The Lineage of Christ

I try to emphasize in my sermons and other talks the importance of reading Holy Scripture.  Simply put, not enough of us read the Good Book as often as we should.  One of the excuses that people often cite for not reading the Bible is it is difficult to read.  Especially in regards to the Old Testament, with the names of people or the names of places, it is understandable because many of the names are in fact difficult to read.  The other reason I have heard people cite in not reading the Bible  . . . .  although people do not often like to admit it out loud . . . . is that to them reading the Bible is boring.  Again, it is understandable that people might feel this way especially in regards to the Old Testament because so much of the Old Testament is filled with lists of people whose names are hard to pronounce.  And yet this is pretty much how St. Matthew chose to begin the Gospel attributed to him.  He began his Gospel by relating the lineage of Our Blessed Saviour.  Why would St. Matthew do this to begin with?, we ask ourselves.  In all fairness, St. Luke also includes the genealogy of Our Lord.  But at least in the example of St. Luke's Gospel, at least St. Luke put his lineage in the third chapter.  In other words, he doesn't start out with it like St. Matthew does at the very beginning.  And so the question remains:  why was including this lineage so important to St. Matthew?

When we think about other examples, oftentimes we also place great importance on lineage.  Have you ever watched a dog show, for example.  The owners of these championship caliber dogs take great pride in listing the "pedigree" of the dogs they show.  And with us human beings as well, there are many people interested in genealogy.  Just look at websites such as "Ancestry.com," where people go there to look up where they came from in regards to their relatives.  Even in regards to cars, you can look up their history to see who owned a car before you or property . . . . who owned a house or a piece of property before you.  So, you see, we are interested in lineage as well.  In part, this tells us  where we came from.  To the Jews, though, they were very interested in genealogies.  Getting back to the subject at hand, the very first verse of the Gospel of St. Matthew begins:  "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham." (St. Matthew 1:1)

As mentioned earlier, knowing where people came from was very important to the Jewish people.  If we look at the Old Testament, especially the Book of Genesis, we will see multiple lists of generations for famous people in the Bible.  In part, the Jews wanted to keep accurate records to know who was "pure" and who was "not pure."

Why is any of this important for our consideration?  Well, it shows the importance of why something was written  . . . or why something was highlighted for its' importance.  But beyond that, this still has great meaning for us.  All of us have our roots . . . . where we come from.  It may be that we only know our parents and/or our grandparents but so often family history or stories of our family members get passed down from generation to generation.  So often we hear amusing stories about great-uncles or great-grandparents, for example, as we gather together at Christmas dinners or other family gatherings.    It's not just "amusing stories" that get passed on from generation to generation.  We learn from our parents and those who came before us.  We learn both good things and bad things, quite frankly.  Human beings learn much better by example or by experience, I am afraid.  A mother can tell a young child over and over and over not to touch a hot stove but until the child actually touches the hot stove and gets burned, the child will listen to "experience of getting burned" better than listening to the mother.  I know as I have grown older, I have discovered that I do the things that my parents did.   In other words, I find myself saying the things that my mother would say.  Or I find myself doing the things that my father does.

In a spiritual sense, we have a "spiritual heritage" as well.  Going all the way back to the very first chapter of the Book of Genesis:  "Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness." (Genesis 1:26)  "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him." (Genesis 1:27).  Our heritage is of God.  We were created by Our Heavenly Father.    But as is often the case, it did not take very long for everything to fall apart real fast.  Adam and Eve proved they would rather serve themselves than to serve God.  They were not content to be in the Garden under the guidance of God.  They preferred to guide themselves.  This unfortunately has not changed since then.  Man still desires to guide himself.  Or should I say more accurately that  Man is guided by his desires.   We want things our own way.  We want to do things how we want them and when we want them.   We do not like anyone telling us what to do . . . .  even God Himself.

But this is why the lineage of Our Blessed Saviour is so wonderful.   It not only tells the roots of Our Blessed Saviour but it also points to the reason for Our Blessed Lord's birth.

If you read through Scripture, very often Our Blessed Saviour is referred to by people as the Son of David.  Multiple examples throughout all the Gospels list people calling Our Saviour  by this title.  The reason this point is so \important is because it points out that Our Lord is royal.  The fact that Our Lord's lineage was traceable back to David reminded the Jews of the great promise of David through His kingship.  It reminds us today that Christ is Our King and that we owe Him our obedience as faithful servants.  So often we place our trust in everything but God.  But the faithful, devout Christian will continue to serve the King of the Universe, Our Blessed Saviour.

St. Matthew, in short, began his Gospel with the genealogy of Christ to show not only where He came from but to also point to what His purpose was in this world.  For our part also, we must never forget where we came from.  "God created man . .  . "  Our roots are found in God.  We need to daily remind ourselves that we belong to God.  We need to remind ourselves that our roots lie in the Almighty.  Despite the fact that we were created by God, so often our desires lead us far from Him.  But our God loves us so much that He not only created us but He also went looking for us . . . . to save us from ourselves . . .  to save us from our own wicked desires.  He sent His only Son into the world to save us from our sins . . .  to save us from something that we could not save ourselves from.

Join us for the 25th Sunday after Trinity, November 13, 2016

Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Trinity, 

(Second Sunday before Advent), 

Sunday, November 13th, 2016

If you are anything like me, you avoid watching the news if at all possible.  The "local" news is filled with nothing but reports of crime, deaths and murders.  The "national" news is filled with . . .well,  .  . .  crime, deaths and murders.  But, nonetheless, it is hard to miss the news coming out this week.  Of course at the beginning of this past week everyone was talking about the election and who would win.   But once the election was over, soon the attention of the media turned to "protests" against who won the election.   I put the word "protests" in quotation marks because, in my humble opinion, they aren't "protests" as much as they are "riots."  But I'll get to that more in a bit.  It's interesting that I saw a meme on Facebook in the past few days and the meme is a picture of "protesters" amid smoke and fires and litter and broken glass scattered all around them and the message goes something like this:  "Claims Trump will destroy America . . . .  as they go about destroying America."  To me, what we have seen in the past few days on TV, as I stated earlier, are not so much protests as they are riots.  Oh, I know the media labels these events as protests but, honestly, they resemble riots more than they resemble protests, if you ask me.  

Come to think about it, if you were to ask me my opinion, these events that we have come to witness in various cities are really closer to a big, collective "Temper Tantrum."   Temper Tantrums, if you recall, are something that two year old and three year old children throw when they do not get their way.  They yell and they scream and they cry.  They throw things and maybe even break things.  They do all this in hopes of getting their way.  Most people, though, quite frankly grow out of this stage.  They grow and mature physically but, more importantly, they grow and mature mentally and emotionally.  Generally speaking, if I am allowed to generalize here, there are a lot of people today who have never matured emotionally.  They are stuck in the stage where if they don't get what they want, they throw a fit.  Life is not about getting what we want when we want it, if you want to know the truth.  Life is about working for what you want.  Sometimes, to be honest with you, even when you work your tail off you will find that sometimes things don't go your way.  Usually, I find this to be the case when I work and work and work to pay off bills and then when I've got a major bill paid off . . .  it never fails . . . .  something breaks or needs to be replaced.  And then I have to jump on the bill-paying merry go round all over again.  Again, life is not about getting what you want when you want it.  Life is not about treating others with contempt who have a different opinion than you do.  Life is not about going to "safe spaces" so that you will not have to listen to other "big, scary people" and their "big, scary words."  Life is difficult.  Life is hard.  But, as Bishop Sheen reminded us, Life is certainly worth living.

We are reminded in the third chapter of the Epistle to the Colossians:  "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering: forbearing one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye."  (Colossians 3:12 ff)  You see, we are called to be kind .. . . and humble . . .  and meek  . . . and understanding of others.  And why is this?  Because Our Blessed Saviour was all of these things.  That's why we are called to be these things.  Being a Christian is not easy.  This whole "turning the other cheek" business is difficult to say the least.  And yet this is what Our Blessed Saviour did while he was on the earth dealing with difficult people.  . ..  dealing with people that hated Him . . . .  dealing with people that wanted Him dead.  How did He react to these folks?  Well, ultimately, He stated while hanging from the Cross, nonetheless:  "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."  We are called both by word and also by the example of Our Lord to treat others with love and charity  . . . . even to those with whom we disagree.  This is where we show our Christianity.  Our Lord said:  "For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye?  for sinners also love those that love them . . .  but love your enemines, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again: and your reward shall be great, and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil."   And then Our Lord finishes up with:  "Be ye therefore merciful as your Father also is merciful."  (St Luke 6:32-36)  Strong words.  Difficult words and concepts to follow, to say the least.  And yet Our Lord practiced what He preached.  

Join us on Sunday morning at St. Margaret Church as we come together as God's family to worship Him.  We gather together each and every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM.  We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  We use the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Join us as we worship Our Heavenly Father and receive the Precious Body and Blood of Our Blessed Saviour at Communion time.  

The Importance of All Saints Day

“All Saints Day” is a feast traditionally celebrated on November 1^st of every year in our Western Church.  Keep in mind that the development of the actual universal Solemnity of All Saints may be somewhat confusing and hard to trace.  Why do we suggest this?  Because, keep in mind that various local churches celebrated their own “local” versions of All Saints Day from the earliest centuries.  One of the earliest origins of what has come to be known as All Saints Day dates all the way back to around the year 609 when Pope Boniface IV consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to the Blessed Mother and all the Martyrs of the Church.  This feast of All Saints was celebrated on May 13^th, though.  But even prior to this, we can see Church Fathers such as St. John Chystostom, for example, who assigned a date to commemorate a day in honor of All Saints.  His date was not set as November 1^st as we know it, though.  It was celebrated on the First Sunday after Pentecost, where it is still celebrated in Eastern Churches to this day.   It was about the time of Pope Gregory III where the celebration of All Saints was commemorated  on November 1^st.  Prior to this, as mentioned earlier, various churches in various countries around the world celebrated their own All Saints day at various dates throughout the year.   The point that we need to focus on in pointing out this brief history of sorts for All Saints Day is that Christians throughout the world were interested in celebrating and commemorating those Christians who had gone before them.  Again, this is not a new feast, in other words.  It is an ancient practice dating back to the earliest centuries of the church.   Many need to bear in mind that not only Roman Catholics and Orthodox but also Anglicans as well as even Lutherans and Methodists also celebrate All Saints Day.  Which now leads us into the importance and the underlying meaning of the Feast of All Saints to the Church in general and us as individuals.

Perhaps, first, we can make an analogy which may help to explain the underlying meaning behind the feast.  In America, for example, we will soon be commemorating “Veterans Day.”  In a similar vein, the idea is closely aligned with the general purpose and meaning of All Saints Day, when you think about it.  Veterans Day simply sets aside a day where we as a nation remember, honor, and commemorate those who have served our country to help insure the freedoms that we enjoy.  Again, to point out another secular example, we also commemorate “Presidents Day” to remember all the presidents who have helped to guide our country.  “All Saints Day,” then for the Church, is a day where we remember all those (both known and unknown) who are members of the “Communion of Saints,” in other words, the thousands who are recognized as canonized saints.  

Why is the Solemnity of All Saints important?   The Church commemorates various feast days or Saint days throughout the year (e.g., the feast of St. Andrew, St. Francis, St. Patrick, etc.) But on All Saints Day, the Church makes a point to remember all those saints who have gone before us and are now enjoying their reward in Heaven.    This includes those “known” and even “unknown” saints.  Again, why should we even care about remembering . .  . let alone set aside a day in honor of . . . . canonized saints?  The bottom line is that the Church honors those holy men and women as saints who have proven to be worthy of imitation.   In other words, they have each done their part, and in their own way, to  lead others to God.  Were the saints perfect during their lifetime?  Is this what we are celebrating when we celebrate All Saints Day?!?  Certainly not!  If we look at the Calendar of Saints, we will find all sorts of people from all walks of life . . .  priests, religious .   . . . . husbands, wives . . .  . teachers .  . . .  soldiers . .  .. farmers .   . . . . kings and queens .   . .  you name it!  No matter what their station in life, these wonderful men and women provide for each one of us an example of leading a holy life dedicated to God.  This is something we should all strive for:  to follow God and to live for God each and every day of our life.  The Solemnity of All Saints Day then should inspire each one of us to be a saint.   The Baltimore Catechism says:  “The faithful on earth, through the communion of saints, should honor the blessed in heaven and pray to them, because they are worthy of honor and as friends of God will help the faithful on earth.” (Lesson 13 from the Baltimore Catechism)  Yes, they are friends of God and they should be our friends as well.  They each have shown what it means to love God and to be faithful to God.  As such, they are valuable reminders of dedicating one’s life to God.  On the Solemnity of All Saints, the Church remembers those good and faithful servants who have gone before us as such good role models.  “Let us now praise men of renown, and our fathers in their generation. (Ecclesiasticus 44:1)”

 

Come Join Us On Sunday, October 16th, 2016

Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity, Sunday, October 16th, 2016

From the Sixth Chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians, we hear:  "MY brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might."  (Ephesians 6:10)  Have you ever been strong for someone else?  Or, for that matter, has anyone ever been strong for you?   Each one of us face struggles and hardships and difficulties throughout our life.  Now, it may not be every single day but sometimes we just get overwhelmed with the "hard-balls" that life throws at us.  It is at those times that it is indeed easy to feel overwhelmed.   Maybe we are facing severe financial difficulties where we do not know where we can get the money to cover the bills . . . the mortgage . .  the rent.  Maybe it might be the loss of a job and nobody is calling you for an interview.  Maybe it might be a time where you are facing health difficulties like you have never faced before.   Whatever example you can come up with, it is probably easy to come up with a few different times where you felt overwhelmed, stressed out, and totally dejected.  If you are anything like me, at those times when it seemed like I hit rock-bottom, there was someone there who gave me the strength to carry on, to move forward.  There have been many people like that in my life:  my parents; dear friends; priests and / or clergy; teachers; etc.  These people have given me strength through motivating me, encouraging me, giving me advice, counseling me.  They were there to urge me on when I did not want to go on . . .  they were there for me when I had given up the battle  . . .  they were there when I had given up on myself.  I am sure that you can think of someone in your life that has filled that role for you.  They give you strength that you never knew that you had.  This is how it is with God.  God gives us strength when we need it the most.  He does this by encouraging us and motivating us to move forward.  He also does this by example.  Our Blessed Lord faced everything that we face:  He faced hardship . . .  He faced trials . . .  He faced persecution .  .. . He faced hatred, ridicule, envy, jealousy.  You name it, Our Blessed Lord faced it.  And yet He kept moving forward while keeping His eye on doing the will of His Heavenly Father.  We are called to do the very same thing.  And we need to be strong, as St. Paul writes, "strong in the Lord."  Our Lord promised to never leave us.  He is always there for us, no matter the circumstances.  

Please join us for Mass.  Take time out of your busy schedules to worship God.  Listen to the Word of God through the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  And receive the Precious Body and Blood of Our Blessed Saviour at Communion time.

Two opportunities for Mass on Sunday, October 16th.  

Mass begins at 9:30 AM at St. Margaret Church in Indianapolis.  We celebrate Mass at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Mass is also offered at 1:00 PM at Holy Spirit Church in Greenfield, Indiana.  We celebrate Mass at the beautiful, historic First Presbyterian Church, located at 116 W. South Street near downtown Greenfield.

Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary

One of the things I appreciate about the Rosary is that it covers the various events in the life of Our Blessed Saviour and also His Blessed Mother.  And in so doing we find that their lives mirror our lives in a certain sense.  No, not that our lives are extraordinary in that sense.  But what I mean is that when we pray the mysteries of the Rosary, they cover a wide range of emotions and events (i.e., the Joyful; Sorrowful; and Glorious Mysteries)  And this is why I say there are similarities in that sense because in our life we exhibit a wide range of emotions over a wide range of events.  Our Lord and His Blessed Mother were not any different.  Each of the mysteries is a mediation on the events of the life of Our Blessed Saviour.  These events range all the way from the Annunciation all the way to His Ascension into Heaven.  Let us focus for now on the Joyful Mysteries and focus on the various lessons that we can learn from each mystery.

First Joyful Mystery is the Annunciation

"The angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.  And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His Name Jesus." (St. Luke 1:30-31)  Our Lady is truly one of the greatest human beings to ever live throughout the history of the world.  Her influence is still being felt today as it was some two-thousand years ago.  And why is her influence so great throughout human history?  Her is influence came from one simple word:  "yes."  When Our Lady gave her fiat it set in motion events that would be far-reaching.  Through her simple "yes," God found a vehicle to send His Son into the world.  So, too, with us we can follow the example of Our Lady and give our "fiat" to God as well.  We need to say "yes" to God when it comes to dedicating our life to Him.  We need to say "yes" to God when it comes to working on His behalf throughout the world.  We need to say "yes" to God to make Him the ruler of our life and of our heart.  Our Lady was not sure why God had chosen her.  Our Lady did not know the magnitude of the events that were to unfold.  Our Lady was not even sure why these events were happening and what her role was to be.  But despite all of this, she gave her fiat to God.  Very often we may not know why God has chosen us.  We may not know what part we will play or what influence we will have.  But as long as we give our "fiat,"  as long as we say "yes" to doing God's will in our life, we will be in good company.  We will be in the company of Our Blessed Mother, who first said "yes" to doing God's will in her life.

Second Joyful Mystery is the Visitation of Our Lady to Saint Elizabeth

When Our Lady went to visit St. Elizabeth, the unborn babe leaped for joy in the womb of St. Elizabeth:  "And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." (St. Luke 1:41-42)  When we pray this second mystery, we can focus on the fact that Christ is with us when we visit others around us.  Without a doubt, Our Blessed Saviour founded His Church so that we could carry on the work here on earth that He began.  We are called to preach the Good News .  .  .  to spread the Gospel throughout all the world!  When Our Lady was carrying the Christ Child in her womb it caused the yet unborn St. John the Baptist to leap for joy in the womb of St. Elizabeth.  When we carry Christ in our hearts, we will radiate Him through our actions, through the way in which we live our life, through the love that we show others.   When we make a point to carry Christ in our hearts, people will perceive the Blessed Saviour at work in us.  Carry Christ with you at all times as you go throughout your daily lives.  Let Him influence you in your actions and interactions with others.

The Third Joyful Mystery is the Birth of the Child Jesus

"And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.  And she brought forth her firstborn Son . . ." (St. Luke 2:6-7)  At Christmas we focus on the birth of Jesus . . . or at least we should, but that is a different reflection  altogether .  .  . and as such here in the Third Joyful Mystery we also focus on the birth of the Child Jesus.  In the history of the world, has there ever been such a joyful event as the birth of the Messiah of mankind?  And yet we know that the birth of the Child Jesus was for the most part unnoticed by the world.  There were some that took note, of course, such as the local shepherds and the angels, of course.  But the rest of the world was not aware of the miraculous event taking place that would change the course of the world forever.  So, too, we pray in our own life that Christ will be born once again in our heart!  We pray that Our Blessed Saviour will have a special place in our heart where He will abide there with us.  When Christ does come to abide in our heart, the world will not notice.  The world will be concerned with their own worldly affairs just as they were two-thousand years ago.  Let Christ abide in your heart.  Let Him dwell there all your days on earth so that He will always be with you:  to encourage you and to love you; to teach you and to guide you.

The Fourth Joyful Mystery is the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple

In St. Luke 2:22, we hear:  "And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought Him to Jerusalem, to present Him  to the Lord."  In this verse we hear of the dedication of Our Lady and St. Joseph in fulfilling the law of Moses in presenting the Child Jesus in the Temple.  In this sense, we can focus not only on the obedience of the Holy Family but also their sacrifice.  We too for our part need to be obedient to God in our life and sometimes this will entail sacrifice on our part.  In the world which we live it is easy to be a Christian "in name only."   What I mean is that anyone can say they are a Christian.  And many people do just that, they say they are Christian but they do not live a very Christian life.  They follow the ways of the world much more than they follow God.  For the dedicated, committed Christian, we are called to be obedient to God and doing His will here in this life.  As I say, sometimes this will require sacrifice and dedication on our part.

The Fifth Joyful Mystery is the Finding of the Child Jesus

Those of you who are parents have probably had the experience of "losing" your children a time or two.  Perhaps it was in a department store or a mall.  One minute your child is with you and the next minute the child is gone.  And perhaps for a brief moment or two panic sets in because you don't know what has happened to your child.  And then when your child shows up, how happy you feel because you know your child is safe.  Let us place ourselves in the shoes of the Holy Family in that regard.  We can only imagine what it was like for Our Lady and St. Joseph once they discovered that the Child Jesus was not in their company.  We know of their frantic search and backtracking of their steps to see if they could find Him.  In this mystery, we focus of the joy of finding Jesus.  For Mary and St. Joseph, they found the Child Jesus in the Temple.  For us, we can focus on the joy of finding Our Blessed Lord in the Tabernacle.  Joyful that Our Lord is there waiting for us.  He is always ready to listen to us . . . to love us . . . .  to guide us . . . .  to sustain us.  Like Mary and St. Joseph, though, we must search for Him.  We must go in search of Our Blessed Lord.  Not that He is far away.  Rather, we must make our way through the "maze" of worldly cares and concerns that block and hinder our way of finding Our Blessed Saviour.

Reflections On The Sixth and Seventh Sorrows of Our Lady

I remember back when I saw Mel Gibson’s “The Passion” when it was released.  Like all of you who saw this production, I was moved with sorrow and grief at seeing the visual portrayal of the brutal treatment of Our Lord.  Mel Gibson was able, it seems to me, to vividly portray the sorrowful and cruel series of events depicting the Passion of Our Lord.  In this sense, this movie presentation helped to portray some of the sorrows that Our Lady was forced to endure in regards to her Son.

Just as throughout His life, Our Lady followed the cruel events leading up to His death.  One of the titles that Our Lady has been given is “Our Lady of Sorrows,” or “Sancta Mater Dolorosa.”  One of the devotions in regards to Our Lady of Sorrows has to do with the “Seven Sorrows of Our Lady.”  These, of course, refer to the Seven Sorrows Our Lady endured in regards to her Son.  The final two sorrows in this devotion, the Sixth and Seventh Sorrows, we will deal with in this short essay:  “Our Lord’s Descent from the Cross;” and the “Burial of Our Lord.”

Our Lord’s Descent from the Cross

After His Crucifixion, we hear in St. Matthew’s Gospel, the taking down from the Cross:

“When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple: He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.  Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.  And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth.”  (St. Matthew 27:57-59)

As mentioned earlier, how can any of us ever imagine the intense pain that Our Lady felt for her Son during the events of His Passion?  After everything that she had seen . . .  after all the paid that she had endured . . . . what emotions must she have felt as she saw her Son taken down from the Cross?  Pain. Sorrow. Grief. Agony.  And, yes, most certainly even Relief.  Relief that Her Son’s torture was finished.  Relief that His pain was over. Our Lady now wanted most to see her Son taken down from the Cross, taken down from the instrument of His Death.   Surely, she did not want to see her Son left up on the Cross to continue the shame and agony He was forced to endure from those who hated Him.  As with all mothers who love their children so dearly, she did not want to see her child treated with such contempt and hatred. 

What lesson can we learn that Our Lady has taught us?  As Christians, we learn to have compassion for Our Lord in this world.  You see, Our Lady had no power over the forces that caused her Son’s death.  She could not stop the tragic series of events that led to her Son hanging on that Cross.  And yet she could do the one thing that she did His entire life:  try to comfort Him as best as she could.  Mothers tend to do that, don’t they?  So often, our mothers are there to comfort us when we are hurting the most.  And so often they do not know what to do to relieve us of our pain other than they do the one thing that they do best:  they embrace us and hold us while we are grieving.  They hold us to let us know that we have someone with us when we hurt.  They embrace us to let us know that we have someone who loves us. This is what Our Lady did when her Son was brought down from the Cross.  She did the thing that came naturally to her and to all mothers . . . . she embraced her Son even in His death.   We too should learn to comfort Our Lord when He is offended.  Like Mary, so often we will not have the power to stop those in the world from offending Our Blessed Saviour.  But like Mary we can do what comes natural:  show love and devotion to Our Blessed Saviour.  When we hear of Our Lord being mocked and hated in this world, embrace Our Lord and show Him your love.  This is what Our Lady did at the foot of the Cross:  she supported her Son when all others had left.  Thus, when we see Our Lord so cruelly treated by those around us in the world, embrace Our Lord and hold on to Him.  Support Him by showing Him how much you love Him.

The Burial of Christ

From St. John’s Gospel, we hear:  “Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.  Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden: and in the garden a new sepulcher, wherein was never man yet laid.  There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jew’s preparation day; for the sepulcher was nigh at hand.” (St. John 19:40-42)

Our Lady and the disciples of Our Lord buried Him with much care and compassion.  Keep in mind that surely each one of them that had gathered there must have been dealing with a whole host of emotions:  grief, agony, sorrow, confusion,  . . . .  And yet despite this whole host of emotions present in each one of them, they buried Our Lord with great compassion and love.  Despite the varied limitations that were in place, we know that the disciples of Our Blessed Lord prepared a burial place with much love, dignity and respect to their Blessed Saviour.  In their grief, they did their best to give Him a special resting place. 

As Christians committed to Our Blessed Saviour, we too are called to prepare a special place for Him.  In the book of Exodus we hear:  “The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation: He is my God, and I will prepare Him an habitation . .  .” (Exodus 15:2)  This is the lesson we can learn from the Seventh, and final, Sorrow of Mary:  to prepare a place for Our Saviour.  Even in the shadows of His Death, Mary and the Disciples prepared a special place for Our Blessed Saviour.  We can follow their example by preparing a special place for Him as well.  Where will this place be, you ask?  The one place He wishes to be:  in our hearts, of course.  If we each prepare a special place in our heart for Our Lord, imagine how pleased He will be.  Mary and the Disciples did their best to prepare a place for Him with as much care and devotion as they could possibly show.  They did this to show their respect and love.  We too much prepare a place in our heart out of respect and love for Our Blessed Lord.   

Please Join Us On Sunday, August 28th, 2016

Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity, August 28th, 2016

In the Seventeenth chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, we hear about the time in which Our Blessed Saviour encountered ten lepers.  We all are familiar with this passage, I am quite sure.  The bottom line is that Our Lord directed the ten lepers to go see the priest and as they went all ten were healed.  And yet this is not the point of the passage that St. Luke presents to us. As a result of being healed, only one out of the ten came back and expressed his thanks and gratitude to Our Blessed Saviour.  This action . . .  or should I say "inaction" of the other nine ..  . . caused Our Lord to voice the question to the one man that came back in front of Him:  ". . . but where are the nine?" (St. Luke 17:11 ff)  Although the event just described in St. Luke's Gospel happened some two-thousand years ago, I have no doubt whatsoever that Our Blessed Lord is still asking the very same question in our own day about us.  What do I mean?  How many people only approach God when they need something?  How many people do we know . . . . .  and in all fairness, this could describe us as well at times . . .  how many people do we know that when they get into trouble . . . when they get into a jam ..  . . . when they find themselves facing dire consequences .  . . these people go running to God.  These people pray like they've never prayed before.  They pray and pray and pray  . . .  and then they pray some more . .  . they pray that God will assist them in their time of need.  And then when their "dire emergency" passes by, these same people that prayed for God's help are nowhere to be found.  In other words, they don't seek God again until the next time they "need" Him.  When described this way, isn't that exactly what the "other" nine lepers did to Our Lord?  They cried for help in order to be healed.  But only one was able to ALSO voice thanksgiving!  How many times do we go to God only when we "need" Him?  How many times do we only go to God when we "need" His assistance?  The point I am making is that we should make an effort during our lifetime to approach God in ALL aspects of our life and not just when we "need" something.  Go to God in petition in times of trouble, yes!  But, please, do not go to God ONLY when you need something!  Pray for God's help but also pray to God in times of thanksgiving!  Go to God in prayer when you simply want to tell Him how wonderful He is.  Go to God and spend time with God every single day and not simply when you "need" Him.  

Please join St. Margaret Church on Sunday, August 28th, 2016 as we worship Our Heavenly Father as a family.  Join us as we listen to God's Word found in the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Join us as Our Blessed Saviour nourishes us and strengthens us at Communion time as we receive the Most Precious Body and Blood!

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 9:30 AM on Sunday mornings.

Join us for the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, August 21, 2016

Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, August 21st, 2016

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.

Please make the effort to join us on Sunday, August 21st, 2016 as we welcome Bishop Stephen Strawn to our church.  Bishop Strawn will celebrate Mass and preach.  He will let us know the powerful way that God is at work in our diocese and throughout God's church.  We are always so happy to see Bishop Strawn when he visits us and hope that you will attend to give him a warm welcome.

Mass begins at 9:30 AM on Sunday, August 21st, 2016.  Mass is celebrated in the beautiful chapel located at Marquette Manor, which is at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Please join us as we welcome our bishop and then stay after Mass for some delicious goodies and refreshments at the coffee hour.

Immaculate Conception

It would be benefical to all of us to have a correct understanding of the Immaculate Conception.  You see, this term "Immaculate Conception" confuses people, quite frankly.  Many people have a misconception of what this term truly means.  For these people, they think that the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady puts her on a par with God.  They feel as though the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady makes her equal with God.  They feel that the Immaculate Conception makes Our Lady some sort of a "goddess," herself and as such is in no need of God's saving grace.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

If you will, let me tell you a story.  I remember when I was a young boy growing up.  I remember a time or two when my mother would come into my room at home and she would take a look at the terrible condition of my room  . . . . with books everywhere . . .  clothes everywhere . . .  bed unmade . . .  toys out of place . . . . my dear mother would look at this mess and she would tell me:  "You better start cleaning up this room and when I come back it had better be IMMACULATE!!!!"   In other words, she wanted my room to be as clean as possible with nothing out of place or out of order.

Or fast-forward to adulthood.  In your business life, I am sure all of us have had the occasion when our boss was coming through on an official visit . . . or the owner of the company . . . or a big regional manager was coming to visit.  And the word always goes out to clean up your desk . . .  clean up your cubicle . . . clean up your area  . . . and make sure everything is IMMACULATE!!!!!

Or how about when we are expecting important company to our home . . .  whether it be dear friends that we have not seen in a while . . .  or beloved relatives . . . .  or neighbors . . . .  when we invite people over to our home, we want the best impression given.  We clean up.  We put things in order.  We tidy up.  We place things where they are supposed to be.  We vacuum.  We clean.  We do all of this in order for the house to be IMMACULATE!!!!

Even when I know that the bishop is coming to visit our parish on his annual visitation, what do I do?  I put everything in order.  I clean the sacristy.  I clean the church.  I polish up the altar.  I dust everything. In short, I want the church to be IMMACULATE because somebody important is coming to visit!!!

In each of the examples that I gave above, we are cleaning things up, we are putting things in order.  Whether it be our room; our house; or our work-space.  And why is this so important?  Why do we clean things up or put things in order?  We are getting our area in good condition because someone important is coming to visit.  When you think about it in those terms, God wanted the Blessed Mother to be Immaculate because a very important visitor was coming to visit us:  His Son.

Pope Pius IX wrote in 1854 in regards to the Immaculate Conception:  "The most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the saviour of the human race, was preserved from all stain of original sin." (IIneffabilis Deus, the Apostolic Constitution f Pope Pius IX on the Immaculate Conception (December 8, 1854).

As stated above, this statement scares a lot of people because they don't truly understand what it means.  Quite frankly, a lot of people who call themselves "Catholic" do not even understand truly what the term "Immaculate Conception" means.  Please note in the quotation referenced above two important points made by Pope Pius IX :  1)  The Immaculate Conception of Our Lady was a "singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God."  In other words, it was not anything Our Lady did herself to make this possible: God made the Immaculate Conception possible for her;  2)  God permitted the Immaculate Conception "in view of the merits of Jesus Christ . . . "  In other words, the Immaculate Conception was permitted not for the benefit of Mary herself, but the Immaculate Conception was for the benefit of the Divine Infant she carried in her womb.  God wanted a proper place, free of all sin, as the proper place for His Son to dwell.  Again, this was allowed by God.  Mary did not make herself Immaculate . . .  God made her Immaculate for His Son's benefit!

We know that the Blessed Virgin Mary was the "vehicle" that brought Our Saviour into the world.  As such, God made her "immaculate" so that she could be a pure vehicle to bring the Saviour of the World to us.  We hear in St. Luke 1:42:  " . . . and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!"  Indeed!  Our Lady was in fact blessed.  She was blessed because she was made so by God.  She was blessed because she said "Yes!" to God.  She was blessed because she was open to doing the will of God in her life.  "And Mary said; Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word."  (St. Luke 1:38)

If we have ever gone to pick up someone in our own vehicle . .  . whether it be a important visitor . . .  an important guest . . . . a boss .. .  a beloved relative . . . . if we are given the task of picking that person up and driving them somewhere, don't we make a point to try to clean up our vehicle?  Don't we try to put it in order as much as possible?  Don't we try to make it IMMACULATE as possible?

For my part, this is how I view the Immaculate Conception of Mary:  it's not so much about HER as it is about WHOM she was carrying inside of her.  In the Immaculate Conception, God was preparing a vehicle worthy of carrying His Son into the world.  A vehicle without spot, without sin, without stain.  When we clean our rooms . . . when we clean our work areas . . . when we clean our homes . . .  we are actually showing the importance of those who are coming to visit.  In this case, it was the most important visitor ever:  the Saviour of the World.  And God chose Our Lady to bring that Saviour into the world:  "Hail, full of Grace; the Lord is with you!"  (St. Luke 1:28)  . . . . the Lord is with you! . . . .  This is the reason God gave Our Lady the gift of the Immaculate Conception because the Lord was with her.

And here lies the importance of the whole notion of the Immaculate Conception:  the Immaculate Conception was not for the benefit of the Blessed Virgin Mary . . . . the Immaculate Conception was for the benefit of the Divine Infant she was carrying within her.  She was not "Immaculate" for HER benefit . .  .. She was "Immaculate" for HIS benefit.  She was made immaculate because she was carrying the Saviour of the World.

Are You In Debt???

I am confident that every single person reading my words right now knows a thing or two about being in debt.  We can all come up with our own examples . . . in fact, I am again confident that each of us can come up with NUMEROUS examples of debt.  Whether it be debt via credit cards . ..  or debt in regards to a house mortgage or a car payment . . .  or debt for other loans  . . . .  such as student loans for college; etc.  All of us can think of debts that we have had over the years.  While some debts are unavoidable . .  . other debts we should avoid getting into at all costs possible.  For example, trying as hard as we can not to be in debt to credit card companies.  I even looked up how much "debt" the United States debt is and the source at least that I found stated it was somewhere around $19.26 Trillion dollars!!!  All of us are in debt to someone in one way or fashion, it would seem.

Even in St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, we hear:  "Brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh." (Romans 8:12)  As stated above, all of us have been debtors at one point or another.  Very often . . .  if not every single time, come to think of it . . .  we do not want to be in debt.  Nobody wnats to be in debt, do they?  Whether we just got done paying off a credit card, only to find ourselves having to use that credit card all over again.  Or just when we get done paying off the car . . .  something goes terribly wrong.   Just last year, I remember, I had just finished paying off my car  . . . . which, of course, is a wonderful feeling, wouldn't you agree?  And then within a month or two, the car that I had just finished paying off was hit by another driver and it was destroyed.  Thus, get a replacement vehicle and get back on that monthly car payment "merry-go-round" all over again.  None of us wants to be in debt is the bottom line but sometimes we end up being in debt whether we want to or not.  This is the point that St. Paul is making to the Romans.  Some of us are in debt to our bodily urges . . . . whether it be the urges for:  food; or drink; or drugs; or sex; or urges even for what we wear or what we own.  Sometimes we become so caught up in these things that before we know it we get fixated, if you will, focused on our material needs such as food; drink; etc.  This is the point that St. Paul is making.  Let us not get so caught up with the desires of the flesh that we become a prisoner to our own desires.  Isn't that was an alcoholic is, for example, a prisoner to his or her need for a drink?  But there are so many examples that we can use.  Don't become a debtor to things of the flesh.  We are human, yes, but we are more than simply humans . . . . we are spirit as well.  Focus your energy . . .  Focus your desires . . .  Focus your attention  . . . .  to things of God instead of things of earth.  Don't become a debtor to things of this world because they are passing away.  Our true treasure awaits us:  to spend eternity with Our Heavenly Father.  

Join St. Margaret Church on Sunday, July 17th, 2016 at 9:30 AM as we celebrate the Eighth Sunday after Trinity.  Join us as we listen to the Word of God found in both the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Listen as God speaks to you through His Word.  Join together with your Brothers and Sisters in Christ as we worship Our Heavenly Father as His Family.  And also receive the Most Precious Body and Blood of Christ at Communion time.

St. Margaret worships at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

How Good is Your Memory?

Do you ever have a problem remembering something?  I know I do.  It's strange that I can remember something from forty years ago and yet I can't remember what I went into the kitchen to get just now.  Some things stick in our mind and other things not so well.  It seems like some things that I would like to remember, I have trouble remembering.  Other things that I would actually like to forget, I hang on to those things.  If you have problems remembering, you are not alone.  It seems like the disciples had problems remembering as well.

In the sixth 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.

Join us for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity, 2016

Sixth Sunday after Trinity, July 3rd, 2016

When I was growing up I remember clearly our city had a local TV host who showed old "monster movies" every Friday night such as the werewolf  .. .. . or the mummy ... . or Count Dracula.  These would be the old movies from the 1940's or 1950's, keep in mind so they wouldn't be gory like horror movies are today.  Anyway, I remember watching "Frankenstein" when I was a young boy.  And, of course, the premise is that Dr. Frankenstein brings a man back from the dead and raises him to life again.  I am sure we are all familiar with the story line either through reading the original book or watching countless movie versions.  Now the reason this example comes to mind, I suppose, is that sin seems to be a lot like Frankenstein's monster because it keeps coming back to life again in our lives.  In the sixth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, we hear:  "For he that is dead is freed from sin."  Now, this seems to be pretty clear-cut.  But for human beings sin seems to be like a weed that keeps coming back and back and back again.  We spray weed killer and the weeds are gone for a while but then they come back again somewhere else.   Sin is that weed in our life that keeps coming back and back and back again.  The only way we can get rid of sin in our lives completely is to focus our life on Christ . ..  to center our life on Christ . . .  Further on in Chapter Six of the Epistle to the Romans, we hear:  "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."  If we imagine the example of a drinking glass or a pitcher or any sort of container, we know that as long as the container is filled up, you can not fit anything else in.  Thus, if our life is filled up with sinful behaviors:  hatred . . . anger . ..  lust . . .  envy ...  . whatever sin that plagues us on a regular basis . .  . replace those sins with thoughts of Christ.  Replace those sinful thoughts with thoughts of God.  Fill up your heart with the love of God.  If your heart is filled with God-centered thoughts, there will be no room for thoughts of hatred, envy, anger, etc.  If your heart is focused on God and on things of God, it will not have any opportunity to be focused on anything else.

Join St. Margaret of Scotland  Church on Sunday, July 3rd, 2016 as we gather together to worship Our Heavenly Father.  Join us as we listen to God's Word found in the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Join us as we receive the Most Precious Body and Blood of Our Blessed Saviour at Communion time to nourish us and sustain us in our Christian journey.

St. Margaret worships at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Mass begins at 9:30 AM.

Join us for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity, June 26, 2016

Fifth Sunday after Trinity, Sunday, June 26th, 2016

Now at the beginning of the the fifth chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, St. Luke kindly points out as he begins this chapter that as 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.  

Join St. Margaret of Scotland Church on Sunday, June 26th, 2016 as we celebrate the Fifth Sunday after Trinity.  Mass begins at 9:30 AM.  Join us as we listen to the Word of God found in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and the King James Version of the Bible.   We gather together as a family each and every Sunday to worship God in a respectful, traditional manner.  And we receive the Precious Body and Blood of Christ at Communion time in order to nourish and strengthen us for the journey called "Life."  

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

Join us for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity, June 19th, 2016

Fourth Sunday after Trinity, Sunday, June 19th, 2016

The Bible is often referred to as "The Good Book."  I refer to it by this name sometimes in my sermons or when I speak in general.  But, actually, as most of us know, the "Good Book" is really many smaller "books" added together into one large volume that we know as the "Holy Bible" or the "Good Book."  As such, you know as well as I that there is a lot of wisdom that can be gained by reading the pages contained in the "Good Book."  There is much to be learned from reading the Bible, obviously.  It is God's Word after all.  But some people pick and choose which verses from the Bible they want to focus on.  In fact, you will hear verses of the Bible quoted by people to try and support their position or justify their beliefs.  For example, sometimes either in person or on TV or in a movie, you will hear someone say " . . . . an eye for an eye . . . ."  And typically when you hear someone say that in a movie or in person, the context is that if someone hurts you you are going to hurt them right back in the same way.  People must have been in the habit of using this Scripture verse to justify their actions two-thousand years ago because even Our Lord takes time to speak about it.  "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for and eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." (St. Matthew 5:38-39)  So you see even back then Our Lord had to explain things and put things into proper perspective.  God is not about revenge and hatred and "getting even."  Listen to Our Lord putting things into proper perspective:  "BE ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful." (St. Luke 6:36)  It is never wise to "pick and choose" Scripture verses to justify our own beliefs.  There is ample opportunity to "pick and choose" random Bible verses if some people choose to do that.  But as I say so often in my sermons, we need to know the context of what the specific Scripture verse is that we are reading and/or citing.  So, too, we need to do this with God in general.  Our Blessed Lord showed us the "context" of His Heavenly Father:  God is merciful. God is love.  And as we heard above, we are called to be merciful as Our Father is also merciful  Is this easy?  No, certainly not.  But on the other hand, how easy was it for Our Blessed Lord, hanging from the Cross after hours of being tortured, bruised and beaten to say:  "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do" ?   All we can do in these situations is to remember Our Lord's words "Be ye therefor merciful as your Father also is merciful."

Please join us on Sunday, June 19th, 2016 at 9:30 AM as we celebrate Mass for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity.  St. Margaret Anglican Church worships in the Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Join with us as we listen to the Word of God found not only in the King James Version of the Bible but also from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Join us as God speaks directly to each one of us.  Take just one hour out of your busy schedules so that you can worship Our Blessed Saviour and dedicate that time to the One Who gives you so much.  And, finally, join us as we receive the Precious Body and Blood in Holy Communion

Join us for the Second Sunday after Trinity

Second Sunday after Trinity, Sunday, June 5, 2016

It always amazes me that some people make doing something look so easy.  For example, some people I see do carpentry work make it look so easy.  Me, on the other hand, have trouble hammering a single nail.  Other people have an amazing talent for numbers and math.  Again, math is something I struggle with.  But all of us have certain struggles and all of us have certain things that we are skilled at.  As Christians, though, all of us are directed to do something very difficult:  to love everyone.  If we look to the Third Chapter of the First Epistle of St. John, we hear: "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren."  (I St. John 3:13 ff) Let's face it, this is more than likely the most difficult thing about being a Christian.  Human beings have emotions.  Very often, we are led by our emotions.  And if someone hurts us, we will not like that person very much.  But what Christ directed us to do is to love one another and not "like one another."  We will not "like" every single person that we meet.  But we can still do our best to "love" every single person that we meet.  Some people will rub us the wrong way with their personalities.  Other people we will admire right away.  But we are called to love one another.  I would say this is true for a few different reasons:  first, because Our Blessed Saviour directed us to do so.  And next because everyone we meet was also created in the image and likeness of God just like we were.  Those whom we do not like, we probably find it difficult to believe that that person was created in the image and likeness of God like we were.  While it is true that we may not "like" everyone, we are still called to "love" everyone.  This is extremely difficult but it is important for us to constantly attempt to do this even if it takes an entire lifetime to master.

St. Margaret Church meets every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM.  We meet at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Come 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 God together as God's Family.

Come Join Us on Pentecost, May 15, 2016

Pentecost, Commonly Called Whitsunday, May 15th, 2016

In the Second Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, we are presented with a description of what happened to the disciples at Jerusalem during that very first Whitsunday, or Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost descended upon them.  And in that chapter it states that "there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven." (Acts 2:5)  In other words, there were gathered together a diverse group of people from various regions and backgrounds and areas.  When I was preparing my sermon this week and read this, it certainly hit home with me as I reflected on my own life.  This week I celebrated the Twentieth anniversary of my ordination of being a deacon.  And as is so often the case with anniversaries, it caused me to reflect on many memories during those twenty years: many varied parishes in multiple states; many wonderful people and families I have come to know and cherish; many opportunities to minister to God's Church here on earth.  But all along the way and even leading up to my ordination, first as a deacon and next as a priest, my faith was nourished by a wide array of people in my life:  my parents; my grandparents; my uncle; friends; pastors; teachers; etc.   People from a wide array of backgrounds that God used to help nourish me and form me to be the person that I am today.  Just as there were a wide array of people gathered together on that first Pentecost, so too, there are a wide array of people that God uses in our life to sustain us; to nourish us; to teach us.  There are a whole host of people from a wide array of backgrounds that God has used in our lifetime to bring us closer to Him.  And God uses us also to reach out to others . . . if we only allow Him.   The Church is made up of a wide array of people:  sick people; fearful people; sinful people; faithful people; people who are afraid.  The list goes on and on.  But the one thing that each of these people have in common is God.  Put your trust in God and be open to what God has in store for you.  

Two opportunities for Mass as we celebrate Whitsunday on Sunday, May 15th, 2016:

Come join us at St. Margaret of Scotland Church at 9:30 AM.  We celebrate Mass at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road, on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Come join us at Holy Spirit Church at 1:00 PM.  We celebrate Mass in the beautiful, historic First Presbyterian Church, located at 116 W. South Street in Greenfield, Indiana.

Come join either church as we listen to the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Hear God speaking to you in Bible-centered preaching.  Join us as we worship God in a traditional setting as God's Family.  And, finally, come and receive the Precious Body and Blood at Communion time.

Please Join Us For Rogation Sunday on May 1st, 2016

Fifth Sunday after Easter, Rogation Sunday, May 1st, 2016

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 action.  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 and then 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.

Two opportunities for Mass on Sunday, May 1st, 2016:

St. Margaret of Scotland Church meets every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM.  We meet at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Holy Spirit Church meets every Sunday at 1:00 PM.  We meet at the beautiful, historic First Presbyterian Church, located at 116 W. South Street in Greenfield, Indiana.

Join us as we gather to hear God's Word.  Join us as we gather together as God's family to worship Our Heavenly Father and to listen to Him speak to us.  Join us as we gather to receive the Precious Body and Blood of Our Blessed Saviour at Communion time in order to strengthen and nourish us.  We use the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  

Bishop James Mote

Bishop James Mote

Perspective is a tricky concept at times.  If you look at an object far away,for example, something quite large can appear very small.  Whereas if you look at the same object up close, you discover how large it actually is.  Time, also, depends on perspective.  If you are at work waiting to leave for the day, time seems to just drag on and on and on.  And yet, there are other dates that seemed like they were just yesterday and they were quite a while ago.  So, it seems, with April 29th, 2016, we remember the Tenth Anniversary of the death of one of the true pioneers of what has come to be known as the Continuing Church movement.  It was on April 29th, 2006 that Bishop James Orin Mote passed away.  It is hard for me to believe that it has been ten years since we lost Bishop Mote.  It seems like just yesterday that I was still in the company of Bishop Mote listening to his stories . . . . the same stories that I had heard him tell a thousand times before . . .  but I would gladly listen to these same stories over and over again a thousand more times, if given the opportunity to do so.  I was blessed, to say the least, to know Bishop Mote in his final years and to get to know such a pioneer of the Continuing Church movement.  But more than that, I was blessed to know someone who truly was a Man of God, someone who dedicated his entire life to service of God and in the service of Christ's Church here on earth.

Bishop Mote was one of the original bishops consecrated after the Congress of St. Louis, when faithful Anglicans made the decision to leave the Episcopal Church.  I would dare say this was not an easy decision to make for Bishop Mote, nor any of the others who made that fateful decision back in the late 1970's.  Bishop Mote had been rector of St. Mary's Church in Denver, Colorado.   He had been associated with that parish some fifty years.  He first went there as a young priest and became curate of that parish when he was under the guidance of St. Mary's then-rector, Fr. Lehman.  Bishop Mote would tell me so many stories of Fr. Lehman that I felt as though I knew Fr. Lehman personally.  It's strange in the sense that now I tell stories about Bishop Mote in my sermons and talks that I give, and many people listening to me  may get the same feeling . .. .  that they knew Bishop Mote personally even though they never met him.  We are affected by the people placed in our lives.  People whom we have known . . . and laughed with . . . and cried with . . . and shared memories with . ..  these people touch our lives; touch our souls; they directly or indirectly shape who we are . . . who we become.  Bishop Mote certainly did that in my life.

Bishop Mote was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana.  He was a faithful Anglican his whole life and had always wanted to become a priest.  He was always active in church and would attend various liturgies and church-related functions.  He served in World War Two as a chaplain's assistant.  In fact, He was awarded the Bronze Medal for Heroism.  The chaplain that Bishop Mote was serving under, along with Bishop Mote, stayed on the battlefield giving aid to the dying and also giving Last Rites to those who were dying.  Despite the order to fall back, Bishop Mote and the chaplain stayed behind to give Last Rites to those dying on the battle field.

Bishop Mote was a true Anglo-Catholic.  He attended Mass on a daily basis.  He did this because he knew, without any shadow of a doubt, that Christ was truly present in the Body and Blood consecrated at Mass.  He knew that it was there that he was close to Our Blessed Saviour.  In my years of knowing Bishop Mote, this was certainly no different.  Every day I would see Bishop Mote faithfully there at church, waiting for Mass to begin.  In fact, I never knew Bishop Mote to arrive at "the last minute."  Just the opposite, in fact, I would see Bishop Mote arrive an hour early, if not longer, so that he could pray and place himself in the Presence of Our Blessed Saviour.  No matter how early I got to church myself, I could never get there before Bishop Mote.  Bishop Mote always was there ahead of me sitting in his spot there in the second pew there on the epistle side of the church, meditating and praying before the Blessed Sacrament.  So often, I would see Bishop Mote with his Rosary beads in hand praying and spending time with Our Lord and His Blessed Mother.

Bishop Mote often used the phrase, "Play Dirty and Pray!"   Over the years I have reminded people of that saying, and many of the people that did not know Bishop Mote personally found that saying to be a bit peculiar and they may not know what he meant by it.  Certainly, Bishop Mote was referring to the fact that when we pray, we have a powerful weapon.  In fact, prayer is the most powerful weapon that we can ever possess.  Because when we pray, we have the ear of God.  When we pray, we are in contact with the Almighty.  When we pray, we find ourselves in the presence of God Himself.  And it is through prayer that we are in direct communication with Our Blessed Saviour.  It is through this communication that we can voice our feelings to God, and we also hear what God has to say to us.  So when Bishop Mote used that phrase, "Play dirty and Pray!," he was saying that we should use the most powerful weapon that we have, Prayer!  Pray for yourself; Pray for others; Pray for the Church; Pray for the world; Pray!

Bishop Mote also showed me how to be a servant.  When I was a newly ordained priest at St. Edward the Confessor in Indianapolis.  I was scheduled to say two of the weekday Masses during the week.  Very often on a weekday Mass, there would be no server.  I remember when I was newly ordained and it was my turn to say the weekday Mass, I had no server.  Bishop Mote came back to the sacristy and told me that he would be my server.  For my part, I objected because I did not feel that it was right for a bishop to act as the server for a newly ordained priest.  Honestly, though, the other reason I objected was due to embarrassment that I, as a newly ordained priest, might make some mistakes in saying the Mass.  I felt that I could avoid all of this and just have Bishop Mote say the Mass and I would act as his server, which I had the distinct honour of doing so many times previously.  Bishop Mote said in no uncertain terms that he would serve for me and I would say the Mass.   This was not the only time that I ever had the opportunity to see Bishop Mote as a "servant."  So often where there was a parish dinner or function in the parish hall, I would see Bishop Mote cleaning up the dishes or washing dishes.  In so doing, Bishop Mote was imitating Our Blessed Saviour.

I was able to learn so much by knowing Bishop Mote.   I feel that God truly blessed me by allowing me to know Bishop Mote in his final years.  It is hard to believe that Bishop Mote has been gone for ten years now.  I do not know where the time has gone.  It seems like just yesterday that I was listening to his stories over and over again.  It is said that we truly do not die if we are remembered by those who love us.  This is certainly the case with Bishop Mote.  All the things I learned from him . ..  his attitude in life . . .  his love of God . ..  his service of God through the Church . . .  his love of the Sacraments . . .  all these things live on in me and I carry them with me not only in my life as a priest but my everyday life.  Bishop Mote taught me how to be a better Christian and how to love God.  This is certainly what God calls all of us to do:  to lead others closer to God by not only what we say but also by how we live our life.

NOTE:  If you look at Bishop Mote's marker at his gave, you will quickly notice that it simply says, "Anglican Catholic," and not "Bishop."  Bishop Mote was humble and a true servant.  Even in death, it says nothing about being a bishop . ..  simply that he was an "Anglican Catholic."