of life. Every story is pulled apart and every aspect of a story is magnified and looked at. We have to see everything .. . know everything . . . understand everything. But Our Blessed Lord is telling us that with God, we can have faith alone. We do not have to depend on seeing signs and wonders with Him. We can be assured that God will take care of our needs and we do not need proof. Our proof consists in the fact that Our Blessed Saviour was born as a human being and that He died on the Cross for our sins.

Join us at 10:30 AM on Sundays at St. Margaret church. We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

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Twentieth Sunday after Trinity, October 13th, 2024

Can you imagine planning a party for your closest friends. You want the party to be special indeed, so you put a lot of planning into it. And you spend a lot of money as well. You buy all the decorations. You hire the best catering company in the city so that the food will be the most delicious. You get everything set up and looking absolutely beautiful. And when the time arrives and everything is in place, nobody shows up. Not a single person showed up. None of your guests or friends took the time to show up for an event that you put your heart and soul into planning. How would you feel if this was you? In the Twenty-Second Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, we hear Our Lord telling the parable of the king who threw a big party for his son's marriage, but nobody showed up. Our Lord was making a very important point: "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come" (St. Matthew 22:1) How many people around the world today do not make time for God? How many people in our society do not make time to worship God? How many people don't have time to come worship God on Sundays or work on His behalf because they are too busy. They are busy working. They are busy running errands. They are busy shopping. They are busy hanging out and going to parties. They do not have time for God because they are too busy with the cares and concerns of the world. They do not have time for God because they are too busy chasing after what the world has to offer instead of chasing after what God has to offer. Please do not turn your back on God. If your life is too busy for God, then you are too busy. Make time for God. The things of this world are temporary. A relationship with God is eternal.

Join us at 10:30 AM on Sundays at St. Margaret church. We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

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Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, October 6th, 2024

In the epistle designated for the Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, we hear from St. Paul's fourth chapter of his Letter to the Ephesians. In the beginning of this chapter, St. Paul writes: "I therefore . . . beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called." (Ephesians 4:1) Those who are called to be Christians are called to be something truly noble. That may sound very lofty but it is true. This is because we are called to imitate "light" in a world of "darkness." This is not very easy at times. In fact, it's a pretty tall order if you ask me. But that being said, St. Paul goes on to give some pretty sound advice in this fourth chapter of Ephesians. In verse 31 of this chapter he writes: "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice." (Ephesians 4:31) Probably, I would dare say, this is the best advice of the whole chapter for us to keep in mind. I say this because we live in a fast paced world. I would say this is true for all of us. Whether we are working or retired; whether we live in cities or in towns; whether we are young or old. Just about everybody I know . . . . myself included . . . is constantly busy at doing this or doing that. Going to work. Going to doctor's appointments. Going shopping. Cleaning the house. Fixing the house. Doing yardwork. Picking up the kids. Going to games. The list goes on and on. And, unfortunately, for many of us . . . . again, myself included . . . . busy schedules oftentimes lead to stressful living. And stressful living can lead to short tempers and lack of patience with those around us. We get angry with the idiots that cut us off in traffic and almost cause a wreck. We get irritated with the people in front of us at the store who are holding up the checkout line by trying to use coupons that have been expired for five months. We get mad at people who may have a different opinion than we do. The list goes on and on. And while these things may seem insignificant in and of themselves, added all together these things have the potential to make our lives very stressful.

God does not mean for our lives to be filled with stress and anger and irritation. Quite frankly, when we get irritated with someone or something . . . . even if we are correct to be irritated . . . this irritation does not harm the other person; it harms us. The other person probably doesn't even know of our irritation and probably wouldn't care anyway even if they would know. The irritation and the anger and the bitterness is what builds up inside of us and harms us. Period. St. Paul is warning the church at Ephesus just like he is warning us two-thousand years later: be filled with things of God instead of things of the world. Fill yourself with the love of God so that you will not be filled with the anger and bitterness offered by the world. In a certain sense, we are similar to a pitcher or a glass or a box. If the container is filled with whatever objects we can think of and the contained is filled to the brim, we can not fit anything else in. Thus, remove the items from the container so that we can fill the other items in there. Thus, in that sense, how can we expect to fill ourselves with the love of God if we are already filled with anger and bitterness and hate? Conversely, how can anger and bitterness and hate fill us if we are already filled with the love of God?

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Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 15th, 2024

In the Third Chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians, we are reminded "that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith" (Ephesians 3:13 ff). I have been preaching now for over twenty years. The more I preach, the more I seem to emphasize that each one of should prepare a special place in our heart where only Christ can dwell. It stands to reason that for any king, . . . or queen, . . . or head of state such as a president or prime minister, . . . . for anyone in charge, for that matter, we go to special lengths to prepare a place for them. If someone special is coming to visit you . . . such as a beloved relative or a dear friend whom you have not seen for a long time . . . if someone special is coming to visit your home, you go to special efforts to prepare a place for them. You clean up your home. You put things away. You spruce up and dust and put things in order as best as you can. Why do we do all of this? We do it out of love and out of respect, of course. We want to be good hosts and we do it because we want to show love and respect for the person visiting. When a head of state such as a king or queen or president comes to visit your country, a special place is prepared for the visiting dignitary. When the boss of your company or corporation comes to visit where you work, you clean up and prepare as much as possible to make sure everything looks top-notch. It just stands to reason that when someone important visits you, you prepare a place for that person and you do your best to make sure everything is in place. "The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation: He is my God, and I will prepare Him an habitation" (Exodus 15:2) The place that each one of us can prepare a habitation for God to dwell is in our heart. This, quite frankly, is the place where Christ wants to rule. "For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also." (St. Luke 12:34) Christ is our treasure .. . . the love of Christ is our one possession that will last forever. While all of our other "treasures" will eventually fade away . . . . . whether they rust away . . . or break . . . or fall out of style . . . . the love of Christ will never fail us. So prepare a special place in your heart. Prepare room in your heart for Christ. That is the one throne He truly desires to occupy . . . the one in your heart.

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Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 8th, 2024

When you stop to think about it, it's amazing how many things we "need" in life. Our days are filled with "needs" from the time we get up until the time we finally go to bed. I bet you never even think about all the things you "need." When you get up in the morning, "I need to go to the bathroom;" or "I need to get ready for work;" "I need some coffee;" "I need to get some breakfast;" "I need to leave for work;" "I need to go to the store;" "I need to cut the grass;" "I need to take out the trash;" "I need to get to bed so that I can get some sleep;" etc. Now, don't get me wrong, we may not come right out and say, "I need to do this" or "I need to do that" but the point is the same: from the time we get up in the morning until the time we fall asleep at night, our days are filled with things we need to do or desires that we need to fulfill. And the examples I listed above are just the "little daily things" that we need to do every day. What about the times when we say . . . either out loud or simply to ourselves . . . . "I need to go on vacation;" "I need to get a better car;" etc. Again, whether we call them: needs; desires; or worries, our days are filled with things that we want to do or need to do. And human beings just go from fulfilling one need to fulfilling the next need. But, Our Blessed Saviour warns us against worrying about anything, whether it be the food or drink that we need or the clothing that we wear. He says in St. Mathew, chapter six: " . . . . for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things." Everything falls into place eventually; I have found in my own life. But that does not mean I do not worry about things that I need or about the things that I need to get accomplished. It's just human nature, I suppose.

God knows what we need. God knows what we need to get done. As Christians, we are called to dedicate our lives to Christ as Our Lord and Saviour. So many people dedicate their lives to what they need and what they desire. Drink, . . . Food, . . . . Material Possessions, . . . . Money, . . . . Power. These are the things that so many people want and desire. These people have no time for God because they are too busy trying to fulfill their worldly lusts and desires. Again, as human beings we have desires and needs. For example, we desire to eat because we need to eat in order to survive. But we can not let our desire become our primary reason for living. There is certainly nothing wrong with eating, to continue with that example, but we can not let eating control our lives. We can not let the desire for food be our reason for living. So many people do just this. They allow their desires to rule their life. God knows what we need. God even knows what we desire. Dedicate your life to God. Let Him take priority in your life. Once you do that, everything else will fall into place.

Please consider joining us for Mass. Come hear the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Consider setting aside an hour of your week where you can dedicate that time solely to God. Come hear the Word of God. Listen to God speaking to you directly and hear what He has to say for YOU! Receive the Precious Body and Blood at Communion time to be strengthened and nourished for your journey!

Join us at 10:30 AM at St. Margaret church. We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

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Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 1st, 2024

In a strange, ironic twist the term "Thank You" is simultaneously one of the "most used" and "least used" terms we have. On the one hand, think about how many times you say "Thank you" on a daily basis. When you go to the store and buy something, for example, you probably say "Thank you" to the cashier or clerk. If you sneeze and if someone says "God bless you," I bet you respond "Thank you." At your job, if a coworker and/or a customer gives you something that you ask for, I am sure you respond "Thank you." I am sure that if we were to try to count how many times in a given day that we used the term "Thank you," I am pretty sure that we would be utterly amazed how often we say that specific term: "Thank you."

As an aside, I am continually amazed when I am out in the public and I do not see someone put the practice of saying "Thank you" into use. For example, have you ever gone into or perhaps come out of a store and you took the time to hold a door open for someone, and the person did not say "Thank you" or acknowledge you at all. Even in traffic, have you ever let someone ahead of you that wanted to get over into your lane. Often, the person will wave or acknowledge your kindness as a way to say "Thank you." I notice big semi truck drivers will blink their flasher lights on and off as a way to say "Thank you." What happens if someone does not "wave" or acknowledge your letting them ahead of you? If you are anything like me, you mumble to yourself sarcastically, "You're welcome!" The bottom line is we like to be thanked for what we do for people. We like for people to acknowledge what we have done for them. Whether it be a simple act of holding open a door or giving a gift to a loved one, it is only right to receive thanks for what we did.

In the Seventeenth Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, we hear the story of Our Blessed Lord heal a group of ten lepers. Now keep in mind that all ten men were healed but only one of them made the point to come back and properly thank God and acknowledge the healing that he had received. "And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks" (St. Luke 17:11 ff) But Our Lord pointed out that while this man did give proper thanks and acknowledgment for the healing that he had received, He went on to question where were the other nine??? You see, God likes to be acknowledged as well for the blessings that He bestows on His children. Our Lord was happy to bestow blessings as we saw in today's passage with the healing of the ten lepers. But on the other hand He showed disappointment when only one out of the ten came back to given proper thanks. We should always make a point to give proper thanks to God for the blessings He has bestowed on each of us. Very often, we do not take the time to thank God and acknowledge His blessings because we are too busy concentrating on what is wrong in our life.

Please make a point to join us for Mass on Sunday. St. Margaret Church gathers together each and every Sunday at 10:30 am. We worship at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis. Join us as we listen to the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible. We use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. And receive the Most Precious Body and Blood of Our Saviour at Communion time. We are all busy. We all lead busy lives. Take an hour out of your busy week and dedicate it to God. Give that hour to God and spend it with Him.

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Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, August 25th, 2024

I think one of the most frustrating things in the world is not being able to find something you are looking for. We've all had that experience, haven't we? Whether it be the car keys or your eyeglasses. You go to look for the item you're looking for and you can't find it anywhere. But sometimes after you've looked and looked and looked for an item, it turns out that you item is right there in the place where you looked and never even saw it. In other words, It was right there all the time and you never even saw it right in front of you. Our Lord told the disciples: "BLESSED are the eyes which see the things that ye see: for I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them" (St. Luke 10:23) Our Lord was telling the disciples how blessed they were to see what so many before them were praying and longing to see. In other words, the Messiah was right before their eyes. I contend that God is always close by to us also. And if we don't see God it is because we are not looking for Him. We do not see God because we are too busy with the affairs of the world. We do not see God because we only look for the things which are important to us. And, sadly, for many people God is not nearly as important as what the world has to offer. God is always close, but we have to make a point to look for Him. We have to make a point to search for Him.

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Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, August 18th, 2024

Who is it that you trust? Or perhaps I should ask what do you trust? There are certain people whom we trust in life and certain people we do not trust. Likewise, there are certain products which we buy at the store that we trust and certain brands which we do not trust. Trust is something that is earned, it seems to me. In the case of products or services, for example, if the product does not live up to our standards or if the service is consistently poor it does not earn our trust. Same with people in our life. If someone constantly lies or betrays us, that person does not earn our trust. St. Paul states: "SUCH trust have we through Christ to God-ward" (2 Corinthians 3:4) While people will let us down . . . while products and services will often disappoint us . . . . God is always there for us. God is always deserving of our trust. God will never let us down. "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." (Psalm 118:8) And verse Nine goes on to say: "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes." (Psalm 118:9) This verse is a perfect reminder come election time because politicians will promise you the sun and the moon when they are campaigning but typically do the exact opposite when they get into office. But God always follows through on what He promises. God never fails in what He offers. In fact, as I say so often when I preach, God goes over and beyond what He promises. He gives us even more than we even deserve. So let us reflect on who or what we trust. And always remember that God never fails.

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Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, August 11th, 2024

In the Eighteenth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke, Our Lord tells the parable of the two men who go into the Temple to pray. You will remember the story. The Lord tells us that one of the men was a Pharisee. The Pharisees prided themselves on their strict observance of the Jewish law. The other man in the parable was a Publican. In other words, he was a tax-collector. Publicans were not popular back then just like they are not popular today, come to think of it. But it is really the first part of the beginning verse in this parable that I want to focus on. We hear in verse Nine of this Eighteenth Chapter: "JESUS spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:" We have to remember that Our Lord made a point to tell this parable to people who "trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others." Have you ever met anyone who met this description? If you haven't met them in-person I bet you've encountered a few of them online. Online they're described as either "trolls" or "keyboard warriors." They are the people who think they have a superior opinion on every subject, and they look down their nose with contempt at anyone who holds a differing opinion. These people love to hang out on social media sites. It's one thing to be sure of your beliefs but it is something completely different to despise others who are different than you or have a different opinion than you do or think differently than you.

To those of us who do our best to follow the teachings of Christ, perhaps it would be helpful to look at another verse found in this very same Gospel. Look at the previous chapter and you will find something very important. Our Lord is having a debate with the Pharisees regarding the Kingdom of God. And in St. Luke 17:21 Our Lord states the following: "Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the Kingdom of God is within you." Now, granted it is very difficult to see God in a lot of folks that we run into. And, granted these same folks probably don't acknowledge that God is within them. But the fact remains the same that if God created you. If God loves you. If God chose you as His child. If all of these statements are true, then it's certainly true that God also loves the person you hold in contempt. God is also within the person that you despise. And God also chose the person who holds a different opinion than you to be His child as well. Perhaps if we make a point to remember first the verse found in St. Luke 17:21 " . . . . behold, the Kingdom of God is with you." we won't get to the point where we fit the description found in St. Luke 18:9 " . . . which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others."

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Tenth Sunday after Trinity, August 4th, 2024

I love watching a good Charlton Heston movie. And one of my absolute favorites is a film from 1961 entitled "El Cid." For whatever reason, this movie is not as widely known as "The Ten Commandments" and "Ben Hur". But, trust me, it is an excellent film. It is the story of an 11th Century knight who fought to unite Spain against an invading force. Throughout the movie, "El Cid" is shown as a man with courage but more importantly he is shown as a man of character. He is a man of honesty, of faithfulness, of steadfastness, of determination, of integrity. And as you watch this movie you see that these traits bring him both acclaim and exile. But here is the point that I want to make. After a fierce battle in which "El Cid" and his forces find victory, his men think so highly of him that they want the Cid to claim the crown for himself. They want the Cid to be the king of the kingdom which they just fought so hard to defeat. And when they hand him the crown of the defeated king, the Cid declares the crown and the newly won kingdom to belong to King Alfonso and not for himself. The problem is that King Alfonso is not a man of character like the Cid. King Alfonso is not a man of integrity like the Cid. King Alfonso does not have any of the wonderful qualities of the Cid, quite frankly. And when the Cid, who is a man of great character and conviction, declares the crown won for a king with very little conviction and even less character, the man who offered the crown responded: "What a noble subject, if only he had a noble king." The point being that the Cid was much more noble than the king he was serving. The Cid gave honor and loyalty to a king who was deserving of neither.

For the Christian, though, it seems to be the exact opposite. The roles seem to be reversed from what I described above. What a noble King we serve in God Our Heavenly Father. Our King is loyal to us when we don't deserve it. Our King is faithful and never leaves our side even when we leave Him and wander off. Our King is determined to save us. So determined that He freely chose to carry His Cross to that hill of Calvary and laid down His life for you and me. And as I have said so often throughout the years, think about what a "Perfect Gentleman" Our Lord is. He never forces Himself on anyone. He always allows us to choose a relationship with Him. He never comes in where He is uninvited. And He waits for us to call upon Him. God is so wonderful. God is so loyal. Our God is so giving. The question remains why do we choose to treat God so poorly through the way in which we live our life? Why are we so disloyal to such a wonderful God? Why do we seem to choose the world over God so often throughout our life? If we reflect on what God has done for us . . . what God has done for the world, quite frankly . . . we will realize that God deserves much better than we ever give Him. We should examine our relationship with God and always give Him our utmost. We should always stay loyal and faithful to God, Who has given so much for us. We should dedicate our life to the One who not only made life possible but also laid down His life in order for us to have eternal life with Him. "Oh what a noble King we serve!"

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Ninth Sunday after Trinity, July 28th, 2024

In the Fifteenth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke, we hear one of the most famous parables Our Lord ever told. It has come to be known as the "Prodigal Son." Yet I have stated for years that this parable is misnamed because in my opinion it would be better named, "The Loving Father." I say this because the real hero in this parable is the father. This, of course, is because it is the father that shows love, compassion and forgiveness and goes "over and beyond" when his son returns home. Of course, this is why Our Blessed Lord told the parable. This is the point of the parable. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

We all know this story, don't we? The younger son wants to get his share of his inheritance early so that he can go out and enjoy life the way that HE wants to enjoy life: on his terms the way that he wants to enjoy it. And so he demands what is "owed" to him from his father. Again, we all know the rest of the story. Things don't go as planned for the younger son and he runs out of money as I like to say: quick, fast and in a hurry. It is only at that point that he decides to go back home with his tail between his legs. And so he begins practicing his speech to his father. He begins the speech like this: "Father, I have sinned against Heaven . . . . " (St. Luke 15:11 ff) As we know, the son goes back to his father and the father welcomes him home with open arms.

But what can this story show us? What can this parable tell us about our relationship with God and with one another, quite frankly? Well, both of the sons in this story showed that they were focused on one thing: themselves. Of course the main emphasis in the parable is focused on the younger son that leaves his father and then returns. But remember that the older son also comes into the parable at the end. Remember, the older son is jealous of the younger son. He resents the fact that his younger brother went out and partied and spent all the money while he stayed by his father's side doing as he should have. He was jealous that his father treated his younger brother like royalty after his return in shame. Thus, the younger son only focused on himself and his needs. The younger son only wanted to fulfill his own needs and desires and so he demanded his share of his father's estate that was "owed" to him. The older son, while yes he stayed with his father and did as he was expected. But in the end he was simply jealous and did not rejoice that his brother had returned home as his father was rejoicing at the return home of the brother. He resented the fact, quite frankly, that his brother was making party and fiesta with his father's money while he was left doing all the work.

As I stated, both brothers were mainly focusing on themselves. But how many times are we like the brothers in our own lives? How many times do we only focus on ourselves? As Christians, we are called to focus our lives on doing the will of our Heavenly Father. And yet so many people focus on doing what they want to do. Like the younger son, they want what they want NOW. People want to go out and make party and fiesta and focus on themselves until something goes wrong. Just like the younger son. Even when things went wrong the focus was still on himself, wasn't it? He didn't go back to his father to beg for forgiveness. He didn't go back to the father because he suddenly felt a sense of responsibility and so that he could do the right thing. No, he went back home because he was broke and had nowhere else to turn. How many times do we leave God's side because we want to do what we want to do? How many times do we ignore God in our life, either directly or indirectly, and then only go back to Him when we need Him? As I have often stated, we like to keep God in a box placed up on the shelf. We take Him down only when we need Him. We go running to Him only when we need Him. Other than that, we focus on ourselves and don't worry about God. And yet we know as Christians that is wrong. We are called to serve God every day of our lives. We are called to do His will in our lives. We are called to love one another and serve one another just as Our Blessed Saviour came to love and to serve. And so often we are like the two brothers: only focusing on ourselves . . . only wanting to satisfy our own desires . . . getting jealous when someone else gets "better" than us.

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Eighth Sunday after Trinity, July 21st, 2024

In the Eighth Chapter of the Letter to the Romans, we hear the following: "The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." This passage is a powerful reminder that the Holy Ghost Himself is our Witness that we are the children of God. And, as children, we are "joint-heirs with Christ." But it is pointed that out that we are joint-heirs in both the glory but also the suffering. We must always remember that we are not exempt from suffering simply because we are a child of God. Our Blessed Lord was not exempt from suffering . . . His Blessed Mother was not exempt from suffering . . . the saints in Heaven were not exempt from suffering while they were here on earth. None of us is exempt from suffering. What we are called to do, just like Our Blessed Lord did, is to embrace our Cross and to endure the suffering. Sort of like riding out the storm together with Our Blessed Saviour. The point is that as Christians we are called to offer up our victories and also to offer up our sorrows as well. Whether we are in the valley or up on the mountain-top, the key is to always keep close to Our Blessed Lord. Make Him a part of every day of your life. Some people only run to God when they are in trouble. These people see God as their "last resort." Please do not run to God only in times or trouble or only when all other avenues are exhausted! Run to Him on a daily basis . . . in both good times and bad . . . . keep close to Him and He will keep close to you!

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