Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 28th, 2025

 

Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 28th, 2025

"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. Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment? "  (St. Matthew 6:25)

As human beings we need to be fed and we also have to be clothed.  But as Christians, we also have to be spiritually fed on a daily basis.    People are hungry for the Word of God.  They want to hear what God is saying to them. They are searching for God and may not even know it.  As St. Augustine pointed out:   "You have made us for Yourself and our hearts are restless until they rest in You."  St. Augustine knew full well the desires of the human heart.  He was restless himself as a young man but he tried to "calm" this restlessness by focusing on fulfilling many desires of the heart and mind.  St. Augustine sought to fulfill his hunger with sex.  He sought to fulfill his hunger with wine.  He even sought to satisfy this restlessness with learning and education.  In essence, St. Augustine found that he went down many avenues to satisfy his restlessness and search for happiness.  And he found that each and every time he was indeed "satisfied" for a brief time but then his heart became "restless" again.  And St. Augustine discovered a pattern each of these points in his life:  he was satisfied for a time, yes, but then he wanted something else.  It was not until St. Augustine gave his heart to God that he discovered his heart was "restless" no longer.    Our human hearts are indeed restless.  Our human minds are restless.  We human beings are constantly searching for things that make us happy, for things that satisfy us.  And again we find inspiration from St. Augustine when he gives us the answer to satisfying our true hunger as human beings:  "So I set about to find God and found that I could not find Him until I embraced the mediator between God and man, Christ Jesus, Who is over all these things, Who was calling me and saying:  'I am the Way, the Truth and the Life . . . ."  

As St. Augustine discovered in his own life, the human heart desires many things to be "satisfied."  But above all these "desires" is the desire to be with God and this can only be satisfied by a relationship with Our Blessed Saviour.  "Therefore take no thought, saying What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?   . . . . for your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.  But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."  (St. Matthew 6:31-33)  As human beings we will desire many things in life but we need to first seek and desire God.  Until we discover that purpose, we will forever be restless and unsatisfied in life.

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

St Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, September 21st, 2025

 

Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, September 21st, 2025

In the Ninth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel the Pharisees ask the disciples why Our Lord takes the opportunity to eat with tax collectors and sinners.  Our Lord heard this comment being made and He responded:  "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.  . . . . for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (vv 12-13)  On this Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, it is good to recall that Our Lord calls all to serve Him, especially sinners.  Remember that St. Matthew was a tax collector.  And to put things into perspective, remember that tax collectors were hated.  They were hated because they took the people's money.  Tax collectors were known to cheat the people in order to line their own pockets.  And they were also hated because they took the money and gave it to the Romans, an occupying force.  But nonetheless Our Lord called St. Matthew to follow Him.  Our Lord does not discriminate.  Our Lord calls all who are willing to follow Him.  Very often we fool ourselves into thinking that we are "not worthy" to serve God.  We convince ourselves that we are "too sinful to do God's work."  The bottom line is that all of us are sinners in need of God's mercy.  God calls each and every one of us to repentance.  God calls each and every one of us to serve Him.  God calls each and every one of us to give our hearts to Him.  St. Matthew represented the most hated man because he was a tax collector.  Yet Our Lord did not hesitate in calling St. Matthew.  And to St. Matthew's credit, he accepted the called and followed Our Lord.  St. Matthew did not hesitate to accept Our Lord's invitation.   Neither should we hesitate to accept Our Lord's invitation.

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

Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 14th, 2025

 

Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 14th, 2025

In the Tenth Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, we hear Our Lord tell His disciples the following:  "BLESSED are the eyes which see the things that ye see: for I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them." (vv 23-24)   Boy, if there was ever an "understatement" in the Bible this was definitely it.  The disciples heard and saw things on a regular basis that that prophets and kings and regular folks like you and me would have longed to hear.  The disciples were in the presence of Our Lord on a daily basis.  Think about all the wonderful things they heard.  Think about all the miracles they witnessed during that time.  But even with all that they had seen and all that they had heard, they still took things for granted, didn't they?  Look at the example of St. Thomas, who has gone down in history known more famously by another name:  "Doubting Thomas."  This is because despite the fact that he saw so many miracles with his own eyes.  Despite the fact that he heard so many wonderful things and truths which Our Lord spoke.  Despite all of this St. Thomas still "doubted" and questioned whether it truly was the Lord Who was raised from the dead.  But are we really so different from St. Thomas?  Has God done wonderful things for us in our life?  Has He blessed us throughout our lifetime?  Has God been with us when we needed Him most?  Has He walked alongside us when no-one else would?  God has spoken to us as well.  God has blessed us during our lifetime.  We have seen the miracles which God has done for us.  Or maybe not.  Maybe we didn't hear God speaking to us.  Why?  Because we were too busy listening to what the world was saying to us.  Perhaps we never noticed the blessings which the Good Lord provided for us because we were too occupied chasing after what the world has to offer.  God speaks to us.  Take time to pay attention.  God provides for us.  Take the opportunity to thank Him.  God teaches us.  Make sure that you learn what He is teaching. 

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

Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, September 7th, 2025

 

Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, September 7th, 2025

The older I get I am amazed how many incredible things are introduced and invented.  I see all the things available today that I never knew when I was a child.  For instance, when I was a child we did not have cable TV.  Therefore we didn't have 400 channels to choose from.  We had five channels to watch.  Speaking of televisions, we had no VCR's or DVD's back then so if you wanted to watch something on TV you better make sure you saw it when the show aired or you were out of luck.  There were no personal computers back then.  Certainly, no internet to browse and surf.  I could go on and on but you get the idea.  Things are certainly a lot different now than they were when I was a child.  It only causes me to think how different things will be fifty years from now, one hundred years from now.  Think about how things were one hundred years ago.  How different will life be One Hundred years from now?  The point that I'm making is that human beings are amazing when they want to be.  But St. Paul has a different spin on this point.

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. 

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

Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, August 31st, 2025

 

Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, August 31st, 2025

In the Eighteenth Chapter of his Gospel, St. Luke writes of the time Our Blessed Lord told the parable of the two men who went into the temple to pray.  In telling this parable, Our Blessed Lord portrays the first man, a Pharisee, as being very self-righteous.  Our Lord describes the way this man prays:  "I thank Thee that I am not as other men . . . ."  "I fast twice in the week."  "I give tithes."  And then Our Lord describes the prayer of the other man:  "God be merciful to me a sinner."  The point which Our Lord was trying to make in telling this parable was to be humble because He explains:  "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." (St. Luke 18:14)  How often do we depend on ourselves and ultimately end up failing miserably?  How often do we depend on others and end up being disappointed?  How often do we put our trust in worldly possessions which end up coming short?  In the Fifteenth Chapter of his First Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul counts himself as one of the Apostles because the Lord appeared to him and chose him.  And he then goes on to briefly describe all the labors he performed as working for the Lord.  But ultimately, St. Paul acknowledges that everything he did  . . . . all the good works he was able to achieve . . . none of it would be possible without God's graces.  " . . .  yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." (I Corinthians 15:10)   The Good Lord has given each one of us strengths, abilities and skills which we possess.  Each of us have something that we are very good at.   But that being said, we should always be like St. Paul.   We should acknowledge where these abilities come from.  We should acknowledge that all that we have, all that we are, all that we possess is only made possible through the good graces of Our Heavenly Father.  In the parable which Our Blessed Saviour spoke, the problem with the Pharisee was that he emphasized himself when he prayed:  "I .  . .  I  . . . . I . . ."  We need to be more like the second man and place the emphasis on God.  We need to always humble ourselves and acknowledge where are gifts come from.

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

St. Bartholomew, Apostle, August 24th, 2025

 

St. Bartholomew, Apostle, August 24th, 2025

On August 24th, the Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle, which this year falls on a Sunday.   It seems that we know very little about St. Bartholomew.  The only time he is mentioned in Scripture is when he mentioned by name in a list of the Apostles.  Some scholars believe that St Bartholomew is simply another name for Nathaniel.   Tradition also says that St. Bartholomew might have preached in India, Mesopotamia, Egypt, or other lands.  So, as you can see, very little is actually known about St. Bartholomew.  There is more speculation than there is actual fact.

But celebrating the Feast of St. Bartholomew allows us to consider the attitude of leaders within the Church.  In today's Gospel, Our Lord is speaking to the Apostles in response to their arguing about who is the greatest, who has the most authority, who is the leader, etc.:  "AND there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest." (St. Luke 22:24)  And Our Blessed Saviour goes on to explain to them that whoever wants to be the greatest needs to be the least.  Whosoever wants to be the leader needs to be the one who serves.  The elder needs to be as the younger, Our Lord states.  Certainly, St. John the Baptist stated this belief perfectly when he said:  "He must increase, but I must decrease."  (St. John 3:30)   Seen in the light of what Our Lord told the Apostles, the fact that little is known about St. Bartholomew it would seem that St. Bartholomew took Our Lord's words to the heart.  In other words, St. Bartholomew was more interested in making Our Lord's Name known than he was in making his own name known.  This is how it should be for all Christians, not just the Apostles.  We should be more interested in making Our Lord's Name be known than making our own name known.  If we look at the lives of the Apostles and the disciples and the lives of the saints, we see that these holy men and women have dedicated their lives to God.  They were more interested in making God's Name be known throughout the world.  Their glory was in glorifying God and making Him known.  In this, we should follow the advice of St. John the Baptist and St. Bartholomew:  "God must increase . . .  and we must decrease . . . "

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

Ninth Sunday after Trinity, August 17th, 2025

 

Ninth Sunday after Trinity, August 17th, 2025

I would imagine the most famous parable which Our Lord ever told was the parable of the "Prodigal Son."  But I have believed firmly that this parable is misnamed.  I do not believe that it should be called the "Prodigal Son" but rather the parable of the "Loving Father."  I understand why the focus of the parable is on the son because he is the one who wants to get his share of his father's inheritance early.  The son is the one who leaves home in other to live life as he sees fit.  The son spends all his inheritance on riotous living.   And the son comes home with his tail between his legs hungry and embarrassed with egg on his face.  But what we really should focus on is the response of the father in the story.  "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." (St. Luke 15:20)  The response of the father is really what we should focus on.  This is because it is the response of our Heavenly Father to His ungrateful children:  in other words, humanity.  Aren't we like the "prodigal son" so often in our life?  We want the good things given to us without having to work for them.  We want to run off from our responsibilities and live the "good life."  We focus on God's blessings and pray for God to give us what we ask for.  But when we get what we want we run off and leave God so that we can live life the way that we want to live.  When you think about it, we are very similar to the "prodigal son" in so many ways.  But God is very much like the "loving father" in the parable.  He loves his children and desires the best for His children.  This is why He sent His Son into the world to save us from our sins.  This is why Our Blessed Saviour died on the Cross for us.  He took our place.  We are the ones who deserve death on the cross but Our Lord loves us so much that He died for us.  He died on the Cross so that He could save us from our sins.

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