First Sunday after Christmas Day, December 29th, 2019

First Sunday after Christmas Day, December 29th, 2019

As I have said before . . . . but I will continue to say it because it is so true . . . . it is extremely difficult for us to know what it was like for the first Apostles and those in the early Church.  This is because we ourselves know how the story ends, so to speak.  We have the benefit of knowing about all of these events and miracles and happenings for some two-thousand years now.   That being said, it is difficult for us to understand completely the emotions  . . .  fear . . .  anxiety . . .  anxiousness . . .  confusion . . . . it is hard for us to walk in their shoes and know exactly what was going through their mind.  But try we must because in so doing the faithfulness of these early figures in the life of Our Blessed Saviour shows through wonderfully.  St Joseph is one person who comes to mind.  It benefits us to learn from the example of St. Joseph because his faithfulness is indeed legendary.  In essence, God chose St. Joseph and Our Lady to be the earthly parents of the Son of God.  Imagine the privilege  . . . . the responsibility  . . . . the heavy burden  . .   .  which they both willingly undertook.   Now keep in mind I said that they undertook.  I did not say that they understood how all of these events took place or were going to take place.  Both St. Joseph and Our Lady clearly did not understand why any of these events were happening.  They did not understand how they were to take place.  They did not even know why in the world were they chosen by the Almighty.  And yet despite all of these reasons, they still chose to say "Yes" to God.  

Let us look specifically at St. Joseph.  First, prior to the angel explaining all of these things, he still wanted to do the right thing so that Mary would not be hurt.  Again, it is difficult for us to imagine what it was like for St. Joseph because we have the benefit of knowing what is going to happen and yet for St. Joseph, he did not have that benefit.  With him he saw that his intended bride was pregnant.  And as a result he was trying to figure out who the father was because he knew it was not him.  He could not understand why Mary would do this, first of all.  Second, now that he found out, now he wanted to know what was going to happen next?  "Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily"  (St. Matthew 1:19)   In other words, despite his confusion, his hurt, his not understanding why Mary would do this to him, etc.  Despite all of these emotions, he still did not want Mary to be hurt.  This shows St. Joseph was a good man to begin with.  Are there times we are wronged by another person and all we do is think about revenge?   It is certainly not easy to do but God wants us to take the "high road."   St. Joseph took the "high road."  Despite what he knew in his mind  . . .  which he later found out was wrong . . . . he still did not want harm to come to Mary despite what he thought in his head.

The second thing we need to remember about St. Joseph is that he was willing to listen to God.   "But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."  (St. Matthew 1:20-21)  Yes, the angel appeared to him and St. Joseph listened.  But doesn't God speak to all of us?  Doesn't the Good Lord try to communicate with all of us?  God speaks to us when we read the Bible.  God communicates with us when we pray.  God even uses other people to speak to us.  The truth of the matter is that most people are too busy listening to the world.  Most folks are too busy listening to themselves, for that matter.  Most of the world just does what they want to do and they forget about doing what God wants them to do.  St. Joseph had everything figured out, didn't he?  He knew what he was going to do until the angel intervened.  And then St. Joseph stopped what he was planning to do and listened to God and did God's will.  And the rest is history.    

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church worships each and every Sunday at 9:30 AM.  Please take time to join us as we gather together to worship Our Heavenly Father as a family.  We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Fourth Sunday in Advent, December 22nd, 2019

Fourth Sunday in Advent, December 22nd, 2019

In the First Chapter of St. John's Gospel, we hear the encounter between St. John the Baptist and the priests and the Levites from Jerusalem.  You see, these priests and Levites were sent specifically to question St. John the Baptist to find out exactly who he was.  And they began to ask him specific questions as to who he really was.  "Art thou Elias?"  "Art thou that prophet?"  To both these questions he answered "No."  Then they finally asked him, "Well, who art thou?"  It is a profound question when you get right down to it.  "Who are you?"  If someone asks us who are you, we would typically tell that person our name.  Or we were sent by another department at our job we may tell someone what department we are from or that our boss sent us.  But who are we, really?  Going back to the encounter between the priests and Levites with St. John the Baptist, when they finally got to it and asked, "Who art thou," you may notice that he did not answer their question by telling them his name.  He answered their question by describing what he did.  "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness . . . "  We tell the world who we are by what we do and the things we do.  St. John the Baptist was indeed the "voice of one crying in the wilderness."  Everything he did in life was centered on God.  Everything in his life was done in preparation for the Coming of the Messiah. He made God his focal point.  He judged everything according to that.  What is our focal point?  Are we focused mainly on our job or career?  Are we focused on having a relationship with a certain person?  Are we focused on obtaining a certain item that we want for Christmas?  In our modern society, I would dare say that we have many priorities in life.  We have our jobs which we need to do.  We have our homes that we need to take care of.  We have our personal relationships such as our family and loved ones.  But the main focus in our life should always be our relationship with God.  And as long as we make this our main priority, all the other things just mentioned will fall into place.  Similar to St. John, if we make God the top priority in our life, we will soon point others towards God not only by our words but also by our actions.  The way we treat people .. . . we love we show towards others . . . . we will continue to show others how God is working in our life.   So as we are in the final few days before we celebrate Christmas, let us prepare our hearts for the Coming of Christ.   Let us make God the true focal point of our life.  

St. Margaret Church gathers every Sunday morning to hear the Word of God and to worship Our Heavenly Father.  We are a traditional church.  We use the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Mass begins at 9:30 AM.  We celebrate at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Please join us and dedicate an hour of your week to God.  Return home to Him, the God Who waits patiently for your return.

Third Sunday in Advent, December 15th, 2019

Third Sunday in Advent (Gaudete Sunday), December 15th, 2019

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

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

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

We would certainly be honored if you would make a point to come worship with us this week.  Take an hour out of your busy week.  Take an hour and give it to God . . . . Dedicate that hour to God.  Spend that hour listening to the Word of God. Spend that time quietly listening to what God is speaking to you.  We use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  We use the King James Bible.  We receive the Precious Body and Blood of Our Blessed Lord at Communion time.  We gather each and every Sunday morning at 9:30 am.  We worship in the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Second Sunday in Advent, December 8th, 2019

Second Sunday in Advent, December 8th, 2019

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

Did you ever order something or send away for something and the item finally arrived and you open it with great anticipation.  And when you finally open the package and see what you ordered, you soon discover that the item does not match up with what you thought it would be.  You were "under-whelmed," so to speak.  "This is it?!?"   "This is what I've been waiting for?!?"   As we have spoken in the past, the faithful Jews were indeed praying for a Messiah to save them.  They were anticipating the arrival of the Messiah.  They knew that God would save them and they were waiting.  But they had a preconceived notion of what the Messiah would look like.  They expected the Messiah to arrive as a great warrior riding in on a powerful horse, surrounded by a mighty army in support with flags waving and banners raised.  They expected this messiah and his army to wipe out their foes and save them from their misery.    And yet the Lord Himself has said not to base our opinions on outward appearances:  " . . . for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."  (I Samuel :7)  So often we judge solely on "outward appearances," don't we?  And so often we are sorely disappointed, aren't we?  The product we see advertised on television doesn't really match up when we see it in person.   

And yet we know that the Messiah did indeed arrive as promised but Our Saviour arrived as an innocent little baby, born to a common family, born in a lowly manger on a cold winter night  because nobody would take them in otherwise.  In fact, the actual arrival itself was so "low-key" that hardly anyone knew about it at all except for the angels and a few shepherds.  I mean let's be honest here.  In regards to anticipating the arrival of the Messiah, I am sure that none of us would picture the Saviour of the world arriving as a small baby, born to an impoverished family, with nowhere else to stay other than in a place for animals.  But, then again, if we look at a dying man hanging on a cross, if we didn't know any better, we wouldn't picture that as "victory," either.  It would seem more like "defeat" than "victory."  And yet we know through our faith that hope was born in that little manger at Bethlehem and we know that victory truly was earned on that Cross at Calvary.  Sometimes, hope is deceiving to our physical eyes.  Faith is something that we find with the heart and not solely what we see with our eyes.   The important thing for us to always remember as people of faith that we have to look at hope through the eyes of faith if we really want to see how God is working in our lives.  So, use this holy Season of Advent to look at things in a brand new way.  Look at the world with the eyes of faith.

St. Margaret of Scotland  Church worships every Sunday morning at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located on the Northwest side of Indianapolis at 8140 N. Township line Road.  Mass begins at 9:30 AM.  Come join us for traditional worship.  We use the King James Bible along with the Anglican Missal and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  We gather together to join as God's family to listen to His Word and worship Him and receive Him in His Precious Body and Blood.  Please join us for Mass and then stay with us afterward for our delicious Coffee Hour.

Sunday Next Before Advent, November 24th, 2019

Sunday Next Before Advent, November 24th, 2019

We hear the following from the Twenty-Third Chapter of the Book of The Prophet Jeremiah:  "BEHOLD, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth." (Jeremiah 23:5)  "Behold, the days come .  ..  . ."  Yes, the days do come but what do they bring for you?  At this time of year especially the holidays come . . .  Thanksgiving  . . . . Christmas . . . People are getting ready for family gatherings.  People are getting ready for holiday meals.  People are preparing Christmas celebrations.  "Behold, the days come . . . . "   What do the days bring for you?   Most people are preparing for something.  Most people are waiting for something.  Those of us who work, we keep busy preparing reports that are due or projects that we are working on. At this time of year we may be waiting on something.  Perhaps we are awaiting packages which we ordered online in time for Christmas.  Perhaps we are waiting for a time in which we are paid up on our bills.  Maybe we are waiting for our health to improve.  We might be waiting for someone to come visit us.  For the Christian, we are called to wait for Our Blessed Saviour.  The Prophet Jeremiah reminds us that the a "righteous Branch" will raise up.  He reminds us that a "King shall reign and prosper .. ."  Are we waiting?  Are we looking?  Are we keeping watch?  The holy season of Advent will shortly be upon us.   It is meant to remind us to be on the watch.  It is meant to remind us to wait for the coming of the Saviour.  It is meant to focus on preparing for the Lord.  The secular world truly hijacked Christmas.   Instead of focusing on receiving the Christ-Child we now focus on what gifts we are going to receive.  We should focus as much as possible in the upcoming weeks on the true meaning of Advent and truly await the coming of the Lord.  Open your hearts to Him.  Focus on Our Blessed Saviour.   The world tries so hard to grab our attention away from God.   The holy season of Advent is meant to bring that focus back to Christ . . . to focus on Him.   Use the upcoming weeks leading up to Christmas to prepare a place in your hearts for the Divine Infant Jesus.  Will you have room for Him there?

Mass is celebrated in the Chapel of Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the northwest side of Indianapolis.  Join us as we hear the Word of God preached from the King James Version of the Bible.  Listen to the Word of God speaking to you.   Spend time as God's family in solemn worship of God, taking time out of the busy schedule of life and devoting one hour to God.  And receive Our Blessed Lord in His Precious Body and Blood to help sustain us and nourish us for the journey called life.

Feast of St Margaret of Scotland (Transferred), November 17th, 2019

Feast of St. Margaret, Queen and Widow 

(Transferred), November 17th, 2019

Can you think of a time when you were perhaps in school or maybe as an adult and you responded to a question and you thought that you gave the perfect answer but it ended up not being correct at all?  We hear in the the Eighteenth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, a discussion between St. Peter and Our Blessed Saviour in regards to forgiveness.  In asking the question, it seems as though St. Peter was trying to impress Our Lord with his generosity in forgiveness when he asks:  "Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?"  (St. Matthew 18:21)  St. Peter thought he was giving an answer that would surely impress Our Lord but Our Blessed Saviour responded:  "I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."  This prompted Our Lord to immediately tell the parable of the king who was owed an incredible amount of money by one of his servants, who begged for mercy in regards to the debt, and the king had compassion and forgave the enormous debt of the servant.  Our Lord continues the parable by stating that this very same servant who had just been forgiven by the king turned around and refused to forgive another servant who owed him a mere fraction of money compared to what he had just been forgiven for.

I would imagine Our Lord told this parable with great zeal and passion because He saw so much hatred  . . .  so much division . . . so much inhumanity among humanity.  As I write this, it sounds like things haven't changed very much.   We make mistakes and we are forgiven.  We are given a "second chance."  And yet we get up on our "high horse" and hold other people accountable for things that they have done.  I am convinced, without any doubt whatsoever, that we human beings tend to focus on the shortcomings of others so that we do not have to dwell on our own shortcomings .  . . our own failings.  When we stay busy focusing on the sins of others, we don't need to focus on our own sins.  Listen, God sent His Son into the world to save us from our sins.  We all know that.  Sin is what keeps us away from God.  Thus, we are all guilty of committing sin.  We are all guilty of not being perfect.  All of us are in need of God's forgiveness.  We should try as much as possible to remember this when dealing with others around us.  Let us not be like the servant in the parable who received forgiveness of a great debt but this same servant would not forgive the debt of someone else against him.  

On November 17th, St. Margaret Church will celebrate the Feast of our patron saint, St. Margaret of Scotland, Queen and Widow.  Join us as we listen to the Word of God found in the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Come and receive the Most Precious Body and Blood of Our Lord at Communion time.   Afterwards, please join us for refreshments and fellowship at our coffee hour.  

Mass is celebrated each and every Sunday 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.  

Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity, November 10th, 2019

Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity, November 10th, 2019

If you are anything like me, history proves to be a fascinating subject.  I love learning about history.  It was particularly interesting for me recently to see the pictures of my daughter's trip to California where she went to see my grandson, who is in the Marines.  He is stationed in San Diego.   And while she was there they had a big birthday banquet in honor of the Marines.   Part of the celebration had different Marines come out dressed in the Marine's uniform of that particular time period.  My grandson was included in this pageant of various Marine uniforms.  He wore the Civil War era uniform which would have been worn by the Marines at that time.   Anyhow, it's fascinating and very interesting to see the different styles of uniforms and see how they have evolved after two-hundred years or so.  It amazes me how much equipment is worn today by our military.  And yet every thing worn or utilized serves a purpose.  

In Chapter Six of St. Paul's Epistle written to the Ephesians, St. Paul also makes the point of looking at a soldiers uniform.  He wants to point out that every part of the uniform serves a purpose in protecting or adding the soldier.  He wants to show that as Christians we need to be fully protected just like the soldiers uniform is mean to fully protect the soldier.  St. Paul writes "Put on the whole armour of God . .  "  (Ephesians 6:11) and he then goes on the describe all the different parts of the uniform which serve to protect the soldier.  He mentions the belt, the shoes, the shield, the helmet, and the sword.  St. Paul makes mention that we Christians need to fully protect ourselves as well from the enemies attack.  "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."  (Ephesians 6:11)  St. Paul didn't write put on "some" of the armour.  He made a point to stress that we should put on the "whole" armour of God.  I can't help but think that a lot of Christians only put on the armour when they feel like it.  Or perhaps they only put on certain items but not others.  St. Paul correctly points out that evil is out to get us.  St. Peter tells us the same thing, in essence, when he writes:  "Be sober; be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."  (I St. Peter 5:8)  The devil has indeed targeted us.  We need to put on the whole armour of God so that we will be protected from the attacks that are bound to come.   Stay close to God.  Read the Scriptures.  Pray.  Go to church.  Receive the Sacraments.  Use all of the tools which God has provided for us to use.  Fortify yourself.  Nourish yourself.  And always stay close to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  

St. Margaret Church meets each and every Sunday at 9:30 AM at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Join us as we hear the Word of God found in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and the King James Bible.  Come dedicate one hour of your week to God.  Step away from the busy-ness of the world for just one hour and focus totally on God.  Come and worship Him.  Let Him feed you spiritually.   Receive the Precious Body and Blood at Communion time. 

Twentieth Sunday after Trinity, November 3rd, 2019

Twentieth Sunday after Trinity, November 3rd, 2019

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

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

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

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

Please make a point to come visit St. Margaret.  You would be very welcome and Our Lord would certainly appreciate the fact that you took time out of your weekly schedule and set it aside for Him!

St. Margaret Church meets each and every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM.  We worship at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  We use the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Come join us as we listen to God speak to us through His Word.  At Communion time, we receive the Precious Body and Blood of Christ to nourish us and give us strength for our journey called life.

Christ the King, October 27th, 2019

Solemnity of Christ the King, October 27th, 2019

Who is your king?  Whom do you serve?  We all serve someone or some thing, lets face it.  In other words, some person or some thing rules our life to one degree or another.  Those of us who work serve bosses  . . . . we serve supervisors . . .  we serve managers.  Even if we own our own business, . . . business-owners serve customers.  It might not even be a person whom we serve.  What is most important in a person's life?  Is it food?  Drink?  Drugs?  Could it even be possessions such as name-brand shoes or clothing?  Is it an addiction which is the ruler of our life?  How about something electronic such as a video game or even our cell phone?  There are all kinds of things which we serve.  All kinds of things which have taken over our lives.  In that regard they rule our lives . . . they rule our passions . . . . they take up our time and we pay the most attention to them.  Who rules us?  

 Pilate asked Our Blessed Lord some two-thousand years ago:  "Art thou the King of the Jews?"  (St John 18:33)   To which Our Lord asked the question:  " Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? "  In other words, Our Lord asked Pilate if he himself wanted to know or if the Jewish rulers told him this.  Pilate lashed out angrily at Our Lord by saying that the chief priests and the people have brought Him to Pilate.  Thus, Pilate was saying that by their actions they showed that Christ was not their king.  So we come full circle back to each one of us.  Who is our king?  Who rules our life?  If we would find ourselves in the great Judgement Hall facing Pilate and he asked us a very simple question:  "Is Christ your king?"  How would we respond?  What would we say?   It's a very simple question, actually.  All it would require would be a simple "yes" or "no."  But if we say yes, would our actions demonstrate that Christ is our king?  How about the way in which we live our life?  Would it testify to this fact?  Is there any proof that Christ is the King of our heart to back up what we say?  Christ indeed is the Ruler and King.  But each of us must make Him the Ruler and King.  He never forces Himself into your life.  He leaves it up to you.  You must make Him the King of your life.  

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

Blessed Karl I of Austria, October 21st

Blessed Karl I of Austria, October 21st

October 21st is the Feast Day of Blessed Karl I of Austria.

Pictured above is Blessed Karl I and his wife, Princess Zita.  

Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity, October 20th, 2019

Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity, October 20th, 2019

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

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

Take some time out of your busy schedule and join us for Mass.  Take one hour out of your week and dedicate it solely to God.  Come join us as we hear the Word of God spoken to each one of us in the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Join us as take time out to worship Him and also to receive His Most Precious Body and Blood at Communion time.

Mass is celebrated each Sunday morning at 9:30 AM at St. Margaret Anglican Church.  Mass is held at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road.

Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity, October 13th, 2019

Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity, October 13th, 2019

The more things change, the more things stay the same.  Have you ever heard that saying?  It seems this notion is especially true in the world of fashion.  Styles that were really hot way back when come back and people start wearing them all over again.  In Hollywood, they also seem to end up re-making movies and TV shows from long ago.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.   This is definitely true of human beings.  When we read the Fourteenth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke, we see that this is particularly the case.  For it is in this chapter where we hear Our Blessed Saviour tell the story of the man who had to be put back in his place because he assumed he had more importance than he really did.  Our Blessed Lord told this story to show the importance of humility because even back then people were full of themselves.   Our Lord saw how people wanted others to notice how important they were.  They wanted everyone else to see how important they were not only by what they wore . . . but also by the titles they possessed . . .  and where they sat at important events.  Our Lord noticed all this and He made the point to tell the story of a man who assumed that he should sit down at a seat of great honor.   But Our Lord went on to tell how embarrassed this man was when he was told to move out of the way for someone more important than him and go over to a different seat.  

The more things change, the more they stay the same.   Whether it was two-thousand years ago or today, people always think they are more important than they really are.  They want the world to know how important they are.   We want to be known at work.  We want to be important in our community.  We want to be popular.  We want people to love us.  But, unfortunately, someone will always hate us no matter what.  Someone will always be jealous of us.  No matter what we say, we will usually please some folks and irritate others.  As Christians, we are called to please God.  As Christians, we are called to do the will of God.  As Christians, we are called to imitate Christ.  And Christ was humble.  Christ humbled Himself.  "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross."  (Philippians 2:5-8)  " . . . . but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant . . . . . "  Our Lord came to serve.  He humbled Himself.  And He did all of this because of love.  Love for you and for me.  Our Blessed Saviour gives us a difficult task when it comes to humbling ourselves.  And yet Christ never asks us to do anything that He Himself was not willing to do.  Christ humbled Himself.  We are called to do likewise.  

St. Margaret Church meets each and every Sunday morning.  We gather together as a family and worship Our Heavenly Father.  We listen to the Word of God found in the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  We listen to God speaking to each one of us.  And then we come and receive the Precious Body and Blood of Our Blessed Saviour at Communion time.  Please take an hour out of your busy week and dedicate that hour to God.  So often we dedicate our time to ourselves, let us dedicate one hour to God.

St. Margaret Church meets 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.

Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, October 6th, 2019

Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, October 6th, 2019

This week we celebrated the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, which falls annually on October 4th.  Without a doubt, St. Francis loved God and wanted to do His will in life.  Whenever I think of St. Francis I think of his striving to do the will of God.  He wanted to know what God wanted him to do.  This is why St. Francis asked God, "Lord, what would you have me do?"   Certainly, isn't this what every devout, committed Christian should ask God:  "Lord, what would you have me do?"   It usually ends up being the opposite, though, when we pray.  "Lord, I would have you do this for me."  "Lord, will you do this for me?"  We get more caught up in what God can do for us than what we can do for God.  St. Francis had it right when he asked:  "Lord, what would you have me do?"   This is the question all of us should ask on a daily basis. 

 In this day and age in which we live, we get all worked up over what we see on the news . . . what we see in social media .  . . . what our friends are talking about.  We get all worked up over what this politician says . . .  or doesn't say, for that matter.  We get all worked up over what the media says.  We get all flustered over what this bishop is going to say or going to do.  But, truth be known, we would all simplify our lives considerably if we would simply echo the words of St. Francis:  "Lord, what would you have me do?" and then go from there.  "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:2)  St. Paul wanted us to be transformed by God instead of being transformed by the world or conformed to this world.   St. Paul also prayed: "that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." (Ephesians 3:17)    We should all pray this prayer of St. Paul that we would have the fullness of God in us.  Most of us want to be full, alright.   We want to fill ourselves with the "goodies" that this would has to offer.  Whether it be food . . . . or possessions . . .  or riches . . .  or power . . . . or fame . . . .  We want to be filled with the desires of our heart, whatever form that takes.   We want to be satisfied by what we want.  But St. Francis had it right:  "Lord, what would you have me do?"  Fill your mind and your heart with God and there won't be any room in your mind and heart for the things of this world.  

St. Margaret Church meets each and every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM.  We worship at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  We use the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Come join us as we listen to God speak to us through His Word.  At Communion time, we receive the Precious Body and Blood of Christ to nourish us and give us strength for our journey called life.

St. Michael and All Angels

St. Michael and All Angels, September 29th, 2019

September 29th the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels.  In the Epistle appointed for today's Mass, the Twelfth Chapter of the Book of Revelation, we hear about a war in Heaven where St. Michael and the Angels of God defeated Satan and his angels.  "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."  All you have to do is look around the world to see all the evil and you know this is true.  Just turn on the nightly news and you hear about murders and robberies and accidents and killings and you will know this is true.  Just listen to the way in which folks treat one another in  person and on the internet for that matter and you will see this is true.  "Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time."  We know that Satan and his angels do their best  to get our minds away from God.  But that is not what I want to focus on  because we know all about evil and hatred, envy and jealousy.  We know all about killings and violence and people dying in the streets for no reason.  As I said, just turn on the nightly news and you will soon find out about all of these things and more.

What I want to talk about is St.Michael and his legion of angels who fought again Satan and his army.  And yes, St. Michael is pictured as being very mighty.  Typically artists depict St. Michael with either a sword or a great spear ready to do battle.  I would imagine that, yes, St. Michael, and St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael and all the angels of God are indeed very brave and very majestic.  They do the work of God.  They are His servants.  They are His messengers.  But that being said, listen to what Revelation says about Satan and his army being defeated:  "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony;"  No matter how strong the angels of God are.  No matter how fierce and how mighty they truly are, did you hear how they defeated Satan?  " . . . they overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony."   The angels of God put their trust in the Blood of Christ!  They placed their trust in Christ Himself!   How often in this world do we place our trust in ourselves or upon things of this world.  And what happens?  We end up being disappointed.  We end up failing.  We end up losing.  And yet when we place our hope in Our Blessed Saviour we can never go wrong.  Even when things look the worst, when the night is the darkest, it is then that Christ wins the battle.  They thought they had defeated Christ at Calvary and they were so amazed three days later when they found the stone rolled away from the tomb!  They thought that they had defeated Christ but God will never be defeated.

The sin of Satan and the other angels who followed him was the sin of pride, pure and simple.  It was the sin of focusing on what they wanted instead of focusing on what God wants.  We should do our best not to follow Satan's lead.  We should do our best not to get so focused on ourselves that we do not focus on God.  We should always do our best to focus on what God wants instead of solely focusing on what we want.  This was the sin of Satan.  Focus on God.  Focus on doing God's will.  Focus on being a servant of the Almighty.

Mass is celebrated each and every Sunday 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.  Please join us as we listen to the Word of God found in the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.

Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 22nd, 2019

Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 22nd, 2019

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

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

St. Margaret Church meets each and every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM.  We worship at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  We use the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Come join us as we listen to God speak to us through His Word.  At Communion time, we receive the Precious Body and Blood of Christ to nourish us and give us strength for our journey called life. 

Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 15th, 2019

Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 15th, 2019

In the Tenth Chapter of his Gospel, St. Luke tells us about the time when Our Blessed Lord was answering questions.  St. Luke tells us that a certain lawyer asked Our Lord what must we do to inherit eternal life.  Now Our Lord wanted to see what the man would say so He asked the lawyer what does it say in the Law?  To this question the lawyer responded:  "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself." (St. Luke 10:27)  Our Lord was impressed with this answer which the man gave and told him if he does this he will indeed live.  But the lawyer asked a follow-up question.  He asked Our Lord:  "And who is my neighbor?" (St. Luke 10:29)  Now we must understand why the man asked this question because it was actually a very good question for him to ask.  This is because to the Jews a "neighbor" was a fellow Jew.  In other words, a non-Jew would not be considered a neighbor.  This led Our Lord to tell the Parable of the Good Samaritan.  We all know this parable.  This is the parable which tells the story of the man who fell victim to thieves and nobody would help the man.  That is nobody would help him until a Samaritan found the man and helped him.  The Samaritan, Our Lord tells us, had compassion on this poor soul.  He took the man to an inn where the man could receive care and the Samaritan even paid out of his own pocket for the care this man received. 

Our Blessed Saviour told this parable with two ends in mind, in my humble opinion.  First, He wanted to show that a person's neighbor is not based on religion.  In other words, those who were listening to Him based their definition of a neighbor being a Jew.  Our Lord pointed out that it was the Samaritan, a non-Jew, who was the one who truly took mercy and helped his neighbor.  In other words, as faithful, devout, committed Christians should not base our compassion on "externals," whether they be religion . . . . or race . . .  or gender .. .  We could go on and on but the point is that we are called to follow Our Blessed Lord's example.  Our Lord did not limit His compassion.  He spent time with people in all conditions of life.  

The second thing I would dare say which Our Lord was pointing out was that we need to back up our words with actions.  Have you ever met someone who talked a good game but that is basically all they did:  talk?   Actions speak louder than words.  As Christians, it is not enough just to get dressed up and go to church on Sunday.  Yes, we need to go to church on Sunday but we need to live out our beliefs the rest of the week in the way we treat others.  When Our Lord founded the Church, he intended for us to be an active participant.  In other words, we are His instruments in the world.  God uses us as His hands .  .. . . His feet.  Honestly, the vast majority of the people we meet with, interact with and encounter, during the week probably won't be active church members.  The majority of people we come into contact with probably don't go to church . . . . don't read the Bible . . . don't pray . . . . the majority of these people probably don't have time for God.  And it is to these people that you will be the "face of God."  It is through those encounters that you will have the opportunity to tell them about God.  And this you will do not only through your words but also through your actions.  

The neighbors we will encounter will come in all shapes and sizes.  Some will go to church and others won't care about going to church.  God is calling us to be His instrument in the world.  It will be up to us to decide what we will be and who we will be.

St. Margaret Church gathers together every Sunday morning and we would love for you to join us in our weekly worship of Our Heavenly Father.  Mass begins at 9:30 AM.  We celebrate Mass in the Chapel of Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Please choose to take some time out of your busy schedule to spend some quality time with God.

More Than We Either Desire or Deserve . . .

I love to go to Mass.  And as a priest I certainly love to say Mass.  To me the Mass is beautiful.  I wouldn't miss it.  Sundays are not Sundays if I do not begin the day by going to church; hearing the Word of God; and receiving Our Lord's Precious Body and Blood at Communion time.  There is just so much in the Mass to pay attention to because it is just chock-full of meaning.  In other words, every action by the priest has a purpose.  Every prayer whether uttered aloud or said silently means something.  And because there is so much richness of meaning in every single Mass, it is understandable that sometimes we miss out on something very meaningful.  For example, I would imagine that very few people pay attention to the "Collect" near the beginning of Mass.  What is the Collect?   The Collect could be described as the gathering prayer by the priest right before the readings begin.  The Collect directs our intentions for that particular Mass and addresses it to God.

Most people probably focus on the readings appointed for Mass that day.  And this is understandable.  Whether it be one of the Epistles from St. Paul, for example, or the Gospel of the day telling us a story about the life of Our Blessed Lord.  But as I say the other prayers in the Missal are not only beautiful they are very rich in meaning if we would only pay attention to what they say.  A very good example of a Collect rich with meaning would be as follows:

 "ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who art always more ready to hear than we to pray, and art wont to give more than either we desire or deserve; Pour down upon us the abundance of thy mercy; forgiving us those things whereof our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask, but through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord. Amen "  (Collect for the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity)

This Collect really knocked me for a loop, so to speak, when I read it.  In particular, the first part really struck home for me.  "Almighty and everlasting God, Who art always more ready to hear than we to pray, and art wont to give more than either we desire or deserve . . . . "  It would be so easy to gloss over this if you heard it being said at Mass.  But, in my opinion,  we could spend the rest of our life focusing on the reality and truth of what was just said:  God is more ready to listen than we are even to pray in the first place.  And that He is ready to give us even better things than we have ever imagined or dreamed of.  And the fact that He is ready and willing to give to His children when we do not even deserve to be rewarded to begin with.   As I stated, this Collect is so rich with meaning we could spend the rest of our lives pondering these words.  These words speak to the wonderfulness of Our Heavenly Father.  "The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion . . .  " (Psalm 145:8)

Everything that we have, everything that we possess comes from Our Heavenly Father.  Whether it be the life we have been given . . . the air we breathe . .  . the roof over our head  . .  . the food we partake . . . the talents and abilities each of us possess . . .  everything we have has been given to us by Our Heavenly Father.  St. Paul recognized this fact and it was a common theme he presented throughout the Epistles he wrote to the various churches.  For example, in the Fifteenth Chapter of his First Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul writes:  "For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed" (I Corinthians 15:9-11)   Yes, it is true that St. Paul, in this passage, states "I am what I am" but it is so important to remember that he preceded this statement with "But by the grace of God . . . ."  Thus:  "But by the grace of God I am what I am."  (I Corinthians 15:10)  All of us could make this our motto in life.  Who are we if not for God?  What would we have if not for the goodness of Our Heavenly Father?  Who would I be if not for God?  St. Paul is the first to acknowledge all the things he done in life.  For example, he goes on to say " . . . .  but I laboured more abundantly than they all . . .  "  This would sound almost like a boast coming from St. Paul, wouldn't it?  And yet St. Paul always puts his "boasting" into proper context when he continues:  " . . . yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." (I Cor. 15:10)  Again, St. Paul emphasizes that any strength that he possesses or any skill or ability which he can boast of, is due to the grace of God being with him.  As I like to say, each one of us has skills and abilities which only we possess.  And each one of us should use our specific skills and abilities for the glory of God.  But we should imitate St. Paul in acknowledging where these gifts and abilities come from.  "But by the grace of God I am what I am."  (I Cor. 15:10).  We are who we are, yes, but we are who we are by the grace of God.   He has created us.  He has given us life.  He nourishes us and sustains us.  And He loves us.

Again, St. Paul continues on this train of thought when he writes his Second Epistle to the Corinthians.  We hear in the Third Chapter of this Epistle:  ". . .  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 provides.  He is the One Who sustains us.  But we must do our part as well.  We need to be open to God's holy will.  We need to also recognize that God is the One to Whom we owe everything.

 "Blessed be the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again into a lively hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven for you."  (I St. Peter 1:3-4)

God, through His abundant mercy, St Peter tells us, not only has begotten us but has given us hope of everlasting salvation through the efforts of Our Blessed Saviour.  It was through the efforts of Our Blessed Lord taking our place on the Cross at Calvary.  But He not only carried our sins on His shoulders He also rose again on the third day in order to defeat death and afford us with the opportunity to enjoy eternal life with Him.

Our Lord stated plainly:  "I go to prepare a place for you."  (St. John 14:2)  It is there where we will be in the Presence of Our Heavenly Father.  The riches and the glory of this world pale in comparison to the glory of Our Heavenly Father.  Our Lord promises us that He goes to prepare a place for us.  He is doing this because of the love He has for us.  God willing we will all end up there and if we do, please God, it will not because we were deserving to be there.  It will be because Our God is a merciful God.  He is a forgiving God.  He is a loving God.  God loves us so much that He gave His Only Begotten Son to die on the Cross.  Not for His sake,  . . . . He died for our sake.  He died for you and for me.  God gives us more than we could ever dream of . .  . ever imagine.

Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, September 8th, 2019

Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, September 8th, 2019

Have you ever watched the Oscars?  I have not watched the Oscars in years.  Well, it would probably be more accurate to say I have not watched the Oscars in decades but  I digress.   But my reason for bringing this example up is that whenever someone gets up to accept an award they have just won they spend the next ten minutes thanking all the people who made it possible for them to win their award.  They thank the director of the film.  They thank the producer of the film.  They thank the writers and the co-stars and the film crew.  They thank the Academy for voting for them in order to get this award.  In essence, without all these people, they would not have achieved what they have achieved.  This is true for all of us, isn't it?  Whether it be loving parents who have scraped and sacrificed for us.  It might be teachers who helped to mold us and motivate us to do great things.  It might be a supervisor at our job who encourages us and works alongside us to be the best we can be.  All of us can find someone whom we can thank . . . . somebody to acknowledge that person has done incredible things for us and has helped shape us into who we are today.

In the Third Chapter of St. Paul's Second Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul is doing his best to get the Corinthians  . . . . and us too some two-thousand years later . . .. to understand that God is the source for all the blessings in our life.  We read in this chapter:  ". . . . not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;" (II Corinthians 3:5)   To a degree this is part of what St. Paul also discussed in his First Epistle to the Corinthians.  In that letter he emphasizes the fact that all the amazing things he did; all the incredible things he accomplished were first made possible by God:    " . . .  yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." (I Corinthians 15:10).  As Christians we should give credit where credit is due.  Without a doubt this is God.   He is our sufficiency, as St. Paul would say.  He is the One Who sustains us.   He provides for us.  He gives us the knowledge and the know-how to do what we do.  Without Him, what could we do?  Without Him, what could we achieve?  It is through the grace of God that I am saved and have my sins washed away.  It was due to the efforts of Our Blessed Saviour dying on the Cross which achieved this incredible accomplishment.  We should thank God each and every day for all the wonderful blessings in our life.  We should thank Him for loving us.  We should thank Him for making us who we are.  So many of us dwell so much on the negative things in our life that we miss out on the many wonderful blessings we have.  As Christians we should get in the habit of counting our blessings every day.  And once we have acknowledged our blessings we should then get in the habit of thanking God for the many blessings which we enjoy.  

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

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church worships every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, September 1st, 2019

Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, September 1st, 2019

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.

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church worships each and every Sunday at 9:30 AM.  Please take time to join us as we gather together to worship Our Heavenly Father as a family.  We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

The Lost Pictures of Bishop Mote

The Story of the "Lost Photo's" of Bishop Mote

Recently, Mrs. Jean Smith presented to Fr. Todd a group of pictures of Bishop James Mote which had been in her possession for close to twenty years.  These pictures were taken at St. Edward the Confessor Cathedral (ACC) in Indianapolis, Indiana sometime around 2002 or 2003, I would imagine.  But I can not remember the exact year even though I remember being present when these photos were taken.

Mrs. Jean Smith and Mr. Phil Smith were married for over fifty years.  The Smiths had been long-time friends of the Bishop Mote.  They knew each other dating all the way back to when they were even teenagers and were active in church groups in Indianapolis where they had all been born and raised.

After Bishop Mote was ordained to the priesthood, he moved out to assist Fr. Lehman at St. Mary's in Denver, Colorado.  He spent the next fifty or so years there.  After his retirement he moved down to Florida for a time.   In the last years of his life, Bishop Mote moved back to Indianapolis to be close to his family.  This was around the year 2000.  It was at this point that I became familiar with Bishop Mote.  He was a wonderful man.  We spent many wonderful hours together and he would tell many wonderful stories.  Truth be known, Bishop Mote would very often tell the same story over and over and over . .  . . I am sure I had heard most of those stories a thousand times but I would gladly listen to them a thousand more times if I was given the chance.   I could tell so many stories myself about time spent with Bishop Mote but let me get back to these pictures.

I remember that the sister of Phil Smith (I believe the sisters name was Mary) and her son had come up from Florida for a family gathering.  The nephew (I think his name was Mark) was a photographer down in Florida.  So while he was up here they made a point to take pictures of Bishop Mote.  I do not remember the exact reason for the pictures at that particular moment in time.  It could have been his anniversary as a priest or perhaps as a bishop.  I just don't remember.   But I remember showing up at church one afternoon at the tail-end of this photography session.  So I was present when these photo's were taken.

In the years that followed after these pictures were taken, Bishop Mote left us back in 2006.  Phil Smith passed away as well a few years back.  And these pictures were left in a drawer or box among the possessions of Mrs. Jean Smith.  Jean had remembered these pictures and promised when she found them that she would give them to me.  Well, lo and behold, in the year 2019 Jean did stay true to her promise that when she located the photo's she would bring them to me!   And she did!  A wonderful memory of a wonderful man who dedicated his life to serving God and the Church.

Eighth Sunday after Trinity, August 11th, 2019

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

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

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church meets every Sunday at 9:30 AM at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Join us for Mass as we listen to the Word of God found in the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Join us as we hear God speaking to us in His Word.  Our Lord also offers to each one of us His Most Precious Body and Blood at Communion time.  Receive the Precious Body and Blood to strengthen and nourish you for your daily journey.  And afterward, please join us for our Coffee Hour to have some delicious goodies and good fellowship.