Saint Margaret Anglican Church: Latest News at St. Margaret

Third Sunday after Easter, April 21st, 2024

In the Sixteenth chapter of St. John's Gospel, Our Blessed Saviour is preparing the disciples for His eventual departure from their midst. But this is confusing for the disciples because Our Lord is telling them "A little while, and ye shall not see Me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see Me." (St. John 16:16) Obviously, He was referring to His coming Death upon the Cross, Burial, and Resurrection. Later on He says: " . . . and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. " (v.20) As human beings, we have a lot of emotions, we feel happy; we feel sad; we feel joyous; we feel anxious; we feel scared; we feel peaceful; etc. And typically, these emotions have root causes. For example, we might feel sad because a beloved family member just passed away. Or we might feel joyful because it is a beautiful Spring day, and we are off from work, and we are going to the baseball game. Sometimes we feel a certain way due seemingly to no reason at all but typically our emotions are caused by some factor as described in the examples above. For Christians, Christ is the reason for our hope. He is the reason for our joy. Our Blessed Saviour is the reason for our motivation in life. We must always remember to acknowledge that God is the Lord and Master of our life. We must always remember to put God first in everything. We need to have a personal relationship with God and to speak with Him every day. When we have God deep in our heart, the world can never take that away, no matter what it throws at you. This is why Our Blessed Savior said: "And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." (v.22) No man can take away the joy that God has given us. The world can not take away the love that we have for Our Heavenly Father. No amount of heartache can take away the love that God has for each one of us. Always keep in mind the love that God has for you. Always remember that God has chosen you as one of His own. Never forget that Christ died on the Cross to atone for your sins so that you can be forgiven.

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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Second Sunday after Easter, April 14th, 2024

In today's Gospel passage coming to us from St. John we hear Our Blessed Saviour refer to Himself as the Good Shepherd: "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep" (St. John 10:11) Our Lord compares and contrasts the difference between someone who truly cares about the sheep to someone who is merely a "hireling." Our Lord states that the hireling is someone who does not have true concern for the sheep whereas a good shepherd will defend the sheep with his life. I see so many examples of "good shepherds" around me on a daily basis. I see those who are first responders who do not fail to rush head-first into danger. Policemen, Firemen, Paramedics, Department of Corrections, . . . . These brave men and women think of others first before they think of their own personal safety. And, quite frankly, they never know what the day will bring. Look at the case of the New York City policeman who recently went up to a car which was parked illegally in a bus zone and he ended up losing his life in the process. You hear about brave firefighters who go rushing head-first into burning buildings and think not of their own safety but instead focus on saving those inside the building. And as a Department of Corrections Chaplain, I see what Correctional works go through on a daily basis: working long hours in stressful situations; looking after a population who does not care about anyone else, let alone themselves. How about other examples around us such as the dedicated teachers who also work long hours preparing lesson plans, teaching students, grading tests. And they do what they do because they want to make a difference in their students' life. The same can be said for those dedicated parents who lay down their lives on a daily basis to give their children a better life. These dedicated mothers and fathers work day after day to provide for their children a better life. They want their children to have a better life than they had. And they do it because they love their children. "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep" In all of these examples mentioned and so many more we see people all over the world doing what they can to make the world a better place. This is the example Our Lord teaches us that we are called to do what we can for others. Go out and be God's instrument in the world. Do what you can to make the world a better place in the Name of God. Offer up your daily sacrifices and let God take care of the rest.

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First Sunday after Easter, April 7th, 2024

We have life pretty easy compared to, let's say, cavemen. For example, we sit around and post funny pictures of cats on Facebook while our ancestors ran around trying not to be eaten by Dinosaurs. Alright, I'm being a wee bit extreme in my comparisons but in so many ways, life is much easier for us than it was for past ages. Due to technology, life is simpler, that is sure. Whether it be travel or washing clothes, we have it so much easier than those that lived in past ages due to technology. And yet, life is so difficult for us at times. Whether it is dealing with other people that don't particularly like us or dealing with trying to keep up with the overwhelming bills that are due. Whether it is trying to find a job or dealing with things that break in your house or on your car. The daily pressures of life seem to be a burden to so many people, especially those who are dealing with sadness, illness, or daily troubles. And yet we know as faithful, firm, committed Christians, that are answer is right in front of our eyes. "WHATSOEVER is born of God overcometh the world" (I St. John 5:4) God is our answer. This is because God is our foundation in a changing world. While on the one hand, we do not know what life will give us from day to day . . . sometimes, it seems to change hour to hour . . . minute to minute . . . . we do know that God will never leave us. We know that God is always there in our corner. We know that God is ever constant. God truly is our foundation. While we never know from day to day what life will give us, we know that as long as we have God with us we can overcome anything that life dishes out.

St. Margaret would like to have YOU join us on Sunday. If you are reading this and you are able to be with us on Sunday, would you consider simply taking one hour out of your busy schedule and join us as we worship Our Heavenly Father. Take an hour out of your busy schedule and dedicate it to God. Take an hour out of your busy schedule and hear the Word of God and listen to what God is saying to you. Take an hour out of your busy schedule and join your brothers and sisters to worship as God's family. Would you please consider joining us on Sunday morning? We would love to see YOU!

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Easter Sunday, March 31st, 2024

In the Twenty-Seventh chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, we hear the Passion of Our Lord. At the end of the chapter we are also told of Our Blessed Saviour being laid in the tomb. St. Matthew tells us that Our Lord is laid in the tomb that belonged to Joseph, who himself went to Pilate to ask for the body of our Blessed Saviour. After He was laid in the tomb the chief priests and Pharisees, we are told by St. Matthew, that they also went to Pilate to ask that a guard be placed at the tomb because they remembered Our Lord's words that He would rise on the third day. Pilate told them to set a guard and "they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch."

We also have been setting a watch . . . . we have been anticipating the arrival of Our Blessed Saviour. We wait for Him every day. We wait for Him to speak to us when we read Scripture. We watch for Him when we sit in prayer. We wait in anticipation when we have a problem or need assistance in our life and wait and watch for Our Blessed Saviour to come to our aid. We watch for Him when we go to Mass and receive His Precious Body and Blood at Communion time. At all of these times just described we need to watch for Our Blessed Saviour. We need to listen to what He says to us. So often, in the "busy-ness" of life, we do not take the time to pay attention, to listen. Also, our attention is diverted by the distractions of this life: whether they be issues that take up our time; or television; or computer; or jobs; or other diversions. God should always take the top priority in our life. Nothing should take our attention off of Him. Let us set a watch for Him and welcome Him into our heart.

PLEASE NOTE CHANGE IN TIME: Mass will begin at 11:30 am instead of the usual time. Please join us at 11:30 am on Easter Sunday in the Chapel

Mass is held at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis. Please note that on Easter Sunday, we will not be in the chapel as we normally celebrate there. Rather, we will be on the Fourth Floor of Marquette Manor.

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Palm Sunday, March 24th, 2024

In the liturgy for Palm Sunday, there are two Gospel readings. And despite the fact that both of these readings are from St. Matthew, these two passages could not be more strikingly different. In the first reading which we hear on Palm Sunday we are witness to Our Lord's triumphant entry into Jerusalem. It is here in which we hear the vast crowds voicing their excitement and acclaim at the entrance of Our Lord: "Hosanna, Hosanna!" As we read these verses we can visualize in our mind the wonderful acclaim that the people give Him. But later in the liturgy the second Gospel passage is from the Twenty-Seventh Chapter and the contrast from the first passage is sharp. It is in this second passage where we hear about Our Lord being condemned before Pilate. And instead of cheering crowds yelling "Hosanna," we now hear the crowd screaming "Crucify Him, Crucify Him!" As I say, the contrast could not be more striking. And yet even in our own life sometimes we witness sharp contrasts, don't we? Have you ever begun working on a project and perhaps for a time everything seemed to go great and then suddenly everything went wrong? Have you ever made a major change in your life and things go great and then suddenly for whatever reason things started going wrong. Then all of the sudden you begin questioning "what went wrong?" You may even begin to doubt yourself. You may doubt yourself at times. You may doubt your ability at times. You may doubt the loyalty of others at times. But there is one thing we can never doubt, it is the love which God has for His children. God loves us and God is always nearby even though we do not realize it at times. God is there for us in the good times and the bad. We are never promised a perfect life, are we? We are never promised a life without pain. In life sometimes we will experience defeat. But even in those times we know that God is there for us and with us. The key is that we stay close to God and to stay loyal to Him. We should always do our best to love God Who first loved us.

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Passion Sunday, March 17th, 2024

In the Letter to the Hebrews, in the Ninth Chapter, we hear a contrast between how the priest used to purify the "holy place," (or the Holy of Holies) as opposed to Our Blessed Saviour purifying humanity. Both involve blood. One by the "blood of goats and calves" (Hebrews 9:12) and the other purification "by His own Blood." (v.12) To understand why blood was so important in both acts, it is vital that we look back to the Old Testament and look in the Book of Leviticus. Let us look at Leviticus 17:11 "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul." In this light, Our Blessed Saviour shed His own Blood at Calvary to atone for our sins . . . to make atonement for the wrongs we have committed . . . . to purify us. Every drop of the Precious Blood of Jesus that dripped from that Cross at Calvary was shed on your behalf. He shed it for your purification and your sanctification. And just like the priests of old sprinkled blood to purify the "Holy of Holies" and the "Holy Place," Christ shed His Blood to purify you! You are purified by the Blood of the Lamb of God! We must never forget this point. Christ died on the Cross and shed His Precious Blood on that first Good Friday so that He could die for us; purify us by His Blood; and begin the process of allowing us to rise again with Him. It is only through death that we can rise again. It is only through Christ's Death and Passion, that we are allowed the opportunity to die to our own sins.

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Fourth Sunday in Lent, or Laetare Sunday, March 10th, 2024

The Gospel for Laetare Sunday comes from the Sixth Chapter of St. John's Gospel. As we begin this passage St. John tells us of the large crowds that have followed Our Lord due to them hearing about the many people that He has cured. Our Lord's fame has grown far and wide due to the many miracles that He has performed. And many of those gathered want to not only to see Him but to hear what He has to say. Now the first thing that should strike us when we hear the story of Our Lord feeding the multitude is that Our Lord is a compassionate Lord. He knew that these people that gathered together to hear Him and to get just a glimpse of Him would be tired . . . would be hungry . . . would need to be sustained and nourished. And He called together the disciples and inquired what would need to be done. Now, we all know what happened next. Our Blessed Saviour multiplied the five loaves and the two fish into feeding the multitude.

What I would like to focus on is what Our Lord did after everyone was fed. He called together the disciples and told them: "Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost." (St. John 6:12) Sometimes our lives feel like "fragments," in a sense. We run here. We run there. We take care of our families. We take care of our home. We go to our jobs. We go shopping for what we need. The list goes on and on. As a result, we feel like we are running around from one place to the next, going from doing one thing into something completely different. I know I feel this way very often. And I talk to so many people that feel the same way. Our lives are divided between this, that and the other. But the important thing to remember is that God takes our "fragments" and makes them whole. Just like Our Blessed Saviour fed and nourished the five-thousand, He feeds and nourishes us still today. Just like He saw the vast multitude gathered around Him, He still sees us in need of His strength to carry on our daily lives. And He is that strength. He is the One Who nourishes us. He is the One Who sustains us. He is the One Who makes us whole. He takes the fragments of our lives and makes our life complete. There is no other person, thing, or feeling in the world that can make us complete. There is only one person who can do this for us. And that is God. Give your heart to Him. Let Him be your nourishment. Let God be your sustaining force. Let Our Blessed Saviour be the One you run to in order to be fed.

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Third Sunday in Lent, March 3, 2024

Do you ever have trouble driving early in the morning or early evening when it starts to go from dark to light or from light to dark? I am talking about that "in-between" point where it's not quite dark and it's not quite light. It's almost as if you can see things, yes, but there's doubt about what you are seeing. I guess the same thing may be true when you are out driving and it is foggy. You think you see something off in the distance . . . . but you are not quite sure . . . is it or isn't it? I am sure you can all think of an example of what I am talking about, a time or two where you thought you saw something but you were not quite sure because of the darkness or because of the fog. I am thinking about this because last week or the week before it was so foggy and it was hard to see off in the distance early in the morning. But as I was struggling to see off in the distance due to the fog, as the sun rose up, it was almost as though the fog instantly disappeared. It literally like moving from dark to light instantly. I remember literally struggling to see off in the distance one second and everything was clear the next. Of course, for Christians, Our Blessed Saviour is the light of the world. He is our light. He gives light not only to the world but He gives light to our personal journey as well. As we hear in the Epistle appointed for today's Mass: "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord . . ." (Ephesians 5:1 ff) St. Paul explains that prior to knowing Christ, we were struggling to find our way in the dark. Just like in the haze or the fog, we were not quite sure of what was ahead. But Christ gives light to the darkness of the world. And when Christ is in us, we shine forth the light of Christ to the world around us. During this holy season of Lent, hang on to Christ. Make Him the most important part of your life. Dedicate your life to Christ and allow Him to brighten the darkness that this world can only offer.

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Second Sunday in Lent, February 25th, 2024

In the Fifteenth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, we hear the story of Our Blessed Saviour meeting the woman of Canaan who besought Our Lord seeking favour for her daughter. Now keep in mind that this woman was not Jewish, and yet she made a point say to Our Lord: "Thou Son of David: my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil." (St Matthew 15:22) Right from the beginning, it is evident that this woman must have recognized the greatness of Our Lord or else she would not have referred to Him as "Thou Son of David." It seems that Our Lord initially ignores her because He says not a word at her request. After that she then proceeds to bother the disciples for her request because St. Matthew informs us that the disciples "besought Him, saying, Send her away: for she crieth after us." (v.23) After this, Our Lord still ignores her request by basically saying, in essence, that He was sent for the children of Israel. And despite all of this, this woman still persisted until finally Our Lord recognized her persistence and her faith when He said: " O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt." (v.28)

Now the point that we can all learn from this is that we should be determined and to have faith. The woman of Canaan had both. She recognized Our Lord to be the source of help and healing for her daughter. But she was also determined. In faith, we need to be determined. But we need to be determined for the right reason. In other words, sometimes we only get "religious" when we need God for something: We want to get hired for a new job. We need a favour of some sort. We need guidance to get our of a jam. Now there is nothing wrong with going to Our Heavenly Father when we need His assistance. What is wrong, though, is when we ONLY go to Him when we need something and forget about Him the rest of the time. A lot of people only go to God when they get into a jam or when they need something. They suddenly get real "religious" when they are in need but the rest of the time they act as if there is no God. Our Lord came to offer us Salvation. He came to die on the Cross for us. But He also spent some thirty-three years on this earth being a human being like you and I. He knows what it is like to walk in your shoes. He knows what it is like to laugh and to cry. He knows what it is like to work and to rest. He knows what it is like to walk in your shoes as a human being. As such, we can go to Him on a daily basis and we should go to Him on a daily basis. Do not just go to God when you are in need of something. Go to God every day with your concerns, your joys, your sorrows, your everything.

Please make a point to join us for Mass on Sunday. St. Margaret Church gathers together each and every Sunday. 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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First Sunday in Lent, February 18th, 2024

The holy and penitential season of Lent officially begins with Ash Wednesday and continues a forty day journey towards Easter. On this First Sunday in Lent, we read about Our Lord's forty days in the wilderness in St. Matthew's Gospel: "And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward an hungred." (St. Matthew 4:1ff) Now, it certainly stands to reason that Our Lord was hungry after not eating for forty days and nights. To be honest, I get hungry after not eating for forty minutes, let alone forty days and forty nights. As human beings, we do become hungry if we do not eat for any extended period of time. And if you are like me, if it has been a while since you have eaten . . . once you do get something to eat, the food tastes so good, doesn't it? But this is not only true physically in regards to feeding ourselves. Human beings also hunger spiritually. Just as we \need to nourish ourselves physically with food, we also need to nourish ourselves with spiritual things. We know on a physical level that if we do not eat for any extended period of time, our body is affected physically. But the same is true spiritually speaking as well. If we go for long periods of time without receiving spiritual nourishment, we will be affected as well: we may become distraught . . . sad . . . angry . . . our consciences may fail us, for example, we don't acknowledge right from wrong or totally ignore right from wrong . . . etc. Make no doubt about it, just as the body needs to be nourished with food, so too does our spirit need to be nourished. And how do we receive spiritual nourishment? We get spiritual nourishment by spending time in prayer . . . reading the Word of God . . . . attending church on a regular basis (not just when we feel like it!) . . . availing ourselves of the Sacraments such as receiving Holy Communion, going to Mass, making our confession, etc. Focus on Heavenly things instead of focusing on earthly things. Try to focus more on the things above instead of only focusing on the things below. If we focus on the "spiritual" and put emphasis on the "spiritual" during the next forty days, we will be better prepared for a good and holy Easter. We will be better prepared spiritually to celebrate the Glorious Resurrection of Our Blessed Saviour as we celebrate Easter!

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church is a traditional Anglican parish, which uses the Anglican Missal and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. We also use the King James Version of the Bible. We believe strongly in Our Lord's words . . . "this is My Body and this is My Blood" . . . and believe that Our Blessed Saviour is truly present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar and we receive Him at Communion time. Come join us every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM as we gather together as God's family to worship Our Blessed Lord. We celebrate Mass in the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

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Quinquagesima, or the Sunday next before Lent,

February 11th, 2024

I love to look at pictures from the past. I truly enjoy seeing the people and settings from decades in the past. As such, I was looking at some of my family pictures from long ago. Some of which were so long ago they were before my time. That was a long time ago! Anyhow, as I was looking at the pictures it dawned on me that the unfamiliar people in those pictures which I was seeing and not recognizing were still connected to me. They were still a part of me. Great-Great-Aunts and Great-Great-Uncles. Great-Great-Great-Grandparents from long ago. The faces in these pictures which I was looking at may look strange to my eyes. They may seem unfamiliar to me. But it dawned on me that despite the fact of me not knowing them, they are still a part of me. They contributed to me being here. Without them, I would not be here. Thanks to them, when you think about it, I am here because of them. By being here today, at this time, I am continuing on because of them. I am my own person, of course, but I carry on thanks in part to their efforts. I have their blood, their DNA inside of me. They are, to a certain degree, the foundation upon which my life is built. This is how it is with God and so many people today. They do not recognize God is in their life, let alone that He is their foundation. They do not understand that God has been with them from the beginning. God is a part of them in ways that they do not even realize. Probably because they do not take the time to realize. They do not take the time to try and understand. We live in a day and age in which we do not need God in our own estimation because we are too busy or we think ourselves too important to need Him. Modern day humanity is so full of themselves in regard to their self-importance that they think they do not need God. But God is indeed our foundation whether we realize it or not. God is still the basis for our life whether we acknowledge it or not. God is still our reason for existence even though we spend our days ignoring Him. Lent is a good time to turn all this around. Spend the next forty days of Lent dedicated to the One Who loves you unconditionally. Dedicate these upcoming days to the One Who died on the Cross for you. Dedicate these upcoming days to love the One Who first loved us.

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Sexagesima, or the Second Sunday before Lent,

February 4th, 2024

On Sunday, February 4th, 2024 in the Gospel for Sexagesima (Second Sunday before Lent), we hear about seed falling on different types of ground. The passage that we are referring to comes to us from St. Luke 8:4-14. And Our Blessed Saviour was speaking to a many people and when He was finished His disciples wanted to know exactly what each of His examples meant. Here, Our Lord explains directly to them that the "seed" represented the Word of God and that this same Word gets planted among different types of soil or ground: some of the seed as it was sown got devoured by the birds; some of it fell on rocky ground; some of the seed got thrown in among the thorns; and, finally, some fell on good ground. Trying not to get too awfully philosophical here but as I like to point out: life is never perfect. Sometimes it is easy-going; sometimes it is difficult; sometimes, life presents challenges to us; sometimes, life is boring; sometimes it is exciting, etc. But no matter what challenges life presents us with, the one constant in our life should be God, first and foremost. Even when we become Christians, we are not promised that life will be easy. We are not promised that we will never have any problems. We are not promised that we will never have any concerns in life. What we are promised is that when we do have a loving, committed, personal relationship with Our Lord, we are promised that He will never leave us. The point being is that throughout our life, going back to the parable of the sower, sometimes our life will seem as rocky ground; sometimes it will seem as filled with thorns; and sometimes it will seem like it is simply good ground for planting. Let the Word of God be planted in you, . . . . in your heart. Let your heart be the good ground that Our Lord was referring to. Let the Word of God be planted so deeply in your heart that nothing can never take it away from you. Let that Word of God grow in your heart so that you will become committed like never before to Our Blessed Saviour.

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Septuagesima, or the Third Sunday before Lent,

January 28th, 2024

On Sunday, January 28th, 2024, the Church celebrates Septuagesima Sunday . . . or the Third Sunday Before Lent . . . The "Gesima Sundays" are the final countdown, if you will, or the three Sundays of preparation for the holy season of Lent. The Gospel for today's Mass comes to us from the Twentieth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew. In this Chapter, St. Matthew recalls the words of Our Lord in regards to the householder who hired laborers to work in his vineyard. And the householder went out at various points throughout the day to hire laborers to come and work in his vineyard. And at the end of the day each of the laborers got paid the same exact wage whether they worked the whole day or just the last hour of the day. God invites those whom He chooses to invite. But the key is that it is up to us to accept or decline the invitation. The very end of the passage that we heard today ends with: " . . . for many be called, but few chosen ." (St. Matthew 20:16) I speak to so many people and it's the same thing for most people: they are involved in a whole host of activities. Just think about all the different "hats" that you may or may not have in your own life: worker; homeowner; spouse; parent; neighbor; volunteer; friend; customer; etc. The list could go on and on. But I talk to so many people who have been chosen to work on a special committee or who have been chosen to be in charge of a special project of one sort or another. Even at work, we get chosen by our boss or our manager to be in charge of something. Throughout our life, all of us can think of one example or another where we have been chosen. God has chosen His people as well. "For thou art an holy people unto the Lord Thy God: the Lord Thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all the people that are upon the face of the earth." (Deuteronomy 7:6) We are chosen by God to be a "special people" unto Him. We must never forget that. God has chosen YOU! It is up to us whether or not we accept the invitation. Remember who you are: You are "special"; You are "chosen" You are "loved." I do not think that most of us realize the importance of this fact. If we did, we would spend more time focused on the things above as opposed to being focused on the things here below.

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Third Sunday after Epiphany, January 21st, 2024

In the Second Chapter of St. John's Gospel, we hear the familiar story of the Miracle at Cana, where Our Blessed Lord turned water into wine. For those of us who have read the Bible our entire lives, in particular the Gospels, it is easy for us to overlook the miraculous works of Our Lord because we are so used to seeing Him perform miracles all throughout the Gospel accounts. But if we are not paying attention we may miss something, we may overlook something important. You see, in this recounting of what happened at the Wedding Feast of Cana, buried deep within the story, we hear some of the most important words ever spoken in the entire Bible: "His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it." (St. John 2:1ff) Our Lady is telling those in charge of the wedding feast to do whatever her Son tells them to do. She should know what she is talking about . . . this is her Son. She raised Him. She saw Him grow to become an adult. The reason she is so confident in what she states is because she spent time with Him every day of His life. "Do whatever He tells you . . . ." We, too, are called to spend time with Our Blessed Lord every single day. If we spend quality time with Our Saviour on a daily basis, we will also have confidence just like Our Lady did when she gave the advice, "do whatever He tells you . . ." We need to follow this advice as well and this can only be done by making a point to listen to what He is telling us and we can only accomplish this by making a point to listen to Him. Listen to what Our Lord is saying to you . . . pay attention to what He is saying to you . . . heed His advice. "Do whatever He tells you . . . ."

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Second Sunday after Epiphany, January 14th, 2024

I kid around that I am always the last one to know something. And I am out of the loop especially when it comes to popular things or fashionable things, so to speak. So it certainly comes as no surprise that I only recently heard about this furor surrounding Stanley mugs/tumblers. Have you heard about this? People line up to buy these Stanley mugs and they sell out immediately. And as a result of these mgs selling out, people are reselling them for 200, 300, 400 dollars. It simply astounds me. It is funny, though, because I was washing my coffee mug recently and while I am washing it, I noticed something which I never noticed before. It turns out that my mug which I have been using for years is a Stanley mug. The thing that is so popular throughout the world right now is something that I already possessed all along. This got me to thinking about God or should I say people searching for God. So often we search for God because we need Him. So often we search for God in all kinds of places. But the bottom line is that God was there all along. So often God is right there alongside us and we don't even realize it. "Whither shall I go from Thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from Thy presence?" (Psalm 139:7) God is everywhere. God is with us at all times. God is always with us. But at the times when we do not think God is with us, the truth is that we were not focused on God. We were too busy focused on other things. We were too busy focused on the things of the world . . . the things that we wanted . . . focused on things of the world. But no matter what God remains there with us. And we are surprised that God was there all along. At those times we discover that God was not absent from us, we were absent from Him.

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First Sunday after Epiphany, January 7th, 2024

Have you ever noticed when a teacher is checking to make sure the answer is correct, the teacher will not only look at your answer, but will also want to know how you arrived at the answer? In other words, the teacher wants to check what path you took to find the answer to the question. I remember when I was young, going to elementary school, I remember asking the teacher how to spell a particular word and the teacher would respond: "Look it up in the dictionary." How are you going to look up a word in a dictionary if you don't know how to spell the word, I would wonder. Well, the answer if obvious. A good teacher will not only provide you with an answer but will provide you with the knowledge and the know-how to obtain an answer. A good teacher, in other words, teaches you how to find out the answer to a question instead of simply giving you the answer. This is because often times, in life, there are different ways to find the answer that we are looking for.

In the Second chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke, we hear the story of when Our Blessed Saviour was left behind in the Temple. And St. Luke tells us that when Our Lady and St. Joseph returned to Jerusalem to find their Son, they found the Divine Child in the Temple, "sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions." (Chapter 2:46) After Our Lady approaches her Son and tells Him that they were worried and looking for Him, the Divine Child responds: "How is it that ye sought me?" (Chapter 2:49) As pointed out above, a teacher may ask the path you took to find the answer. Our Lord often asks us the same question. He wants to find out what path we took to find Him. So often in life, people look for God in so many different places. Sometimes the path we take to find happiness takes us down a wrong path. Sometimes we end up feeling lost and miserable. Often, when we think we have found happiness, we end up not feeling as satisfied as we thought that we were. As a Christian, we realize that God is our ultimate happiness. Other things that we think will bring us happiness and joy . . . whether it be drink, or drugs, or money, or wealth, or honor in the eyes of the world . . . these things only give us contentment for a time. God, we know, gives us everlasting contentment. St. Augustine teaches that in trying to find joy and fulfillment, we are really searching ultimately for God. Because he states that all things that we think will bring us satisfaction will ultimately fail us. Only God brings everlasting joy and contentment. What path have you followed to find God? Have you searched for Him in your longing to find joy and contentment in earthly possessions? Things of the world never bring everlasting joy. Only a true, dedicated, committed, personal relationship with God will bring us true satisfaction. Give Him your heart. Make Him the King and Ruler of your life.

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First Sunday after Christmas, December 31st, 2023

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 acting up and not listening to his parents. And the first thought to our mind is: "What an ungrateful child" or "what a 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.

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church is a traditional Anglican parish, which uses the Anglican Missal and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. We also use the King James Version of the Bible. We believe strongly in Our Lord's words . . . "this is My Body and this is My Blood" . . . and believe that Our Blessed Saviour is truly present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar and we receive Him at Communion time. Come join us every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM as we gather together as God's family to worship Our Blessed Lord. We celebrate Mass in the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Fourth Sunday in Advent, December 24th, 2023

It just seems to make common sense that you have to have all the parts in order to make something complete. For example, if a bike is missing the wheels . . . . it is incomplete. How frustrating would it be to work on a 5,000 piece puzzle and discover some of the pieces were missing? Or if you are in the kitchen, how are you going to prepare something if you do not have all of the ingredients? I might have it in my mind to bake a cherry pie but what if I do not have any cherries for my cherry pie? Again, it only makes sense that we must have all the parts or all the ingredients on hand if we are going to make something. In essence, St. Paul is saying this to the Philippians in the fourth chapter of that epistle when he writes: " . . . . but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know unto God." (Philippians 4:6) When it comes to prayer, very often we are missing some of the elements. Many people only pray when they need something. Many of us only go to God when we are in need of a favor from Him. And it is fine to go to God when you are in need of something . .. or in trouble . . . or in need of mercy . . . . after all, God is our loving Father and He wants to be there for His children. But, that being said, we should not ONLY approach God solely when we need something. That would be the equivalent of a neighbor who won't give you the time of day but will only come to you when they need something. Or having a relative that never contacts you except when they need to borrow some money. We need to go to God in prayer not only when we need something from Him. This is what St. Paul is saying. We need to also praise Him when we pray. And we certainly need to pray in Thanksgiving when we pray. In other words, we need to thank Him for the many blessings He bestows upon us during our lifetime. "Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; and make a joyful noise to Him with psalms." (Psalm 94:2) Christmas is the season of giving. Let each of us focus on giving more time to God. Let us dedicate more prayer time to God. Do not let the fast pace of the world and all the being busy in life keep us from approaching God. Let us take time each day from our busy lives in order to dedicate that time solely to God.

NOTE: On Sunday, December 24th, 2023, Mass will be celebrated at our normal time of 10:30 am on Sunday morning. On Monday, December 25th, 2023, Christmas Day, we will celebrate Mass at a special time of 11:00 am. Please make a point of joining us one day or both days if you can.

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Third Sunday in Advent, December 17th, 2023

Have you ever been overjoyed by something and before you knew it, the joy had worn off? 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. 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!

The Third Sunday of Advent is referred to as "Gaudete Sunday." And this is because "Gaudete" is the Latin word for rejoice, which comes from the first word of the introit, "Rejoice .. . . " As such, the Church is past the midway point of the season of Advent, and we use this opportunity to take a breather, so to speak. Remember, the season of Advent is supposed to be somewhat somber in nature . . . this is why the liturgical colour during this season is violet or purple as it is in Lent. But today the Church lightens its' mood just a bit and rose coloured vestments can be worn instead of violet for today.

Make a point to join St. Margaret Church on Sunday, December 17th, 2023 as we continue our Advent journey. Take time out of your busy schedule and dedicate that time to God. Come listen to His Word and receive His Precious Body and Blood at Communion time. St. Margaret Church worships at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis. Mass begins at 10:30 am every Sunday morning. Please make a point to visit us.

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Second Sunday in Advent, December 10th, 2023

"WHATSOEVER things were written aforetime were written for our learning," (Romans 15:4)

How many products do we open up without ever reading the instructions? In the world in which we live today it seems that every product comes with some kind of instructions or warnings or a list of ingredients. Everything from food packages to the prescriptions we pick up. Speaking of prescriptions, even the commercials for new prescriptions you see on TV list all kinds of warnings and information right there in the commercial. Everything seems to come with some kind of warning, some kind of instructions, some kind of information which are placed there for our benefit but none of us rarely takes the time to read or take notice of what is given to us. Sad to say but generally speaking God's Word sadly falls into this category as well. How many people take time out of their busy schedule to read the "Good Book?" How many people make a point to open up the Scriptures and learn what God is saying to them? How many of us make the effort to learn from the Bible? Of course many people do but I am speaking in general terms here. I would dare say that most people treat the Word of God just like the informational printouts that the pharmacist gives them when they pick up their prescriptions. Does anyone ever read the printouts that the pharmacist gives us with our prescriptions? Does anyone ever take the time to read what is printed on a product we buy in the store? Sadly, who takes the time in our day and age to read what God wants them to learn? The Scriptures are there for our learning. The Scriptures are presented for us to know the things of God. The Word of God is given to us to know what God would have us know. God speaks to us through the Word of God. We should make a point to read and learn and hear what God is saying to us.

Make a point to join St. Margaret Church on Sunday, December 10th, 2023 as we continue our Advent journey. Take time out of your busy schedule and dedicate that time to God. Come listen to His Word and receive His Precious Body and Blood at Communion time. St. Margaret Church worships at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis. Mass begins at 10:30 am every Sunday morning. Please make a point to visit us.

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First Sunday in Advent, December 3rd, 2023

The Thirteenth Chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans is the passage appointed for the First Sunday in Advent. Personally, if I was forced to "name" this specific chapter, or this specific passage, I would probably call it the "Challenge Passage." Why? Because in this chapter St. Paul tells the Romans . . . . and not just them, but us as well . .. . that we are called to love one another. In this passage that we hear today, it begins with St. Paul writing: "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another; for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." (Romans 13:8) And then he continues after that by writing: ". . . therefore love is the fulfilling of the law" (Romans 13:10) And, once again you ask, why would I call this particular chapter the "Challenge Passage?" Well, quite frankly, it is difficult to love a lot of people in this world, isn't it? There are certain people in our life that are very easy to love. These people are kind. These people are gentle. They might be generous to us by giving us their time. They might show us love first. They might be fun to be around. etc. It's easy to love people described above. But what about loving those people who do not fit the above description? What about those people who are rude? what about those people who are mean to us? What about the people that, quite frankly, could be described as "jerks?" How easy is it to "love" these people? Truth be known, every single one of us could come up with a list of people whom we consider great . . . . . in other words, the people that make it easy to love them . . . . and a list of people that we can't stand . . . . in other words, the people that are very hard to love. And yet, we know from Scripture and specifically this Thirteenth Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans that " .. . . love is the fulfilling of the law." Why should we do this? Well, quite frankly, because we are commanded to do so as Christians. But, in my humble opinion, more importantly, we need to do it because we need to follow Our Blessed Lord's example. In other words, He did it. He loved those who did not love Him. He showed love to those who did not show love to Him. We don't know why sometimes, but God loves even those who do not deserve love, at least in our way of thinking. This is proven in the fact that God sent His only begotten Son into the world on behalf of all men . . . . not just on behalf of kind men . . . . not just on behalf of friendly men . . . . not just on behalf of men who first do things for us . . . . He sent His Son into the world on behalf of ALL humanity, not just some. Let us spend this holy season of Advent preparing ourselves for the coming of the Christ Child. Let us welcome Him into our heart and prepare by imitating Him in our love of others. Not just love for those who deserve our love . . . . but working on loving those who do not show love to us because this is what Our Saviour did . . . . He loved those who did not even love Him.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

Please Join us as we gather together as God's family to: hear the Word of God; listen as God speaks to each one of us in our hearts; worship God in song and in word; listen to the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer; and, finally, receive Our Blessed Lord in Holy Communion so that we can be nourished for the journey we call life. Take one hour out of your busy schedule to worship God, to honour God, to acknowledge the need for God in your life. St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

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Sunday Next before Advent, November 26th, 2023

"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!

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Trinity, November 19th, 2023

When you go shopping are there just certain brand-names that you trust? When you see a certain company's name on a product, does it automatically register "quality" in your mind? Or on the other hand, when you see a certain product name, do you avoid it at all costs? Very often this trust . . . or dis-trust, for that matter .. . comes from experience, doesn't it? When we get a specific brand of laundry detergent and we use it a few times and our clothes look bright and appear brand new after a wash. Or they smell fresh like spring. Well, if this experience continues to be the case for us each time we buy that product, for us that brand is a "winner." On the other hand, if we buy a product at the store and it turns out to be lousy or does not meet our expectations, our faith in that product will be lacking and we likely won't buy that brand any time soon. Again, in either case, whether we like a product or whether we do not like a product, more than likely both are based on experience. The same can be true of going to a restaurant. If we had a good experience . . . . the food was good . . . the service was excellent . . . the price was not over-whelming . . . then, by all means, our opinion of that establishment will be high. Conversely, our opinion of that same establishment will be lacking if the food was lousy or the service was poor, for example. So, very often our faith in a product, or lack of faith in a product, is based on experience.

St. Paul writes in his Epistle to the Colossians: ". . . . since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus " (Colossians 1:3 ff) In this sense, where does "faith" in God come from? Very often we learn about God from other people: our parents; our grandparents; etc. As children, our parents perhaps take us to church or we go to Sunday School or we might go to Vacation Bible School in the summer months. As we grow, we still are influenced by what we hear and see about God coming from others around us, but as we grow spiritually, we need to experience our own "faith" in God. You see, our faith life is very much like a journey that we travel on. Sometimes the road is very easy. Other times it might be rough or rocky. Sometimes there are a twists and turns that we were not expecting. Often, our journey does not match up with our expectations or what we were planning on. Faith in God is something completely different. We know that we can depend on God. We know that He will never leave us. But faith comes mainly from experience but first we have to "experience" God ourselves. So many people give up on God because their experience of Him is lacking. They have no faith because they have not seen Him. But it could be that they have not seen Him because they were not really looking to begin with. Let us tell people about God by the way in which we live our life. Let us tell people about God by the way in which we treat others around us with love and compassion. Let people see the "faith" in us by always staying constant, by always being sure no matter what befalls us. Let people know about your faith in God by letting them see the life you lead and the attitude you have.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity, November 12th, 2023

In the Twenty-Second Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, we hear Our Lord say: "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's" Needless to say, this quote is one of the most remembered quotes found in Scripture. Certainly, in this response, Our Lord is being very direct in what He says. There is no need to remind any of us that we all lead busy lives. Most every person I know seems to lead a busy life. And as such, we wear many different hats. Think of all the different "hats" you might have worn in your life-time: Child; Parent; Student; Teacher; Employee; Boss; Husband; Wife; Neighbor; Home-Owner; Volunteer; etc. etc. And the list can go on and on. In each of these roles that I have described above, and countless others, we all have a different role that we play. The role of a parent is far different from the role we played as a child. The role that a boss plays is different than that of an employee. So in each of these positions, we are called to play a different role, depending on the situation. But throughout each of these "roles" that we play, we are called to put our Christianity into it as much as possible. We need to find a way to perform our "roles" and do what we are called to do but at the same time never forget that ultimately we are Christians first and foremost. Today's Gospel passage reminds us that Christians are citizens of two worlds: the Heavenly world and the earthly world. We are "dual-citizens," in that respect. And it will not always be easy to "coexist" between the two. But that is what we are called to do: live as a human being but do it in a Christian manner.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity, November 5th, 2023

"I THANK my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy," (Philippians 1:3)

I do my best to always show my gratefulness. I do this when someone takes the time to hold the door open for me. I do this when a waiter or waitress brings me the food I ordered. I do this when someone hands me something that I need. In these situations, and so many more I am in the habit of saying "Thank you." Yes, without a doubt, this is indeed a habit. It is a habit that has been with me an entire lifetime. And I owe the development of this "good habit" to my dear parents who so long ago cultivated this important habit and showed me the importance of being grateful and showing thanks. It is important to show thanks. It is important to show our gratefulness and our thanksgiving to those around us.

I would dare say that the importance of saying "Thank you" and being grateful extends to God as well, wouldn't you agree? And yet how often do we take the time to thank Our Heavenly Father? How many times do we make a point to thank Him for all the blessings He has bestowed on us? Or do we only go to God when we need something? We're good when it comes to running to God when we need Him. We're good at going to God when we are in trouble and need His help but how often do we make a point to simply thank Him, to show our gratefulness for all He has done for us? Being grateful is a mindset and showing gratefulness is a habit. When we come to God, we need to have the mindset of being grateful for all the blessings He has bestowed upon us. And showing our gratefulness to God is a habit we need to develop. So many people only seem to call upon God when they need something and they don't speak to Him again until the next time they need something. We need to thank God each and every day of our lives for all the blessings He bestows upon us. Thank God daily. Thank Him for your life. Thank Him for the blessings in your life. Bless Him for the salvation He freely offers. Thank Him for all you possess.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Twentieth Sunday after Trinity, October 22nd, 2023

"So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good:" (St. Matthew 22:1 ff)

In the Twenty-Second Chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew, Our Blessed Saviour is telling the story of the king who made a marriage-feast for his son. Now, as the story goes, Our Lord says that the invited guests "made light" of the invitation and decided not to show up for a variety of reasons: . . . . . "one to his farm, another to his merchandise . . . ." Now the fact that none of the invited guests showed up once the feast was ready upset the king greatly. As a result the king instructed his servants to bring guests to the feast, no matter who they were. Our Lord continues the story as He relates the instructions of the king to his servants: "Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests." Now, there are a number of things we could say about this story but I would like to point out two important considerations:

1) The first thing I would like to point out in this story is that the servants invited as many as they could . . . . and Our Lord continues . . . . "both bad and good." Why would Our Lord make the statement "both bad and good?" Remember the main reason why Our Lord is telling this story to begin with is that He is comparing it to the Kingdom of God. So, we should always remember that God has love for both the "bad and good." Our Lord died on the Cross for both the "bad and good." And Our Heavenly Father invites both the "bad and good" to be with Him in Heaven. How often though do we not show love to those whom we deem to be "bad?" How often in our life do we not reach out to certain people because we think of ourselves as "good" and them "bad?" Our Lord came to this earth to tell everyone . . . . both bad and good . . . about the Kingdom of God. He came to instruct everyone in regards to His Heavenly Father. He did not come to just save the "good." He came for the "bad" as well. If Our Blessed Saviour did not differentiate between who was "good" and who was "bad," why should we?

2) The second consideration we should make point to remember is that the original invited guests did not show up because they were more concerned with other things. Our Lord states that the original invited guests "made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise . . . " How many of us in the world "make light" of God's invitation because we are too concerned with "things of the world." How many of us are too distracted by things in the world to even pay attention to what God is calling us to? The world offers so many distractions that catch our attention and divert us away from God. We need to be always vigilant to stay focused on God and not on the things of the world. This story should help remind us of the importance of this fact that we should stay focused on "things of above" and not on "things below."

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, October 15th, 2023

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 small 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?

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity, October 8th, 2023

The beginning of today's Epistle states: "I thank my God always on your behalf . . . " (I Corinthians 1:4 ff) Here, St. Paul is making the point that he thanks God for the witness of faith found in the Church at Corinth. It is amazing how many times in a day that we say "Thank you." Have you ever tried to count the number of times that you said these two simple little words in the course of a day? Probably not but I bet you say it a lot. If you go to the store and you buy something, the odds are probably good that you say "Thank you" to the cashier after making your purchase. If someone holds the door for you on the way out, again, the odds are probably good that you once again say "Thank you" to the person showing the courtesy of holding the door for you. If the waiter takes your order . . . if the server brings you your drink . . . . if someone says "God bless you" after you sneeze . . . I would be willing to bet that you probably said "Thank you" at each one of these scenarios I just described. If you have ever worked in the customer service field like I have, you get in the habit of saying "Thank you" a lot!

But how often do we say "Thank you" to God? As demonstrated above, the odds are that we thank an awful lot of people in the course of a day, week, or month. But how often have we thanked God during the last 24 hours . . . or week . . . or month? Have we thanked Him at all? We are awfully quick to speak to God when we need something from Him but is that the only time we ever take the time to speak to Him? When we need a favour? If we had a friend that only spoke to us when he/she needed something from us, over time, I doubt if we would think very highly of that so-called friend. And yet that is what we do to God at certain times during our life. We get busy with the "busy-ness" of everyday living and we do not take time out for God: to spend time with Him . . . . to talk with Him ... . to thank Him. And then when we get in trouble over one thing or another, then we run to Him and ask Him to help us. The bottom line is this: God wants us to run to Him when we are in need. He wants to help us. And yet I am willing to bet that He would also like to hear from us for no other reason than to simply say "Hi" or to say "Thank you for the blessings you have given me this day." Make a point to thank God for what He has given you.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity, October 1st, 2023

Our Lord gave the example of someone who took the liberty of sitting in a seat of great honour but was embarrassed when they were told to move to a different seat. Our Lord explained: "Because every one that exalteth himself, shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself, shall be exalted." (St Luke 14:11) Now as with all things we always have to be careful that we are doing things the way that God would have us do. I state this because we are humans and, as such, we usually want to have things done our way. Secondly, the ways of the world are very appealing and it is easy for us human beings to fall into the ways of the world and doing things the "world's way," so to speak. We are reminded elsewhere in Scripture to "turn the other cheek." Even when we do that, so often, in the eyes of the world that is taken as a form of weakness. But for the devout, committed Christian, we are called to do the will of God here in the world. This takes patience, endurance, and a surety that we are doing what God would have us do. Even when we do the right thing, we will often be mocked or questioned. When Our Lord stated that those of us who humble ourselves will be exalted, He was referring to our exaltation when we get to Heaven to spend eternity with Our Heavenly Father. Let us not get so fixated on the riches and glory of this world, because the riches and glory of this world are passing away and will pass away. So many people judge their success by the standards of the world. We Christians are called to judge our success by whether or not we have served God faithfully. Riches will come, riches will fade away. Health will be with us and sickness will come as well. We will enjoy times of ease and will also endure times of misery. But whether we are rich or poor; whether we are healthy or sick; the one constant through all these "ups" and "downs" in life will be our relationship with God. Serve God faithfully. Have a relationship with Him. Grow each and every day in your faithfulness to God and always remain faithful to Him.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 24th, 2023

In the Seventh Chapter of his Gospel, St. Matthew tells us that Our Lord and His Disciples went into the city of Nain and when He entered the city He saw something which obviously touched His Heart: "Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother" St. Matthew confirms that Our Lord had compassion on the mother and because of this He raised the young man back to life. It is Christ Who needs to breathe life into us. It is Our Blessed Saviour Who needs to give us life. It is God Who needs to heal us. So many people in the world today try to find "life" in the things of the world. The unfortunate thing is that seeking after the things of the world does not give you life. People think that drugs and alcohol will cure their ills and yet their addiction becomes like a tight collar constantly strangling the life away from them. People think that more and more riches and possessions will bring true happiness and yet the more we get the more we spend, and we end up on a never-ending merry-go-round always seeking more and more and more. Never truly satisfied. We need to turn our hearts over to God. "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." (Ephesians 5:14) Focus on the love of God. Focus on your relationship with God. Set your sights on the things of Heaven instead of the things of the world. Worldly things are short-lived but the love of God lasts an eternity.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 17th, 2023

In the Sixth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Mathew, Our Lord states: "NO man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." (St. Matthew 6:24) Growing up, I was always led to believe that the word "mammon" specifically meant "money." And yet the word "mammon" is actually an Aramaic word meaning "riches." So the point that Our Lord was making was that we can not serve both God and our riches, our possessions. For the Christian, God should be the center of our heart. It should be God that we focus our attention on. So many people are proud of their possessions. They cherish what they possess: their home, their car, their rich suits, their clothing, etc. The list goes on and on. And the list is different for every person. But for the Christian we should cherish, first and foremost, the relationship we have with God. Everything else fades away with time but the love of God is eternal. Man focuses so much time and energy on earthly, material things that ultimately fade into oblivion. We should focus our time and our energy into serving God and doing His will here on earth.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 10th, 2023

Is it just me or are there less and less manners being put into practice by people in today's society? For example, I enjoy going to a store that sells used movies. Since the aisles are rather narrow, you have to pass in front of people in order to go down the aisle. Now, this is not the problem. Since the aisles are narrow, this is understandable. What is not understandable to me, though, are the complete lack of manners and total disrespect exhibited by a good percentage of people today. People will walk right in front of you and never say "Excuse me" or "Sorry" or "Pardon me." Go ahead and hold a door open for someone today and see if you get a "Thank you" in return for your efforts. My parents taught me manners while I was growing up. They taught me to always say "Yes, Ma'am" or "Yes, Sir" when addressing others. They taught me to say "Please" and "Thank You." They taught me the art of something we used to call "common courtesy." You see, common courtesy is something that everyone is capable of if they would just put the effort into it. I am so grateful that my parents taught me to be courteous and respectful. It is a skill that I have tried to put into practice my whole life. Sadly, judging from others around me, it seems that this is a "dying art." Is it a matter that people were never "taught" manners or is it that they were taught, yes, but they just choose not to be respectful? It's hard to say.

In the Seventeenth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke, we hear about Our Blessed Saviour passing through Samaria and Galilee as He went to Jerusalem. And as Our Lord traveled, St. Luke tells us, He met ten lepers who begged for healing. They yelled, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" Our Lord heard their request and told them to go show themselves to the priest. As they went, they were miraculously healed . . . . all ten of them. The curious thing is that all ten lepers were cured but only one leper turned back to thank Our Blessed Saviour. Only one man who was cured returned to give praise and thanksgiving. Only one man came back to acknowledge the amazing thing that Our Lord just did for him. Now in this story it is easy to find fault with the other "nine" who were not courteous enough to turn around and show thanksgiving to Our Blessed Saviour. But how often do we fail to show thanks to God for all the blessings He shows us on a daily basis? Do we thank God for blessing us? Do we go to God daily in prayer to thank Him for the life He has given us? Do we thank Him for the blessings He has bestowed on us? How often do we thank God for the wonderful things He does for us? Our Blessed Saviour was impressed with the Samaritan who turned around and gave thanks to Him for the healing he had received. Let us pray that Our Blessed Saviour will be impressed with us as well when we thank Him for all the blessings He has bestowed on us.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 3rd, 2023

I remember one particular television show which I have not seen in a long time, "Hogan's Heroes." And in this particular sitcom from the 1960's, one of the main characters is "Sgt. Schultz." The catch-phrase, I would dare say for Sgt. Schultz would be: "I know nothing." He would say this when he caught Hogan and his men doing something that they should not be doing. And the point being that Sgt. Schultz did not want to know about those things that he saw with his own eyes. In our own lives, we see lots of things with our own eyes. Like Sgt. Schultz, sometimes we see things we would rather not see. But other times we see things that are wonderful to our eyes. In the tenth chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke, Our Blessed Lord is speaking to His disciples and He says to them: "BLESSED are the eyes which see the things that ye see" (v. 23) In this verse, of course, Our Saviour is speaking to the disciples but, quite frankly, each one of us has seen the Lord at work in our lives. Each one of us has seen Our Blessed Lord touch our life in one way or another. Therefore, blessed are our eyes which have seen the Lord at work in our very life as well. As human beings, similar to Sgt. Schultz, we see what we want to see and ignore what we want to ignore. As Christians, though, we need to make a point to look for the things of God. We need to take note of the ways in which God is working in our life. You see, God is with us every single day of our life. But often times we are too busy to even notice. God gives blessings to every single one of us on a daily basis. Unfortunately, we usually are more interested in the things of the world to even take notice. Have you ever had the experience where you were looking for something that you needed, like a pair of eyeglasses, for example, and you searched and you looked around and you could not find it and then it turned out to be right near you and you never saw it? It was in plain view all along but you never saw it even though it was right by you all the time. That's how it is with God very often. God is with us each and every day. God blesses us each and every day. And yet despite this fact, so often we do not take the time to notice. So often we do not even realize that God is at work in our life. This is why we need to make the point to search for God on a daily basis. And once we do, I think many of us will be surprised to see how close He was all along.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, August 27th, 2023

In the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, we hear: ". . . . not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;" (II Corinthians 3:5) God is the one who makes all things possible. God is the one who gives us the tools we need to create, develop and produce the amazing things we enjoy in life. He provides man with the talent and the ability to create amazing things. We do our part by using the skills and talents we have been blessed with but God makes all things possible. St. Paul recognized this fact. "But by the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain . . . " (I Corinthians 15:10) As faithful, devout Christians we are called to use the skills and talents each one of us possess. For some, they are good with their hands. These people can fix things and build things. While someone else may have the gift of teaching and making things understandable. Others are gifted with the talent to make beautiful works of art enjoyed by others. All of us have gifts and talents that only we possess. We are all called to use the talents that the Good Lord has bestowed upon each one of us. But first, we need to acknowledge the gift that God has given to us in these varied gifts and talents. Like St. Paul, we should always remember that our talent, our skill, our ability .. . . none of these would exist without God. We depend totally upon God for the blessings we enjoy.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, August 20th, 2023

St. Paul begins the Fifteenth Chapter of his First Epistle to the Corinthians as follows: "I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand" (I Corinthians 15:1) Where do we stand? Do we always stand for God? Sometimes? Rarely? I hear a lot of folks these days speaking about standing up for this belief or standing up for that belief. I hear a whole lot of folks speaking about standing up for rights. I hear a whole lot of folks talking about standing up against hatred and taking a stand for freedom. We hear about a whole bunch of folks these days standing up and taking stands but how often do you hear people saying that they're standing up for God? That they're standing up for the Gospel? Each one of us is called as Christians to do what God has called us to do. He is our Rock and our Foundation upon which we stand firm. So many people nowadays seem to stand up for whatever the passing fad happens to be. But we Christians are called to stand firm in our faith. And in order to do this it takes a long time. In fact it takes a lifetime of practice. We people of faith need to stand firm in our beliefs and stand firm in God.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Tenth Sunday after Trinity, August 13th, 2023

St. Luke tells us of Our Lord's triumphal entry to Jerusalem in the Nineteenth chapter of his gospel. Now, keep in mind that all four of the evangelists tell about this event in their respective gospels but in St. Luke's Gospel, we hear something that is not found in the other three. ". . . he beheld the city, and wept over it " (St. Luke 19:41) In other words, St. Luke is describing the fact that as Our Lord beheld the great city of Jerusalem, as He saw it, He began to weep, . . . . He began to cry. Now we cry for a multitude of reasons, don't we? We can cry out of sadness. We can cry out of frustration. We can cry even when we are happy . . . they are called "tears of joy." Our Lord was crying for all of the above reasons, it seems to me. He was crying because He was sad. Sad at the fact that the people wasted so much time and energy on useless pursuits instead of pursuing a relationship with God. He cried too out of frustration because He knew that despite all of the best efforts of the prophets, despite the efforts of St. John the Baptist and all the holy men and women of God, and, now, despite the best efforts of the Son of God Himself, despite all these efforts and energies, people still turned their back on God! And, finally, Our Lord was crying with some joy in His heart because He knew that there is hope for all those that He saw. Our Lord is the hope of the world! Our Blessed Saviour is the remedy for all the illnesses of the world. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life!

As parents, we want the absolute best for our children. In particular, we want them to have the best "future" that they possibly can with the best job, with the best home, with the best spouse, etc. We want them to be happy but we don't want them to settle for the "second best." But, as parents, we still need to let our children live their own life when they grow up. As babies, as children, we have to make decisions on their behalf but when they grow up, they have to live their own life. And, sometimes, as parents, we are disappointed in the choices that our children make. It grieves us and frustrates us as parents because we don't want our children to settle for "second best." This is why Our Lord was crying for the children of Jerusalem because He knew that they could have so much more by following God but instead they settled for "second best." And Our Lord certainly knew that despite the fact that He died on the Cross many souls would still choose to turn their back on God. Let us never turn our back on God. Let us never settle for "second best." Let us always choose the "best" way of life . . . and that is a personal relationship with Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Transfiguration of Our Lord, August 6th, 2023

We read in the Ninth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke the story of the Transfiguration of Our Blessed Saviour. In this Ninth Chapter, we hear that St Peter; St John; and St James accompanied Our Lord to pray. Now, bear in mind as we read of this account that a marvelous event is about to unfold: Our Lord will not only be transfigured as "His countenance was altered," (v. 29) but also that Moses and Elias will appear alongside Our Lord. Now, imagine if you will, all of this happening in front of YOUR eyes. How would you react? What would you do? What would be your reaction to all of this have been? Well, in Verse 32, we hear what happened to St Peter, St James and St John: "But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with Him." (St. Luke 9:32) " . . . THEY WERE HEAVY WITH SLEEP . . . ." Really? Heavy with sleep? Seriously? I mean, come on, how can this be? Here you are, you find yourself with the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. You are in His Presence where not only He is transfigured: His "countenance was altered" and "His raiment was white and glistening." If this wasn't enough, Moses and Elias appear alongside of Him. And St Peter and the boys fall asleep? Seriously?!?!?! It wasn't until they awoke from their sleep that, as St. Luke tells us: " . . . . and when they were awake, they saw his glory . . . . ." You know, it is so easy to be a "back-seat driver," isn't it? It is really easy to make "commentary" about others when it is not us walking in their shoes. As St. Luke tells us it was not UNTIL they awoke that they were able to see the glory of the Lord. That's really how it is with us as well, quite frankly. Have you ever told someone or has anyone ever told you in the course of a conversation: "Wake up!" "Why don't you wake up?!?" "Wake up and smell the coffee!" When someone says something along these lines, what they're really saying is "Wake up to reality." "Come back to reality." Well, for Peter, James and John, it wasn't until they woke up that they were able to truly see the glory of the Lord. We, too, like them need to "wake up" out of our sleep in order to see the glory of the Lord. So many of us are lost in a deep sleep as well. We are sleeping and dreaming about the things of the world: money, and nice clothes, and food, and drink, and power, and possessions. We day-dream about these things and more and focus our lives around them. But until we wake up from our sleep . .. . Until we wake up from our dreams of worldly things we lust after . . . . until we awaken, it will be then that we will be able to fully appreciate the majesty of Our Blessed Saviour and see Him in His full glory. We can not see His Glory because we are so busy looking at the things of the world. Have you ever seen something in the corner of your eye but you didn't see it fully because you really looking at something else? Quite frankly, that is how it is for us when it comes to things of God. We have good intentions. We want to be good. We want to listen to God. We want to do what God would have us do. But we get sidetracked. Our attention gets diverted. We end up focusing on something else. Let us be like St Peter and St James and St John. Let us wake out of our sleep so that we can see the glory of the Lord. Let us always focus on Our Blessed Saviour so that we can appreciate His glory and His majesty.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Eighth Sunday after Trinity, July 30th, 2023

I am sure that you have heard the expression that someone is "bigger than life." Someone who is "bigger than life" is a person that is known for doing things in a wild way or who is known for doing something dangerous or exciting. Like, for example, a race car driver or a movie star. We meet a person with a "big personality" and we say he/she is "bigger than life." You could say that a person "bigger than life" is someone who points to something beyond his or her self: they do a dangerous job . . . they have a unique hobby . . . . they take care of dangerous animals, for example. In a strange sort of a way, all of us point to something beyond us. Each one of us represent something to someone else. Well, for example, to a store owner, you are not just a person, you are a customer or a potential customer. If you have a spouse, you are a husband or wife. If you have children, you are a parent. If you like a particular sports team, you are a fan. The list goes on and on. To your boss, you are an employee. It is rare that we are just merely our self, in other words. Typically, we represent something beyond our self. In other words, we fill roles that point beyond our self. People don't look at us and just see . . . . Jack . . . . or Mary . . . or Gladys . . . . etc. When people look at us they see rather . . . a scout leader . . . a customer . . . . a potential customer . . . a parent . . a neighbor, etc.

As Christians, we are also called not to point to our self but rather we are called to point to something greater than our self. We are called to point to something beyond our self: God. In a certain sense, this is why Our Lord gave a warning about false shepherds who were only looking out for themselves. "BEWARE of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits." (St. Matthew 7:15 ff) A true man or woman of God points beyond themselves. They point to someone greater than they are. A false prophet will only worry about fulfilling their own needs and not the needs of others. A false prophet will spend their time feeding their own desires and making sure their own needs are met. A false prophet will want all of the attention focused solely on them . . . they want the spotlight focused on them alone. But we as true, committed Christians are called to focus the light on God. We are called to point towards God and not to ourselves. We should learn to imitate St. John the Baptist when he said: "He must increase, I must decrease." (St. John 3:30)

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Seventh Sunday after Trinity, July 23rd, 2023

We have all heard about the famous "feeding of the multitude" or the "multiplication of the loaves and fishes." In the beginning of the Eighth Chapter of St. Mark's Gospel, we hear of the feeding of the four thousand. We all know what happened in regards to what Our Lord did and what He did to perform this miracle: He multiplied the few loaves and fishes they had in order to feed the thousands gathered to hear Our Lord. But I don't want to focus on the miracle right now. I would prefer to focus on why Our Lord performed the miracle. I want to focus on the reason He chose to do what He did. In the second verse of this chapter, we hear the following: "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat:" (St. Mark 8:2) Our Lord took notice of the crowd. He saw their faces. He took notice that they had been with Him for three days. And because of all these things and more, He had compassion on them. In speaking to the multitude, He looked after their spiritual needs but in feeding them the loaves and fishes He looked after their physical needs. Our Lord cares about His children. Our Lord has compassion on His children because He loves us. He shows His care on a daily basis. How often do we show our care for Our Heavenly Father? How often do we, as His children, return the love shown to us by Our Father? Do we take time to spend time with God and if we do, how often? On a daily basis? Once a week? Once a year? Or perhaps we only go to God when we need something. Maybe we only go to God it seems that we are out of all our other options. We show care and concern for the things we care for. If we spent a lot of money on a car we work to keep it looking nice. If we have a collection of things, we take care of it, don't we? We care for and look after the things we love. So the question remains: what do we do in regard to our relationship with God? Do we spend time with Him or do we ignore Him? Do we listen to Him or are we too busy listening to the world? God cares for us. He loves us. He wants the best for us. The question is do we care for God? If you do, how do you show that love? Only you can answer that question.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Sixth Sunday after Trinity, July 16th, 2023

In the Sixth Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, we hear the following: " . . . Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him . . . " (Romans 6:3 ff) I would imagine that just about all of us have been in the position at one point or another in our life where we had the feeling that we had hit "rock bottom." Perhaps it came when we had lost a job unexpectedly. Maybe it came about when we struggled with a difficult project that fell apart and had to start all over again. Maybe it had involved health issues or the death of a family member or a close friend. Nonetheless, whatever circumstances we can think of, I am sure that most of us have had the feeling at one point or another that our world came crashing in on us. I know I have felt that way a time or two in my life. I have found myself struggling with some issue and everything seems to go wrong all at once and I feel like the whole world is crashing in on top of my head. But then afterwards I moved forward and the world brightened. In other words, I had to go through the darkest hours in order to finally see the light of dawn ahead of me. And then everything seemed to improve and things got better and better and better . . . . . Sometimes, as I say, we have to hit rock bottom in order to move forward. Sometimes by struggling and going through the darkness, we are able to get stronger and learn from our difficulties. We become strong through our struggles, it would seem. We learn from our mistakes . . . . or at least we should learn from our mistakes. When I look back on my life, I realize now that it was the struggles that made me a stronger human being. It was the times when things seemed the worse, that I was able to move forward and grow stronger. Although we may not want to admit it, it seems like the best "teacher" is to learn from our mistakes.

This is what we are also hearing from today's passage from the Epistle to the Romans, that through death to sin we are able to live again with Christ. It is through dying to self that we can live with Christ. It is through dying that we can live. We must never forget that Christ did not experience Easter Morning without first carrying His Cross to the hill at Calvary. The same is true for us. We can not truly live in Christ until we have died to our sinful ways. And for most us, this is painful whether we want to admit it or not. As human beings, we want things our way. We want people to do things the way we want them to be done. We want to be comfortable. We desire our wants and we want them right now. We focus on our own needs and desires and forget about what God wants for us. Most of us, quite frankly, only go running to God when we need Him for something. Other than that, we go our own way in life. But sin is a barrier that keeps us away from God. Sin is like a brick wall that we keep running into time and time and time again. We have to remove the brick wall of sin in order not to run into it again. And once we do this. Once we die to our sinful selves. Once we do all we can to get rid of the sinful desires in our life, it allows us to focus more and more on God and less and less on ourselves.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fifth Sunday after Trinity, July 9th, 2023

In St. Luke's Gospel at today's Mass, we hear the story of the beginning of the association between Our Blessed Saviour and St. Peter. As was very often the case, the crowds were pressing against Our Blessed Lord so much and He could not make Himself heard. We hear the following: ". . . . He stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two ships . . . : " (St. Luke 5:1) And as a result, Our Lord got into St. Peter's boat so that He could preach to the multitude that had gathered to hear Him speak by Lake Gennesaret. Now the rest of this passage obviously focuses mainly on Our Lord directing St. Peter to throw the nets out in order to catch fish. And what happened? St. Peter and his friends ended up hauling in a miraculous load of fish when they could catch nothing themselves working all the night long. But the one thing that really caught my attention in reading and rereading this Gospel passage was the fact that there were two ships, St. Luke tells us. But then if there were two ships, why did Our Lord choose the one that St. Peter owned and not the other ship? This should point out to each of us that God chooses each one of us for specific tasks because each one of us has particular skills and talents. One person might be good at teaching while someone else is good at preaching. Or it might be the case that someone is good at fixing things while another person is skilled in music. The bottom line is that each one of us might not be talented in one area but very skilled in something totally different. Again, I can not help but focus on the fact that there were two ships in today's Gospel passage and Our Lord picked one but not the other. Maybe I am making too big of a deal out of this fact, but in my mind, it does point out that Our Lord does indeed pick us. He chooses us. He singles us out and calls each one of us. The key, though, is that we need to respond accordingly. We have to say "yes" when we are called. We may not understand why Our Lord has chosen us. Look at today's passage, St. Peter did not understand Our Lord's instruction to cast the net out when he had been working so hard all night and caught nothing. And yet he did it anyway. Our Lady most certainly did not understand when she was told that she would be pregnant with child and yet her response was "Let it be done to me according to your word!" She said yes despite the fact that she did not understand . . . . St. Peter said yes despite the fact he could not understand how it would be possible. This is the definition of faith. God chooses us. We respond. And sometimes we may not even understand how it will take place . . . . or why it will take place . . . . or why in the world that God would choose us . . . but we respond to God's call and move forward. This is faith!

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fourth Sunday after Trinity, July 2nd, 2023

The Gospel appointed for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity is taken from the Sixth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke. When I hear this passage read it always makes me think of dear Bishop Mote because he would always say this passage from the Bible was his passage because this is the one that mentions "cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye" Obviously, Bishop Mote was referring to the use of the word "mote" in the passage also being his last name. But the importance of Our Lord's words recounted in this passage are of utmost importance for all of us to make note of. In this section of St. Luke's Gospel Our Lord states that we should be merciful just as God, Our Heavenly Father is merciful. But it is Verse 38 which should give us something to think about: "give, and it shall be given unto you; . . . . For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again" This phrase "Give, and it shall be given unto you" What exactly do we give unto others? Do we make a point to give what we get? Do we make a point to get revenge when we feel we have been wronged? Do we give what comes out of our anger and hatred and rage? Do we give even worse than we got because the other person deserves it? If so, Our Lord warns us that we should be very careful. We should be very careful indeed because He reminds us "For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again" In other words, if we give anger we will receive anger in return. If we give hatred we should expect hatred in return. If we show a lack of forgiveness for others, that is exactly what we should expect to receive in return. If we refuse to forgive those who have wronged us, how in the world can we expect the Good Lord to show forgiveness to us? Our Blessed Saviour doesn't ask us to do anything that He did not do Himself. He forgave those who did Him wrong. Being a Christian is very difficult. Being a good Christian is extremely difficult. It takes a lifetime of practice but God is with us every step of the way.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

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Third Sunday after Trinity, June 25th, 2023

I am sure that you have lost something at some point . . . or misplaced something . . . that you were looking for and you can not find it. Or you organize things or do a good cleaning and afterwards you suddenly do not know where something is that you need. If this happens, what do you do? Of course, you search high and low until you find what you are looking for. I can only speak for myself but not being able to find something that you are looking for is one of the most frustrating things in life. We search for things that we need. We search for things that are important to us. We search for things that we need to find. We place time and effort into searching for something that we either need or is important to us. In the Fifteenth Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, we hear Our Lord speaking to the publicans and sinners. But as He is speaking, St. Luke lets us know that the Pharisees and scribes started talking among themselves that Our Lord "receiveth sinners, and eateth with them." (St. Luke 15:2) Our Lord noticed the objection that they were making and responded by telling a parable. In the parable, He spoke about the example of the man who searched for the lost sheep and the woman who lost the one piece of silver. In the case of the man with the lost sheep, Our Lord pointed out that the man still had the Ninety-Nine sheep but he was worried about the one lost sheep; and the woman still had Nine pieces of silver, but she was concerned about the one missing piece that she could not account for. After much searching for the lost piece of silver, Our Lord stated the woman's words: "Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost." (St. Luke 15:9) God sent His only Son into the world because we were lost. We are lost without God. God searches for us, hoping that we will return to Him. If we were not important to Him, He would not have sent His Son into the world to redeem us with His Precious Blood. Keep in mind we only search for things that are valuable to us; important to us. We have value to God and this is why He goes to great lengths to find us. Conversely, the reason why so many people throughout the world do not search for God is because other things (money; power; possessions; booze; drugs; etc.) are what is important to those people. We only search for things that we need or are dear to us. Make a point to search for God. Make a point to remind yourself that God is the most important person in your life. Make a point to find Him. There is nothing more important than God in our life.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Second Sunday after Trinity, June 18th, 2023

In his First Epistle, St. John writes: "MARVEL not, my brethren, if the world hate you" (I St. John 3:13) If you ever need proof that there is hatred in the world, just take a look at the comments section on any news story located anywhere on the internet. And God forbid that you have a different opinion than anyone else . . . on anything! You will be condemned . . . ridiculed . . . threatened, cursed and sworn at . . . you name it, it will all be done to you simply because you have a differing point of view. Yes, there is much hatred in the world. But God sent His only Son into the world to show the love of God. God sent His only Son into the world to give us an example to follow. God sent His only Son into the world to save us from our sins. He did this because He loved us that much. He is our loving Father. And He shared His love with us in the form of His Son. As Christians we are called to share the love that we receive from Our Heavenly Father with those around us. This is not always easy, is it? It is difficult to show love to someone who shows us hatred. It is difficult to show love to someone who has done us wrong. It is difficult to show love to someone who does not care about us. And yet we know this is exactly what Our Blessed Saviour did from the Cross when He said "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Yes, the world will hate you but it also hated Our Blessed Saviour. Focus on the love of God in your life. And do your best to share this love with the world.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Saint Barnabas the Apostle, Sunday, June 11th, 2023

In the Fifteenth Chapter of the Gospel of St. John, we listen to Our Blessed Saviour speak to the disciples. And one of the many important things which He tells them is: "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you" (St. John 15:16) God has certainly chosen each one of us. He has chosen you just as He has chosen me. The question is have we chosen God? Do we choose God in our daily lives? Do we make God our choice each and every day? Or do we choose the world? Do we choose what the world has to offer? Part of the problem today is that unfortunately people choose the world over God and may not even realize it. We keep so busy in our modern society with work and careers, family life, taking care of our homes, watching television and movies, looking at social media and the internet, etc, etc. etc. The list goes on and on and before you know it God is completely out of the picture. The world keeps folks so busy that they soon don't have time for God. We need to make time for God and not just on Sundays either. We need to make time for God seven days out of the week and three-hundred and sixty-five days a year. We need to make a point to "choose" God by choosing to spend time with Him in prayer. We need to make a point to "choose" God by spending time reading the Bible. We need to make a point to "choose" God by purposely choosing to do as He would. We need to make a point to "choose" God by choosing to love those we come in contact with on a daily basis. "Choose" to be the face of God in this weary world. "Choose" to be God's instrument when His work needs to be done. God has indeed chosen us but have we chosen Him?

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Trinity Sunday, June 4th, 2023

In the Third Chapter of the Gospel of St. John we find ourselves witness to a discussion between Nicodemus and Our Blessed Saviour. In this conversation, Our Lord is telling Nicodemus that he must be born again. Nicodemus is confused by this expression and asks how can someone be born again. Our Lord explains: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (St. John 3:6) Of course, Our Lord was differentiating between physical birth and spiritual birth. One can not be physically born a second time. It only happens the one time and cannot be repeated. But in a spiritual sense, yes, we can be born again when we give our lives over to God and dedicate our lives to Him.

Of course, when Our Lord stated that "flesh is flesh" and "Spirit is spirit," He was referring to the example of being born again. But this does point out something very important for us Christians to consider. Very often in our lives, we can differentiate between the various sections of our lives. For example, we differentiate between the time spent where we work and the time spent at home. When I am at work, I focus on my job responsibilities but when I am at home I focus on things I do there, such as chores or projects or even relaxation. We dedicate certain portions of our time to volunteer activities, home activities, family activities, church activities, etc. We can divide our time and we can wear "different hats" to signify who we are at the time: worker; home owner; parent; child; spouse; neighbor; volunteer; etc. The list goes on and on. As we live life on a daily basis we play different "roles" based on what we are doing at that particular moment.

But when it comes to being a Christian, our life can not be "chopped up into sections," so to speak. In other words, we can not say that we are a Christian when we go to church but not a Christian when we are at home. It doesn't work that way. A true, committed Christian needs to be just that . . . a true, committed Christian 24 hours a day, whether he/she is at church . . . or at home . . . or at work . . . or at the grocery . . . or even driving in traffic. You see, there are so many people who actually do act one way while in church and another way when they leave church. They act very Christian when they go to church. They dress up. And they sing loudly when the hymns are sung. And they say "Amen" even louder when the preacher gives his sermon. But then as soon as church is over, they take off their "Christian hat" and put it away until next Sunday and they live completely different lives. Being a Christian means being a Christian 24 hours a day . . . 7 days a week .. .. 365 days a year. This proves to be very difficult sometimes. But when we come to the realization that God walks with us 24 hours a day . . . 7 days a week . . . 365 days a year . . . when we realize that, it should make it easier for us to join Him in that walk.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Pentecost, commonly called Whitsunday,

May 28th, 2023

In the world in which we live . . . if you want my opinion . . . it's understandable if a person is scared. I mean just look at all the things to be scared of. All you have to do is turn on the nightly news and see a whole host of things that will terrify you: school massacres . . . . drive-by shootings . . . . wars and threats of wars . . . . erupting volcanoes . . . . . These are just things which I saw featured on the news this week. The news itself does a good job of scaring us, though, I have to admit. The media focuses on negative things to begin with. They report on murders, car wrecks, robberies, factories closing down, etc. But then when you factor in the news being on for hours and hours during the day, the result is that you keep seeing the same scary news over and over and over and over again . . . . It's almost as if the "fear" is pounded into your head over and over again by the news media. Now, don't get me wrong. I am not saying that there are not things to be scared of or concerned about. Oh, by all means, yes there are. What I am pointing out is that by courtesy of the Internet, by courtesy of the news media, we are allowed to dwell on our fears twenty-four hours a day. In my opinion, you can't watch the news without getting at least a little depressed.

Perhaps this is the precise reason Our Blessed Lord said what He said. If we look at the Fourteenth Chapter of the Gospel of St. John, we hear Our Lord say: "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." In fact, let's look at the whole verse: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (St. John 14:27) In this verse Our Blessed Saviour makes a point to specify that it is "His peace" that He is giving us. He is differentiating between His peace that He is giving and the the peace that the world gives. The peace that the world "gives" is anything but peaceful. The world gives us doubt. The world gives us fear. The world imparts jealousy and hatred. We always have worries at the back of our mind about a whole host of things. We are scared . . . . sometimes rightly scared and sometimes not . . . but still scared, nonetheless.

But throughout all of these anxieties and fears and worries and concerns, the Lord is the cure to our concerns. He is the sure foundation that we need in our life. He is the One . . . . the only One . . . . Who can offer true peace and security of mind. "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." God will always be with us, no matter what. God will always be there for us, in good times and bad. God will never forsake us. God will never leave us. God is ever faithful to His promise even when we are not. Our Blessed Lord promised that when He left this world, He would send us the Holy Ghost to comfort us, to strengthen us, to fortify us. "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My Name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." (St. John 14:26) We have to keep in mind as well that the Holy Ghost is known as the "Comforter" but that name is misleading in our modern day English language because it almost describes something very "comfortable" such as a nice comfy pillow, for example. Actually, the translation would be more accurate as "Strengthen" or "Strength." Our Lord is sending us the Holy Ghost to strengthen us. Either way, let us be assured of one thing: God is always there for us and we should not be afraid of anything this old world can throw at us.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Sunday after Ascension Day, May 21st, 2023

In the Twenty-fourth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke, we hear the telling of when Our Blessed Lord ascended into Heaven in the sight of the disciples" " . . . . he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven ." (v.51) To say the least, this moment must have caused a wide range of emotions for the disciples: joy, awe, confusion, majesty, excitement, inspiration, etc. At any rate, in the following verse St. Luke tells us that they "returned to Jerusalem with great joy." When we are in the presence of great people, we are inspired to greatness. When we see truly inspiring acts of bravery or courage, we are inspired to greatness as well. When we find ourselves in the presence of someone so filled with the spirit of God, we are inspired to want that same spirit. The disciples and the apostles experienced all of this in the presence of Our Blessed Lord. They saw His example on a daily basis: they heard Him teach and preach; they saw Him cure the sick; they saw Him perform acts of love and compassion on those in need of God's love and forgiveness; the disciples saw Him show love to those around Him. And as a result of being in His presence day in and day out, they were affected as well by His life and the things that they saw and heard. They were inspired to greatness just being in His company.

All of us, I am quite sure, can come up with an example of a time where we were inspired to greatness by what we saw or witnessed. Whether it be the example of witnessing an inspiring performance by a great singer or a talented dancer. Or it could be the witness of heroic bravery or courage exhibited by someone in the face of great danger who went forward anyway. Or, finally, it could be the quiet example of someone who has such a close relationship with God that we can sense God's presence in that person. Our Blessed Lord inspired the disciples to greatness. He changed their "ordinary" lives into "extraordinary" lives. This is how it should be with God. So many people in the world are affected by the world, drawn to the world, brought down to the world's standards . . . . We, for our part, should be inspired by Our Blessed Saviour's example to become something "extraordinary." The disciples allowed their lives to be affected in such a way that the love of God showed forth in their lives. So, too, we need to allow God to touch our lives in such a way that we show forth His love to the world around us. Our Blessed Saviour inspired the disciples to greatness. We should be inspired to that same greatness and show forth the glories of God to the world and to be a reminder of God's love to the world around us.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fifth Sunday after Easter, commonly called

Rogation Sunday, May 14th, 2023

If we think back on our life, every single person reading this will be able to remember a time or two where they got themselves into a real jam and needed some assistance or a helping hand. On the other hand, every single person reading this will remember a time or two when YOU were that person lending a helping hand to a person in need. I've been the person that needed help; I've been the person that did the helping. So I have been on both ends of the stick, so to speak. But the bottom line is this, we have all known people that talked a good game but when it came down to it, their words did not quite equal their actions. I am sure that all of us can think of a good example of one or two people who talked a lot but when you needed that person, they were nowhere to be found. Like the old saying goes: "Actions speak louder than words." I point all this out to show that it just makes sense to expect people to back up their words with actions. Even St. James knew this and this is why he wrote in the first chapter of his epistle: "BE ye doers of the word, and not hearers only . . . ." (St. James 1:22) In the everyday world, if we went to work and had a coworker who bragged and boasted of everything he or she was capable of doing but that person did not actually do anything when it came down to it, what would we think of that coworker? What if you had a friend that you would see every now and then and each time you saw that friend, the friend said "Oh, I got you a nice jacket but I don't have it with me but I'll give it to you the next time I see you." But, as you can guess, the next time you see the friend: no jacket. But then the same friend says, "Oh, I got you a really nice book but I don't have it with me . . . I will give it to you next time I see you." Again, you guessed it, no book to be found the next time you met this friend of yours. After a while, if this pattern continues, what will the word of this friend mean? Nothing. As human beings, we expect people to live up to their word. If they do not, their word means nothing. St. James points out that we put our Christianity into practice by what we do for others, especially the less fortunate. We don't earn our way into Heaven by what we do. But on the other hand, the more we do for others . . . in the Name of Christ . . . . we show what our Christianity means to us. And it also shows how much we have learned from the teachings of Our Blessed Saviour.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fourth Sunday after Easter, May 7th, 2023

In the Epistle for today's Mass from the Fourth Sunday after Easter, we hear the following: " . . . . and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls ." (St. James 1:17-21) Have you ever received a gift . . . .. or for that matter, perhaps you bought something for yourself . . . . and as you opened up the package, you discovered that it was something very precious to you. As a result, you opened the package with great care not wanting to damage your new treasure in the least. When I read the words of St. James from the quote above it makes me think of that image: " . . . receive with meekness the engrafted word . . . ." Here, St. James is referring, of course, to the Word of God. And what he is advising is that we take the Word of God and plant what we read in our hearts. Sometimes if you go to the various social media sites such as Facebook, Pinterest, etc. you will read various sayings that people have posted. One saying I read recently stated something to the effect of: "It is good to read the Word, but it is better to know the Author." Of course, the meaning is clear. It is clearly one thing to read the words of Scripture but it is better to know God and to have a personal relationship with Him. I would agree with this and I am sure that you would also. How many times do we read something, whether it be an email at work, or a news article, or even a handwritten message, and if we are not paying attention we have to read it all over again or go back to it again to get exactly what it means? When we read Holy Scripture, often times we may read one specific passage . . . or one specific verse . . . or one specific chapter . . . and then we go back and read the same exact passage some time later, we seemingly get a completely different meaning from our reading. The passage speaks something brand new to us that we did not "see" in our previous reading. Has that ever happened to you when you read the Bible? When that happens, be assured of two things: God is speaking to you and that the Word of God is alive! This is what St. James is getting at when we stated " . . . . receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls." Engraft the Word of God into your hearts. Let it become a part of you. Let it live within you. To so many people, the Word of God is just a set of words and no more than that. To others, the Word of God is simply some "book" setting up on a shelf gathering dust. The Word of God is so much more than this. The Holy Scriptures are meant to be absorbed into your heart, your soul. The Word of God is like a seed that is planted in your heart. And you water that seed by not only reading the Word of God but also opening yourself to God and letting Him into your life. As St. James reminds us, let the Word of God to be "engrafted" into your hearts. Let God speak to you through His Word and then put those words into practice on a daily basis.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Third Sunday after Easter, April 30th, 2023

When you go on a trip, do you ever notice how much time you spend in preparation for the trip by packing? If you are like me, it seems like you pack half the house to go on a trip. And even if you are only going to be gone a few days, it's unbelievable how much stuff we pack for those few days: clothing items and shoes . . . . jackets . . . . hygiene items . . . . The list goes on and on. Then you spend all that time in preparation making sure you are bringing everything you need. And then when the trip is done, you have to make sure you don't leave anything behind. You've heard of people with a fear of spiders or people with a fear of flying? I think I have a fear of leaving something behind in the motel room. I will check and recheck to make sure we did not leave anything behind. It's amazing how much time we spend in packing and preparing for going places. But truth be known, we don't take anything with us when we die, do we? I joke around and say that I'm going to take my Elvis record collection with me when I die, but of course that's ridiculous. We don't take anything with us when we die. The only thing that we take with us to the grave, it seems to me, is the love that we have in our heart. When our time comes to an end here on this ol' earth that we call home, the only "thing" we will take with us is the love that we have for God . . . love for our neighbors . . . and love for one another. Other than that, what do we take with us when we die? Just the love that we have in our heart. Why do we spend our lifetime accumulating so much stuff? In comparison, though, how much time do we spend preparing our heart in regards to showing love towards God and our neighbor?

In the Sixteenth Chapter of St. John's Gospel, we hear Our Lord speaking to the disciples about various matters. One of the things that He tells the disciples is preparing them for when He shall leave. He says: "A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father." (St. John 16:16) Our Lord is preparing the disciples for His departure because He knows that they will be in sorrow and distress at His departure: But Our Lord states that the sorrow the disciples will feel at His departure will be turned to joy. "And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." (v. 22) Again, many things that we have in life can be lost, taken from us, or stolen but the love and joy we have in our heart, nobody can take that from us. Our Lord's last words in this discourse state: "I came forth from the Father; and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father." (v. 28) We can say the same thing, it seems to me. When we are born, our life is a gift from the Good Lord Himself. And when we die, we leave the world and return to God. And when we return, the only thing that we have to show for our journey is how we have lived our life while we were here . . . how much love we have for one another . . . and how much love we showed while we were here. When we travel here on earth, we are careful to pack what we need for the trip. We should also prepare for our "final trip" by loving one another and showing the love that God has shown us and sharing that love to one another.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Second Sunday after Easter, April 23rd, 2023

In the Gospel for today's Mass, the Second Sunday after Easter, we hear Our Blessed Lord describe Himself as a "good shepherd:" "JESUS said, I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.." (St. John 10) Notice that He does not just describe Himself as a "shepherd" but He specifically describes Himself as a "good shepherd." He tells us the reason why He says this: " . . . the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." Our Lord is indeed the Good Shepherd! He has in fact laid down His life for His sheep . . . us!!!

In the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, we hear the following: "As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day." (Ezekiel 34:12)

The Good Shepherd has indeed sought for us where we have been scattered. As sheep are scattered, not paying attention, but are focused solely on eating and filling themselves, not paying attention to anything else. As human beings, we are similar to the sheep in the regard that we also have been scattered. This is because we human beings become focused solely on what we want right then and right now: wealth; possessions; drink; wine; drugs; power; envy; jealousy; hatred; ourselves and our pleasures . . . . all these different things have led us down various paths and directions and as a result have been scattered. But Our Blessed Lord has sought for us. He has searched for us no matter where our travels have taken us. And He has laid down His life for us . . . on the Cross at Calvary! We just have to respond and give our life to Him! We need to give our life to the Good Shepherd. We were scattered but He sought for us: "'I will seek out my sheep, and deliver them . . . ." Let us also seek for the Good Shepherd as He searches for us!

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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First Sunday after Easter, April 16th, 2023

Have you ever had the experience of starting a project or a job and then you discovered shortly thereafter that you did not have the correct tool or instrument to do the work? And then you had to stop the project that you were working on until you obtained the correct tool. In order to do certain tasks, you need certain tools. In order to accomplish certain jobs, you have to have the correct instrument to finish your task. Whether it is something as big as needing a stove in order to cook or something as simple as a certain type of a screwdriver to remove a screw. Whether it is something small or something big, we have to have the right tools to do the job right and correctly. In the First Epistle of St. John, we hear the following: "WHATSOEVER is born of God overcometh the world. . . ." (I St. John 5:4) In other words, St. John is telling us that in order to overcome the world we need to be "born of God." He is telling us that we need to have God in our lives if we want to overcome the world. Sometimes we hear phrases such as "the world is a rat-race" or "it's a dog eat dog world out there." In many ways, these are accurate descriptions in regards to the world in which we live. It's a mean world out there with lot's of dangers. Thus, to overcome the world we need to have the assistance of Our Heavenly Father. Without Him, we can accomplish nothing. We need to put our faith and trust in the Creator of the world. This comes through having a relationship with Him and living for Him. St. John continues: "Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God . . ." (I St. John 5:5) Put your trust in the One that has overcome the world . .. . the One Who has overcome death . . . the One Who has come to forgive you your sins: Jesus Christ!

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Easter Sunday, April 9th, 2023

As I was growing up I remember Easter being a wonderful holiday with going to church and having dinner with your extended family of grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, etc. It is certainly still a wonderful holiday without a doubt but to so much of the world it seems like just another day. How many people in the world don't see the significance and importance of Easter? To them it is just another day. No big deal. Nothing different from any other day. Or to others it is the day in which you simply give colored eggs and candy and visits from the Easter Rabbit. And yet we know that Easter is so much more than that. We know that Our Blessed Lord gloriously rose from the dead on that first Easter morn defeating death on our behalf. Our Lord did all on our behalf. He died on the Cross to save us from our sins and He rose again from the Tomb in order to save us from death. By His efforts on our behalf. He has allowed us to share in eternity in the presence of Our Heavenly Father. But we need to say yes. We need to give our life to Christ. We need to dedicate our life to the One Who dedicated His life for us. Our Lord gave His life for us. He became the Sacrificial Lamb and sacrificed His life for us. Eather represents new life . . . new beginnings . . . In this light let us dedicate our lives to Christ in a new way. Let us dedicate our life to our Heavenly Father. Let us become a new creature in Christ Jesus!

PLEASE NOTE: ON EASTER SUNDAY, APRIL 9TH, 2023, MASS WILL BE CELEBRATED AT 11:00 AM INSTEAD OF 10:30 AM. MASS WILL BE CELEBRATED A HALF HOUR LATER ON THIS DAY.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Palm Sunday, April 2nd, 2023

I got a job delivering newspapers when I was around 11 or 12 years old and I have been working ever since. I have worked at a number of jobs and places. I have done some very interesting things at my job and I have also done very boring things as well. I am sure you can probably say the same thing about your various jobs throughout your life. I've also had some very interesting bosses and supervisors the way. Some were nice. Some were not as nice. Some were supportive and others not so supportive. Again, I am sure you can say the same. The best bosses, in my opinion, were the ones who led by example. The best supervisors were the ones who got down in the trenches with you, so to speak. They were the ones who were not afraid to do the work right next to you. These bosses were not afraid to do the work and got right in there and worked alongside of you to get things accomplished. They led by example. In a certain way we could say that Our Lord is like that, isn't He? He chose to come to earth so that He could be among His children. He chose to be a Man so that He could lead by example and show us the right path. He chose to walk among HIs children so that He could tell them about the love of the Father. St. Paul writes that Our Lord "made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Philippians 2:5) In other words, everything that you go through in life Our Lord has gone through as well. Our Lord knows your pain. Our Lord knows your sorrow. He knows what it is liked to be hated and despised. He knows what it is like to be mocked. He knows what it is like to be tired . . . to be sorrowful . . . . to be exhausted. Our Lord loves us so much that He wanted to be with us, to walk among us, to share with us the joys, the sorrows which life has to offer. Our Lord, as St Paul stated, humbled Himself to take the 'form of a servant.' He came to serve and to show the Father's love. As Christians, we are called to emulate Our Blessed Saviour. We are called to humble ourselves. We are called to serve our brothers and our sisters. We are called to become obedient to God in all our ways

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fifth Sunday in Lent, Commonly Called Passion Sunday, March 26th, 2023

We have all known smart people. We are impressed by their knowledge and how smart they are. If you are like me you might even turn on the game show "Jeopardy" and ask yourself, "How do they know all these things?" But in regards to the Bible, certainly Solomon comes to mind in regards to people who are wise. We hear in the First Book of Kings 3:5 that "the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee." Just imagine if God would come to you or me and would ask us this same question. What would we ask for? Would we ask for riches? Would we ask to made powerful in the eyes of the world? Would we ask for a great mansion with all the luxuries known to man? What would you ask for? Well, in Solomon's case, he asked for wisdom. Solomon responded to God by saying: "Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad; for who is able to judge this thy so great a people." (I Kings 3:9) This answer pleased God that Solomon would ask for wisdom instead of riches or power or even comfort in life. What does this have to do with Lent, you may ask. What does this have to do with Passion Sunday or Lent, you may ask. Solomon asked for wisdom because he was chosen to become king after David his father. As such, he saw that there was great responsibility to look after God's chosen ones: Solomon speaks to God, saying: "And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad; for who is able to judge this thy so great a people." (I Kings 3:8-9) So it was not only the case that Solomon asked for wisdom, we also have to look at the reason why Solomon asked for wisdom: so that he could rule the people that God had chosen. So, too, Our Blessed Lord did all that He did on behalf of God's chosen people. This includes you and me. Christ chose to become a human being so that He could spend time with us. He became a human being so that He could teach us about Our Heavenly Father. He chose to come to earth as a human being so that the "human" and the "Divine" could be fully united like never before. Solomon chose wisdom to better serve God's chosen people. Christ chose human nature to save God's chosen people. In this sense, we too have choices to make. We can choose to serve ourselves or we can choose to serve God. We can be selfish in our choices or we can think of others. God thought of us when He sent His Only Son into the world. Christ thought of us when He chose to take on human form. The Holy Ghost chooses to come into our hearts if we let Him. But it is up to us. We must make the choice.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fourth Sunday in Lent,

also called Laetare Sunday, March 19th, 2023

In the Fourth Chapter of St. Paul's Epistle written to the Galatians he speaks of Abraham and Sarah. Keep in mind that we know from Scripture that Sarah and Abraham were barren and could not have children. And as a result of desperation, Sarah urged Abraham to have a son through the slave-girl, Hagar. But through God's grace and power, He made it possible ultimately for Sarah to have a son even at her advanced age. In bringing up this example St. Paul it pointing out the fact that with God all things are possible. With the grace of God all things are made new. Through God's grace we are made new creatures. As such, we should not return to our old ways. As daughters and sons of the Most High, we should always remember to Whom we belong. We should always remember that we are a new creature. We should always act as a True Child of God in all aspects of our life. God is Our Father and we are His children. St. Paul is suggesting that we need to remember this fact and act accordingly inn all aspects of our life.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Third Sunday in Lent, March 12th, 2023

I am amazed at how often I "revert" back to doing something when I know I should not be doing it and then I turn around and do it again. For example, I type every day on the computer. And sometimes . . . . I don't know the reason why .. . . I may type the wrong letter in a certain word and then I will go back and erase it and type the correct word but then the next time I get to type that same word I end up typing the same exact wrong letter all over again. And then it gets to the point that it is laughable because then suddenly no matter how hard I try and how determined I am NOT to type that one wrong letter . . . . I do it again.

Sin is like that as well. We may keep doing the same wrong things all over again even though deep down inside we know that the sinful behaviour is no good for us but we keep going back and doing the same thing over and over again. In the Fifth Chapter of St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians, we hear the following: "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord." Our Blessed Saviour redeemed us by His Own Precious Blood. Our Saviour took our sins upon His shoulders and carried them to that hill at Calvary. Our Saviour saved us from our sins by dying on the Cross for us. With all of this in mind, it begs the question: why do we do what we do . . . . especially when we supposedly know better? How often do we do something really stupid and then we say out loud to ourselves: "Why did I do that?" St. Paul is saying to the Ephesians just like he is saying to us: "You used to be ignorant of your sins but now you have knowledge in Christ . . . you are knowledgeable of Our Lord . . . you know about Him . . you know His ways . . . you know Him . . . . now, act like Him and do not go back to your former, sinful ways." This, in essence, is what St. Paul was saying to the church at Ephesus and what he is saying to us.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Second Sunday in Lent, March 5th, 2023

I have owned pets for the better part of my life. Pets are great. They are a lot of work but they provide much love and a lot of comfort. I have noticed with pets . . . . especially the dogs . . . they like to beg for food. As soon as you sit down to eat, you see those very attentive eyes staring up at you, not blinking, not moving, just staring at you to see what you are eating and see if you "drop" anything. They seem to be satisfied with any scraps coming from the table. They just wait for anything that may find its' way from the table to their mouths. Those little tails start to move around as soon as they see something coming their way. They are content with anything at all that comes their way as long as they get something.

In the Fifteenth chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, we hear the story of the woman of Canaan seeking a cure on behalf of her daughter. But Our Lord did not answer her a word as St. Matthew tells us. But this did not stop the determined mother. She started in on the disciples. In fact, she started bothering them so much that they soon went to Our Lord to get Him to listen to her for no other reason than so she would leave them alone. Our Lord finally did speak to her but He seemed to give her the "cold shoulder." At first He stated to the Canaanite women that He was "sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Next, He told her that it was not "meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to the dogs." To this, she responded that at least "the dogs eat from the crumbs which fall from the table." If her determination was not by itself impressive, her final response was enough to convince Our Lord of this woman's humility and faithfulness.

The Canaanite woman responded by referring to the dogs eating of the crumbs falling from the table. How many of us are satisfied with the "crumbs" that fall our way? How many of us are satisfied with the left-overs that we have? How many of us are content with the second best? So many people satisfy themselves with a wide multitude of things in this world. Some people satisfy themselves with drink or drugs. Other people content themselves with money or riches. Others crave after material possessions such as fancy clothing or video games or technological gadgets. But do any of these things truly satisfy us? No matter what we can think of, none of them last. If it's a car, for example, eventually it will break down or rust away. Same thing with a computer: it will eventually break down and you will need to get another one. Clothing will either wear out or go out of style. No matter what you can think of in this world, none of it compares to a relationship with God. In that sense, the things of this world are like "crumbs." We are like the little dogs content with the crumbs falling from the table. Wouldn't we rather have something more nourishing, . . . more satisfying . . . longer-lasting? That is a relationship with Our Blessed Saviour. All else pales in comparison. Nothing satisfies in this life like a relationship with God. So many people in this world spend their time chasing after things that seem so worthwhile to them at the time. And yet nothing is truly everlasting . . . nothing except the love of God. God's love never disappoints. God's love never ends. God's love never falls short. Stop chasing after the "crumbs" of this world. Stop being content with just "crumbs." Have a relationship with God.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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First Sunday in Lent, February 26th, 2023

The Gospel passage which we will hear on the First Sunday of Lent comes to us from the Fourth Chapter of St. Matthew. Here, St. Matthew describes Our Lord's Forty Days in the Wilderness. As we all know, the devil likes to take every opportunity he can to take advantage. This is no exception. He tries three separate times to take advantage and tempt Our Blessed Saviour while He is fasting. Finally, the Lord admonishes the devil by telling him: "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." (v.10) After this, we are told, the devil left Him and "angels came and ministered unto Him." (v. 11) There are two major points that we can take away from this:

First, Our Lord was fasting for forty days and forty nights and during this time, the devil came to tempt Him. How many of us have sat down to pray, or sat down to read the Bible, or tried to concentrate while we were in church and every type of thought comes into our head: we start thinking about what we're going to eat for lunch; we start thinking about something we should have done at home; we start thinking about a movie or a TV show; etc. I am sure this has happened to all of us at one point or another. The point is this: if the devil is bold enough to tempt Our Blessed Saviour, he is certainly bold enough to tempt you and I. Some people let these distractions over-power them and keep them from prayer completely. They take these "distractions" as some sort of a "sign" that they weren't meant to pray or that they can't pray. If this happens, the devil has won. Don't give the devil the victory. Remember always that the devil will stop at nothing in order to keep you from growing closer to God. If the devil can tempt Our Blessed Saviour, he will certainly tempt you as well. Don't let the temptation stop you in your tracks. Tell the devil who is in charge of your life and then move on!

The second point is that the devil will try to tempt us with things that are attractive to us, that are appealing to us. He will tempt us with things that we would want and desire to begin with. The devil will use any tool necessary to tempt you and I. He will use food and drink; he will use power and money; he will use position and title. Any of these things mentioned are not necessarily bad in and of themselves, but if they keep us away from God or if they stand as a barrier between us and God, then this is what makes them bad. Also, many of these things that the devil tempts us with, we end up "worshiping" those things instead of God. For example, how many people end up focusing on drink instead of God. How many people focus all of their energies on gaining more and more power or more and more money? In that example, that person worships money or power and never thinks about God. Again, the devil does not want you to have a relationship with God. He will use anything and everything to keep you from having a relationship with Our Blessed Saviour.

We need to counter these temptations by keeping our eyes fixed on Christ. Always go towards Him and do not let any temptation . . . . no matter how wonderful it seems . . . . prohibit you from having a good relationship with God. Give God your heart. Let Him be the ruler of your life. Don't let "things" rule your life: whether they be food, drink, power, riches, etc. God should be the ruler of our hearts.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Quinquagesima, February 19th, 2023

In the 18th Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel appointed for today's Mass, we are witness to Our Blessed Lord speaking to the Apostles and letting them know how He will suffer and die and then rise on the third day. In this same passage we are told about the blind man who hears that Jesus of Nazareth is coming near. And when the blind man is told this news he yells and yells and yells some more in order to get Our Lord's attention. The more he is told to be quiet . . . the louder the man gets. Finally, Our Lord takes notice of him and listens to his request. And Our Lord responds: "And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee." (St. Luke 18:42)

We are called by faith. All of us have faith but the problem is that in our day and age our faith is often placed in the wrong things. We place our faith in people that ultimately let us down . . . or we place our faith in objects that ultimately break down or fall apart . . . we place our faith in things that we should not have any faith in to begin with, such as drugs or alcohol . . . . Quinquagesima is the last Sunday before Lent begins. We should use Lent as an opportunity to get our priorities straight. We should use these forty days, as the blind man did, to call out for Our Lord's attention. We should continue to call to Him until He responds. When the blind man was made aware that Jesus was near, he focused all of his energy on getting the attention of Our Divine Saviour. He kept calling and calling and calling until Our Lord responded. The blind man kept his attention and his resolve fixed on the Lord. That is exactly what we are called to do: focus our attention on Our Blessed Saviour until He responds. Most of us get too distracted by other things to keep our attention fixed solely on Our Blessed Saviour. Let us use this Lent to keep our focus fixed solely on Our Blessed Saviour and wait for Him to respond.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Sexagesima, February 12th, 2023

On Sunday, February 12th, 2023 in the Gospel passage appointed for Sexagesima (the Second Sunday before Lent), we hear about seed falling on different types of ground. The passage that we are referring to comes to us from St. Luke 8:4-14. And Our Blessed Saviour was speaking this parable to a multitude of people. When He was finished His disciples wanted to know exactly what each of His examples in the parable meant. Here, Our Lord explains directly to them that the "seed" represented the Word of God and that this Word gets planted among different types of soil or ground: some of the seed as it was sown by the sower in the story got devoured by the birds; some of it fell on rocky ground; some of the seed got thrown in among the thorns; and, finally, some fell on good ground. Trying not to get too awfully philosophical here but as I like to point out: life is never perfect. Sometimes it is easy-going; sometimes it is difficult; sometimes, life presents challenges to us; sometimes, life is boring; sometimes it is exciting, etc. But no matter what challenges life presents us with, the one constant in our life should be our relationship with God, first and foremost. Even when we become Christians, we are not promised that life will be easy. We are not promised that we will never have any problems. We are not promised that we will never have any concerns in life. What we are promised is that when we do have a loving, committed, personal relationship with Our Lord, we are promised that He will never leave us. The point being is that throughout our life, going back to the parable of the sower, sometimes our life will seem as rocky ground; sometimes it will seem as filled with thorns; and sometimes it will seem like it is simply good ground for planting. Let the Word of God be planted in you, . . . . in your heart. Let your heart be the good ground that Our Lord was referring to. Let the Word of God be planted so deeply in your heart that nothing can never take it away from you. Let that Word of God grow in your heart so that you will become committed like never before to Our Blessed Saviour.

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church meets every Sunday at 10:30 AM. We gather together at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, which is 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 and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Join us as we worship Our Blessed Lord and dedicate time out of our busy week and give that time to God

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Septuagesima, February 5th, 2023

On Sunday, February 5th, 2023, the Church celebrates Septuagesima Sunday . . . or the Third Sunday Before Lent . . . The "Gesima Sundays" are the final countdown, if you will, or the three Sundays of preparation for the holy season of Lent.

The Gospel for today's Mass comes to us from the Twentieth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew. In this Chapter, St. Matthew recalls the words of Our Lord in regards to the householder who hired laborers to work in his vineyard. And the householder went out at various points throughout the day to hire laborers to come and work in his vineyard. And at the end of the day each of the laborers got paid the same exact wage whether they worked the whole day or merely the last hour of the day. God invites those whom He chooses to invite. But the key is that it is up to us to accept or decline the invitation. The very end of the passage that we heard today ends with: " . . . for many be called, but few chosen ." (St. Matthew 20:16) All of us are involved in a whole host of activities at one point or another. Just think about all the different "hats" that you may or may not have in your own life: worker; homeowner; spouse; parent; neighbor; volunteer; friend; customer; etc. The list could go on and on. And every now and then we get chosen to work on a special committee or get chosen to be in charge of a special project. Throughout our life, all of us can think of one example or another where we have been chosen. God has chosen His people as well. "For thou art an holy people unto the Lord Thy God: the Lord Thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all the people that are upon the face of the earth." (Deuteronomy 7:6) We are chosen by God to be a "special people" unto Him. We must never forget that. God has chosen YOU! It is up to us whether or not we accept the invitation. Remember who you are: You are "special"; You are "chosen" You are "loved." I do not think that most of us realize the importance of this fact. If we did, we would spend more time focused on the things above as opposed to being focused on the things here below.

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church gathers together each and every Sunday morning 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 and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Join us as we gather together as God's family and worship Our Blessed Saviour. And, at Communion time, we come forward to receive His Precious Body and Blood so that we can be nourished for the journey ahead.

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Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, January 29th, 2023

In the Eighth Chapter of St. Matthew, we read the words of true faithfulness. We read the words of absolute belief. We read the words of utmost confidence in the Almighty. For as we read through this Eighth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, we hear the story of Our Blessed Saviour meeting the centurion when He entered Capernaum. The centurion approached Our Lord and asked Him to heal the centurion's servant who was ill. And when Our Lord stated that He would go and heal the servant we hear the following: "The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. " (St. Matthew 8:8) The centurion did not have to see the answer to his request. The centurion did not have to witness the healing first in order to believe. He already believed. He already had faith. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that what Our Lord promised would come true. He believed. So often in life we have good reason not to believe. People let us down. Whether they be family, friends or loved ones. We get discouraged when lying politicians say one thing during the campaign season and do something completely different when they get elected. We can each come up with our own examples. But do we trust God? Do we completely trust Our Blessed Saviour? I hope that we are like the centurion and have absolute faith in God. People will disappoint us so often. God will never disappoint. Human beings will fail. God will never fail.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Third Sunday after Epiphany, January 22nd, 2023

When reading the Good Book, I have to admit that I prefer the King James Version. But oftentimes I will look at other translations to compare and contrast. In the Epistle to the Romans (King James Version), St. Paul writes: "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:21) But look at what the New Living Translation version of this same verse states: "Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good." Either way you look at it, St. Paul could give the very same advice to us living today: Don't give in to evil. Don't let evil win over you. Don't let evil win. So often in the world in which we live, we just immediately give in to our emotions. We get mad at what someone says or does and we end up doing exactly the same thing as what we are getting mad about. If someone calls us a name, what do we do? We do the same thing. We call them a name. If we find out someone is spreading gossip about us, what do we do? We indulge in the gossip too. And in the modern, technological age in which we live, treating others badly is oh so easy to do, wouldn't you agree? If someone says something nasty about us, we can write a nasty post and put it on social media. This way the whole world can see you getting back at the person, right? The problem is that it never ends there, does it? The other person responds and other people may get involved too and it goes from there. But this is the point which St. Paul is making. He is acknowledging that there is evil in the world. He is not denying that people are going to do bad things at times to slander you, hurt you, make you feel bad. And without a doubt feeling hurt and abused is never easy. But St. Paul also wants us to remember that we are Christians. And Christians are called to act differently from how the world acts. Christians are called to be different. Christians are called to be Christ-like as hard as that may be at times. "Don't let evil conquer you," St Paul wrote. Satan wants us to confront evil with evil. He wants us to reply to hatred with more hatred. Satan wants to see us fight with one another. Who do you think is stirring the pot when it comes to confrontations we get into? But St. Paul is reminding us to be Christ-like, as difficult as they may be. "Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good."

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Second Sunday after Epiphany, January 15th, 2023

The Gospel for the Mass from the Second Sunday after Epiphany comes to us from the very beginning of St. Mark's Gospel. And it makes sense that St. Mark writes here at the beginning of his Gospel by speaking about St. John the Baptist. We hear: "Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee." (St. Mark 1:1) St. Mark is quoting this verse from the Old Testament book of Malachi to describe St. John the Baptist: "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me . . . ." (Malachi 3:1) It is entirely appropriate that St. Mark would use this Scripture verse in reference to St. John the Baptist. St. John did in fact prepare the way by preaching and speaking and telling about the Messiah Who was to come after him. Very often, in our own life, it is through the introduction of other people that we get introduced to our friends. Perhaps it is through a friend of a friend; or a cousin of a coworker; or a business acquaintance; etc. The point being that we end up having a friendship with someone through being introduced to him or her by someone else. And, if not for this introduction, we would most certainly have never met that person. St. John the Baptist did just this: he introduced countless souls to Our Blessed Saviour. He did, in fact, prepare the way of the Lord through his preparation of preaching and baptizing and preaching. Each of us should follow the example of St. John the Baptist by preparing the way for the Lord. We do this by introducing others around us to Jesus. How do we introduce others to Our Blessed Saviour? We do this in various ways: speaking about our relationship with God; talking about what we read in Scripture; inviting others to come to church with us; acting with love towards others; and even praying for others that God will bless them. There are many wonderful ways to prepare the way before Our Lord. This reminds me of one of my all-time favorite quotations. St. Francis said: "Preach at all times, and sometimes even use words!"

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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First Sunday after the Epiphany, January 8th, 2023

As we celebrate the First Sunday after Epiphany, we turn to St. Luke's Gospel (St. Luke 2:42 ff) to hear the story of the finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple: ". . . . they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him." You see, the Holy Family was traveling to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. And when they had stayed there the days that were required, as St. Luke reminds us, they left to go back home. While they were traveling, they discovered that the Child Jesus was not with them. I am sure that just about all parents have experienced at the very least a small bit of anxiety when they find out that their child is not where he or she is supposed to be. Whether it is during a trip to the mall or the local grocery store, etc., we turn around and little Johnnie or Susie is not behind us. And we panic just long enough to discover our child over in the candy aisle. Anyway, in that light, we can imagine the panic that came over Our Lady and St. Joseph when they discovered, much to their horror that the Child Jesus was not in their company.

Truth be known, we normally do not begin to look for something until we discover that the item is missing. For example, when we are trying to leave the house to go to work or to an appointment and then suddenly we discover that the car keys are not where we thought we left them. And then we panic because we don't want to be late and we need to find the car keys. Any item that you can think of . . . . the remote control, . . . . the shirt that you wanted to wear . . .. even the "missing" mate to a sock that you have just taken out of the dryer . . . . where, oh, where did it go?!?!? Obviously, we don't search for things or items until we know that we are in need of them and suddenly realize that we don't know where the item is. e.g., the lost car keys. And only then do we make a point to go search for them. I would contend that this is how it is in regards to our search for Jesus. So many people do NOT search Him out because they do not know that they are missing Him. This is because their minds are caught up in the things of the world: their material possessions; their money; their pleasures; their food; their drink; etc. They are too busy concerning themselves with the cares of the world that they don't have time to "search out" Jesus. We do not make a point to search for something until we realize it is missing or realize that we need it. Let each of us make the point to realize our need for Jesus and then search for Him until we find Him and never let Him go.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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The Circumcision of Christ, January 1st, 2023

"that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth" (Philippians 2:10)

I pray for God's blessings to be upon you and your loved ones in the Year of Our Lord 2023. I pray that more people will dedicate their lives to Christ in this coming new year. I pray that people will make an effort to attend the church of their choice in the year 2023. In a world where so much hatred and division is sown on a daily basis, I pray that people will make the conscious effort to reach out in love to their brothers and sisters in the coming new year. I pray that each and every person reading this will make Jesus Christ the ruler of their life. I pray that each one of us who call ourselves by the name of Christian will make Christ the top priority in our life. I wish that each and every one of us who have been blessed so abundantly by Our Heavenly Father will take the opportunity to thank Him and worship Him on a daily basis in 2023. And I wish that the Peace that only Christ can give will be felt throughout all the world in this coming new year. May the Good Lord continue to bless you throughout this coming year and may you continue to stay close to His Most Sacred Heart. Amen.

NOTE: Please make note that on January 1st, 2023 Mass will begin at 11:00 am

St. Margaret Church worships at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

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Christmas Day, December 25th, 2022

" And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (St. John 1:14) The beginning verses of the Gospel of St. John are typically read as the "Final Gospel" at each Mass throughout the year. As such, we hear the words of this First Chapter read to us so often that we run the risk of not fully appreciating the importance of the words. In a similar vein, the world at large does not fully appreciate the Gift that Our Heavenly Father gave to the world: the Gift of the Christ Child. " And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" God does not sit on some distant throne, far off and far removed from His people. No, God reaches out to us and sends His only begotten Son into the world. He sends His Son into the world to be with us, spend time with us, show us a glimpse of the Eternal. God loves His people so much that He sent His Son to save us from our sins. And yet this day turns out to be like so many days throughout the year. This day brings so many distractions that divert our attention from the greatest gift we could ever dream of possessing. The Gift of God's Son given to the world by a loving Father. So, this day while you are opening your Christmas presents, don't forget to open your heart and welcome God's Son so that He can come to dwell with you.

NOTE: Please make note that Christmas Day Mass will begin at 11:00 am Additionally, Mass on New Years Day will also begin at 11:00 am.

St. Margaret Church worships at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fourth Sunday in Advent, December 18th, 2022

In the very first chapter of St. John's Gospel, we hear how the "Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem" to speak to St. John the Baptist. The purpose of that visit was to question him and to help determine exactly who he was. And they asked him directly who he was. They asked him if he was Christ. They asked him if he was Elijah. Finally, they asked him to say something of himself in order to see what he had to say: "What sayest thou of thyself" (St. John 1:22) They wanted to hear what St. John had to say about himself. To this, he replied: " I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord" (St. John 1:23) This is what St. John had to say of himself. But what do we say of ourselves? Who do we say that we are? If someone would ask us the same question, what would we say? How would we answer? What would our response be? "What sayest thou of thyself?" What do you say of yourself? There are many things we could say of ourselves. What would you say? What would you say about yourself? Would you say where you work? where you live? Would you say what your hobbies are? what you like to do? Would you say where you are from? the city where you grew up or where you live? What would you say about yourself? St. John the Baptist says it directly. When asked to say something of himself, he states that he is here to "make straight the way of the Lord." Are we interested in doing God's business or simply our business? Are we all about God or are we all about us? Is it God Who comes first or do we make sure to take care of ourselves first? Is God our first priority or is our first priority satisfying our wants and desires? For the Christian, we need to make God our top priority. Like St. John the Baptist, we need to be a messenger for the Lord. We need to let others know about God. And we can do that through both our words and actions. Tell the world about God.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Third Sunday in Advent (Gaudete Sunday), December 11th, 2022

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, 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 purchased. But then after a while your joy lessens because 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!

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Second Sunday in Advent, December 4th, 2022

" 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) If we were forced to describe the liturgical season of Advent with only one word, I am sure that we could agree on the word: Hope. It truly is the season of hope for fallen mankind that we anticipate when the Saviour of the world would be born. And yet hope can be very "subjective." Those faithful Jews living at the time of Our Lord were also waiting and hoping to see the Messiah but they were expecting the Messiah to come with a great army and come and destroy their enemies. But we know that the Saviour of the world did arrive some two-thousand years ago in Bethlehem. He arrived in a much different fashion than was what expected, though. He did not ride in on a great horse with a grand army in support, with flags waving and sounds of trumpets. No, 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. If you did not know any better, I am sure that we would not picture the Saviour of the world 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 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. 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.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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First Sunday in Advent, November 27th, 2022

We typically associate "New Year's Day" with January 1st. But for the Church, "New Year's Day" is actually the First Sunday of Advent. On this day we begin a brand new Church year. The "New Year" represents new beginnings. In many ways, the "New Year" symbolizes a fresh start. The "New Year" represents a "clean slate" where everything starts over and begins anew. This can be true for the new Church year as well, it seems to me. Thus, I suggest that we dedicate this coming year to God. If you have not already done so, dedicate your life to God. Give your heart to God. Make Him the top priority in your life. So often we dedicate our life and everything we doin life to our careers, to finding joy and happiness, to getting rich, etc. The list goes on and on and it is different for every person. But so often we are disappointed in life, despite our best actions. But when you have a relationship with God you will never be disappointed. When you have a relationship with Our Blessed Saviour you will never be alone. When you have a relationship with Him, you will find a true feeling of fulfillment that the world cannot offer. What the world has to offer is fading. Beauty fades away. Riches are lost. Fame is fleeting. And yet it is the love of God which lasts forever. It is the love of God which never fades. Give your heart to God. Make Him the true King of your life.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Sunday Next before Advent, November 20th, 2022

In the Sixth Chapter of the Gospel of St. John, we hear the story of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes to feed the multitude. "WHEN Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" (St. John 6:5) Here in this verse we hear Our Blessed Lord ask a very important question. Where shall we find bread that all of these people may eat? It is at this time of year that we focus on buying many things. Right before Thanksgiving we think about what we will serve at the big meal. Buying a turkey. Buying a ham. What we will serve along with it: mashed potatoes; green-beans; etc. And also at this time of year we are also getting geared up for Christmas. As such, I am sure you have noticed all the Christmas-related commercials already airing on television trying to entice you into buying the most expensive gifts imaginable. But these are things that the world offers. As nice as these items are they will never truly satisfy us. After the meal is over on Thanksgiving, we will get hungry again. After all the gifts are opened on Christmas, our minds will soon wander to other things we would like to have. As Christians we should focus on the Bread of Life and not on the bread which the world offers. Our Lord wants us to focus on the Bread of Heaven. This is why especially at this time of year we need to do our best to focus on God and the things of Heaven. The holy season of Advent provides us with an opportunity to prepare for the Coming of the Christ-Child. Advent gives us a time for preparation, a time to prepare our hearts. Let us take this opportunity of the upcoming weeks before Christmas to dedicate ourselves to God. Let us use this time wisely so that we can prepare for God. Let us use this season to focus on the things above and not the things below.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity, November 13th, 2022

In the Eighteenth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew, we hear a conversation between St. Peter and Our Blessed Lord concerning the subject of forgiveness. St. Peter being St. Peter tried to impress Our Lord with his answer when he asked if we should forgive those who do wrong to us seven times. Our Lord responded that we should forgive our enemies not only seven times but seventy times seven times. To prove the point, Our Blessed Saviour told the parable of the king who was merciful and forgave the man who owed him "10,000 talents." But this same man who was shown such mercy and forgiveness by the king refused himself to show mercy to someone who owed him a mere "hundred pence." And when the king heard about this episode he was very angry and had the man thrown into prison until he made good on the ten-thousand talents he owed. And then Our Lord states: "So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses" (St. Matthew 18) Two observations here: Number one, forgiving those who trespass against us is probably one of the most difficult things we will ever have to do in this life. Next, that being said everyone of us should heed the words of Our Blessed Saviour. In the parable which Our Lord spoke, He pointed out that the king was irate that the man who had just been shown such compassion would not show the same compassion to someone else. Are we like that? Do we beg God for forgiveness for the wrongs we have done and yet refuse to forgive those who have done wrong to us? Forgiveness is hard. It is difficult. But we must learn to forgive others if we want God to forgive us.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity, November 6th, 2022

This past week the weather has been beautiful here. The temperature has been around 75 degrees most of the week. But it is now November and even if we don't want to think about it, Winter will be here before we know it. And as the temps go down, we need to protect ourselves from the elements. We try to protect ourselves from head to foot when it gets so brutally cold in the winter, don't we? And rightfully so because it doesn't make any sense to go outside in 0 degree weather not protected from the elements. When the temperature is 10 below Zero, you want to protect yourself as much as possible from the elements so you don't get cold and you don't get frostbite. We protect ourselves.

In a spiritual sense, St. Paul gives the same exact advice when he writes: "Put on the whole armour of God!" (Ephesians 6:10) St. Paul gives sound advice for protecting ourselves from the devil. In this sixth chapter, St. Paul uses the analogy of a soldier dressed for war. He goes on to describe all the different items that a soldier either wears or uses to protect himself from the enemy. And then St. Paul makes the point that we should be fully protected as well in the spiritual sense so that we are protected from attacks from the devil. If we are going outside in the dead of winter and it is 10 below Zero, we wouldn't go outside just wearing a tee-shirt, shorts and flip-flops. It we are going into battle, it would not be wise to be dressed in simply a tee-shirt, shorts and flip-flops on our feet. If we are going to a job interview at a fancy corporation, again, would it really be wise to go there wearing a tee-shirt, shorts and flip-flops? We need to be dressed appropriately for whatever task faces us. Most of us know this. It is just common sense to dress appropriately for the elements or based on the situation. But that being said, in a spiritual sense, how many of us are caught severely lacking?

According to St. Paul we need the following items if we are going to be fully prepared: " . . . . your loins girt about with truth, . . . the breastplate of righteousness; . . . feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; . . . the shield of faith, . . . the helmet of salvation, . . . and the sword of the Spirit," (Ephesians 6:14-17) Are we fully prepared? I'm speaking about in a spiritual sense. Are we fully prepared to face the world and the traps we might find in our way? St. Peter tells us that the devil is like a lion seeking to devour us: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." (I St. Peter 5:8) Surely, we wouldn't go on an African safari unprotected, would we? And yet we go about the world unprotected and unprepared for the attacks of the devil against us. Always have God close to you. Pray often. Read the Scriptures often. Go to church on Sundays if you are able. Do this for your own edification and in order to help edify your fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord. Always be aware of traps along the way . . . traps that will take us away from God, lure us away from being faithful to God.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, October 2nd, 2022

St. Luke tells us about the time in which Our Blessed Saviour and the Apostles were travelling through the city of Nain. While they were going through the town, St. Luke tells us that they witnessed the funeral procession of a young man who had died. St. Luke tells us that this young man was the only son of his mother who was also a widow. Upon seeing this sight Our Blessed Lord, St. Luke tells us, was moved with compassion. Our Lord raised the young man from the dead and brought him back to life. The people who witnessed this miraculous event were astounded for they had never seen anything like this in their lives: "And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people" (St. Luke 7:16) The people were truly astounded by what they witnessed that day. As a result they glorified God and acknowledged the fact that God had visited His people that day.

I would dare say that most of us do not witness the dead coming back to life or being raised from the dead. But I would also contend that God indeed works miracles in our lives. Has God worked a miracle in your life? Has God given you a miracle? Have you witnessed the powerful working of God in your life? Whether we realize it or not, God is all around us. God works mighty miracles in our lives. We should glorify Our Blessed Saviour and praise His Holy Name on a daily basis! We should acknowledge all the mighty things that God has done for us. So often we do not acknowledge what God has done for us because we take God and His blessings for granted. Thank God on a daily basis for all the wonderful things He has done for you and glorify His Holy Name.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 25th, 2022

If there is one thing that most of us are good at, it is "worrying about things." Most of us get anxious about just about everything, whether we know it or not. Whether we realize it or not, we worry, we stress out, we get anxious, we fixate on what we need/desire/want, etc. In the Sixth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, Our Blessed Lord lays it out very clearly: "Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on." (St. Matthew, Chapter Six) But that is exactly what we do, isn't it? We worry about what we are going to eat when we get hungry. We worry about what we are going to wear. We worry if we have the "latest style" or "fashion" and what people will think of us. We worry about our jobs and what we have to do, the reports which are due, the work which has to be done. We get worried over our homes. We worry and get stressed out over the bills which are due. We get worried over what people think about us. If people like us. If we are 'popular.' The list goes on and on but the truth of the matter is that most of us worry over various things which are different for each of us. But the point which Our Lord is trying to make is that God knows every single one of us. He should. He created us. He knows our thoughts. He knows our concerns. He knows our worries. He knows what we need. But Our Lord gives us the answer: "But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" Instead of seeking the things of the world, we should seek out God and His Kingdom. Instead of seeking out power, and wealth, and material goods we should seek out Our Heavenly Father. The problem is that human beings have it in reverse. We seek first the things which we desire and then we seek out God. And even then that's typically only when we need Him. But Our Lord says it plainly: we need to seek FIRST God and after that everything else will fall into place.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 18th, 2022

When I go to the store to get one thing I usually end up leaving the store with all kinds of items. Everything, that is, except what I went to the store to get in the first place. Normally when I go to the store to get that one item I end up getting a whole bunch of items that I had not planned on getting. In fact, this just happened to me the other day. So by the time I got up to the cash register the woman there saw me with all the items I had grabbed and she stated that I should have gotten a cart. To which I replied: I would have but I only came in for one item. But this isn't the only example. Does anyone else have this problem: You go into the kitchen to get something or do something and by the time you get there, you get totally sidetracked by something else and you end up not even getting what you went to the kitchen to begin with. It could be that you get forgetful as you get older, but I think it's actually more the case that our minds are too occupied. We get sidetracked too easily. We forget to do things that we should do because we become fixated on doing other things.

In the Seventeenth Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, we hear about the time in which there were ten lepers calling out for healing. They needed to be healed and desired Our Lord to heal them from being lepers. In fact St. Luke tells us that they must have made quite a scene because even though the lepers were some distance off they still caught Our Lord's attention and He came over and healed all ten of them. Out of the ten lepers which were healed, only one out of the ten came back to give thanks to Our Lord. Even Our Lord took notice of this because He stated: "Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger." (St. Luke 17:18) What happened to the other nine lepers? Did they simply forget to thank Our Lord? Were they too caught up in being cured that they did not have time to thank Him? How often are we like the nine ungrateful lepers? So often it seems we do our best to get out of a jam but when we get to the end of our rope and realize we can't do it, we run to God in prayer. We humble ourselves. We beg God for help. We acknowledge to God what we have done wrong and promise to do better. And then when God blesses us and takes care of our problem, we don't take time to thank God. It's almost as if we don't have time for God once our problem is taken care of. Why is this? We should thank God every day. We should thank God for the many blessings He bestows upon us. We should not be ungrateful children and only run to Him when we need something and then forget Him when everything is running smoothly. Thank God every day. Praise God for simply being wonderful. Intercede not only for your own needs but intercede on behalf of others. And ask God to forgive the times in which we were not perfect and made mistakes.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 11th, 2022

In the Tenth Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, we hear about a "certain lawyer" who asked Our Blessed Lord how to "inherit eternal life." (v. 25) Our Lord in turn asked the lawyer what is written in the law? The lawyer anwered Our Lord's question saying: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself" (v.27) Not content with simply answering Our Lord's question correctly, the lawyer then wanted to know exactly who qualified as his neighbor. Our Lord answered his question by telling what has come to be known as the "Parable of the Good Samaritan." We have all heard this parable before. In essence, the Samaritan's were the hated and bitter rivals of the Jews. The Samaritans were the sworn enemies of the Jews. To the Jews, there was nothing good about the Samaritans. To the Jews, the Samaritans represented everything that was evil in the world. To the Jews, the Samaritans were worse than dirt. To the Jews, the Samaritans were filth. The Jews hated the Samaritans with a passion and wanted nothing to do with them whatsoever. And yet today this same passionate hatred still exists, doesn't it? Who is it that we simply can not stand? Is there one person or one group of people that we detest and despise with all our heart? When we think of someone who is totally evil, who do we think of? Is it someone who has a different political slant than us? Is it a Democrat? Is it a Republican? Is it someone who is a different race than us? Is it a White person? A Black person? A Hispanic person? Is it someone who is richer than us? Is it someone who speaks different than we do? Is there a "Samaritan" in your life? Is there someone you just can't stand? Is there someone who you want nothing to do with? Well, according to Our Lord's parable, that person is your neighbor as well. That person is capable of doing good. That person is worthy of our concern. That person is our neighbor as well. Our Lord told the parable to the lawyer in order to show him that even those whom we do not love are our neighbors too. It is difficult to love those whom we can not stand. This is true enough. But never forget that God sent His Son into the world to die on the Cross for those people too.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, September 4th, 2022

In the Third Chapter of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, we hear the following: ". . . not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God." (2 Corinthians 3:4) St. Paul is emphasizing the point to the church at Corinth that it is only through God, that we have sufficiency to do anything. You see, the church at Corinth had to be reminded that they should always acknowledge that any greatness they have comes not from themselves but from God. If this was a problem two thousand years ago, it is certainly a problem today. In other words, does greatness come from man or does greatness come from God? In today's society, where our technology is so wonderful, it lulls us into a sense that we can do anything. With our computers, with our tablets, with our smart phones, we can surf the web and look up movie times, and find out information, we can make reports, and take videos and pictures of ourselves for the whole world to see. We can live in fancy houses and eat at fancy restaurants and live in wonderful neighborhoods. We can push ourselves to the limit, whether it be at our jobs, or in the gym, or working on home projects where we live. We are capable of truly doing magnificent things. And, yet, if we do not have God in our lives, we are fooled into thinking that we are the reason for this greatness. If we have gotten into the habit of not going to church, not reading the Word of God, and not praying, God becomes absent from our lives. So, looking at it in that context, it is easily understandable why people are so "full of themselves" and take the credit for all of their success.

" . . . . but our sufficiency is of God . . . " Yes, humanity has done many wonderful things and is capable of doing many wonderful things. But any greatness that we possess was endowed to us by our Creator. Any success that we have was bestowed upon us by God. Any knowledge that we have to solve the problems of the world were given to us by Our Heavenly Father. And this is why we should continually thank God for all the blessings that He has bestowed on us. You know, as parents, we try to teach our children to say "Thank you" each time that they are given something. "Remember to say 'Thank You'." "Say 'Thank You.'" And we hope that this simple act of courtesy will be instilled in them so that they will not only be courteous but will also allow them to be grateful for what they have been given. Well, I don't know about you, but in the society that we live in today, very often I find people that do not say "Thank You," . . . or "Please," for that matter. And what is our response to those types of people? More than likely, irritation that someone can be so rude as to not show common courtesy to say a simple "Thank You" when given something. I tell you it's the same exact way when we don't say "Thank You" to God for the blessings that He has bestowed on us. When we experience something good, we should get in the habit of thanking God. When we are given something worthwhile, we should get in the habit to thank God. If we do not regularly thank God for the blessings He has bestowed on us, we are exactly like that rude person we meet that does not show common courtesy or human decency when we do something for them.

Let us always acknowledge that "our sufficiency is of God" and to always make a point to acknowledge the blessings and to always be courteous to Our Heavenly Father and always show our thanks and gratitude.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, August 28th, 2022

To the young church at Corinth, St. Paul writes the following: " . . . but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." (1 Corinthians 15:1 ff) St. Paul emphasizes what he did on behalf of God: how much he preached; how much he laboured; how much he suffered; how hard he worked; how much pain he endured; etc. And yet it was through God that he was able to accomplish everything he accomplished. It is through Almighty God that each of us accomplishes what we accomplish in life. It is through the goodness of Our Heavenly Father that we have everything that we possess: our possessions; our skills; our homes; the food that we eat; the clothes on our back; our very lives are given to us by the Almighty. As with most things, as human beings, we take things for granted. But being a devout Christian means that we acknowledge God in everything: both the good times and even the bad times. If we do experience trials or tribulations, it is God Himself that gives us the strength to carry on. Acknowledge God in all the blessings He has given you. Acknowledge Him as your personal Saviour. Make a commitment to Him Who first made a commitment to you on the Cross.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Tenth Sunday after Trinity, August 21st, 2022

"And when He was come near, He beheld the city, and wept over it, . . . " (St. Luke 19:41) St. Luke describes for us Our Lord's reaction as He approaches the great city of Jerusalem. If we continue on in this chapter, St. Luke relates the words of Our Lord concerning Jerusalem: "If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes." (St. Luke 19:42) If thou had known . . . . If thou had only known . . . . I have no doubt that we have each had the occasion to interact with someone and just shake our head because we know, we just know that this person is headed for trouble. They are on a pathway to destruction in their life. It's mostly due to the choices they have made in their life, quite frankly. And sometimes we just shake our head in disbelief because we know exactly where these poor choices will lead to. And if the person in question is someone you love dearly: a son, . . . a daughter, . . . a good friend, . . . you may have the same reaction as did Our Blessed Lord: you weep over them. You weep because you know there is nothing you can do. You weep because in your heart you see the person you love on a pathway to destruction and you feel helpless to stop them. I dare say this is why Our Lord wept. Yes, Our Lord describes the destruction of Jerusalem which was certainly a sad event. But I think it was more than that.

When you think about it, St. Luke describes a profound event for us. The tears of Our Blessed Saviour are indeed the tears of God. God is crying because He knows that despite His best efforts, there will be many men and women in Jerusalem and beyond those city gates that will persist in going against the will of God. Our Lord weeps because He sees people more focused on doing their own will than doing the will of our Heavenly Father. Our Lord weeps because He sees all the needless pain, suffering and agony throughout the generations that human beings will heap upon themselves. "If thou hadst known . . . . " God sent His Son into the world for one ultimate purpose. This is why we hear Our Lord quoted throughout the gospels when He said: "My time is not yet come." He, of course, was referring to when He died that cruel death on the Cross. When He suffered the pain and the agony of that cruel death, He suffered it for you and me. He endured that pain and agony for all men and women throughout the ages. He did it because He knew that you and I could never have the capacity to do what He did. He bore our sins on His shoulders that fateful day. And in so doing, Our Lord defeated sin once and for all. Our Lord died on the Cross to save us from our sins. And He rose again from the dead to lead the way to new life . . . . eternal life for us spent in the presence of our Heavenly Father. And yet Our Lord knew that countless souls, despite His best efforts to save us from our sins, would still persist in their foolish ways. This, I dare say, is why Our Lord wept.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Ninth Sunday after Trinity, August 14th, 2022

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, August 7th, 2022

I can only speak for myself but when I set my mind on something, I focus on what I have set my mind on. There are clues we give which tell the world what is important to us. For example, if I am hungry for fried chicken I typically go and get some for my supper. If I am hungry for Chinese food, same story. I go and get some. If I focus on working on a project at home, I work on that project until I'm done. I work on ways to finish the project until it is complete. These are simple examples but they convey the idea that human beings typically focus on things that they have set their mind on. St. Paul writes in the Eighth Chapter of his Epistle too the Romans: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (Romans 8) As Christians, we need to concentrate or focus on doing what God wants us to do. In other words, sons and daughters of God make a point to follow the will of God in their life. Typically there are clues to let us know what is important to a person. If I am invited to a person's home and I soon see that the home is decorated with items of a particular sports team: posters, banners, pictures, etc. If I see all these things scattered throughout the entire house I will guess that this person loves that particular sports franchise. That is a simple enough example but how will people know that, as St. Paul puts it, that we are the "sons of God?" What are the ways in which we will show the world that we are the "sons of God?" We can go around telling people about God with our words, that is true. But there is more than one way to speak about God. We can speak about God with our words. We can speak about God with our actions. We can speak about God with our attitude. We can speak about God by the way in which we treat others around us. Speak to God in your own words on a daily basis. Go to Him on a daily basis. Get in the habit of reading the Good Book on a daily basis. If you don't already do so, go to church so that you can have fellowship with fellow believers.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Seventh Sunday after Trinity, July 31st, 2022

If there is one thing which is lacking in the day and age in which we live, if you would ask me, it is compassion. Why do we lack compassion? What is the reason? Maybe we are so wrapped up in our own lives that we don't have time to worry about someone else. Perhaps we like to see others going through trouble because it takes our mind off of our own troubles. Perhaps we are so busy and so involved with everything that we have to do that we do not have time to worry about anyone else and their problems.

In the Eighth chapter of the Gospel of St. Mark, we begin this chapter by listening to St. Mark recount how Our Blessed Saviour fed the four thousand. Now, remember that back in the end of Chapter Six of this very same Gospel, we hear about the feeding of the Five thousand. In my humble opinion, the most wonderful thing about this incredible miracle is actually not the miracle itself . . . although feeding four thousand people with a few fish and a few pieces of bread is simply amazing. No, what I always like to point out is what leads to this miracle. After seeing the vast crowd gathered around Him, Our Lord says: "I have compassion on the multitude." In order to have compassion, you first have to take notice of someone's need. In other words, we have a God Who is not distant. We have a God Who is not far away. We have a God Who takes the time to notice how we feel. We have a God Who actually cares about His people. Our Blessed Saviour was concerned that those who traveled from a distance would be in need of food.

I know that all of us can think of someone in our life who cares for us . . . whether it is a relative, or a neighbor, or a close friend, or a coworker. We all have someone in our life that takes the time to notice when we are down. Or that one person in our life who does simple things to show how much they care. Perhaps they call you for no other reason just to see how you are doing. Or they are the person you can always depend on in time of need . . . . when everybody else has given every excuse under the sun for not being there for you. For those people that are always there for you, don't you feel like you would also like to be there for them as well? That's how it should be for God. God is always there for us. Even when everyone else turns their back on us, God is always there waiting for our return to Him. God is always faithful to us . . . . despite the fact that we are not always so faithful to Him all the time. We should always remember the wonderful things that God has done for us. In this, though, sometimes we are forgetful. We forget everything that God has done for us because we get so fixated on the things of the world that grab our attention.

Make a point to improve your memory, at least, in regards to the wonderful things that God has done for you in your life. Never forget the faithfulness of God. Yes, God is faithful to you when it is us that should be faithful to Him. Never forget that.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Sixth Sunday after Trinity, July 24th, 2022

In the Sixth Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, we hear the following: " . . . Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him . . . " (Romans 6:3 ff) I would imagine that just about all of us have been in the position at one point or another in our life where we had the feeling that we had hit "rock bottom." Perhaps it came when we had lost a job unexpectedly. Maybe it came about when we struggled with a difficult project that fell apart and had to start all over again. Maybe it had involved health issues or the death of a family member or a close friend. Nonetheless, whatever circumstances we can think of, I am sure that most of us have had the feeling at one point or another that our world came crashing in on us. I know I have felt that way a time or two in my life. I have found myself struggling with some issue and everything seems to go wrong all at once and I feel like the whole world is crashing in on top of my head. But then afterwards I moved forward and the world brightened. In other words, I had to go through the darkest hours in order to finally see the light of dawn ahead of me. And then everything seemed to improve and things got better and better and better . . . . . Sometimes, as I say, we have to hit rock bottom in order to move forward. Sometimes by struggling and going through the darkness, we are able to get stronger and learn from our difficulties. We become strong through our struggles, it would seem. We learn from our mistakes . . . . or at least we should learn from our mistakes. When I look back on my life, I realize now that it was the struggles that made me a stronger human being. It was the times when things seemed the worse, that I was able to move forward and grow stronger. Although we may not want to admit it, it seems like the best "teacher" is to learn from our mistakes.

This is what we are also hearing from today's passage from the Epistle to the Romans, that through death to sin we are able to live again with Christ. It is through dying to self that we can live with Christ. It is through dying that we can live. We must never forget that Christ did not experience Easter Morning without first carrying His Cross to the hill at Calvary. The same is true for us. We can not truly live in Christ until we have died to our sinful ways. And for most of us, this is painful whether we want to admit it or not. As human beings, we want things our way. We want people to do things the way we want them to be done. We want to be comfortable. We desire our wants and we want them right now. We focus on our own needs and desires and forget about what God wants for us. Most of us, quite frankly, only go running to God when we need Him for something. Other than that, we go our own way in life. But sin is a barrier that keeps us away from God. Sin is like a brick wall that we keep running into time and time and time again. We have to remove the brick wall of sin in order not to run into it again. And once we do this. Once we die to our sinful selves. Once we do all we can to get rid of the sinful desires in our life, it allows us to focus more and more on God and less and less on ourselves.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fifth Sunday after Trinity, July 17th, 2022

In St. Luke's Gospel at today's Mass, we hear the story of the beginning of the association between Our Blessed Saviour and St. Peter. As was very often the case, the crowds were pressing against Our Blessed Lord so much and He could not make Himself heard. We hear the following: ". . . . He stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two ships . . . : " (St. Luke 5:1) And as a result, Our Lord got into St. Peter's boat so that He could preach to the multitude that had gathered to hear Him speak by Lake Gennesaret. Now the rest of this passage obviously focuses mainly on Our Lord directing St. Peter to throw the nets out and ended up hauling in a miraculous load of fish when he could catch nothing by himself. But the one thing that really caught my attention in reading and rereading this Gospel passage was the fact that there were two ships, St. Luke tells us. But then if there were two ships, why did Our Lord choose the one that St. Peter owned and not the other ship? The fact of the matter is that God chooses each one of us for specific tasks because each one of us has particular skills and talents. One person might be good at teaching while someone else is good at preaching. Or it might be the case that someone is good at fixing things while another person is skilled in music. The bottom line is that each one of us might not be talented in one area but very skilled in something totally different. Again, I can not help but focus on the fact that there were two ships in today's Gospel passage and Our Lord picked one but not the other. Maybe I am making too big of a deal out of this fact, but in my mind, it does point out that Our Lord does pick us. He chooses us. He singles us out and calls each one of us. The key, though, is that we need to respond accordingly. We have to say "yes" when we are called. We may not understand why Our Lord has chosen us. Look at today's passage, St. Peter did not understand Our Lord's instruction to cast the net out when he had been working so hard all night and caught nothing. And yet he did it anyway. Our Lady most certainly did not understand when she was told that she would be pregnant with child and yet her response was "Let it be done to me according to your word!" She said yes despite the fact that she did not understand . . . . St. Peter said yes despite the fact he could not understand how it would be possible. This is the definition of faith. God chooses us. We respond. And sometimes we may not even understand how it will take place . . . . or why it will take place . . . . or why in the world that God would choose me . . . but we respond to God's call and move forward. This is faith!

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fourth Sunday after Trinity, July 10th, 2022

Being a Christian is not an easy job by any stretch of the imagination. Come to think of it, being a human being is not an easy thing either. Having to make decisions that affect your own life. Having to make decisions that affect others . . . . for example, if you are a parent or the owner of a company. Having to do things that you would prefer not to do but have to be done . . . cutting the grass comes to mind or paying bills. Having to juggle various roles all at the same time . . . going to work . . . taking care of your home . . . being a parent . . . being a child . . . . paying bills . . . doing chores . . . etc. The point being is that life is busy . . . at least it is for me . . . and life is full of difficulties and challenges . . . again, at least it is for me. But as I look around on social media and in the news and listening to people's conversations, it seems that people must have a whole lot of free time that they don't know what to do with. It used to be that if you held a different belief than me, I might not have agreed with you but it amounted to nothing more than that: a difference of opinion. Period. End of story. I might not like your choice or I might not like your belief but on the other hand you might not be too fond of my choices or beliefs either. But we just left it at that. And, more importantly, we left it alone. You had your belief. I had my belief. Period. Today, people get into all kinds of arguments and criticisms of one another if they do not agree and support the other person one hundred and twenty percent.

In St. Luke's Gospel, Our Lord said: " BE ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful." (St. Luke 6:36) But then He goes on to say in the following verse: "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned; forgive, and ye shall be forgiven." (v.37) It is that last part that we should be most concerned with . . . ". . . forgive, and ye shall be forgiven." I have long said that we tend to be so focused on the wrong-doing in others lives, if for no other reason, it takes the focus off of our wrong doing. If I focus on someone else and where they are wrong in their life, it means that I have less time to focus on what is wrong in my own life. A few verses later, Our Lord states in Verse 41: "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?" Why am I so concerned about the speck that I see in my brother's eye when I am totally oblivious to the plank in my own eye?!? The bottom line is this: Don't be too quick to criticize someone else because your backyard probably needs a little sprucing up as well. You don't have to be in complete agreement with someone in order to be civil and loving to that person. Our Lord stated that we need to "love one another" He did not say that we need to "agree with one another." And finally, show a little mercy and compassion to those around you. Do not be so quick to condemn someone who does not agree with you. That person may not agree with you either on other subjects. The bottom line is that each one of us needs to be concerned if we agree with God. I should be LESS concerned about making MY own voice heard . . . and be MORE concerned about making GOD'S voice heard in my life and the way in which I treat others around me.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Third Sunday after Trinity, July 3rd, 2022

I am sure that you have lost something or misplaced something that you were looking for and you can not find it. Or you organize things or do a good cleaning and afterwards you suddenly do not know where something is that you need. If this happens, what do you do? Of course, you search high and low until you find what you are looking for. I can only speak for myself but not being able to find something that you are looking for is one of the most frustrating things in life. We search for things that we need. We search for things that are important to us. We search for things that we need to find. We place time and effort into searching for something that we either need or is important to us. If we didn't need it . . . or if it was of no importance . . . . we wouldn't care about the lost/missing item. In the Fifteenth Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, we hear Our Lord speaking to the publicans and sinners. But as He is speaking, St. Luke lets us know that the Pharisees and scribes started talking among themselves that Our Lord "receiveth sinners, and eateth with them." (St. Luke 15:2) Our Lord noticed their objection that they were making and responded by telling a parable. In the parable, He spoke about the example of the man who searched for the lost sheep and the woman who lost the one piece of silver. In the case of the man with the lost sheep, Our Lord pointed out that the man still had the Ninety-Nine sheep but he was worried about the one lost sheep; and the woman still had Nine pieces of silver, but she was concerned about the one missing piece that she could not account for. After much searching for the lost piece of silver, Our Lord stated the woman's words: "Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost." (St. Luke 15:9) God sent His only Son into the world because we were lost. We are lost without God. God searches for us, hoping that we will return to Him. If we were not important to Him, He would not have sent His Son into the world to redeem us with His Precious Blood. Keep in mind we only search for things that are valuable to us; important to us. We have value to God and this is why He goes to great lengths to find us. Conversely, the reason why so many people throughout the world do not search for God is because other things (money; power; possessions; booze; drugs; etc.) are what is important to those people. We only search for things that we need or are dear to us. Make a point to search for God. Make a point to remind yourself that God is the most important person in your life. Make a point to find Him. There is nothing more important than God in our life.

Take time out of your busy schedule to spend time with God. Dedicate one hour to be with Him. We dedicate time out of every day to: sleeping; eating; working; relaxation. Let us take one hour out of a busy week and dedicate it solely to God. Join us for Mass as we hear the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Join us as we worship Our Blessed Saviour as God's family in traditional worship. Join us as we receive the Precious Body and Blood at Communion time so that we can be nourished and sustained for the week ahead.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Second Sunday after Trinity, June 26th, 2022

Have you ever met a person that believed so strongly in a brand name, that they used that specific brand name and nothing else? Maybe a person you know will only drink one brand of beer, for example. Or perhaps another person will only use one brand of toilet paper. Or will only purchase one make of automobile. Or one brand of tool. The list goes on and on. Maybe we are that person when it comes to certain items. In the society in which we live, so many people "believe" in products, and brand names, and celebrities, and sports figures, and politicians, and agendas . . . . Again, the list goes on and on as to what people "believe" in. In the First Epistle of St. John, we are reminded of the commandment: "That we should believe on the Name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment." (I St. John 3:23) St. John reminds us that we are commanded to believe on the Name of Our Blessed Saviour. So many things that we "believe" on will ultimately fail us: whether they be consumer products that we buy. Or politicians that make endless promises that they can never keep. Even people that we know and love will disappoint us every now and then. But when it comes to Our Blessed Saviour, He will never disappoint us. . . . He will never fail us . . . He will never leave us. And out of this belief will come love. I have heard it said that the more you hang around with someone the more you will become like that person. I believe this is true for the most part. Don't children learn from their parents? Thus, children pick up traits and habits of their parents? To a certain degree, don't we become like our spouse? Picking up habits or expressions or likes and dislikes? The same is true for Our Blessed Saviour. The more time we spend with Him, the more we will become just like Him. And if you had to pick just one word to describe Our Blessed Saviour, I am sure the perfect word would be: L-O-V-E.

Take time out of your busy schedule to spend time with God. Dedicate one hour to be with Him. We dedicate time out of every day to: sleeping; eating; working; relaxation. Let us take one hour out of a busy week and dedicate it solely to God. Join us for Mass as we hear the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Join us as we worship Our Blessed Saviour as God's family in traditional worship. Join us as we receive the Precious Body and Blood at Communion time so that we can be nourished and sustained for the week ahead.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Corpus Christi (Transferred), June 19th, 2022

On Sunday, June 19th, 2022, we will celebrate the Solemnity of the Feast of Corpus Christi . . . . the Body and Blood of Christ. In the First Letter to the Corinthians we hear the following: " . . . This is My body, which is broken for you. . . " (I Corinthians 11:23 ff) When we look at the various sections of Holy Scripture where Our Blessed Lord refers to His Body and Blood, He makes it perfectly clear in regards to the meaning: "This is My Body . . . . This is My Blood." As Anglicans in the Catholic Tradition, we have a special love and devotion for the Precious Body and Precious Blood of Our Blessed Saviour. The fact that we gather together each and every week around the altar so that we can receive Him is testament to this fact. Yes, absolutely, we come to hear God's Word. Yes, without a doubt, we come to hear God speaking to us. But, when we gather together to receive the Precious Body and the Precious Blood, we know that Our Blessed Lord is nourishing us, sustaining us, giving us strength to carry on.

One of my favorite Scripture passages comes from the 19th Chapter of the First Book of Kings where we find the Prophet Elijah on a journey into the wilderness and the angel comes to him. "And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat." (I Kings 19:5) "And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee." (I Kings 19:7) . . . . Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee . . . . The journey that we call life is too great for us at times. Thus, we have to be reminded to nourish ourselves from the One Who can truly nourish . . . Our Blessed Saviour. "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (St. Matthew 11:28) Only He can truly satisfy us . . . only He can truly strengthen us . . . only He can truly nourish us for the journey. "Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee . . . "

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Trinity Sunday, June 12th, 2022

On Sunday, June 12th, 2022, we celebrate Trinity Sunday. The Gospel for the day comes to us from the Third Chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew. In this chapter we find ourselves witness to the discussion between Nicodemus and Our Blessed Saviour. In this conversation, Our Lord is telling Nicodemus that he must be born again. Nicodemus is confused by this expression and asks how can someone be born again. Our Lord explains: " That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. " Of course, Our Lord was differentiating between physical birth and spiritual birth. One can not be physically born a second time. It only happens the one time and cannot be repeated. But in a spiritual sense, yes, we can be born again when we give our lives over to God and dedicate our lives to him.

Of course, when Our Lord stated that "flesh is flesh" and "Spirit is spirit," He was referring to the example of being born again. But this does point out something very important for us Christians to consider. Very often in our lives, we can differentiate between the various sections of our lives. For example, we differentiate between the time spent where we work and the time spent at home. When I am at work, I focus on my job responsibilities but when I am at home I focus on things I do there, such as chores or projects or even relaxation. We dedicate certain portions of our time to volunteer activities, home activities, family activities, church activities, etc. We can divide our time and we can wear "different hats" to signify who we are at the time: worker; home owner; parent; child; spouse; neighbor; volunteer; etc. The list goes on and on. As we live life on a daily basis we play different "roles" based on what we are doing at that particular moment.

But when it comes to being a Christian, our life can not be "chopped up into sections," so to speak. In other words, we can not say that we are a Christian when we go to church but not a Christian when we are at home. It doesn't work that way. A true, committed Christian needs to be just that . . . a true, committed Christian 24 hours a day, whether he/she is at church . . . or at home . . . or at work . . . or at the grocery . . . or even driving in traffic. You see, there are so many people who actually do act one way while in church and another way when they leave church. They act very Christian when they go to church. They dress up. And they sing loudly when the hymns are sung. And they say "Amen" even louder when the preacher gives his sermon. But then as soon as church is over, they take off their "Christian hat" and put it away until next Sunday and they live completely different lives. Being a Christian means being a Christian 24 hours a day . . . 7 days a week .. .. 365 days a year. This proves to be very difficult sometimes. But when we come to the realization that God walks with us 24 hours a day . . . 7 days a week .. . 365 days a year . . . when we realize that, it should make it easier for us to join Him in that walk. As Our Lord said to Nicodemus, you must be born again . . .

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Pentecost, commonly called Whitsunday, June 5th, 2022

As we read in the Second Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, we find ourselves in the presence of the Apostles and the Disciples and the Blessed Mother all gathered together in prayer. Now, as it points out quite clearly in that second chapter: "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled all the house where they were sitting" (Chapter 2:2) Now, as we try to imagine what it was like for those gathered on that very first Whitsunday, it sounds almost terrifying when we hear that there was a "rushing mighty wind" filling the whole house. But the point that I would like to focus on is the fact that the disciples of Our Lord were there to hear what God had to say to them.

There's an old saying that goes something like: " . . . if a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound?" Certainly, if a tree falls in the forest, yes, it does make a sound as it comes crashing to the ground. But the point is that if nobody is around to hear the noise . . . . . nobody hears the crash. The point is clear. The disciples were not only gathered together on that first Whitsunday, they were also open to hearing what God had to say to them. That is why they were gathered in prayer.

How many times has God tried to speak to us, but we were not there to hear? Were we not "there" because we were paying attention to something else? Were we not "there" because we were listening to something completely different? Were we not "there" because our mind was focused on something other than God? You see, we need to make a point to "listen" in order to "hear" what is being said. This is true in general but it is certainly true when it comes to "sounds from Heaven." Someone can come up and say something to me but if I am completely focused on something else, I am more than likely not paying attention to what is being said. "Excuse me, what was that you were saying?" With God, this is certainly the case: we need to pay attention to God in order to hear what He is saying to us. The disciples were gathered in prayer and they were making a point to pay attention to what God would say to them. How many times have we missed what God was saying to us because were were not listening . . . not paying attention . .. or focused on something completely different?

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Sunday after Ascenscion Day, May 29th, 2022

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fifth Sunday after Easter,

Commonly called Rogation Sunday,

May 22nd, 2022

St. James tells us: ".BE ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." (St. James 1:22) For a Christian, this sounds like pretty good advice: " . . . . be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only . . . ." But this Epistle of St. James has caused some controversy over the years for some Christian thinkers such as Martin Luther, for example, because they contended that St. James was proposing that we can earn our way into Heaven by what we do. Now, without a doubt, there have been various individuals who have tried to "buy their way" into Heaven but what we hear from this verse ". . . . be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only . . ." This is just an example of good old fashioned sense, if you ask me. I say this because, sadly, each one of us can think of a person who was "nothing but mouth." In other words, we each know someone who talked about being a Christian but did not live as a Christian. There are a lot of people who could explain the Christian faith and they could go on and on and on about it, but the question is: Can they live the Christian faith and not just talk about it? "Be ye doers of the word . . . ." I think his is probably one of the biggest reasons why Our Blessed Lord came to earth as a human being, so that we could see Him in action. Sure, God could have just spoken to us about being a Christian and left it at that. But Our Lord chose to become a human being so that He could live among us, work with us, eat with us, travel with us, converse with us . . . etc. And, conversely, we got to see Him as well: how He treated people, how He reacted to people, how He cured people, how He loved people. Our Lord was a wonderful teacher and taught the faith wonderfully . . . . but He backed up His teaching by the way in which He lived. Each one of us must listen and hear and pay attention, that is for sure, but once we have listened and heard and paid attention, this gets translated into how we treat people, " . . . . be ye doers of the word .

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fourth Sunday after Easter, May 15th, 2022

In the First Chapter of the Epistle of St. James, we hear some of the best advice we could ever hear in our day and age: "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath . . . ." (St. James 1:19) I would imagine that this is sound advice for every age but especially in our world today in which we live, this should be the advice that we follow and live by each and every day. For example, when we get on Social Media and we see things that we don't like . . . . "be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath . . ." When we are on the interntet message boards or comment sections and people do their best to antagonize us, humiliate us, anger us, lure us into a fight , . . . . "be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath . . ." Even when we are in traffic, and the person ahead of us is driving like a moron, or if the person ahead of us is driving fifteen miles below the speed limiit and we are running late to work . . . . "be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath . . ." How about when we get into an argument with our spouse or family member over what turns out to be something completely insignificant but we fight like it's World War Three, . . . . "be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath . . ." When the pressures of work are getting to us, and we feel under-paid and even less appreciated and our boss turns around and tells us that we have to do even more than we are already doing . . . "be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath . . ."

Today, we get so worked up over other people, . . . and their opinion . . . . and what they think about us . . . . and all sorts of other issues. We tend not to hear or listen to anyone else speaking because we are so focused on what we feel or believe. As a result, we are "chomping at the bit" to speak our mind nnd let everyone else know exactly what we think about something. And when the rest of the world doesn't cater to us, doesn't care about us, doesn't give us what we want, we get full of anger and lash out at everyone so that everyone can be as miserable as we are. St. James gives us the answer for this problem as well. He tells us to focus on God. He tells us to focus on doing the work of God. He tells us to be "the doers of the word, and not hearers only." (St. James 1:22) Stop being offended by the world. Stop letting others make you angry. Stop caring about what what others think about you. For that matter, quit trying to impress the world. The world is fickle and will turn on you in a heartbeat. But God is loyal. God is steadfast. God is with us through thick and thin. Stay committed to Him. Stay committed to doing His word. Stay loyal to Our Heavenly Father.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Third Sunday after Easter, May 8th, 2022

When you go on a trip, do you ever notice how much time you spend in preparation for the trip by packing? If you are like me, it seems like you pack half the house to go on a trip. And even if you are only going to be gone a few days, it's unbelievable how much stuff we pack for those few days: clothing items . . . shoes . . . . jackets . . . . hygiene items . . . . The list goes on and on. Then you spend all that time in preparation making sure you are bringing everything you need. And then when the trip is done, you have to make sure you don't leave anything behind. You've heard of people with a fear of spiders or people with a fear of flying? I think I have a fear of leaving something behind in the motel room. I will check and recheck to make sure we did not leave anything behind. It's amazing how much time we spend in packing and preparing for going places. But truth be known, we don't take anything with us when we die, do we? I joke around and say that I'm going to take my Elvis record collection with me when I die, but of course that's ridiculous. We don't take anything with us when we die. The only thing that we take with us to the grave, it seems to me, is the love that we have in our heart. When our time comes to an end here on this ol' earth that we call home, the only "thing" we will take with us is the love that we have for God . . . love for our neighbors . . . and love for one another. Other than that, what do we take with us when we die? Just the love that we have in our heart. Why do we spend our lifetime accumulating so much stuff? In comparison, though, how much time do we spend preparing our heart in regards to showing love towards God and our neighbor?

In the Sixteenth Chapter of St. John's Gospel, we hear Our Lord speaking to the disciples about various matters. One of the things that He tells the disciples is preparing them for when He shall leave. He says: "A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father." (St. John 16:16) Our Lord is preparing the disciples for His departure because He knows that they will be in sorrow and distress at His departure: But Our Lord states that the sorrow the disciples will feel at His departure will be turned to joy. "And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." (v. 22) Again, many things that we have in life can be lost, taken from us, or stolen but the love and joy we have in our heart, nobody can take that from us. Our Lord's last words in this discourse state: "I came forth from the Father; and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father." (v. 28) We can say the same thing, it seems to me. When we are born, our life is a gift from the Good Lord Himself. And when we die, we leave the world and return to God. And when we return, the only thing that we have to show for our journey is how we have lived our life while we were here . . . how much love we have for one another . . . and how much love we showed while we were here. When we travel here on earth, we are careful to pack what we need for the trip. We should also prepare for our "final trip" by loving one another and showing the love that God has shown us and sharing that love to one another.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Saint Philip and Saint James, Apostles, May 1st, 2022

In the First Chapter of the Epistle of St. James, we are given sound advice: "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed." (St. James 1:6) So often throughout our life we go back and forth on things. When I was younger there were certain television shows which I just loved. Now, years later, I can't stand watching them. When I was younger, there were certain foods I just could not stand eating but now I find myself enjoying these food items very much. These are just two simple examples but this happens throughout our life for each of us. We change jobs. We change careers. We change friends. We change neighborhoods. We change relationships. The list goes on and on and on. But one thing that we should never waver on is our relationship with God. And yet we do . . . constantly. We may not do it intentionally but we do it nonetheless. We probably do not even realize that we do it but we do. Most often we turn our back on God through ignoring Him. Again, we more than likely are not ignoring Him intentionally but we stilll ignore Him. We ignore God because we get more interested in OTHER things in our life. We focus on our interests. We focus on our jobs or careers. We focus on obtaining the things we want. We focus our time and our energy on our relationships with others. The list goes on and on but isn't this true? We end up turning our back on God because we are more interested in other things and only go to Him when we need something or are in trouble. Each one of us needs to develop a personal relationship with God. We do this by making a point to pray every day. We do this by making a point to read Holy Scripture every day. We do this by making the effort to attend church. We do this by putting God first in everything. In other words, whenever we make a decision, we make a point to remember and focus on what God would have us do. What He would want us to do. So often we are too busy focusing on what "we" want in life and we never give a thought to what God wants for our life. But all of these things just mentioned take practice. They take dedication. They take commitment. I emphasize this because so often we commit ourselves to God but the first time we fail we give up. We convince ourselves that it can't be done, that we aren't strong enough, etc. But we always have to remember that a marathon runner needs to practice. A weightlifter needs to train. A doctor needs to go medical school. A career requires dedication. A relationship requires commitment. Anything we commit ourselves to requires dedication. So, too, with our relationship with God. It requires attention and dedication and commitment. We should never waver in our relationship with God. Make God your first priority in life. Remain close to Him your whole life.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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First Sunday after Easter, April 24th, 2022

We have life pretty easy compared to, say, cavemen. For example, we sit around and post pictures of cats on Facebook while our ancestors ran around trying not to be eaten by Dinosaurs. Alright, I'm being a wee bit extreme in my comparisons but in so many ways, life is much easier for us than it was in past ages. Due to technology, life is simpler, that is sure. Whether it be travel or washing clothes, we have it so much easier than those that lived in past ages due to technology. And, yet, life is still difficult for us at times. Whether it is dealing with other people that don't particularly like us or dealing with keeping up with the bills which are due. Whether it is trying to find a job and or dealing with things that break in your house or on your car. The daily pressures of life seem to be a burden to so many people, especially those who are dealing with sadness, illness, or daily troubles. And yet we know as faithful, firm, committed Christians, that are answer is right in front of our eyes.

"WHATSOEVER is born of God overcometh the world" (I St. John 5:4) God is our answer. This is because God is our foundation in a changing world. While on the one hand, we do not know what life will give us from day to day . . . sometimes, it seems to change hour to hour . . . minute to minute . . . . we do know that God will never leave us. We know that God is always there in our corner. We know that God is ever constant. God truly is our true foundation. While we never know from day to day what life will give us, we know that as long as we have God with us we can overcome anything that life dishes out.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Easter Sunday, April 17th, 2022

In his Epistle written to the Colossians, St. Paul writes in the Third Chapter: "IF ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above . . . " (Colossians 3:1) The events of Holy Week teaches us many valuable lessons. At the beginning, the crowds are acclaiming Our Blessed Saviour, yelling Hosanna! Hosanna! as He made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem. At the end of the week, He was on trial with the crowds yelling Crucify Him! Crucify Him. This same Jesus, Who Himself was Rabbi . . . . Teacher . . . Friend . . . . Miracle Worker . . . . Inspiration . . . . Image of Our Heavenly Father . . . . This same Man they saw as the great hope of Israel . . . . by the end of the week, they saw Him scourged, bloodied and beaten . . . . and then put to death, dying in the company of two thieves. As Our Lord was dying on that Cross, very few of those closest to Him remained to be with Him to the very end. All the rest vanished for fear of the authorities and downcast that their "dream" had come crashing down around them on that hill at Calvary. And yet just when everything seemed that it could not get any worse . . . . just when life seemed that it was at the darkest hour . . . . . the Tomb was discovered empty on that first Easter morn. The same Teacher . . . . Rabbi . . . . Miracle Worker . . . . Who had seemed in the eyes of the world to be defeated . . . . . humiliated . . . . and struck down in utter defeat . . . . . He was now risen from the dead. Each of us, as stated above, can learn a valuable lesson from this for our own lives. So many of us get so caught up on the negative events that befall us in life. We place more of our time and energy dwelling on the negative events. In life, we should know by now that we experience the good and the bad. As human beings, we suffer, yes, but we also enjoy accomplishment. Quite frankly, one doesn't happen without the other. An athlete, in a very simple example, does not automatically get the winning trophy right off the bat. An athlete only gets the trophy after years and years of dedication, training, and yes, even years of defeat. So, too, we so often have to learn from our mistakes before we can enjoy victory. In short, Easter never would have happened without Good Friday. The "empty tomb" never would have been possible without first the Cross. Don't limit yourself by getting "stuck" on the defeats in your life. Always remember that Our Blessed Saviour carried His Cross in what seemed to be defeat in the eyes of the world. And yet His defeat turned out to be victory . . . . victory over death. And He did it all for us . . . . . so that we could have the possibility of enjoying eternal life with Him.

PLEASE NOTE THAT MASS ON EASTER SUNDAY WILL BE CELEBRATED AT 11:00 AM instead of the usual 10:30 am time. Again, St. Margaret Church will celebrate Easter Mass at 11:00 AM We meet at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Palm Sunday, April 10th, 2022

As we read the Gospel passage from St. Matthew's Gospel on Palm Sunday, it helps to portray for us the drama which was unfolding when Our Blessed Lord was brought before Pilate. Pilate presented the people with a choice to release Barabbas or Our Blessed Saviour.. "Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would." (St. Matthew 27:15) Bur the chief priests and the elders were set in their ways. They urged the people to call for the release of Barabbas so that Our Lord would die. Pilate gave the people a choice. And they made their choice. They chose Barabbas and through that choice condemned Our Lord. We all have a choice in life, don't we? We make choices every day whether we realize it or not. Some choices are small and have little impact such as deciding which pair of socks to put on for the day or which brand of macaroni to buy at the store. Other choices are big such as where to go to college, whether or not to get married, etc. But the bottom line is that each of us have choices to make in life. As Christians, we need to choose God. We need to make the choice of Godly living. We need to choose to live Godly lives. We need to choose to live as God's instruments in this world. In the Old Testament Book of Joshua we hear: " . . . . choose you this day whom ye will serve . . . . but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15) The world continues to offer us all sorts of choices in life. We need to choose well. We need to choose to serve God.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fifth Sunday in Lent,

Commonly Called Passion Sunday,

April 3rd, 2022

From the 8th Chapter of St. John's Gospel, we hear a conversation between Our Blessed Lord and the Jewish leaders, which takes a dramatic turn. Our Lord responds to the Jews: "He that is of God heareth God's words." It is valuable for those of us who claim to be Christians to focus on these words of advice from Our Blessed Saviour. In the age that we live, especially, we know that we are bombarded by "noises:" Television; Radio; Music; Traffic; Talk: and sometimes all at the same time! Factor into this, the fact that we are constantly facing things that are trying to get our attention: Computer; Internet; Social Media; Texts; Work; Chores; Jobs; etc; etc; etc . . . . . You get the picture. We are constantly faced with people and things that are competing to get our attention. I know well from my own personal experience that unless I am paying attention to something, I will not hear it. For example, I may have the news station playing on the radio but if I am focused on doing something else I won't be paying attention to what is said. The radio station broadcast was playing, I was listening, but I wasn't paying attention to it, and, thus, I missed it because my mind was occupied on something else. So it is with God. God wants to speak to us. God wants to converse with us. But we are so preoccupied with the things of hte world that we do not hear what God is saying to us. Sometimes, spiritually speaking, this is how it is with God speaking to us: there are too many other things taking our attention away from God and we can not hear what God is saying to us. We need to learn to turn off the "outside noises" from our life so that we can listen to God. This is not easy to do but it is something that is necessary. One valuable way to do this is to take one hour out of your busy schedule and come to church: hear the Word of God; listen to what He is saying to us; receive Him in the Blessed Sacrament and dedicate this time to worship of God.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 27th, 2022

The Gospel for Laetare Sunday comes from the Sixth Chapter of St. John's Gospel. As we begin this passage St. John tells us of the large crowds that have followed Our Blessed Saviour due to them hearing about the many people which He has cured. Our Lord's fame has grown far and wide due to the many miracles that He has performed. And many of those gathered want to not only to see Him but to hear what He has to say. Now the first thing that should strike us when we hear the story of Our Lord feeding the multitude is that Our Lord is a compassionate Lord. He knew that these people that gathered together to hear Him and to get just a glimpse of Him would be tired . . . they would be hungry . . . these people would need to be sustained and nourished. And He called together the disciples and inquired what would need to be done. Now, we all know what happened next. Our Blessed Saviour multiplied the five loaves and the two fish into feeding the multitude.

What I would like to focus on is what Our Lord did after everyone was fed. He called together the disciples and told them: "Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. ." (St. John 6:12) Sometimes our lives feel like "fragments," in a sense. We run here. We run there. We take care of our families. We take care of our home. We go to our jobs. We go shopping for what we need. The list goes on and on. As a result, we feel like we are running around from one place to the next, going from doing one thing into something completely different. I know I feel this way very often. And I talk to so many people that feel the same way. Our lives are divided between this, that and the other. But the important thing to remember is that God takes our "fragments" and makes them whole. Just like Our Blessed Saviour fed and nourished the five-thousand, He feeds and nourishes us still today. Just like He saw the vast multitude gathered around Him, He still sees us in need of His strength to carry on our daily lives. And He is that strength. He is the One Who nourishes us. He is the One Who sustains us. He is the One Who makes us whole. He takes the fragments of our lives and makes our life complete. There is no other person, thing, or feeling in the world that can make us complete. There is only one person who can do this for us. And that is God. Give your heart to Him. Let Him be your nourishment. Let God be your sustaining force. Let Our Blessed Saviour be the One you run to in order to be fed.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Third Sunday in Lent, March 20th, 2022

Maybe it's just me, I don't know, but I am amazed at how often I "revert" back to doing something when I know I should not be doing it and then I turn around and do the same thing all over again. For example, I type every day on the computer. And sometimes . . . . I don't know the reason why .. . . I may type the wrong letter in a certain word and then I will go back and erase it and type the correct word but then the next time I get to type that same word I end up typing the same exact wrong letter again. And then it gets to the point that it is laughable because then suddenly no matter how hard I try and how determined I am NOT to type that one wrong letter . . . . I do it again.

Sin is like that as well. We may keep doing the same wrong things all over again even though deep down inside we know that the sinful behaviour is no good for us but we keep going back and doing the same thing over and over again. In the Fifth Chapter of St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians, we hear the following: "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord." (Ephesians 5:8) Our Blessed Saviour redeemed us by His Own Precious Blood. Our Saviour took our sins upon His shoulders and carried them to that hill at Calvary. Our Saviour saved us from our sins by dying on the Cross for us. With all of this in mind, it begs the question: why do we do what we do . . . . especially when we supposedly know better? How often do we do something really stupid and then we say out loud to ourselves: "Why did I do that?" St. Paul is saying to the Ephesians just like he is saying to us: "You used to be ignorant of your sins but now you have knowledge in Christ . . . you are knowledgeable of Our Lord . . . you know about Him . . you know His ways . . . you know Him . . . . now, act like Him and do not go back to your former, sinful ways." This, in essence, is what St. Paul was saying to the church at Ephesus and what he is saying to us.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Second Sunday in Lent, March 13th, 2022

In the Fifteenth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, we hear the story of Our Blessed Saviour meeting the woman of Canaan who besought Our Lord seeking favour for her daughter. Now keep in mind that this woman was not Jewish, and yet she said to Our Lord: "Thou Son of David: my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil." (St Matthew 15:22) Right from the beginning, it is evident that this woman must have recognized the greatness of Our Lord or else she would not have referred to Him as "Thou Son of David." Now, we have all heard this story because Our Lord at first . .. .. it seems . . .. that He ignores her because He says not a word at her first request. After that it is apparent that she then proceeds to bother the disciples for her request because St. Matthew informs us that they "besought Him, saying, Send her away: for she crieth after us." (v.23) After this, Our Lord still ignores her request by basically saying, in essence, that He was sent for the children of Israel. And despite all of this, this woman still persisted until finally Our Lord recognized her persistence and her faith when He said: " O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt." (v.28)

Now the point that we can all learn from this is to be determined and to have faith. The woman of Canaan had both. She recognized Our Lord to be the source of help and healing for her daughter. But she was also determined. In faith, we need to be determined. But we need to be determined for the right reason. In other words, sometimes we only get "religious" when we need God for something: We want to get hired for a new job. We need a favour of some sort. We need guidance to get out of a jam. Now there is nothing wrong with going to Our Heavenly Father when we need His assistance. What is wrong, though, is when we ONLY go to Him when we need something and forget about Him the rest of the time. A lot of people only go to God when they get into a jam or when they need something. They suddenly get real "religious" when they are in need but the rest of the time they act as if there is no God. Our Lord came to offer us Salvation. He came to die on the Cross for us. But He also spent some thirty-three years on this earth being a human being like you and I. He knows what it is like to walk in your shoes. He knows what it is like to laugh and to cry. He knows what it is like to work and to rest. He knows what it is like to walk in your shoes as a human being. As such, we can go to Him on a daily basis and we should go to Him on a daily basis. Do not just go to God when you are in need of something. Go to God every day with your concerns, your joys, your sorrows, your everything.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Father Francis Dominic will Preach on Sunday, March 13th, 2022

Please mark your calendar and plan to join St. Margaret Church on Sunday, March 13th, 2022 at 10:30 am as we welcome Father Francis Dominic. Fr. Francis will preach at the 10:30 am Mass. This is something you will not want to miss. Please join us that day and welcome Fr. Franics to our church.

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First Sunday of Lent, March 6, 2022

The Gospel passage which we will hear on the First Sunday of Lent comes to us from the Fourth Chapter of St. Matthew. Here, St. Matthew describes Our Lord's Forty Days in the Wilderness. As we all know, the devil likes to take every opportunity he can to take advantage. This is no exception. He tries three separate times to take advantage and tempt Our Blessed Saviour while He is fasting. Finally, the Lord admonishes the devil by telling him: "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." (v.10) After this, we are told, the devil left Him and "angels came and ministered unto Him." (v. 11) There are two major points that we can take away from this:

First, Our Lord was fasting for forty days and forty nights and during this time, the devil came to tempt Him. How many of us have sat down to pray, or sat down to read the Bible, or tried to concentrate while we were in church and every thought comes into our head: we start thinking about what we're going to eat for lunch; we start thinking about something we should have done at home; we start thinking about a movie or a TV show; etc. I am sure this has happened to all of us at one point or another. The point is this: if the devil is bold enough to tempt Our Blessed Saviour, he is certainly bold enough to tempt you and me. Some people let these distractions over-power them and keep them from prayer completely. They take these "distractions" as some sort of a "sign" that they weren't meant to pray or that they can't pray. If this happens, the devil has won. Don't give the devil the victory. Remember always that the devil will stop at nothing in order to keep you from growing closer to God. If the devil can tempt Our Blessed Saviour, he will certainly tempt you as well. Don't let the temptation stop you in your tracks. Tell the devil who is in charge of your life and then move on!

The second point is that the devil will try to tempt us with things that are attractive to us, that are appealing to us. He will tempt us with things that we would want and desire to begin with. The devil will use any tool necessary to tempt you and me. He will use food and drink; he will use power and money; he will use position and title. Any of these things mentioned are not necessarily bad in and of themselves, but if they keep us away from God or if they stand as a barrier between us and God, then this is what makes them bad. Also, many of these things that the devil tempts us with, we end up "worshiping" those things instead of God. For example, how many people end up focusing on drink instead of God. How many people focus all of their energies on gaining more and more power or more and more money? In that example, that person worships money or power and never thinks about God. Again, the devil does not want you to have a relationship with God. He will use anything and everything to keep you from having a relationship with Our Blessed Saviour.

We need to counter these temptations by keeping our eyes fixed on Christ. Always go towards Him and do not let any temptation . . . . no matter how wonderful it seems . . . . prohibit you from having a good relationship with God. Give God your heart. Let Him be the ruler of your life. Don't let "things" rule your life: whether they be food, drink, power, riches, etc. God should be the ruler of our hearts.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Quinquagesima, or the Sunday next before Lent,

February 27th, 2022

I don't know much about construction or building projects, but it seems pretty self-evident that a building is in need of a strong foundation if it is going to remain standing. Without a proper foundation, no matter how nice the rest of the building looks it will ultimately collapse. In the Thirteenth Chapter of his First Epistle written to the Corinthians, St. Paul emphasizes what should be the foundation of our Christian Faith: Love. St. Paul writes: " . . . and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing" (I Corinthians 13:2) Going back to the example of our building, the foundation is what gives it support. It doesn't ultimatley matter how pretty the building looks, without a good foundation it will ultimatley fall apart, won't it? This is the point St. Paul is making to the Corinthians . . . and to us reading his words two-thousand years later . . . . that no matter what we do in life we also need a "base," if you will. And this base is "love." As Christians, St. Paul is reminding us that we need to have love as the "foundation" for everything we do: whether it be speaking to others, preaching, giving to charity, reacting to those around us, etc. All of these have to have a "foundation of love" or else the acts which we do will be nothing. They will mean nothing. Our Blessed Lord did everything with love as His foundation. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son . . . " (St. John 3:16) The problem is that it is very difficult for us to love at times. It is difficult to show love to those people who are not lovable, so to speak. And yet we know this is exactly what Our Lord did on a daily basis. To be loving will not always be easy. To show love will not always be easy. To remember to be loving will be difficult at times. But, as Christians, we are called to make the effort. We are called to do our utmost. We are called to keep trying as best as we can. During this upcoming season of Lent, let us focus on showing love to God. In so doing, I am sure that we will soon see that the love we show to God will spill over to showing love to those around us. And in the world in which we live today, it could definitely use some more love and less hate.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Sexagesima, or the Second Sunday before Lent,

February 20th, 2022

In the eighth chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, we hear Our Blessed Saviour tell the Parable of the Sower. And in this parable, Our Lord tells the story of the sower who goes out to sow the seed: some seed fell along the way; some seed fell on rocky soil; some seed fell on good soil; etc. Our Lord, when He is finished telling the parable, describes what the parable means to the disciples. In the parable there are different types of people represented: those that hear the Word; those that do not hear the Word; those who pay attention for a time and then fall away; etc. This reminds me of the many types of people we will encounter in our lifetime. Some people we encounter are just that: people we encounter. Nothing more, nothing less. While others become friends due to common interests or similarities. Out of these, some friends become life-long friends, and others (through moving away; or getting another job; or going to another school; etc.) move on and we lose contact with.

There are a variety of people in our life, and many of these people, I am convinced that God has placed them in our life to inspire us, to strengthen us, to encourage us, to be with us. Obviously, many of these people placed in our life are related to us by blood: our parents; our grandparents; aunts; uncles; cousins; etc. Other people such as a spouse or good friends, for example, God may have placed them in our lives to give us support along the way. Each one of us can point out special people in our lives who have supported us or inspired us along the way. I, for my part, can certainly point toward my parents; my grandparents; wonderful, inspiring priests who have blessed me with the Sacraments; I can point to wonderful friends who have been there for me. Each one of these people, I am convinced that God has placed those special people in my life to encourage me along the way. These people have touched my life. They have played a part in forming the person I have become. Certainly, as a priest, I can point towards many wonderful members of churches I have served who have been a wonderful inspiration to me. God places special people in our life to assist us and to inspire us. Let us always remember the fact that for others around us, we may be the one that inspires those around us. You may be the special person that God has placed in that person's life to inspire him or her. Let us always remember to inspire others to greatness. Let us always remember that for the dedicated, committed Christian, we have the potential to be the "Face of Christ" in the world. Let us never forget that God uses us as His instruments in this world to let others know about Him.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Septuagesima, or the Third Sunday before Lent,

February 13th, 2022

Have you ever had the experience of buying a product and before you knew it, the thing you bought proved to be no good. Maybe it broke down. Maybe it stopped working. Maybe it wore out. And you were disappointed because you spent your hard-earned money on such a piece of garbage. Some things last longer than others but the bottom line is that everything we buy either breaks, or wears out, or goes out of style, or loses its' usefulness, etc. In St. Paul's first Epistle written to the Corinthians, St. Paul emphasizes that Christians need to place their emphasis on obtaining a Heavenly crown which will never wear out, . . . will never break, . . . will never expire. So often in life as human beings we get so wound up, so fixated on obtaining worldly things which ultimately will not last. "Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible" (I Corinthians 9:25) St. Paul is encouraging us to remember that we should put our efforts into obtaining the Heavenly Crown of eternal life offered to us by God. And we do this by saying "Yes" to God. We do this by doing God's will in our life. We do this by living for God and not for the world.

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, February 6th, 2022

" Let both grow together until the harvest" (St. Matthew, Chapter 13)

In this Thirteenth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew, we read about the time in which Our Blessed Saviour told the parable of the man who planted the harvest of wheat in his field. And yet Our Lord tells us that after the wheat had been planted, the man's "enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way" (St. Matthew 13:25) When it was discovered that the tares were growing together with the wheat, the servants asked the man if they should go and gather up all the tares which were growing with the wheat. The man responded that if they did that they would also tear up the wheat that was growing there as well. Wait until harvest time, said the man to his servants, and both will be gathered up: the tares will be taken to burn and the wheat will be taken into the barn.

Many people wonder why bad things happen in life along with the good things which happen in life. Man has been asking this question since the world was created, I am quite sure. Obviously, God does not wish bad things upon His children. But at the same time, we know that life is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Bad things will happen in life, unfortunately. Just like the tares and the wheat grew together in the parable which Our Lord told, so too will good things and bad things happen during our lifetime. As Christians, we are called to make a choice between good and bad. God has granted His children a certain sense of freedom to choose in life. Similar to the parable, the enemy will plant bad things in our life as well. As a result, in our lifetime we will experience good things and we will experience bad things as well. How will we respond to the bad things in life? Will we give up or give in? Will we learn from our bad experiences and grow stronger as a result? The key is to always have God close by no matter what. Stay close to the Cross of Christ and always do everything with Our Blessed Saiour in mind!

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, January 30th, 2022

". . . but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed" (St. Matthew 8:1 ff)

In the Eighth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, as Our Blessed Lord was going into Capernaum, we hear how a certain centurion approached Our Blessed Saviour to implore His assistance. The centurion told Our Saviour that his servant was very sick. In essence, this centurion wanted Our Lord to heal his servant. And yet this was not the main point of the story. There were many people seeking favour from Our Lord. In this same chapter, St Matthew tells us, for example, of the leper seeking healing from the Lord. The thing that made the centurion stand out in the eyes of the Lord . . . and what we should take note of as well . . . was the faith of the centurion. For you see Our Lord indicated that He was prepared to go to the centurion's home to heal the servant but the centurion protested saying that he was not worthy that Our Blessed Saviour would come into his home. So he said to Our Lord to simply "speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed" (St Matthew 8:8) Our Lord was impressed with this man's faith. Our Lord was impressed that this man, who was a Roman, a Gentile, Our Lord was impressed that this man had such great faith. This man knew that Our Blessed Saviour could cure his servant. This man knew Our Lord could get the job done. In other words, this man had faith. And we should too. The problem with most of us is that we give up too easily. We want God's help . . . . We desire God's assistance. . . . We want God to solve our dilema . . . . But we want God to do things our way. We want to be in charge. We want God's help, yes. We need God's help, yes. But we want God to do things our way. Friends, we are called to be like the centurion and have great faith at all times. we are called to put our faith in the Lord and let Him do the rest. ". . . . but speak the word only" should be our prayer a all times. ". . . . but speak the word only" If only our faith could be that great!

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

Third Sunday after the Epiphany, January 23rd, 2022

In the Second Chapter of the Gospel of St. John, we hear the first recorded miracle which Our Blessed Lord performed. "And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine." (St. John 2:3) You see, the newly married couple had run out of wine at their wedding feast. This may not sound like a big deal to us but back then it would have been a huge embarrassment for the young couple. So the Blessed Mother turns to the one person she knew could help. She asked her Son to do something about this problem. As we read in Verse Four of this chapter, it would seem that Our Blessed Saviour comes up with two quick excuses: "Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come." (St. John 2:4) Yet without missing a beat Our Lady simply says to the servants at the feast: "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it." (St. John 2:5) Our Lord changed water into wine. St. John tells us: "This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth His glory; and His disciples believed on Him." (St. John 2:11)

If Our Blessed Lord can change water into wine, I am sure He can change just about anything. Remember that this was simply " . . . the beginning of the miracles . . . " (v.11). As we read through the Gospels we read about all the various miracles which Our Lord performed. Sometimes we find ourselves in a fix that we can not seem to get out of. Whether it be financial difficulties . . . or bills we can not afford . . . or we are in need of a job . . . . or we have just screwed up royally and do not know where to turn. Our Blessed Lord can help us. Our Blessed Lord can help to fix things. Our Lord is certainly able to do great things. Our Lord said: " . . . the works that I do in My Father's Name, they bear witness of Me." (St. John 10:25) And yet how often do we doubt? How often do we never go to God for a miracle because we are simply too stubborn? How often do we not give our problems to God because of a lack of faith? Our Lady did not doubt. Our Blessed Mother did not hesitate. When she knew something needed to be done for this young couple, she knew she could not help but she knew who could. "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it." (v.5) We have to have the same firm faith as Mary. We say we believe but then we hesitate. We say we gave our problem to God but then we stop and look back. It is time for us to stand firm in our faith. It is time for us to place our trust in God. In the world in which we live, people place their trust in money and wealth . . . they place their trust in products they believe will change their life . . . people place their trust in booze and pills to take their hurt away. At best, these things are nothing more than a "quick fix." "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." (Psalm 55:22) Give your burden to God. Have faith that God can perform a miracle in your life.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Second Sunday after the Epiphany, January 16th, 2022

The Gospel for the Mass from the Second Sunday after Epiphany comes to us from the very beginning of St. Mark's Gospel. And it makes sense that St. Mark writes here at the beginning of his Gospel by speaking about St. John the Baptist. We hear: "Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee." (St. Mark 1:1) St. Mark is quoting this verse from the Old Testament book of Malachi to describe St. John the Baptist: "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me . . . ." (Malachi 3:1) It is entirely appropriate that St. Mark would use this Scripture verse in reference to St. John the Baptist. St. John did in fact prepare the way by preaching and speaking and telling about the Messiah Who was to come after him. Very often, in our own life, it is through the introduction of other people that we get introduced to our friends. Perhaps it is through a friend of a friend; or a cousin of a coworker; or a business acquaintance; etc. The point being that we end up having a friendship with someone through being introduced to him or her by someone else. And, if not for this introduction, we would most certainly have never met that person. St. John the Baptist did just this: he introduced countless souls to Our Blessed Saviour. He did, in fact, prepare the way of the Lord through his preparation of preaching and baptizing and preaching. Each of us should follow the example of St. John the Baptist by preparing the way for the Lord. We do this by introducing others around us to Jesus. How do we introduce others to Our Blessed Saviour? We do this in various ways: speaking about our relationship with God; talking about what we read in Scripture; inviting others to come to church with us; acting with love towards others; and even praying for others that God will bless them. There are many wonderful ways to prepare the way before Our Lord. This reminds me of one of my all-time favorite quotations. St. Francis said: "Preach at all times, and sometimes even use words!"

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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First Sunday after the Epiphany, January 9th, 2022

"And when they found Him not, they turned back again . . . " (St. Luke 2:41 ff)

Have you ever misplaced something very important? Either it is something very valuable to you or something you need right away and when you go to look for it you discover that it is not there. You panic. You freeze in your tracks wondering what to do next. The car keys when you are late for an important appointment. An important report that you need to give to your boss. We can all think of examples when we have lost something very important . . . something which we are in need of . . . . something we need right away. What do we do? Well, first we panic, don't we? But then we begin searching until we find what we are looking for. We turn our house or office upside down until we find what we have misplaced.

In the Second Chapter of his Gospel, St. Luke describes for us the occaision when St. Joseph and Our Lady along wiht the Child Jesus traveled to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. Everything went fine, one would presume, while they were there. The problem arose when they left Jerusalem and it was then that St. Joseph and Our Lady discovered that the Child Jesus was not in their company. At that point they panicked, I am sure, like every parent would in that situation. And thus they returned to Jerusalem and searched for the Child Jesus until they found Him. They searched for Him because they were scared. They searched for Him because He was their Child. They searched for Him because He was important to them. He was their Son. They loved Him.

We search for things because we have need for them. We search for things we have lost because they are important to us. We search for things which have value to us. Have you ever lost or misplaced something but in the final analysis you simply shrug your shoulders and move on? You do this because you come to the realization that ultimately you really do not need that object after all. We search for things which are important to us. I would imagine the events of the past few years have helped to show us what is truly important in our lives. A lot of things we hold as vitally important turn out to be not so important at all. Our relationship with God is something we should cherish and hold on to. We need to search for God every day. Search for Him in the Scriptures. Search for Him in our quiet times of reflection and prayer. Search for Him in even when we meet others in our daily travels. God speaks to us in a variety of ways. God searches for ways to reach you and I. He searches for us because He loves us. He searches for us because we are important to Him. We should search for God because he is important to us.

NOTE: St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, January 9th, 2022. We are planning to go back to our regular Sunday scheduled on January 16th, 2022 Fr. Todd will still post his sermon online on January 9th, 2022. Thank you for your understanding.

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Second Sunday after Christmas, January 2nd, 2022

"But when (Joseph) heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither" (St. Matthew 2:19 ff)

In the Second Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel we hear when St. Joseph was directed by the angel to take Our Lady and the Child Jesus back to Israel. But Joseph soon discovered that Archelaus was in the place of Herod and Joseph was paralyzed with fear over this fact. In fact he was so scared that we read that "he turned aside into the parts of Galilee" (St. Matthew 2:22) The point being is this, St. Joseph was afraid and this fear caused him to "turn aside," in other words, he changed course due to his fear. In life sometimes each one of is afraid of something. Our fear causes us to turn around, or turn aside, . . . Sometimes our fear cuases us to turn around completely. Other times our fear causes us to freeze completely in our tracks. St. Joseph was afraid. But he also was obedient to what God was telling him to do. All of us have things to be afraid of in life: when an illness hits . . . when we lose our job . . . when bills come due that we can not pay . . . accidents . . . disasters . . . etc. Very often people want us to be afraid. They want us to cower in fear and stop moving altogether. But with God we can move forward. With God by our side we know that things will turn out fine in the end. Keep your eyes focused on the Cross of Christ and keep moving forward. Keep your eyes focused on the things of God and keep moving forward. Focus on God and keep moving forward. Listen to what God is telling you and keep moving forward. Let us make the year 2022 God's year. Let us stop focusing on what the world wants us to do. Let us stop focusing on what other people want us to do. Let us stop focusing on what the media tells us to think and how to act. This year let us focus on what God directs us to do and keep moving forward no matter what the world throws at us.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Saint Stephen, Deacon and Martyr, December 26th, 2021

"STEPHEN, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, . . . . . ." (Acts 7:55)

In the Seventh Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, we hear the telling of when St. Stephen was martyred for the faith. Prior to his martyrdom we read what St. Stephen saw. He saw "the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God" (v.55) What a wonderful image to behold. I would dare say that we could each have this image if we simply put the effort into looking. Our problem is that we do not take the time to look . . . we do not take the time to see . . . . This is because we keep ourselves busy looking for everything else that we want . . . that we need . . . that we desire . . . We spend our time looking for things of the world, for worldly possessions, instead of fixing our eyes upon heavenly things. Have you ever had the experience of looking for something and could not find it? And you looked and looked and looked for the object. And then suddenly you see it and the object you were looking for was right there all along, right where you were looking but you didn't see it. God is all around us but we simply have to look for Him. We have to make a point of looking for Him. During this Christmas season, let us be like St. Stephen and look stedfastly into heaven so that we will see Heavenly things instead of constantly looking towards the world and only seeing worldy things!

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fourth Sunday in Advent, December 19th, 2021

"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 when we keep doing the same task over and over again, we get worn out from doing whatever we are doing. Whether it's always working on the same report over and over again 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 project gets completed. We rejoice at many times over many things, don't we? And yet most people don't constantly rejoice, do they? Sometimes our favorite sports team doesn't win the game or the season, for that matter. I know . . . I'm a Cubs fan . . . . 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 . . . and reminds us as well . . . . 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 some times 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, 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.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

Mass will also be celebrated Christmas Day, December 25th, at 10:30 AM in the Chapel.

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Third Sunday in Advent, December 12th, 2021

For the Third Sunday of Advent, we hear Our Blessed Saviour speaking the praises of His cousin St. John the Baptist: "What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, `See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.' " (St. Matthew 11:2 ff) In this passage, Our Blessed Saviour is quoting Scripture from the Book of Malachi: "Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me: And the Lord, Whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple." (Malachi 3:1) Two things for us to ponder in regards to these Scripture verses: Number one, in God, we have such a loving Father that He was not just content to create us and then leave us alone. No, He loved His creation so much that He not only created us, but He became one of us. He became a Human Being. " . . . and the Lord, Whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple . . ." The Lord did come to His temple . . . . He came to the world as a little innocent child, Who was the Saviour of the world. Elsewhere, we read: "And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people" (Leviticus 26:12) Our Blessed Saviour has indeed walked among us . . . He is Our God and we are His people.

The second thing for us to always consider is that Our Blessed Saviour desires our assistance. Let me emphasize, He does not require our assistance, rather, He welcomes our assistance. He created the universe and He created each one of us. Anyone that powerful does not need my help and, yet, He desires my help. `See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.' Like St. John the Baptist . . . like St. Mary . . . like St. Joseph . . . each one of us are called to prepare the way of the Lord. We prepare the way of the Lord for others to find God, but we also prepare the way of the Lord to our own hearts. This is what the holy season of Advent is all about: to prepare a place for the Christ Child in our hearts.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Second Sunday in Advent, December 5th, 2021

It is always amazing to me how things can go in and out of style. This is certainly true in the world of fashion but this could also apply to fads and gimmicks . .. popular gifts at Christmas time . . . . popular restaurants . . . products at your local market. The list could go on and on and every single one of us could name some item, for example, which was extremely popular way back when but is not really popular now or has disappeared completely, for that matter. This is because the world is fickle. We human beings are fickle. We never seem to be satisfied in one way or another. We get tired of this particular tiem and we decide to replace it with another item. Something becomes old-fashioned or out-of-date and so we replace it with something newer or something up-to-date. Again, it could be popular fashion trends, . . . . popular stores or restaurants, . . . . trendy fads or gimmicks, . . . everything we can think of will eventually go out of style or usefulness, it seems.

Nothing in this world of ours is lasting. It either wears out or goes out of fashion. It either breaks down or becomes obsolete. Nothing in this world lasts forever. This is why we need to look beyond this ol' world of ours if we want something that will last forever . . . for an eternity. We need to look upward with our gaze fixed on Heaven if we want something ever-lasting. In the Twenty-First Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, we hear Our Blessed Lord state: " . . . . Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away" Our Lord's love will never pass awy. Our Lord's words will never pass away. Our Lord's faitfulness and committment to us will never pass away. Even though we are not always faithul to God, He is always faithful to us. His love is stedfast. This Advent season keep your eyes fixed upward. Keep focusing on Jesus. He will never leave us. His words will never pass away. He will always stay faithful to us.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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First Sunday in Advent, November 28th, 2021

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Reading these words might seem a little confusing to many folks. I mean we just got done celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas is not even here yet. And here you are talking about the "New Year"? Huh? Well, liturgically speaking it is a brand-new year when we celebrate the First Sunday in Advent. So with that being said, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Advent is the period of time leading up to Christmas. It truly provides us with a wonderful opportunity to not only look forward to the coming of the Christ Child on Christmas but also allows us to contemplate Our Blessed Lord's Second Coming when He will come once again as the glorious Messiah! Unfortunately, most of the world chooses to get caught up in the celebration of Christmas before Christmas even arrives. We spend our time decorating our homes and our yards. We go shopping so that we can buy the latest, greatest gifts available. We get ready for our Christmas parties. We put on the Chirstmas music. And all of these things are wonderful and we all love them but we have to remember the real reason for the season. We have to remember theat God gave to the world the greatest gift we could ever hope to receive. God gave us the gift of His Son on that wonderful first Christmas morn. And Advent is the time for us to prepare our hearts for the coming of the Messiah born so long ago in Bethlehem and Who will come once again to reclain what belongs to Him. So during this Advent season which leads up to Christmas, make a point to take time out of your busy schedules to prepare your hearts. Take time during this holiday season to prepare your heart for the coming of the Messiah. Time some time during these coming weeks to prepare a wonderful gift for God. Give Him the gift of yourself. Give Him your heart.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Sunday Next before Advent, November 21st, 2021

In the Twenty-Third Chapter of the Old Testament Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, we hear the following: "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" (Jeremiah 23:5) We should take comfort in these words because we are assured that God will take care of His people. We are told that God will send forth a King Who shall establish "justice in the earth." We already know who this King is, dear friends, it is Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It is He Who will save His people. He has saved His children from the ravages of sin through His Atonement on the Cross. He defeated death through dying on that same Cross and being laid in the tomb and then rising to new life on that first, glorious Easter morn! We should keep in mind these facts. So often do we dwell on the problems which life seems to throw at us. So often do we only concentrate on the negative things we see around us. It is understandable, humanly speaking, to be concerned with these things but we always have to remind ourselves that Our Glorious King has defeated death itself and promises us eternal life. But first we must trust Him. We must make Him our top priority. We must make Him the King of our Hearts. Thanksgiving will soon be here, dear friends. Let us be thankful for all of our blessings which God provides to each and everyone of us. But let us also thank God for the blessing of Salvation which He freely offers to each and everyone of us. And let us take this opportunity to pledge our lives to God and make Him the true Ruler of our heart.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Trinity, November 14th, 2021

When you go shopping are there certain brand-names that you trust? When you see a certain company's name on a product, does it automatically register "quality" in your mind? Or on the other hand, when you see a certain product name, do you avoid it at all costs? Very often this trust . . . or dis-trust, for that matter .. . comes from experience, doesn't it? In other words, if we get whatever brand of laundry detergent and we use it a few times and our clothes look bright and appear brand new after a wash. Or they smell fresh like spring. Well, if this experience continues to be the case for us each time we buy that product, for us that brand is a "winner." On the other hand, if we buy a product at the store and it turns out to be lousy or does not meet our expectations, our faith in that product will be lacking and we likely won't buy that brand any time soon. Again, in either case, whether we like a product or whether we do not like a product, more than likely both are based on our experience of that product. The same can be true of going to a restaurant. If we had a good experience . . . . the food was good . . . the service was excellent . . . the price was not over-whelming . . . then, by all means, our opinion of that establishment will be high. Conversely, our opinion of that same establishment will be lacking if the food was lousy or the service was poor, for example. So, very often our faith in a product, or lack of faith in a product, is based on experience. Or it could be based on the experience of others, quite frankly. If one of our friends or coworkers tells us that a certain restaurant was horrible, we probably will be hesitant to go there any time soon. But if that same person that you trust tells you that a restaurant is simply wonderful, you will probably make a point to eat there yourself.

St. Paul writes in his Epistle to the Colossians: ". . . . since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus " (Colossians 1:3 ff) Very often we learn about God from other people: our parents; our grandparents; etc. As children, our parents perhaps take us to church or we go to Sunday School or we might go to Vacation Bible School in the summer months. As we grow, we still are influenced by what we hear and see about God coming from others around us, but as we grow spiritually, we need to experience our own "faith" in God. You see, our faith life is very much like a journey that we travel on. Sometimes the road is very easy. Other times it might be rough or rocky. Sometimes there are a twists and turns that we were not expecting. Often, our journey does not match up with our expectations or what we were planning on. Faith, though, in God is something completely different. We know that we can depend on God. We know that He will never leave us. But again faith comes mainly from experience but first we have to "experience" God ourselves. So many people give up on God because their experience of Him is lacking. They have no faith because they have not seen Him. But it could be that they have not seen Him because they were not really looking to begin with. Let us tell people about God by the way in which we live our life. Let us tell people about God by the way in which we treat others around us with love and compassion. Let people see the "faith" in us by always staying constant, by always being sure no matter what befalls us. Let people know about your faith in God by letting them see the life you lead and the attitude you have.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity, November 7th 2021

In the Third Chapter of his Epistle to the Philippians, St. Paul reminds us that our true citizenship is not here on earth. St Paul writes important words for each one of us to ponder: "For our citizenship is in heaven" (3:17 ff) For the Christian, this is always important for us to make note of. It is easy enough for us to forget sometimes, if you ask me. Why do I say that? We have a tendency as human beings to focus on the "here and now." In other words, we focus on what is affecting us right here and right now. If a bill is due right away, we focus on that specific bill and leave the others for later. If we have a particular report due tomorrow at our job, we take care of that report now and leave the report that is due next week for later. We may need to paint the bathroom but first we need to take care of the broken faucet in the kitchen, etc. In a general sense, we human beings focus on the things of the world: satisfying our desires; paying the bills; putting a roof over our head; etc. And all of these things are perfectly understandable but St. Paul is giving us a good reminder that while, yes, we are human beings and we have to focus on the "here and now" of this life, we also have to take care of our other citizenship as Christians. As mentioned above, so often we go from project to project just trying to take care of what needs to be taken care of immediately or what needs to be done now. When it comes to being a Christian, though, this can not wait. Being a Christian takes effort. Being a Christian takes patience. Being a Christian takes practice. " . . . our citizenship is in Heaven," St. Paul reminds us. And, as such, we need to see the world and approach the world through the eyes of Christ. This is difficult at times because the human side of us wants to only focus on "us:" my needs . . . my desires . . . . my wants . . . . Even in dealing with others, we want things our way. And yet if we are to be true, committed, devout, practicing Christians, it is not our will that needs to be done, it is the will of Our Heavenly Father that must take priority: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." We must always remember that we are dual citizens . . . of earth and of Heaven . . . . but our first allegiance is to God as Christians. This is easy for us to remember when we are in church on Sundays but it is sometimes easy to forget when we are out in the "world," at our jobs, at the store, stuck in traffic, etc. Thus, we need to remember the words of St. Paul: "For our citizenship is in heaven . . ." We need to remember those words when we get stressed about the faucet breaking the kitchen. We need to remember those words when our boss tells us at the last minute a report was due . . . five minutes ago! We need to remember those words when the whole world seems to be crashing down around us and everyone is getting on our nerves. "For our citizenship is in heaven . . .. "

Make a point to join us on Sunday morning. If you are local, make a point to come worship with us in-person. If it is too far to joint us, make a point to watch Fr. Todd's sermon which is posted online each and every Sunday. Make a point to dedicate your day to God. Every single one of us is busy and we lead busy lives, but make a point to include God in your daily schedule. Please do not let the "busy-ness" of this life divert you from God.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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The Reign of Christ (Christ the King),

Last Sunday in October,

October 31st, 2021

The scene which unfolds as we read through the Eighteenth Chapter of St. John's Gospel surely describes one of the most dramatic scenes in all of history. The scene in question describes when Our Blessed Lord was brought before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. The Sanhedrin wanted Our Blessed Lord to be punished but they had no power to carry out their desired wish--a sentence of death. Therefore, Our Lord is brought before Pilate with charges of making himself a king. As we read through the various accounts of this meeting between Our Lord and Pilate in Scripture we soon discover that Pilate did not hold Our Lord guilty of the charges brought before him. Truth be told, Pilate wanted nothing to do with this matter and he tried to get out of the whole affair by sending Our Lord to Herod Antipas. But when Herod refused to do anything and sent Our Lord back to Pilate, the Jews threatened to report Pilate to the Emperor in Rome. This forced Pilate's hand and set in motion Our Lord's Crucifixion. Nonetheless, we do find a very valid question which is asked by Pilate in this account. "THEN Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews?" (St John 18:33) In fact, this very question should be asked by every single person in every single age to Our Blessed Saviour, "Art Thou a King?" The answer is quite simple, really, and yet we are the ones who need to ask this simple question. But as important as the question is . . . the answer which only we can give is even more important. "Art Thou a King?" "Art Thou my King?" "Art Thou the King of my heart . . . of my life . . . of my world?" In the day and age in which we live we make people and even things the rulers of our life. Those who are addicted to alcohol make the drink their ruler. Those who have substance abuse problems make their drug of choice their king. Those who are ruled by hatred and anger and bitterness let their emotions rule over them. The list could go on and on. It is different for each and everyone of us. But each and everyone of us still need to ask the question and decide the answer ourselves: "Art Thou a King?" "Art Thou my King?"

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity, October 24th, 2021

St. Paul writes in the Sixth Chapter of his Epistle to the Ephesians: "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6) If there is one thing that we need to do today, we need to stand strong against the devil. You will notice as you read this sixth chapter that St. Paul emphasizes to put on the "whole armour of God." This is necessary because we need to protect ourselves against all kinds of assaults that the devil will throw against us. St. Paul continues on by making the point that we do not wage battle with "flesh and blood" (in other words, against other men) but we are in danger from "the rulers of the darkness of this world" and "spiritual wickedness in high places." For that reason we need the protection of God. We need the Good Lord to be with us. We need all the tools available which only God can provide. As St. Paul writes, we need all the protection which God can provide. We need: "truth, . . . and righteousness; and peace; . . . . and faith, . . . and salvation, and the word of God" And then finally, St. Paul emphasizes that we need to pray! How often do we pray? Is it daily? Weekly? Monthly? Do we only pray when we need something from God? We need to make time for God on a daily basis. We need to go to Him and seek His protection and His assistance in battling the devil and the demons of the world because they are busy assaulting us on a daily basis. We need God now more than ever. We find ourselves in the world but we do not have to be "of the world." Remember who you belong to! Stay close to God and give your life to Him!

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Twentieth Sunday after Trinity, October 17th, 2021

NOTE: St. Margaret Church will gather together on Sunday, October 17th, at 10:30 am to celebrate Mass at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor. Please make a point to join us as we gather together to listen to God speaking to us through the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer! Mark your calendars and please join us!

"So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good:" (St. Matthew 22:1 ff)

In the Twenty-Second Chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew, Our Blessed Saviour is telling the story of the king who made a marriage-feast for his son. Now, as the story goes, Our Lord says that the invited guests "made light" of the invitation and decided not to show up for a variety of reasons: . . . . . "one to his farm, another to his merchandise . . . ." Now the fact that none of the invited guests showed up once the feast was ready really irritated the king. As a result the king instructed his servants to bring guests to the feast, no matter who they were. Our Lord continues the story as He relates the instructions of the king to his servants: "Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests." Now, there are a number of things we could say about this story but I would like to point out two important considerations:

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity, September 26th, 2021

When I was young, on the one hand it seemed that most people made a point to go to church on a weekly basis. But at the same time it was assumed that it was the job of the priest or minister to do the work of the church. In other words, while most people made a point to go to church . . . . which is a good things, yes! . . . the people that went to church limited their participation in "church" to simply sit in the pew, listen to the sermon, and put a dollar in the collection plate. But that was pretty much it. These same people sat back and expected the work of evangelization to be done by priests, ministers, clergy, etc. In other words, they expected the "work of the Lord" to be done by someone who wore a "clerical collar." And yet we read in St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians: "I THEREFORE, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called . . . ." (Ephesians 4:1) St. Paul reminds us that we are each called to a vocation as followers of Christ. St. Paul reminds us that we are called to walk worthily of the vocation that God has put before us. Therefore, it is the job of all Christians to do the work of the Church . . . not just priests, . .. . not simply the bishops, . . . . not simply the clergy . . . . or the ministers, . . . . No, we are all called to do the work of Our Lord and Saviour. God Himself is calling us. He's calling you. He's calling me. He's calling all of us to "walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called." We should remind ourselves of this fact each and every day. As I like to say, it is so easy to get all caught up in the "busy-ness" of daily living that we forget who we are. We forget who we are called to be. We forget Who called us. We forget our vocation as sons and daughters of the Most High! Let us never forget who we are and never let us forget Who has called us.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 19th, 2021

In the Seventh Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, we are told that Our Blessed Lord is traveling with His disciples through the city of Nain. And as He entered the city St. Luke tells us that Our Lord encountered a funeral procession. And St. Luke tells us that the man who died was the only son of a woman who also happened to be a widow. And this woman was weeping. She was crying for her only son who had just died. You know, a mother's love is a wonderful love. A mother's love knows no limits. I would dare say the only love greater than that of a mother would be the love which God has for us. And this is most certainly why Our Blessed Lord took notice of this sad event occurring before His eyes. As St. Luke tells us in the Thirteenth verse of this chapter: "And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not" In fact, Our Lord had so much compassion on the mother that He raised her son back to life on that very spot. The fact that Our Blessed Lord performed such a wonderful miracle for the grieving mother is wonderful indeed. And yet the aspect that is really even more amazing is that the Lord had compassion on her. The Lord had compassion. He was compassionate when He saw the mother crying. This is something to take note of because it means that Our God is a wonderful God. Our God takes notice of our needs. In other words, He takes the time to notice when we are sad . . . when we are grieving . . . when we are in pain . . . . Our God knows when our heart is broken. Our God loves us so much that He takes the time to notice these things. In this story, Our Lord did not simply pass by. Our Lord did not fail to act. He took notice and had compassion on the grieving mother. Each one of us should make note of this fact. Our God is not some distant far-off, uncaring God Who could care less about how we feel . . . what we are going through . . . what we are enduring. No, Our God loves us so much that He sent His Only Begotten Son into the world to save us from our sins. Our Lord had compassion! And we should have compassion as well. This would teaches us to be uncaring. This world teaches us to be apathetic. This world teaches us to only care about ourselves. We should be more Christ-like by taking the time to notice others around us and showing concern and compassion when need be.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 12th, 2021

In the Sixth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, we hear Our Lord giving very profound, extremely useful advice: "Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on" (St. Matthew 6:25) I think it is true of human beings in general but it is especially true of the time in which we live that human beings worry about things. We are indeed anxious for many things: we are anxious for material possessions, we are anxious to obtain the latest "doo-dads," whether those be the latest, greatest phone or the latest fashion trend or whatever the world tells us that we just have to have at this exact moment. We are anxious to get everything done that we want to accomplish: whether at home or at work or at church or where we volunteer. We want to do this and we need to do that and before we do that we need to stop over there so that we can get this started . . . . etc., etc., etc. So often in life we get ourselves so wound up over all the things we need to do and need to accomplish. As Our Lord said, we get anxious and our head gets filled up with all the things we need to do, the things that we want to do . . . . As human beings we get anxious for what other people think or how other people will react or how other people will treat us. We worry about if we will fit in or if we will be accepted or if we will be considered "cool." This is certainly true among human beings when they are young. The bottom line is that we get anxious about work, we get anxious about home, we get anxious if people will accept us, we get anxious about the things we need to do, we get anxious about the things we already did, we get anxious about what we are going to eat, we get anxious about when we will eat . . . . We get anxious. Period.

But what can we do about this? Well, as is usually the case, Our Blessed Lord gives us that answer as well. Our Lord says: " But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (St. Matthew 6:33) In other words, we need to put God first in our life. We need to get in the habit of making God our number one priority. It seems that everything we get anxious for becomes our number one priority: what we are going to eat . . . what we are going to wear . . . what we are going to buy . . . what we need to do . . . what we need to accomplish . . . what people think of us . . . . But we need to focus on God first. We need to place Him first before all else. And the more we focus on Our Heavenly Father the less time we will have for focusing on things which do not ultimately matter. Our Lord says that we should "seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness" (v.33) As human beings we tend to seek first the "world and its' worldliness." We want what we want when we want it, in other words. This has been a human tendency since Adam and Eve. Let us follow Our Lord's advice and seek first the Kingdom of God before we seek out the things of the world. Make God our top priority and worry more about making God happy instead of only worrying about what makes us happy!

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 5th, 2021

In the Seventeenth Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, St. Luke describes an event which occurred when Our Blessed Lord was traveling to Jerusalem and passed through "the midst of Samaria and Galilee." (St. Luke 17: 11) And when Our Blessed Lord passed through a certain village, St. Luke tells us that there were ten lepers who "lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." (St. Luke 17:13) In other words, they were yelling and screaming to get Our Lord's attention. Our Lord did notice them. And He told them to show themselves unto the priest. And as they went their way they were cured of the leprosy. But only one out of the ten came back to properly thank Our Blessed Lord. "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 17:16) Our Lord was both impressed with the one turning back to give thanks and questioned where were the other nine that got cured.

My parents taught me how to say "please" and "thank you" when I was growing up. And they would always make a point to remind me to say these things. And I am very grateful for that. I learned a long time ago that it does not cost anything to be courteous to others. Saying "Thank you" . . . . Saying "Please" . . . Saying "Excuse me" when you bump into someone . . . These are all examples of common courtesy. And in some ways, unfortunately, this is becoming a lost art. And this is a shame. But how about in the spiritual life? Do we ever fail to thank God for all His blessings which He provides us? Do we only go to God when we need something but forget about Him when we get what we want? Isn't this what the nine lepers did? They were insistent that Our Blessed Lord would listen to their request and heal them but then they all went their way. But one leper returned. One came back to give thanks to Our Blessed Saviour. God is always good to us. God blesses us with many blessings throughout all our lives. We should never fail to thank God. We should always be grateful to Him for everything He provides to us. Don't only go to God when you need something and then forget about Him. Focus on your blessings and be grateful to God for everything He does for you.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, August 29th, 2021

Have you ever had the experience to look for something and you look and look and look and you can not find the object anywhere? And then you go and look some more and you still can not find it. And then at some point you find the item and it was exactly where you were looking the whole time. You looked right at it but did not see it. I am sure that each of us have had that experience at one point or another. In the Tenth Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, we hear Our Blessed Saviour giving instructions to the disciples: " BLESSED are the eyes which see the things that ye see. . . ." (St. Luke 10:23). Our Lord is reminding the disciples that they are indeed blessed to see the things that they are seeing. In other words, Our Lord was making the point further on that " . . . many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not see them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them." (St. Luke 10:24). While this is certainly the truth . . . . i.e., that the disciples and the Apostles had the distinct honour of being in the presence of the Messiah . . . . the point remains the same that the disciples still had to make the effort to look for and make the point to see the Messiah. In other words, they could have moved on with their lives and never even made the point to notice the miracles that Our Lord performed . . . or they could have certainly not have cared enough to stop and to listen to the words that Our Lord was speaking. The point that I am making is that while they were certainly blessed to see what they saw and hear what they heard, they still had to make the effort to stop long enough to see with their own eyes and to hear what was being said to them by the Messiah.

How many times has the Lord made the point to show Himself to us but, unfortunately, we were too busy to notice? How many times throughout our life did God try to speak to us and we never heard what He had to say because we were too busy listening to everybody and everything else? Sometimes the miracles are right in front of our eyes but we never take notice because we are too busy to look. Sometimes the answer is being given to us but we never hear it because we are focused on other things. Just like Our Lord showed Himself to the disciples and the Apostles, He also shows Himself to us. Now, it may be true that we may have to pay closer attention and alter our way of looking for Him, make no doubt about it: God is still making a point to show Himself to us . . . He is still making a point to speak to us. We just need to pay attention and know where to look. " . . . Blessed are the eyes that see the things that YOU see . . . .."

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, August 22nd, 2021

Humility is a very good thing. I have learned that lesson (and re-learned it!) the hard way. Very often it seems that when my head gets too big . . . and I get full of myself . . . . without fail, it seems at that point that I do something stupid and I get knocked back down to earth. Perhaps that has happened to you a time or two. And at that point, we just stand there and shake our head and say to ourselves: "why in the world did I do that?" There is nothing wrong with being confidant in ourselves or in our ability. There is nothing wrong with even being proud of what we have done or what we have accomplished in life. But as with everything, even this must be done with moderation, number one, and for the Christian, an understanding where our strength comes from. St. Paul wrote in the Second Letter to the Corinthians: "not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves" And then he goes on to emphasize the point: " . .. . but our sufficiency is of God. . . ." (II Corinthians 3:4) St. Paul wanted to remind the Church at Corinth that if we have riches, it is because God provided those riches; if we have abilities or strengths or skills, it is only because God has provided each one of us with what we are good at; if we have a roof over our head and food on our table every day, it is because God provides. Our Heavenly Father provides for all of His children. Those who are practicing, committed Christians acknowledge this fact. But, quite frankly, sometimes we forget or over look that fact. You see, it's difficult sometimes for us to always acknowledge God as we should because, quite frankly, we get all caught up in our busy schedules, our busy life styles. This is why I always emphasize that relationships take effort. You have to work at a relationship. In a relationship, we have to make time for our loved ones. In a relationship, we have to make time for those we love. We have to make a point to show love to those whom we love. This is true of our relationship with God as well. We have to make a point to acknowledge the gifts that God have bestowed upon us; we have to show God and tell God how much we love Him; and, finally, we have to spend time with God every day. Many of us have the tendency to only go to God when we need help with something. Make a point to go to God every day. Speak to God every day. Tell God how much you love Him every day. And, finally, take a lesson from St. Paul and never forget that our sufficiency is of God. Acknowledge the fact that everything we have: our life; our knowledge; our strengths; our health; our possessions . . . . everything we have is made possible by our Heavenly Father. Give Him thanks and show Him love on a daily basis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, August 15th, 2021

I recently read a post on social media about a wonderful restaurant that I remember growing up. And hearing about this restaurant from long ago brought back so many wonderful memories. And the person wrote that after the original owner died, the restaurant was left to the children and they, in essence, did not want to do anything with the restaurant so they closed it. Hearing that it was closed down that way because the kids did not want to deal with the restaurant got me kind of depressed. But it happens sometimes, doesn't it? And it's not just restaurants. Have you ever been given something that you never put to use? Perhaps you received something as a gift and never made use of it and the item goes to waste sitting up on a shelf gathering dust. Sometimes we make good use of something that is given to us and sometimes it goes to waste and we don't make use of the item. In his first epistle which he wrote to the Corinthians, St Paul writes: "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received" (I Corinthians 15:3) St. Paul certainly made good use of what he received. He is telling the church at Corinth that which he received " .. . . Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures " (vv 3-4) As Christians, we need to pass along that which was given to us. We need to pass along the Good News. We need to tell people about God. We need to share with folks what Our Blessed Saviour has done for us. We need to pass along the blessings which we have received and bless others around us. We need to share our testimony not only through the words which we speak but also through the way in which we live our lives. So many blessings are bestowed upon us by Our Heavenly Father throughout our lifetime. First and foremost, the wonderful gift of Salvation, freely bestowed, is offered to each and everyone of us. And sadly so many people ignore this free gift and do not make use of it. Don't ignore God's blessings. Please do not miss out on receiving God's grace because you are too busy chasing after earthly riches and treasures. The Salvation which God offers is the most wonderful gift we will ever receive. Make use of it. Don't let it go to waste.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Tenth Sunday after Trinity, August 8th, 2021

"And when He was come near, He beheld the city, and wept over it, . . . " (St. Luke 19:41) St. Luke describes for us Our Lord's reaction as He travels towards Jerusalem. If we continue on in this chapter, St. Luke relates the words of Our Lord concerning Jerusalem: "If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes." (St. Luke 19:42) If thou had known . . . . If thou had only known . . . . I have no doubt that we have each had the occasion to interact with someone and just shake our head because we know, we just know that this person is headed for trouble. They are on a pathway to destruction in their life. It's mostly due to the choices they have made in their life, quite frankly. And sometimes we just shake our head in disbelief because we know exactly where these poor choices will lead to. And if the person in question is someone you love dearly: a son, . . . a daughter, . . . a good friend, . . . you may have the same reaction as did Our Blessed Lord: you weep over them. You weep because you know there is nothing you can do. You weep because in your heart you see the person you love on a pathway to destruction and you feel helpless to stop them. I dare say this is why Our Lord wept. Yes, Our Lord describes the destruction of Jerusalem which was certainly a sad event. But I think it was more than that.

When you think about it, St. Luke describes a profound event for us. The tears of Our Blessed Saviour are indeed the tears of God. God is crying because He knows that despite His best efforts, there will be many men and women in Jerusalem and beyond those city gates that will persist in going against the will of God. Our Lord weeps because He sees people more focused on doing their own will than doing the will of our Heavenly Father. Our Lord weeps because He sees all the needless pain, suffering and agony throughout the generations that human beings will heap upon themselves. "If thou hadst known . . . . " God sent His Son into the world for one ultimate purpose. This is why we hear Our Lord quoted throughout the gospels when He said: "My time is not yet come." He, of course, was referring to when He died that cruel death on the Cross. When He suffered the pain and the agony of that cruel death, He suffered it for you and me. He endured that pain and agony for all men and women throughout the ages. He did it because He knew that you and I could never have the capacity to do what He did. He bore our sins on His shoulders that fateful day. And in so doing, Our Lord defeated sin once and for all. Our Lord died on the Cross to save us from our sins. And He rose again from the dead to lead the way to new life . . . . eternal life for us spent in the presence of our Heavenly Father. And yet Our Lord knew that countless souls, despite His best efforts to save us from our sins, would still persist in their foolish ways. This, I dare say, is why Our Lord wept.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

Join us as we gather together as God's family to: hear the Word of God; listen as God speaks to each one of us in our hearts; worship God in song and in word; listen to the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer; and, finally, receive Our Blessed Lord in Holy Communion so that we can be nourished for the journey we call life. Take one hour out of your busy schedule to worship God, to honour God, to acknowledge the need for God in your life.

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Ninth Sunday after Trinity, August 1st, 2021

In the story that has come to be best known as the "Prodigal Son," Our Blessed Lord tells the story of the son who wanted to have things his own way and he wanted to enjoy his father's inheritance even before the father had died! But, to make a long story short, after a while the son realized that "living life in the fast lane" really was not what he thought it would be like and he came to his senses. St. Luke describes the thoughts of the son when he came to this realization: "I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants." (St. Luke 15:19)

First and foremost, it is us who have to first realize that we are in need of God and also that we are ready to seek God. So often in our life, we may very well acknowledge that there is a problem but we may still ignore the problem and refuse to do anything about it. In that sense, the key is not recognizing that there is a problem. That is certainly the start. The real key is to recognize that there is a problem and then do something about it. This is what the son did. He recognized that he had made a mistake and he chose to remedy the problem by going back to his father in humility and to ask for forgiveness.

The most wonderful part of the parable is yet to come, though. Our Blessed Lord continues the parable by telling what happens next: "And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him."

This is how it is for us when we come to God. It is God Who reaches out to us. It is God Who searches for us. It is God Who goes over and beyond for us. Recognizing that we have a problem is only part of the solution. The other half is once we realize that we have a problem, is to seek out the can truly fix the problem. And without a doubt the One Who can fix every problem is Our Heavenly Father. Come to your senses, and go to Him.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Feast of Saint James the Apostle, July 25th, 2021

In the Twentieth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, we read about the time in which the mother of St. James and St. John approached Our Lord on behalf of her sons. The thing which she desired was that her sons would sit, one on the left and one on the right, alongside Our Blessed Saviour in Heaven. She asked: "Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom" (St. Matthew 20:21) Our Lord quickly explained that who sits on His right and His left is not determined by Him but by His Heavenly Father. Unfortunately, simply asking the question stirred up a hornet's nest among the rest of the Apostles. St. Matthew writes that they were "moved with indignation against the two brethren." (St. Matthew 20:24) Now, of course the reason the other Apostles were "moved with indignation" was probably because they most certainly had desires of their own to be at the front of the line, so to speak. Let's face it, human nature being what it is, all of us want to ultimately rise to the top. We enjoy being the smartest in our class or getting the best grade on a test. We enjoy working our way up the corporate ladder, so to speak, and get recognized as leaders where we work. We enjoy the attention we are given in regards to how we look or how we dress. We like to stand out or stand above the rest. We enjoy being recognized for our accomplishments. As Christians, it should not be our objective to be above other people. But we always have to keep in mind that Our Blessed Saviour preaches not only in word but in action. Our Blessed Saviour not only tells us how we should live our life, He shows us how we should live our life. Our Blessed Saviour came not to be served but He came to serve. " . . . the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister . . . . . " (St. Matthew 20:28) This is the model which we should follow. A good way to develop this mindset is to think of others first. So often we think of ourselves first. We want our needs and desires satisfied first. We want our feelings thought of first before anyone else. We want what we want now! And everyone else can wait. As I stated, Our Blessed Saviour not only preaches in words, He preaches through His actions as well. He not only talks the talk, He walks the walk. And all we have to do is read throughout the Gospels to read how Our Lord lived His life. He lived His life serving others. Our Lord came to serve and not to be served. Let us never forget this fact. Do you want to be like Christ? Then start thinking of other people first.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Seventh Sunday after Trinity, July 18th, 2021

When I speak to the young men that I work with in the juvenile prison where I work as a counselor, I very often emphasize to them to recognize the importance of people who have "unconditional love" for us. In other words, as I point out to them, most of the people that they would consider their "friends" basically only use them. Whereas someone who has unconditional love only wants the best for you. Isn't this true, though, in general? When we are young don't we gravitate to people who we think are "cool." We judge our friends based on what clothing they wear. Do they wear the latest style? Do they have expensive tennis shoes or cheap ones? Who do they listen to musically? Do they throw really great parties? The list goes on and on. I try to emphasize to these young men that the people that they are drawn to, the friends that they gravitate to are more than likely not good for them. These so-called friends do not show unconditional love because they do not want the best for them. They only want to use them, to abuse them, to drag them down to their level. And yet so often these young men just keep repeating the same mistake over and over again when it comes to their choice of friends. In the Sixth Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, St. Paul does his very best to let everyone know how great a gift we have been offered by Our Heavenly Father. And yet St. Paul wants everyone to understand the importance of what God offers to each one of us: to be a son or daughter of Our Heavenly Father. But he realizes that instead of focusing on this great gift, so many people continue to focus on sinful behaviors, sinful temptations, lusts, anger, hatred, jealousy, etc. St. Paul is frustrated that we keep reverting back to our human nature instead of focusing on the fact that we are the sons and daughters of the Most High! In other words, we need to remind ourselves on a daily basis that we belong to God and NOT to the world. "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23) We need to constantly be aware of the fact that the world does us no favors. The world . . . . and those in the world . . . only use us and abuse us. They do not want the best for us. God, Our Heavenly Father wants the best for us. That is why He sent His Son into the world to save us. That is why the Son of God died on the Cross so that we could be saved from the punishment that we deserved. But God offers life! Eternal life!

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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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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Sixth Sunday after Trinity, July 11th, 2021

In the Fifth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, we hear a discussion between Our Blessed Saviour and the disciples. While He is talking to them in this particular discussion we hear things such as: "Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. " (v.20) . . . . . "whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment" (v.22) . . . . . "if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift" (v.24) It seems from these examples that Our Lord is telling us that we should get to the root cause in order to fix the problem. In other words, Our Lord is telling the disciples as He is telling us that we need to get to the root cause if we want our righteousness to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees (v.20) For example, have you ever gotten really irritated with someone? Has someone got you so mad that you were just beside yourself with anger? It could have been a co-worker or even a close friend. It could have even been a family member, for that matter. And you hold on to that anger for a long time. This anger affects you over time. It eats you up inside, doesn't it? When we fix something we have to get to the "root cause" of the problem. This is what Our Blessed Lord was saying. In order to be a faithful, devout Christian we need to not only change what we do, we need to change how we do it . . . why we do it. In other words, we need to change our hearts. It would be similar to our car not running as it should and we take the car and give it a new paint job. Sure, it looks pretty on the outside but the new paintjob doesn't fix the problem, does it? That would be the equivalent of someone getting mad and holding a grudge. Sure, it might be the case that this person doesn't say any further words, doesn't verbally continue saying things "out loud" but underneath they are still harboring resentment and anger. We need to get to the root cause and get rid of our angry feelings. We need to cleanse ourselves from the inside and get to the root of the problem. And we can only do this by committing ourselves to God on a daily basis. To walk with Him each and every day and dedicate our very life to Him.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fifth Sunday after Trinity, July 4th, 2021

Now at the beginning of the the fifth chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, St. Luke kindly points out when Our Lord passed by, He saw some fishermen already out of their boats and they were in the process of washing their nets. Now, keep in mind that the mere fact that they were out of the boats and washing their nets shows that they were done for they day. They had not caught anything . . . they were tired . . . perhaps even very frustrated, I would dare say . . . and they were cleaning up so that they could call it a day. And here comes Our Lord in their presence telling them to put out their boats to give it one more try. The response of St. Peter is what we need to focus on. We already know that he thought this was pointless to go out again for the reasons outlined above. And yet what was the response of St. Peter? " . . . nevertheless at thy word . . . " (St. Luke 5:1ff) When we say we trust in someone's word, what does that mean? What does a person's word signify? A person's word signifies a number of things, quite frankly. First and foremost, a person's word represents our trust in that person. If I trust a person and they give me their word they will do something, I trust that person. I believe that they will do what they say. With God, though, this is called faith. We know without a shadow of a doubt that God will see us through any strife or tribulation. Faith is knowing that God is in charge and that He will do His part. Now, keep in mind that we may not always know how this will take place or exactly what steps will be taken. But then again neither did St. Peter when Our Lord requested that he take the boats out for one more try. St. Peter responded " . . . nevertheless at thy word . . ." This needs to be our response to God as well on a daily basis.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Fourth Sunday after Trinity, June 27th, 2021

Being a Christian is not an easy job by any stretch of the imagination. Come to think of it, being a responsible adult is not an easy thing either. Having to make decisions that affect your own life. Having to make decisions that affect others . . . . for example, if you are a parent or the owner of a company. Having to do things that you would prefer not to do but you realize some things have to be done . . . cutting the grass comes to mind or paying bills. Having to juggle various roles all at the same time sometimes is a challenge, isn't it? . . . going to work . . . taking care of your home . . . being a parent . . . being a child . . . . paying bills . . . doing chores . . . etc. The point being is that life is busy . . . at least it is for me . . . and life is full of difficulties and challenges . . . again, at least it is for me. But as I look around on social media and in the news and listening to people's conversations, it seems that people must have a whole lot of free time that they don't know what to do with. It used to be that if you held a different belief than me, I might not have agreed with you but it amounted to nothing more than that: a difference of opinion. Period. End of story. I might not like your choice or I might not like your belief but on the other hand you might not be too fond of something about me either. But we just left it at that. And, more importantly, we left it alone. You had your belief. I had my belief. Period. Today, people get into all kinds of arguments and criticisms of one another if they do not agree and support the other person one hundred and twenty percent.

In St. Luke's Gospel, Our Lord said: " BE ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful." (St. Luke 6:36) But then He goes on to say in the following verse: "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned; forgive, and ye shall be forgiven." (v.37) It is that last part that we should be most concerned with . . . ". . . forgive, and ye shall be forgiven." I have long said that we like to be so focused on other people's wrong-doing, if for no other reason, it takes the focus off of our wrong doing. If I focus on someone else and focus where they are wrong in their life, it means that I have less time to focus on what is wrong in my own life. A few verses later, Our Lord states in Verse 41: "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?" Why am I so concerned about the speck that I see in my brother's eye when I am totally oblivious to the plank in my own eye?!? The bottom line is this: Don't be too quick to criticize someone else because your backyard probably needs a little sprucing up as well. You don't have to be in complete agreement with someone in order to be civil and loving to that person. Our Lord stated that we need to "love one another" He did not say that we need to "agree with one another." And finally, show a little mercy and compassion to those around you. Do not be so quick to condemn someone who does not agree with you. That person may not agree with you either on other subjects. The bottom line is that each one of us needs to be concerned if we agree with God. I should be LESS concerned about making MY own voice heard . . . and be MORE concerned about making GOD'S voice heard in my life and the way in which I treat others around me.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Third Sunday after Trinity, June 20th, 2021

From the First Epistle of St. Peter we hear: ". . . for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." (I St. Peter 5:5 ff) St. Peter more than likely is quoting Scripture here because we also find in Proverbs 3:34: "Surely He scorneth the scorners: but He giveth grace unto the lowly." . .. . giveth grace to he humble . . . giveth grace to the lowly . . . Not only did St. Peter learn this truth from Holy Scripture but he learned it even more importantly by witnessing Our Blessed Saviour humble Himself in the service of those around Him. Additionally, St. Peter saw countless souls approaching humbly to Our Blessed Saviour. Of course, Our Blessed Lord came to be with the humble of the world: the poor and needy; the sick; the sinners. This is the reason He came: to redeem those in need of redemption. But before we can obtain redemption, we have to acknowledge our need of redemption. In other words, we have to admit in our hearts, in our souls, in our minds, that we have sinned and are in need of forgiveness. I would say that it is much like acknowledging that we are sick and going to the doctor in search of healing. We need to first recognize the fact that we are sick; next, we realize that we can not get well on our own; finally, we go to the doctor seeking medical treatment. The same is true, spiritually speaking: we first recognize the fact that we are sinners; we realize that we can not find peace and healing in ourself; we finally humble ourself and ask for God's forgiveness and ask Him to come into our heart. "When Jesus heard it, He saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (St. Mark 2:17) Let us pray for humility enough to recognize that we are in need of God in our life and then give our hearts over to Him.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

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Second Sunday after Trinity, June 13th, 2021

In the Fourteenth Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, we hear Our Blessed Lord speaking while at the home of one of the chief Pharisees. And as St. Luke tells us in the first verse of this chapter "that they watched Him." In other words, the Pharisees and others who did not like Him were waiting to use this opportunity for Him to say something wrong or do something wrong. So while there Our Lord told the story of the man who made a wonderful feast and had invited many to this great meal. And when the time was ready the man let everyone know. But then the excuses came pouring in and each one of his guests which he had invited began making excuses as to why they could not attend. The first one said that he had to check on a piece of ground which he purchased. Then the next invitee stated that he had to check on the oxen which he had bought. And then the final excuse stated that he had just been married and could not attend. At this point, as Our Lord continues telling the story, the man because very upset at hearing all of the excuses and told his servants to go out into the streets of the city and "Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind" (St. Luke 14:21) In other words, bring in people who will come to the feast. The man wanted his feast to be full with people who would come. The man even said as much in verse 23: "that my house may be filled"

It seems to me that God wants His "house" to be filled as well. He has invited each one of us to His supper and wants us to attend. And yet how often do we come up with excuses? How often do we respond in the negative to the God's request? And so often we come up with "good" excuses, don't we? We are busy with work. We are busy with home. Things are going on with the kids. We have to go shopping. We have this project or that project which we have to work on. But God does not want our excuses. God wants each and everyone of us to accept His invitation. He wants us to join Him at His great supper. Don't make excuses. Life is too short. We never know if the next day is promised to us. So accept the invitation today! Allow God into your life.

St. Margaret Church meets each and every Sunday at 10:30 AM at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis. Join us as we hear the Word of God found in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and the King James Bible. Come dedicate one hour of your week to God. Step away from the busy-ness of the world for just one hour and focus totally on God. Come and worship Him. Let Him feed you spiritually. Receive the Precious Body and Blood at Communion time.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

Join us as we take time to listen to the Word of God; to hear what God is saying to each one of us. Worship God is traditional worship. Receive His Most Precious Body and Blood at Communion time.

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Feast of Corpus Christi (Transferred), June 6th, 2021

It has been a long, strange journey. It started some fifteen months ago and I thought it would never end, quite frankly. But it is finally over. We are allowed to finally gather together as God's family and celebrate Mass together in the little chapel we have called home for almost ten years. And I would dare say that it is fitting that we are allowed to gather together this week because this week the Church celebrates the Feast of Corpus Christi. This is the feast where we remember specifically the great gift of the Most Precious Body and Blood of Christ. And we will celebrate this great Feast when we gather together on Sunday, June 6th! We will stop to think how blessed we are to be able to receive the Most Precious Body and Blood of Our Blessed Saviour when we gather together as God's family at Mass. Take some time out of your busy schedule and pull your Bible out and read the Sixth Chapter of St. John's Gospel. Take some time to read this wonderful chapter. In this chapter we will read Our Lord say: "My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him" (St. John, Chapter 6) Read the Sixth Chapter of St. John's Gospel and you will soon discover that this truly is a love story written to us. This is because it is the testimony of how much Our Blessed Saviour truly loves us. We know this because we hear in this chapter how Our Blessed Saviour gives to each one of us His Most Precious Body and Blood. We know this because He gives of Himself as nourishment for our souls. We know this because Our Blessed Saviour did not simply give us a mere token of His love. He did not just give us a remembrance of His feelings for us. He did not simply give us a trinket to remind us that He loves us. No, He gave us the greatest gift we could ever receive in this world. He gave of Himself. He gave to us His Most Precious Body and Blood. This is why we should gather together as God's family and attend Mass faithfully. This is why we should never take this gift for granted. This is why we should never take this opportunity for granted ever again, quite frankly.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.

Join us as we take time to listen to the Word of God; to hear what God is saying to each one of us. Worship God is traditional worship. Receive His Most Precious Body and Blood at Communion time.

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Make your plans to join St Margaret on June 6th, 2021

On Sunday, June 6th, 2021, St. Margaret will finally be able to meet again. It has seemed like an eternity since we were last allowed to meet. Some fifteen months has passed since we were last allowed to gather as a family. And it is especially fitting that Sunday, June 6th, 2021 we will be celebrating the (transferred) Feast of Corpus Christi. We will meet at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis. Please remember we will need to check in at the front desk as we enter. So after you sign in, please go over to the Chapel and join us for our 10:30 am Mass. Come gather in person with God's family. Hear the Word of God preached from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and the King James Bible. Celebrate Corpus Christi by receiving the Body of Christ at Communion time. And give thanks for all the blessings God has given you during your lifetime. Again, please make your plans to join us on Sunday, June 6th, 2021 at 10:30 am as we finally meet once again.

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Trinity Sunday, May 30th, 2021

The Gospel appointed for Trinity Sunday comes to us from the Third Chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew. In this chapter we find ourselves witness to the discussion between Nicodemus and Our Blessed Saviour. In this conversation, Our Lord is telling Nicodemus that he must be born again. Nicodemus is confused by this expression and asks how can someone be born again. Our Lord explains: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. " Of course, Our Lord was differentiating between physical birth and spiritual birth. One can not be physically born a second time. It only happens the one time and cannot be repeated. But in a spiritual sense, yes, we can certainly be born again when we give our lives over to God and dedicate our lives to him.

Of course, when Our Lord stated that "flesh is flesh" and "Spirit is spirit," He was referring to the example of being born again. But this does point out something very important for us Christians to consider. Very often in our lives, we can differentiate between the various sections of our lives. For example, we differentiate between the time spent where we work and the time spent at home. When I am at work, I focus on my job responsibilities but when I am at home I focus on things I do there, such as chores or projects or even relaxation. We dedicate certain portions of our time to volunteer activities, home activities, family activities, church activities, etc. We can divide our time and we can wear "different hats" to signify who we are at the time: worker; home owner; parent; child; spouse; neighbor; volunteer; etc. The list goes on and on. As we live life on a daily basis we play different "roles" based on what we are doing at that particular moment.

But when it comes to being a Christian, our life can not be "chopped up into sections," so to speak. In other words, we can not say that we are a Christian when we go to church but not a Christian when we are at home. It doesn't work that way. A true, committed Christian needs to be just that . . . a true, committed Christian 24 hours a day, whether he/she is at church . . . or at home . . . or at work . . . or at the grocery . . . or even driving in traffic. You see, there are so many people who actually do act one way while in church and another way when they leave church. They act very Christian when they go to church. They dress up. And they sing loudly when the hymns are sung. And they say "Amen" even louder when the preacher gives his sermon. But then as soon as church is over, they take off their "Christian hat" and put it away until next Sunday and they live completely different lives. Being a Christian means being a Christian 24 hours a day . . . 7 days a week .. .. 365 days a year. This proves to be very difficult sometimes. But when we come to the realization that God walks with us 24 hours a day . . . 7 days a week .. . 365 days a year . . . when we realize that, it should make it easier for us to join Him in that walk. As Our Lord said to Nicodemus, you must be born again . . .

PLEASE NOTE: St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, May 30th, 2021 but mark your calendars because we will meet NEXT SUNDAY, June 6th, 2021 at 10:30 am!!!

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Pentecost, commonly called Whitsunday, May 23rd, 2021

I am sure that you have been somewhere and you heard something that caught your attention. For example, if you were home and you heard a crashing noise from another room and you discover the cat has knocked over a picture frame. Or if you hear a noise from outside and you discover that someone has pulled into your driveway. Since owning a dog, I have discovered that dogs seem to hear "strange" noises that they are not familiar with. But each one of us can think of an example of hearing some sort of "noise" that caught our attention and set us on edge. We read in the Second Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles when the Holy Ghost came upon the Apostles while they were gathered together. We hear "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, . . . ." When I read this, I wonder what exactly does a "sound from heaven" sound like? Here, it sounds like a "rushing mighty wind." If that is the case, then yes, that would certainly catch my attention. And yet is that how a "sound from heaven" always sounds like? I would imagine God speaks to us . . . . tries to catch our attention . . . . tries to get us to listen . . . in many varied ways. Of course, a mighty, rushing wind from Heaven would more than likely catch our attention. But what if God whispers softly in our ears? Would we be able to hear that? You know sometimes my wife tries to tell me something from another room or if I am outside and she is in the house. So the distance doesn't necessarily help me hear her and what she is saying to me. But when you factor in things such as a television blaring. Or a stereo booming. Or a lawnmower cutting grass. Well, you might as well forget about it. I can't hear what she is saying at all. Sometimes that is how it is with us and God. God may be speaking to us but we may not be able to hear Him because televisions . . . and stereos . . . . and lawnmowers . . . . in other words, things of the world . . . . are all blaring away, keeping us from hearing what God is telling us. We need to pay attention for what God. is telling us We need to attune our ears to hear what God is trying to tell us. God doesn't always send down a "mighty rushing wind from heaven" to grab our attention. God tries to grab our attention by other ways as well. And if we aren't paying attention, we run the risk of missing out. Listen for God. Set time aside for prayer. Tune out the radios, and the televisions, and the lawnmowers of the world and spend time listening to God and what He has to say to you.

PLEASE NOTE: St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, May 23rd, 2021 but mark your calendar because we will meet on June 6th, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.    

Again, St. Margaret Church WILL meet as God's Family on June 6th, 2021! Mass time will change slightly because we will begin Mass at 10:30 am instead of 9:30 am. So, again, please mark your calendars . . . . . June 6th, 2021 at 10:30 am, St. Margaret Church will celebrate Mass at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis!

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Wonderful News Concerning St. Margaret Church!

The past year has been a real roller-coaster for all of us on one level or another. Beginning back in February, 2020 St. Margaret Church has been affected in the worst way. We were forced to close down and have not been allowed to gather together and offer the Sacraments. But today we have received word that we will be allowed to gather again beginning June 6th, 2021 at our church home, the Chapel at Marquette Manor in Indianapolis. We are so pleased . .. . We are so excited to hear this wonderful news. We are grateful to God that we will once again be able to gather as family in our beautiful church home providing the Sacraments not only to the residents of Marquette Manor but to those faithful Anglicans in Central Indiana!

As June 6th draws closer we will be able to provide details as they become available. But the bottom line is that we want all of you to mark down Sunday, June 6th, 2021 on your calendars. Please plan on joining St. Margaret Church that day so that we can gather together as God's family, to hear God's Word, to receive the Most Precious Body and Blood of Our Blessed Saviour and to offer thanks to Almighty God for all the blessings He has given to us and continues to provide to us.

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Fifth Sunday after Easter, commonly called

Rogation Sunday, May 9th, 2021

In the Gospel for today's Mass coming to us from the 16th Chapter of St. John's Gospel, Our Blessed Lord is speaking with the disciples and they are discussing the fact that He came from the Father. He also tells them that there will come a time that each one of them will be scattered and will leave Him alone but that He will not truly be alone because the Father is with Him. Have you ever had the feeling that you are alone? You might be in a room full of people . . . or on a crowded street . . . . or among your coworkers at your job .. . . but despite all the people that were in close proximity, you still felt alone and by yourself? Maybe this feeling came from the fact that you felt you were facing a problem by yourself and you had to take care of it yourself alone. Perhaps you felt "alone" because you felt that nobody else could understand what you are feeling in regards to your emotions. Or maybe you felt "alone" because you felt that nobody really cared about you or cared how you felt. For whatever reason, probably all of us have felt "alone" at some point in our life. And yet, as Our Blessed Saviour pointed out to the disciples, we are never truly alone even when we are physically alone because God is always with us. At the end of the passage Our Lord tells the disciples " . . . that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: ." This is the other thing that we always have to consider. In God, we have peace beyond understanding. In God, we have peace that will never leave us. In God, we have our rock that will never disappoint and He will always be our stronghold. None of these things can be said about the world. The world can be a beautiful place. There is much beauty that we can find in the world. And yet, as Our Lord stated, we will find much tribulation in the world: crime . . . fighting . . . wars .. . . famine . . . . sickness . . . poverty . . . the list goes on and on. But in God we find none of these things. In God, we find our fulfillment. In God, we find the reason for our being. In God, we have salvation and forgiveness for the sins we have committed. In God, we have a loving Father Who loves us so much that He sent His Son into the world to die for each one of us. God is always with us. God never leaves us. God is ever faithful to us even when we are not faithful to Him.

May 9th, 2021 is also "Mother's Day" in America. As such, Fr. Todd would like to take this opportunity to wish all the wonderful, hard-working mothers out there a very special day. For all the mothers who have already left us, we offer up prayers of thanksgiving for their lives and take time to remember their love and dedication.

PLEASE NOTE: St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, May 9th, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.    

And please remember that you can still show support to St. Margaret Church by sharing these posts on social media . . . sharing the sermons and reflections of Fr. Todd on social media as well. In this way, despite any sort of "lock-down," you will help St. Margaret Church continue to spread the Gospel and continue to tell the world about our love for Our Blessed Saviour!

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Fourth Sunday after Easter, May 2nd, 2021

On Thursday of this week I came home late from my job as a counselor where I work only to find out the news that the bishop of our diocese had passed away. His Grace, The Rt. Rev'd Stephen Strawn was a wonderful man. One of the finest bishops I have ever had the pleasure to know. A very humble man who was down to earth and very approachable. He loved his family, and his parishioners, and his diocese. When it came to Christian unity, he didn't just talk about it, he worked for it. He saw the need for unity among Anglicans and he worked towards bringing Anglicans to recognize just what they have in common and to live out that unity. Focus on what you have in common with one another instead of focusing on what differences you have. "That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us:" (St. John 17:21) He will be sorely missed by all those who were touched by his life. Family will gather from far and near and say goodbye to this beloved husband, father, grandfather, priest, bishop, and dear friend. They will be sad and distraught but I imagine they will find the good things to talk about as well: the good memories, the good times spent together, the love and laughter, the love they felt.

When Our Blessed Lord spoke of His going away. He took note of the sorrow that the disciples displayed when He spoke of going away. "But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart." (St. John 16:6) But Our Blessed Saviour went on to explain that He must leave for the Holy Ghost to come and be with them. God is with us in the good times and the bad. So often we do not realize that. When times are good and things are going well, do we make time for God? Do we think of God or are we too busy enjoying the good life? On the other hand, when things are going wrong, are we too busy feeling sorry for ourselves, feeling sorry for situation? Are we so busy throwing the proverbial "pity party" for ourselves that we don't think of God? The Good Lord is with us day in and day out. He is with us in the good times and the bad. Quite frankly, so often we fail to notice God because we are too "wrapped up in ourselves." We are so concerned with "us" that we do not take the time to notice God. God loves us so much that He not only sent His Only Son into the world to save us from our sins, He sent the Comforter, the Holy Ghost to be with us as well.

God is always with us. Do your best to always be with Him. He will never fail us. Do your fest to never fail Him.

PLEASE NOTE: St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, May 2nd, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.    

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Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist, April 25th, 2021

Have you ever received a gift and for whatever reason you just never used it? You appreciated the thought and you were grateful for receiving the gift but for whatever reason you just never used it. Whether it be a sweater or a shirt that got hung up in the closet or something else that got put up on the shelf gathering dust. St. Paul speaks of receiving grace as a gift from Our Blessed Saviour: "UNTO every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. " (Ephesians 4:7) St. Paul makes the point that each and everyone of us is given grace. And each one of us is given various gifts which we are called to use. St. Paul goes on to list the different types of offices within the Church: "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ" (Ephesisans 4:11-12) In other words, we are all offered grace by God as a free gift and we are all called to use our gifts for the edification of others for the glory of God. But, sadly, just like those sweaters which are received and never used and hang in a closet gathering dust, so many people never make use of the gifts given to them by God. Make a point to make use of the gifts given to you by God. Use these gifts for the benefit of those around you for the glory of God. Each one of us has our own unique skill and talent. We are called to make use of these God-given gifts and not let them go to waste. We all have something to offer. The question is will we make use of our gifts or simply put them to waste?

PLEASE NOTE: St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, April 25th, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.    

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Second Sunday after Easter, April 18th, 2021

In the Tenth Chapter of St. John's Gospel we hear Our Blessed Saviour making the claim that He is the Good Shepherd. And in making this claim it seems to me that He makes two main points about being the "Good Shepherd." First and foremost, He says that "I lay down my life for the sheep." (St. John 10:15) Now, we know that this is literrally true because Our Blessed Saviour did indeed lay down His life for you and me by dying on the Cross so that our sins could be forgiven. The second main point that Our Blessed Lord makes in reference to being the "Good Shepherd" is "knowing." During this conversation Our Blessed Lord states that He knows His sheep and they know Him. How true this is and it is a good reminder to all of us. You see, we need to know God on a personal level. We need to know God through having a relationship with Him. We need to not only know what God desires for our life but we need to know what God would have us do with our lives . . . . how we serve Him . . . . How we serve our brothers and sisters .. . . how we conduct ourselves on a daily basis. You see, yes, God gives us freedom to live our life but to live as Christians, we need to know God first and foremost. In order to live a Godly life we must know and serve God! So many of us don't live "Godly lives." We live "ME lives." In other words, we live our lives satisfying ME! We live our lives only worrying about ME! We pick and choose our friends based on what what they can do for ME! We do things based on whether or not it is convenient for ME! If we want to say that we know Our Master's voice we must spend time with Him . . . live with Him . . . study Him . . . . speak with Him . . . In other words, have a relationship with Him. And then we will recognize His voice when He speaks to us. We will understand what He wants for our lives. We will understand what He would have us do.

PLEASE NOTE: St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, April 18th, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.    

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Easter Sunday, April 4th, 2021

In the Sixteenth Chapter of St. Mark's Gospel we read the following: "WHEN the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the Mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him" (St. Mark 16:1) But they would soon be surprised to find that the stone had been rolled away. And this scared them, quite frankly. They were scared because they had not expected this. They were scared because they did not know what was going on. They were confused and out of their confusion came fear. They were afraid that someone had done something to the Lord's body or had taken Him away. But soon an angel appeared to them and told them not to be afraid. He told them that the Lord had risen from the dead. And yet even after speaking with the angel and even after being told that the Lord had risen from the dead, St. Mark tells us that they were still afraid. Human beings get scared. Whether we want to admit it or not, we get scared. We especially get scared of the unknown. We are afraid when we face something new . . . . a new job . . . . moving to a new neighborhood . .. . going to a new school . . . . We are afraid of the unknown. This past year has presented most of us with all sorts of opportunities to face the unknown: businesses being closed; people losing their job; people getting sick; losing a loved one; unable to pay your bills or your rent; etc. Life is scary, sometimes, when we do not know what is coming. And yet we know that when we are afraid we should stand with Christ. We know that when fear is overwhelming us, it is the Cross that we should stand close by. Stay close to the Cross of Christ. Stand close to Our Blessed Saviour. We know that Our Blessed Saviour assured us that He will never abandon us. Our Lord said "I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." (St. Matthew 28:20)

PLEASE NOTE: St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, April 4th, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.    

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Palm Sunday, March 28th, 2021

We find ourselves entering into the holiest week of the year . . . Holy Week . . . which begins with Palm Sunday. During Holy Week we witness a vast array of emotions ranging from sorrow and sadness. We witness rage and anger. We see both love and hatred coming from the crowds surrounding Our Blessed Saviour. And additionally before the week is over we are witness to amazement, disbelief and wonder at the rising from the dead of Our Blessed Saviour. But one emotion we are also witness to is "regret." In the Twenty-Seventh Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, we read about Judas regretting what he did. " Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, . . . " St. Matthew tells us that when Judas saw what had transpired he regretted his part in it. He tried to take back the thirty pieces of silver but the "chief priests and elders" would not take back the payment. They would not take back the "blood money." So often we regret our actions after things have gone wrong. Often we feel bad and apologize after we have been discovered. Is this what happened to Judas? What happened to him? Did he not realize what he was doing? Did he not realize that he was betraying Our Blessed Saviour? How about us? Do we ever betray Our Lord? Do we betray Him when we choose worldly possessions over Him? Do we betray Our Lord when we treat those around us with hatred and scorn? How often do we betray the Lord? It is easy to look at the example of Judas and shake our head because we see how wrong that action was. But we need to focus on the wrongs that we have done wrong and repent from doing them. Holy Week is the perfect time to turn things around. Holy Week teaches us that anything is possible with the help of God. Holy Week teaches us that even when the odds are against us, as long as God is with us, things will turn out just fine. Holy Week teaches us that, yes, we will have crosses in our life and, yes, we will sometimes have to carry our own cross but as long as we stay close to the Cross of Christ, we will have victory close at hand.

PLEASE NOTE: St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, March 28th, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.    

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Fifth Sunday in Lent, Commonly called Passion Sunday,

March 21st, 2021

When I was a kid I never paid attention to them. As I grew into a teenager they still were not that important to me. But when I grew up they suddenly became very important to me. What am I referring to, you might ask? The morning weather and traffic reports, of course. As I am getting ready for work in the mornings I try to listen so that I know what to expect. Here's the frustrating part, though, if I get busy doing something else I will totally miss the weather report or I will miss the traffic report. I may literally be right next to the radio but if I am concentrating on something else I will "tune out" the exact thing I am wanting to hear. I have to make a point to listen sometimes so that I will hear what I need to hear. I need to concentrate so that I don't focus on something else. When you think about it, isn't that how it is with God? God is always there. God is always around. God is always with us. And yet so often people will say that "God seems so far away." I would dare say that God speaks to us on a daily basis but so often we don't hear what He is saying to us. Why is this? Well, we are distracted by other things around us. Perhaps we are more interested in hearing what other people are saying. Maybe the racket and the commotion of the world is drowning out our ability to hear what God is saying. In the Eighth Chapter of St. John's Gospel, we hear Our Lord say: "He that is of God heareth God's word" (St. John 8:46) Just like I was mentioning with the traffic report of the weather report, we have to make a point to listen to God in order to hear Him. We have to concentrate on what He is saying or else we will get distracted and not hear what He is saying to us. Listening is a skill. So often we develop "selective hearing" over time. In other words, we hear what we want to hear and listen when we want to listen. With God, we need to make a point to listen to Him all the time because if we don't the world will drown Him out and we won't hear what He is saying to us. Our Lenten journey is coming to an end shortly. Let us spend the time we have remaining listening to God and hearing what He has to say.

PLEASE NOTE: St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, March 21st, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.    

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Fourth Sunday in Lent (Laetare Sunday),

March 14th, 2021

Those who know me are already aware that for my secular job I work for the Department of Corrections as a counselor. Yet when I meet a person and they find out where I work I can see the look of surprise on their face. And they usually have many questions about "life in a prison." This is because most people would never dream of working in a prison. Honestly, until I began working for the Department of Corrections, I never would have dreamed of working in a prison either. Most people understand that you do not want to go to prison, whether that is an an employee or as an inmate. And yet despite the fact I find myself going in and out of a prison on a daily basis along with my fellow D.O.C. employees. And as you enter the facility you hear the door close and lock behind you. Locked in behind closed, locked doors . . . . fences . . . barbed wire . . . . And some people who are incarcerated do the same thing . . . . they go in and out of prison . . . in and out of prison. They do their time and get released and before you know it here they are all over again. I see some of the kids where I work come back again and it is so sad. In and out of prison. In and out of prison.

And yet in a certain sense, don't all of us do the same thing? We find ourselves in sinful behavior and we repent and then we go right back to the sinful behavior. And then the circle starts all over again. We shake our heads in disbelief at the people who . . . . through their actions .. . . . give up their freedom and go back to prison. We can't believe why someone would willingly go back to prison. And yet most of us do the same thing. We may not go in and out of an actual, physical prison but it's just as bad, if not worse in many ways. We give up the freedom we find in Christ because we are chained to the sinfulness of the world. In the Fourth Chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, St. Paul presents us with an analogy between bondage and sinfulness. St. Paul says that as the children of God we are indeed the "children of promise." (v. 28) But if this is the case . . . . if we truly are the "children of promise" . . . . why do we go back to our sinful ways? Why do we get caught up in the ways of the world? Why do we "spin our wheels" and never move forward because of our dependency on our addiction to material things here on earth? Whether it is substance abuse, or alcoholism, or addiction to food, or power or riches or status, etc., etc., etc. God offers freedom. Christ has paid our debt of sin when He died on the Cross. And yet despite our debt being paid we keep turning our back on the freedom that God offers and to back to living in bondage to the sinful ways of the world. In and out of prison . . . in and out of prison. Why do we shake our heads and question why people go in and out of prison when we do the same thing on a daily basis? We should focus on the fact that we are the children of promise . . . . we should rejoice in the fact that we are sons and daughters of the Most High . . . . we should glory in the fact that our debt to sinful flesh has been paid by Our Blessed Savior! With so much to be thankful for, why do we keep going back to our sinful ways?

PLEASE NOTE: St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, March 14th, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.    

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Third Sunday in Lent, March 7th, 2021

I was leaving the building where I work one afternoon this week and as I left the building I had to literally shield my eyes with my hand so that I could see in front of me. The sun was so bright compared to how drab and overcast it has been prior to this. And when it is overcast like that we get used to it. Our eyes adjust to it, don't they? And then when the opposite happens, we have to "shield our eyes" from the bright sunshine on a clear day because we aren't used to it. I would imagine this would also be a good explanation for people who get used to living in a sinful world. We get used to the crime we hear about on the news. We get used to the violence we see on TV. We get used to people treating people with hatred and envy and jealousy. We get used to doing what the world wants us to do, what the world expects us to do instead of doing what God wants us to do. But what happens when the bright light hits us?

Of course, for Christians, Our Blessed Saviour is the light of the world. He is our light. He gives light not only to the world but He gives light to our personal journey as well. As we hear in the Epistle appointed for today's Mass: "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord . . ." (Ephesians 5:1 ff) St. Paul explains that prior to knowing Christ, we were struggling to find our way in the dark. Similar to how it feels when we are driving in the haze or the fog, we are not quite sure of what is ahead. But Christ gives light to the darkness of the world. And when Christ is in us, we shine forth the light of Christ to the world around us. During this holy season of Lent, hang on to Christ. Make Him the most important part of your life. Dedicate your life to Christ and allow Him to bring light into your dark world.

PLEASE NOTE: St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, March 7th, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.    

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Second Sunday in Lent, February 28th, 2021

Growing up, I have always loved "classic" TV shows. Although so many of these shows were not "classic" when I was growing up, they were "new." Whether they be "classic" sitcoms such as "I love Lucy" or "classic" detective shows such as "Columbo" or even "classic" westerns such as "Bonanza." One thing I have noticed about these shows is the fact that no matter how big the problem is, no matter how major of a problem it presents, the problem can always be solved in either a half an hour or an hour, depending, of course, on how long the program lasts. For example, Columbo can solve the most difficult murder case in an hour, . . . . tops. No matter the problem, you know it will be solved completely by the end of the program. Yet, in real life, some problems are not solved that quickly or simply. You need real persistence to deal with some problems in real life.

If nothing else, the Canaanite woman in Chapter Fifteen of St. Matthew's Gospel was certainly persistent. St. Matthew tells us that this mother was in search of a cure for her daughter who was "grievously vexed with a devil." (v. 22) At first she tried to get the attention of the disciples but this only caused them to get irritated with the woman. In fact, she bothered the disciples so much that they themselves went running to Our Lord asking for His help to get rid of her. But then even when she was able to approach Our Lord, she did not get the answer that she sought right away. But that did not stop her. She kept beseeching Our Blessed Saviour until she finally got the favor she sought. The Canaanite Woman showed how great her faith was that Our Lord said to her: "O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt." (v. 28)

We need to be persistent as faithful Christians. We need to be persistent . . . in our prayers . . . . in our faithfulness . . . in our character and morals. We need to be persistent with the way we live our lives as faithful Christians. The problem with us is that we want everything done right away. We want things done "five minutes ago." As humans, we are inpatient. And yet not everything is worked out right away. So often in real life problems are not fixed and taken care of in a half-hour or hour. And we are called to be like the Canaanite Woman and be persistent in our faithfulness. Stay close to God and let everything else fall into place. And especially during this Lenten season, stay close to the Cross of Christ. Never forget that Our Dear Saviour carried His Cross to the hill at Calvary for our sake. Never forget that He carried His Cross for you and me because He loved us. Loved us so much that He was willing to die for us. When problems seem to much to handle. When life seems to much to handle, remember Our Blessed Saviour and stay close to Him.

PLEASE NOTE: St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, February 28th, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.    

And please remember that you can still show support to St. Margaret Church by sharing these posts on social media . . . sharing the sermons and reflections of Fr. Todd on social media as well.  In this way, despite any sort of "lock-down," you will help St. Margaret Church continue to spread the Gospel and continue to tell the world about our love for Our Blessed Saviour!

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First Sunday in Lent, February 21, 2021

In the Fourth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew, we are told how Our Blessed Saviour went into the wilderness where He fasted for "forty days and forty nights." (St. Matthew 4:1) And St. Matthew describes what happened to Our Lord when He was hungry. Of course, the devil came and tried his best to take advantage of Our Lord's condition. He tempted Our Blessed Saviour a total of three times: first, he tempted Him by offering to turn stones into bread; secondly, he tried to get Our Lord to prove Himself by throwing Himself off the pinnacle of the temple to show that the angels would save Him; finally, the devil ". . . . sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; " in exchange for His loyalty to Him. Our Blessed Saviour without hesitation turned down each and every one of these temptations despite His weakened condition from fasting for forty days.

How many of us are tempted by the devil? How many of us give in at the first sign of weakness? Our Lord remained firm in His purpose and resolve for forty days although St. Matthew tells us that Our Lord was "hungered." I seem to get hungry after forty minutes without eating, let alone forty days. So certainly He was hungry. But the point being is this: Our Lord remained firmly committed to His purpose here on earth no matter how tempting the offers of the devil were. We need to remain true to ourselves and our purpose is the bottom line.

So often the devil tries to tempt us as well. And things don't really change that much, the devil still tempts us with the same things he tempted Our Lord with. We get tempted with gluttony. We don't know when to stop ourselves sometimes when it comes to eating. We eat until we are full and then we eat again, knowing full well that we are full, but we eat again simply because it looks "so delicious." You ever hear that old phrase: " My eyes were bigger than my stomach?" Yes, of course. We see it. We want it. End of story. That's called gluttony. The devil tempts us to prove ourselves to the world. How often are we tempted to prove who we are . . . to show who we are. As kids we hear: "Go on I dare you . . . " The world mocks us for who we are. People mock us for what we believe. Even loved ones will mock us sometimes. The world dares us. But we don't have to prove anything to anyone. The only thing that we need to "prove" is that we are loyal to Our Heavenly Father. And, finally, don't we sometimes daydream what it would be like to be rich . . . . to be famous . . . to be a star? Do we ever ponder what it would like to be a millionaire .. . . or in charge of a company . . . . or to live in a mansion? Sure, all of us have these dreams from time to time. All of us think about "what if?" What if I was rich? What if I was famous? What if I was in charge? What if . . . . what if . . . what if . . . . What we need to focus on is doing the will of God in our life. We need to focus on staying close to Our Blessed Saviour in the good times and the bad. We need to focus on showing God that we are a loving son or daughter to Him. Our Blessed Saviour remained loyal. He remained true to both Himself and His Heavenly Father. This is the lesson we can learn from Our Blessed Saviour's forty days in the wilderness: stay true to who we are; stay true to what we believe in; stay true to God in the good times and the bad.

PLEASE NOTE: St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, February 21st, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.    

And please remember that you can still show support to St. Margaret Church by sharing these posts on social media . . . sharing the sermons and reflections of Fr. Todd on social media as well.  In this way, despite any sort of "lock-down," you will help St. Margaret Church continue to spread the Gospel and continue to tell the world about our love for Our Blessed Saviour!

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Quinquagesima, Sunday Next before Lent, February 14th, 2021

In the Thirteenth Chapter of St. Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul speaks a lot about love. Now, bear in mind if you are reading this chapter in the King James Version, you will see the word "charity" instead. If that is the case, just remember that when you see the word "charity," St Paul is speaking about . . . . Love. And St. Paul is correct in pointing out we can do many things but if we do not do these things based in love, they mean nothing. "And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing" (I Corinthians 1:2-3) In other words, St. Paul is pointing out that love needs to be the basis for why we do anything we do as a Christian. If we preach, we should do it with love. If we donate our money to a school, or an orphanage, or a homeless shelter, we should do it with love, if we pray for our enemies, we should do it with love, if we forgive our enemies, we should do it with love. The cold reality is that so much of what we do in life is done without love. We may do something such as donate to a good cause . . . such as building an orphanage or giving to a homeless shelter . . . . but we may not necessarily donate out of love. Perhaps we donate because we do not want to look "cheap" in front of our friends. Maybe we donate because it will make us feel better about ourselves if we give. Maybe we are trying to "keep up with the Jones" and we see everyone else donating so we go ahead and donate too so that we won't feel "left out." Perhaps we feel "pressured" to give because our friends or relatives keep asking us about donating. How many times have we left a store around Christmas time and there is that red kettle and someone is ringing the bell, have there been times when you dug into your pocket and gave something because you felt guilty about "not giving anything?" Have you given a donation because you wanted to impress someone because they saw you giving to charity? St. Paul wanted the Corinthians to understand and wants us to understand that there are many motivations for doing something but for the Christian our motivation for doing something first and foremost should be "love." And this is because Our Blessed Saviour did everything for us for no other reason than LOVE. He was born as a small innocent baby because of His love for us. He grew as a man and lived among us because of His love for us. He went around preaching and teaching and performing miracles because of His love for us. He was mocked, spit upon, beaten, made to carry His Cross and Crucified on that same Cross because of His love for us. He laid in the Tomb and was raised to new life on that very first Easter morning because of His love for us. He did everything He did out of love for us because He loves us. So next time we do some action. Next time we treat someone one way or another. Let us ask ourselves if we are doing it because of love or for some other reason.

PLEASE NOTE: St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, February 14th, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.    

And please remember that you can still show support to St. Margaret Church by sharing these posts on social media . . . sharing the sermons and reflections of Fr. Todd on social media as well.  In this way, despite any sort of "lock-down," you will help St. Margaret Church continue to spread the Gospel and continue to tell the world about our love for Our Blessed Saviour!

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Sexagesima, or the Sunday Next before Lent, February 7th, 2021

When Our Blessed Saviour told the parable of the "Sower," (St. Luke 8:4 ff) He explained that the Sower sows his seed on various types of ground. Some of the seed went on rock, some of the seed went among thorns, some of the seed fell by the wayside, etc. The parable certainly makes sense for it shows that the seed will grow (or not grow, for that matter) depending on the soil it is planted in. And yet we always have to remember that we have a say in what kind of "soil" we offer the seed to be planted in. In other words, the "seed" in the parable is the Word of God. And we in a certain sense are the soil. Thus, are we listening to God? Are we open to hearing God's word? Are we searching for God? Do we want to find God in our lives? It is really up to us if we find God. It is really our choice if we hear God or not. God is always near-by. God is always close. God is always speaking to us. But we need to make a point to notice that God is near. We need to make the effort to listen to what God is saying to us. We need to be open to receive what God is planting . . . . what He is sowing. So, while it is true that there are various types of "soil" . . . . some better than others. The truth of the matter is that the type of soil we become is really up to us. What kind of "soil" are you?

PLEASE NOTE: St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, February 7th, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.    

And please remember that you can still show support to St. Margaret Church by sharing these posts on social media . . . sharing the sermons and reflections of Fr. Todd on social media as well.  In this way, despite any sort of "lock-down," you will help St. Margaret Church continue to spread the Gospel and continue to tell the world about our love for Our Blessed Saviour!

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Septuagesima, or the Third Sunday before Lent,

January 31st, 2021

Today the Church begins celebrating the "Gesima" Sundays. These are the three Sundays leading up to the holy season of Lent. On this first "gesima" Sunday, referred to as "Septuagesima," we hear a passage from St. Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians. In this passage St Paul describes those who run in a race to win the First Place prize. "KNOW ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize?" (I Corinthians 9:24ff) St. Paul describes those who put in time and effort to win a crown which he says will fall apart. He urges the Corinthians to work towards obtaining an incorruptible crown. All of us work towards something. All of us work towards getting something. It just depends on what the "prize" is. When we are younger, some young people work towards earning a degree. While others work towards buying a car, for instance. Some young people work, yes, but all their money goes towards purchasing video games and buying pizza. As we get older, typically our values change. Those who are older may save up for a home . . . paying for college for their children . . . . save up for their retirement. The bottom line is whether we are saving up for a video game or saving up for our retirement, all of are working towards something. St. Paul acknowledges that but he emphasizes that we should put our energy into working towards obtaining an "incorruptible" prize. St Paul uses the example of the "crown" for the winning athlete. And he points out that athletes train very had to win this crown which will eventually just crumble away. And he's correct. Most of us do work hard to get what we want. But the bottom line is that whatever we work hard to purchase: a car; clothing; a computer; a home; etc, etc, etc. Eventually all of these things will either fall apart . . . or go out of fashion . . . or wear out . . . or rust away . . . or break. But St. Paul urges us to put our effort into winning an "incorruptible" prize, a prize that will never wear out or rust away or break. Of course, this prize is our salvation offered freely by God. How many of us put hours and hours and hours into working towards getting what we want but we don't think anything about God. God offers this gift of salvation freely to each and every one of us. And yet we have to make a choice to accept this gift. We need to put energy into becoming the men and women that God desires us to be. We need to place time and effort into becoming good Christians and good representatives of Christ here on earth. God deserves our best efforts and not our second-best. As humans, we put our best efforts into things that we desire. As Christians, we should put our best efforts into pleasing God and growing closer to God.

PLEASE NOTE: St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, January 31st, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.    

And please remember that you can still show support to St. Margaret Church by sharing these posts on social media . . . sharing the sermons and reflections of Fr. Todd on social media as well.  In this way, despite any sort of "lock-down," you will help St. Margaret Church continue to spread the Gospel and continue to tell the world about our love for Our Blessed Saviour!

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Third Sunday after Epiphany, January 24th, 2021

My mother was a quiet, reserved woman but when she asked me to do something . .. . I did it. And sometimes . . . . but very rarely . . . I would ask her why I would have to do something and her response was "Because I said so." Married men, I would dare say, do what their wives tell them to do because as the old saying goes: "Happy wife, Happy life." But think about all the things we do on a daily basis because someone asks us to do it. We go to work and our boss or supervisor tells us to do a job or a task that needs to be done right away. What do we do? Well, if we want to keep our job we drop what we are doing and do what the boss says. If someone we know is in trouble or needs assistance and they ask for our help, what do we do? Again, if we are in the position to help, by all means we drop what we are doing and assist them in their need. Our children ask us for something, we help them. Our neighbor asks for our help, we help them. When you think about it, we even do what the television tells us to do. In other words, a commercial comes on TV telling us to go get this product or that product. And what do we do? We go out and buy it. The bottom line is that throughout our life we have the experience of people telling us what to do and we do it.

In the Second Chapter of the Gospel of St. John we read about when Our Blessed Saviour went to the wedding feast at Cana. And we know how this plays out, don't we? Our Blessed Lord along with His mother and the disciples went to the wedding feast at Cana and the couple ran out of wine. Now, this would be very embarrassing for anyone hosting a party to run out of something. But back then it would have been very devastating for the young couple to run out of wine at their wedding feast. As a result, St. Mary sprang into action, so to speak. She took the best course of action that she could think of. She took the problem to her Son and asked Him for His help. At first Our Blessed Lord questioned what running out of wine has to do with Him. But Our Lady did not hesitate. St John tells us: "His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it." (St John 2:5) Let these words sink in because the importance of these words is beyond measure. These words of our Blessed Mother are the greatest advice we could ever receive: "Whatever He tells you, do it." We do all kinds of things that the world tells us to do. We do all kinds of things that our friends tell us to do. We do all kinds of things that the media tells us to do. But how often do we do what God tells us to do? Part of the problem is that we don't hear what God is telling us to do. That is usually because we are not listening to God as we are too busy listening to the world. "Do whatever He tells you." If a sports celebrity, or a famous entertainer, or a politician tells us to do something, how many of us would fall over each other trying to do it. But when God tells us to do something, do we rush to get it done? Our Lady knew to take this problem to her Son because she was so sure He was the perfect person to help. She knew this because she had faith in her heart and confidence in her Son. We also need to have faith in our heart and confidence in Our Blessed Saivour. We need to make a point to listen to Him and tune out the world so that we can hear Him better. It is at that point when we are listening to Him . . . . and hearing what He has to say to each one of us . . . . . . it is then that we can "do whatever He tells us."

PLEASE NOTE: St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, January 24th, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.    

And please remember that you can still show support to St. Margaret Church by sharing these posts on social media . . . sharing the sermons and reflections of Fr. Todd on social media as well.  In this way, despite any sort of "lock-down," you will help St. Margaret Church continue to spread the Gospel and continue to tell the world about our love for Our Blessed Saviour!

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Second Sunday after Epiphany, Sunday, January 17, 2021

The Gospel for the Mass from the Second Sunday after Epiphany comes to us from the very beginning of St. Mark's Gospel. And it makes sense that St. Mark writes here at the beginning of his Gospel by speaking about St. John the Baptist. We hear: "Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee." (St. Mark 1:1) St. Mark is quoting this verse from the Old Testament book of Malachi to describe St. John the Baptist: "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me . . . ." (Malachi 3:1) It is entirely appropriate that St. Mark would use this Scripture verse in reference to St. John the Baptist. St. John did in fact prepare the way by preaching and speaking and telling about the Messiah Who was to come after him. Very often, in our own life, it is through the introduction of other people that we get introduced to our friends. Perhaps it is through a friend of a friend; or a cousin of a coworker; or a business acquaintance; etc. The point being that we end up having a friendship with someone through being introduced to him or her by someone else. And, if not for this introduction, we would most certainly have never met that person. St. John the Baptist did just this: he introduced countless souls to Our Blessed Saviour. He did, in fact, prepare the way of the Lord through his preparation of preaching and baptizing and preaching. Each of us should follow the example of St. John the Baptist by preparing the way for the Lord. We do this by introducing others around us to Jesus. How do we introduce others to Our Blessed Saviour? We do this in various ways: speaking about our relationship with God; talking about what we read in Scripture; inviting others to come to church with us; acting with love towards others; and even praying for others that God will bless them. There are many wonderful ways to prepare the way before Our Lord. This reminds me of one of my all-time favorite quotations. St. Francis said: "Preach at all times, and sometimes even use words!"

PLEASE NOTE: St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, January 17th, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.    

And please remember that you can still show support to St. Margaret Church by sharing these posts on social media . . . sharing the sermons and reflections of Fr. Todd on social media as well.  In this way, despite any sort of "lock-down," you will help St. Margaret Church continue to spread the Gospel and continue to tell the world about our love for Our Blessed Saviour!

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First Sunday after the Epiphany, January 10th, 2021

In the Twelfth Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, we hear the following: "For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another . . . " (Romans 12:4-5) These are excellent words for every single one of us to ponder. In other words, we are all different. Or should I say, we are all unique. Each one of has our own skills and talents. Each one of us have our own jobs that we perform. And even though we are unique, we all play our own role. We are one body in Christ as we read. Today these words are more important than ever. Today when division seems to be around every corner. It is now when we need to remind ourselves that we belong to God. We are His children. We were chosen by Him to be His adopted sons and daughters. Our identity as humans beings is not based on what political party we belong to. It is not based on who we voted for in an election. It is not based on how much salary we get from our jobs. It is not based on our titles . . . . or what neighborhood we live in . . . or what brand clothing we wear. No, our unity is based on the fact that God loves us . . . God has chosen us . . . and Our Blessed Saviour died on the Cross to save us from our sins. God created each and everyone of us. We are all unique in our own way. And God's love for each one of us is unique and special. Our Blessed Saviour died for each and everyone of us. He did His part . . . . which He did not have to do, quite frankly. He chose freely to save us from our sins . . . . Now it is up to us to do our part. How will we respond? Will we say yes?

PLEASE NOTE: St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, January 10th, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.    

And please remember that you can still show support to St. Margaret Church by sharing these posts on social media . . . sharing the sermons and reflections of Fr. Todd on social media as well.  In this way, despite any sort of "lock-down," you will help St. Margaret Church continue to spread the Gospel and continue to tell the world about our love for Our Blessed Saviour!

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Second Sunday after Christmas, January 3rd, 2021

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me . . . . " So begins the epistle appointed for the Second Sunday after Christmas. The Prophet Isaiah has it exactly right. The Spirit of the Lord is indeed upon me and He is upon you as well. So many people throughout the world have been looking forward to a "New Year." To most of us, 2020 was pretty bad. 2020 was horrible, to say the least. Small businesses shut down. People losing their jobs. People getting sick. Family members dying. Those in the nursing homes forced to stay away from their loved ones and friends for months and months at a time. Churches being shut down. The list goes on and on and on and on. I think everyone has been affected one way or another. Some have been affected more while others have been affected less. And some people are already saying that the year 2021 will present us with another rollercoaster ride even worse than 2020. Well, if that is the case then all the more reason to remember the words of the Prophet Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me!" Stay close to God in the year 2021 like never before. Remember that Our Blessed Saviour quoted these words as well: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." (St. Luke 4:18-19) Did 2020 make you poor? The Lord is here for you. Have you been left brokenhearted over the deaths of loved ones this year? Christ is here for you. Have you been held captive and lost some of your freedoms in 2020? Christ wants to set you free As bad as the year 2020 was, it was good in one respect, in my opinion. 2020 helped to set true priorities in place. 2020 helped us to see who and what is truly important in our life. Our Blessed Saviour wants us to have good priorities as well. He wants us to set God first in our life. Put God as our top priority and everything else will fall into place. Does that mean we will not have problems? Does that mean we won't have obstacles along the way? Does that mean all of our troubles will somehow magically disappear? Of course not. But God will be with us. God is there for us. Let the words of the Prophet Isaiah be our words as well in the year 2021: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me!"

PLEASE NOTE: St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, January 3rd, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.    

And please remember that you can still show support to St. Margaret Church by sharing these posts on social media . . . sharing the sermons and reflections of Fr. Todd on social media as well.  In this way, despite any sort of "lock-down," you will help St. Margaret Church continue to spread the Gospel and continue to tell the world about our love for Our Blessed Saviour!

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