Corpus Christi (Transferred), June 23rd, 2019

Solemnity of Corpus Christi (Transferred), June 23rd, 2019

Now once upon a time we were informed that there were some puppies which needed homes.  Since we didn't have a dog at the time, my wife immediately stated that we should get one.  I asked how much is this puppy going to cost us?  To which the reply came:  "Oh, don't worry about that.  It's free!  No cost for the puppy."   Famous last words.  As soon as we brought the "free" puppy home the costs began adding up:  puppy chow; puppy toys; puppy collars and leashes.  Don't forget the puppy treats.  Trust me, we can't forget those.  Oh, and the trips to the Vet to get the puppy shots.  Then as the puppy grew into a dog . . . .. really, he grew into a small horse, but that's a different issue altogether . . . .  the costs continued.  Once he got bigger we then had to have a fence installed around the backyard so that the small horse . . . . I mean, dog can run around.  Pounds and pounds of dog food.  Pounds and pounds of treats.  Trips back and forth to the vet.  Well, you get the idea.  Our "free" dog has now cost us thousands of dollars.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love our small horse . . .  I mean dog.  He brings a lot of joy and love to our home.   My point is that some things aren't what they seem.  In my opinion, there ain't no such thing as a "free puppy."  

In the Sixth Chapter of the Gospel of St. John, we hear Our Blessed Lord speaking to the people.  He was telling them about the bread which came down from Heaven when their fathers ate manna in the desert.   And Our Blessed Saviour made the point that the manna which Moses gave the people was not the true bread from Heaven, "but My Father giveth you the true bread from Heaven."  (St. John 6: 32)  Of course, the people asked for the true bread sent down from Heaven and asked how they could receive it.  Our Lord replied:  "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst."  (v. 35)  Now there were many there that did not believe the words Our Lord had just spoken to them.  Even St. John makes mention of this fact.  He writes that there were many Jews which could not understand what Our Lord was saying in regards to Him being the "bread which came down from Heaven." (v. 41)  "And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?  How is it then that He saith, I came down from Heaven?" (v. 42)  To these Jews, to them this merely was Joseph and Mary's son.   This was Jesus, the lowly carpenter from Nazareth.  From all outward appearances this was just an ordinary man.   In other words, they were merely looking at Jesus with their human sight.  They were seeing Our Lord with their human eyes and hearing what He said with their human ears.  But remember so often things are not what they seem.  Our Lord Who appeared before these vast crowds came to the world with no army.  He had no rank nor was He born with any title of privilege.  He had no earthly kingdom.  To those who saw Him through their own human eyes, He was just an ordinary man, as they stated  the son of Joseph and Mary, whom they knew.  But this man was far from ordinary.  He was the Son of God sent to save us from our sins.  Not only that, He freely chooses to give of His own body and blood to nourish us, to sustain us, to feed us:  "My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him."  (St. John 6:55-56)   To outward appearances it appears as though we are merely receiving a small host and drinking a little bit of wine.  But Our Lord stated:  "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst." (St. John 6:35)  Our Lord is the One Who nourishes us and feeds us.  He is the One Who gives of Himself so that we might live.  This is how much He loves us.  "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger . . . . "

Join us 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 join together as God's family and worship Our Heavenly Father.  Join us as we come to the altar to be fed the Precious Body and Blood at Communion time.  And, finally, please stay after Mass for some fellowship at our coffee hour.

St. Margaret Anglican Church 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.

Trinity Sunday, June 16th, 2019

Today the Church celebrates Trinity Sunday, the liturgical day in which we celebrate God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.  God in Three Persons.  Surely this is a concept that none of us will be able to fully understand or to fully grasp with our "tiny" human minds.  I cannot help but think about St. Augustine of Hippo.  You see, St. Augustine . . .  one of the greatest Doctors of the Church . . . .  even had difficulty with this subject.  One of his greatest books, "About the Holy Trinity," took him thirty years to write.  Imagine that.  Such a brilliant mind and even with that it took him thirty years to write his book concerning the Holy Trinity.   The story comes up that while St. Augustine was writing this volume, he took a walk along the sea shore.  And as he walked along the beach he saw a young boy running back and forth from the ocean to a small hole in the sand.  And he was carrying the water in a sea shell.  As St. Augustine watched, he saw the boy fill up the sea shell with water and then he would run over to the hole in the beach and pour the water in the hole.  After St. Augustine watched the boy repeat this action over and over again, he could not resist asking the boy exactly what he was doing.  The boy responded to St. Augustine that he was putting all the water of the ocean in to this hole on the beach.  St. Augustine stated to the boy, "That is impossible, child.  You can not put an entire ocean into that tiny hole.  The ocean is so great and immense that it will not fit into this hole."  To this, the child responded:  "It is no more impossible than what you are trying to do - trying to comprehend the concept of the Holy Trinity with your small intellect."  With that the child vanished from his sight.  It has been said that this vision which St. Augustine had an angel had appeared to him or even the Christ Child Himself had appeared to St. Augustine.  In either event, the point is the same.  How can we ponder something so great with our human intellect?  

In regards to spiritual things or matters of faith, we can certainly do our best to explain things, to understand things.  This is what theologians do.  The great Doctors of the Church . . .  such as St. Augustine . . .  they ponder the great mysteries of faith.  But for the rest of us, our faith is best understood in our heart.  Our faith is best lived in our daily lives.   For as St. Paul writes that "we walk by faith and not by sight." (II Corinthians 5:7)   As long as we are trying to "comprehend" and "understand" mysteries about God, here's another question which is certainly unsolvable:  why does God love me?   And an even greater mystery:  The same God who knows everything about me . . .  my sins . . . my faults . . .  my failures . . .  still loved me enough to send His only begotten Son into the world to save me from my sins.  Why would God do this?  Why would God love me that much to send His only begotten Son into the world to save me from my sins?  And yet I know He did.  I know through faith that Our Blessed Saviour carried His Cross to that Hill at Calvary to save me from my sins.  With my human intellect I most certainly will never be able to fully comprehend how there are Three Persons but One God.  And I will never be able to fully comprehend why God chose to send His Son into the world to save me from my sins.  But I know these things to be true in my heart through faith.  

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.

Devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

JMJ

Devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

June is the month dedicated to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.  It is good for us to reflect on this fact because too often the world has forgotten . . . . or shall we say more accurately, it has neglected  . . .  its' devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Indeed, it is fitting that we picture Our Lord with the Sacred Heart showing.  When we see the Sacred Heart portrayed in pictures, do we not think of the immense love which Our Blessed Saviour has for us?  In popular culture, do we not equate our "heart" with "love?"  Everyone has certainly heard the quote, for example:  "Home is where the heart is," have we not?  On St. Valentine's Day do we not exchange cards decorated with images of hearts and give heart-shaped boxes of candy and heart-shaped balloons to those whom we love?  Do not those in love say to their intended:  "I give you my heart" . . .  "You are in my heart" . . . . Do we not respond to the question, "How much do you love me?" with the response, "I love you with all my heart!"  So, in this light, it would seem completely acceptable to think about how much Our Blessed Saviour loves us and picturing His Most Sacred Heart in the process.

When Our Lord was giving His famous Sermon on the Mount, part of what He chose to speak about was the fact that those here on earth spend so much time and effort trying to obtain worldly possessions.  Our Lord stated:  "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal." (St. Matthew 6:19)  Are we any different from those to whom Our Lord was speaking to some two-thousand years ago?  Do we not lay up treasures here on earth for ourselves?  We have to have the latest styles and fads when it comes to clothing so that we do not appear "different" from everyone else.  We have to have the latest electronics.   Do not people practically run to the store when the latest version of the I-phone arrives or the latest version whatever phone brand we prefer.  Do we not see images on the nightly news of people lining up to buy the hottest video game when it is released to the public?  Do we anticipate the biggest block-buster movies from Hollywood and line up to purchase our tickets as soon as the movie is released?  Do we not fixate on whatever we desire until we get it?  And then before you know it we begin fixating on the next worldly treasure which society tells us we just have to have.  Our Blessed Lord indeed knows the heart of man when He stated:  "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."  (St. Matthew 6:21)   Whether it be earthly treasures . . . . fancy phones . . .  latest styles of shoes or clothing . . .  drugs or drink .  . . .  riches  . . .  money . . .  Do we not hold these things close to our heart?   Whatever we treasure on earth, we will also keep these things in our heart.

 In the Old Testament we read:  "As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man."  (Proverbs 27:19)  What this proverb means from Scripture is simply that just as we can see what we look like if we see our reflection in the water or see our reflection in a mirror, so too will the man be reflected by what he holds dear in his heart.   If this is true of us human beings, what can be said about the Most Sacred Heart of Our Blessed Savior?  Pope Leo XIII stated:  "There is in the Sacred Heart the symbol and express image of the infinite love of Jesus Christ which moves us to love in return."  The infinite love of Jesus Christ!   What an image, indeed!    . . .  the express image of the infinite love of Jesus Christ . . .  

If we consider for just a moment the portraits or paintings we have seen concerning the Sacred Heart of Jesus, many of these portraits show Our Blessed Lord presenting His Heart to us  . . .  His Sacred Heart.   Do we not say that we give our heart to the one we love?  So is it so hard to believe that Our Blessed Saviour would be of similar mind when it comes to sentiment of heart?   Without a doubt, Our Blessed Lord does give us His love.  Our Blessed Lord does give us His Heart .  .  . .  His Most Sacred Heart.  "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you  . . . . " (I St. Peter 3:15)  We should always keep God in our hearts if He is indeed a treasure to us.  If we treasure something we possess, we do not hesitate to tell others of our love, do we?  Proud parents are quick to tell of their beautiful child and their child's accomplishments, for example.   Those who enjoy a particular hobby are happy to talk about their hobby with anyone who shows interest.  So, too, should we follow the advice of St. Peter and explain the hope which is in our heart.  We should explain to the world that our hearts belong to Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, Who first gave His Heart to us, His Most Sacred Heart!

St. Mary Margaret Alacoque stated:  "Consider often that it is only the humble of heart that can enter into the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, and converse with Him,  Love Him and be loved by Him."   Let us always do our best to stay close to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  The world does what it can to lure us away from God.  The world distracts us.  The world grabs our attention.  The world tries its' best to find its' way into hearts.  And, sadly, for many in the world today, the world does just that.  Let us never stray for Our Lord's Most Sacred Heart.  It is there that His love radiates toward the entire world.

Pentecost, commonly called Whitsunday, June 9th, 2019

Pentecost, commonly called Whitsunday, Sunday, June 9th, 2019

One of my duties working with youth includes leading a weekly Substance Abuse group.  In this group we discuss reasons and causes for Substance Abuse in our society.   We discuss why people choose to abuse drugs in our society.  So often it would seem that the root cause in partaking of illegal substances comes from wanting something . . . .  seeking something . . .  searching for something.  Some youth take drugs because they want to fit in with a certain crowd.  Their friends are doing it, so they do it too in order to fit in.  Some youth do it for the image, quite frankly.  They don't want to appear weak .. .  or scared . . .  they don't want to appear like "nerds."   Others we know are simply seeking for relief.  They need something that will help the pains of life go away.   Whether it be the death of a loved one or dear friend.  Whether it be the pain of dealing with tragedy.   Perhaps it is the pain of feeling different and the feeling as though they are the only ones going through their struggle in life.  For whatever reason, if we dig deeper into the life of each person we find that people who use drugs are looking for relief, . . . they are looking for comfort.  Quite frankly, I would dare say that people in general are looking for relief and comfort in any number of ways.  Eating . . .  Drinking . . .  Buying expensive things for ourselves . . .  Buying the latest fashions and name-brands so that we can "fit in."  Aren't all of these examples of seeking comfort?  Aren't all of these ways in which we perhaps look to relieve the stress of daily living?  As such, all of us are searching for ways to be comforted in our own way.  

In the Fourteenth Chapter of St. John's Gospel, we hear Our Blessed Lord make the following promise:  "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. "  (St John 14:18)   Time and time again, we mistakenly seek the comforts of what the world has to offer.  Time and time again, we try to find comfort and relief and healing in material things . .  . . .  whether they be drugs, drink, money, material possessions.   And time and time again we find ourselves relieved for a brief time . . .  .  only to find the return of our pain, our sorrow, our hurt.   It is an endless cycle that we sometimes get caught in when we run to these material things, hoping that they will give us relief from whatever we are seeking relief from, only to find that these things never do heal our pains and sorrows.  Rather, they just hide them.   They just mask them.  They divert our minds away from whatever grieves us, whatever hurts us, for only a brief time.   But Our Blessed Lord stated that He will give us comfort.  Not only will He come to us, He also stated that He will send the Holy Ghost to be with us.  Oh, if we would but run to Our Blessed Saviour in times of trouble instead of running to the local pusher.  Oh, if we would seek for the Holy Ghost like we seek for the bottle.   We seek for our troubled hearts to be contented.  We seek for peace in our troubled lives.   But as we stated above, any "peace," any "comfort" given by worldly things is, at best, temporary.   Our Lord is the One Who gives true peace.  Our Lord is the One who gives lasting relief from our pain:  "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (St. John 14:27)  Seek Him Who promises to never leave us.  Seek Him Who promises to give us the true comfort we desire.  Seek Him Who can give true peace to our troubled hearts.  

Join us 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 join together as God's family and worship Our Heavenly Father.  Join us as we come to the altar to be fed the Precious Body and Blood at Communion time.  And, finally, please stay after Mass for some fellowship at our coffee hour.

St. Margaret Anglican Church 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.

The Sunday after Ascension Day, June 2nd, 2019

In the Fourth Chapter of the First Epistle of St. Peter, we hear the following:  "As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another . . ."  (v. 10)  Without a doubt, we can not give anything to others which we ourselves do not possess.     If someone comes up to me and asks me very sincerely:  "I would really like to learn how to speak Polish fluently.  Would you please teach me how to speak Polish?"  Of course, I would have to refuse this request for the simple reason that I have never been taught how to speak Polish myself.  I can not give that which I do not possess.  I may not be fluent in Polish.  I may not have a fancy mansion.   I do not own millions in my bank account.   There's lots of things which I do not possess.  Therefore I can not give those things which I do not have.  And yet St. Peter makes a valid point.  St. Peter speaks truthfully to each and every one of us.  Every single one of us has a gift.  Each and every one of us possesses a special gift . ..  a talent . . . a skill which is unique to us alone.   God has given to each one of us blessings throughout our lifetime.  Do we recognize those blessings that God has given to us or do we take those blessings for granted?  And even if we recognize the blessings bestowed upon us, are we selfish and keep them to ourselves?  Or do we share our blessings with others around us?   As I like to say, God leads by example.  He never asks us to do anything which He Himself is not willing to do.  Our God is a giving God.  He is a generous God.  He gave to the world His Only Begotten Son.   And the Son of God became the Lamb of God Who took upon Himself our sins.  He carried our sins to the Hill at Calvary to hang there.  He took our place on that Cross and paid the price for us.  No matter who we are.  No matter how rich or how poor we are in the eyes of the world.  No matter what our station in life is.  Each and every one of us can never say that God has not blessed us.  The blessings are all around us.  It would seem that as human beings we have the habit on focusing on our troubles instead of focusing on our blessings.  Sometimes we focus so much on the burdens of life that we completely forget about the blessings.  But if we make a point to look for them, we will find the blessings which the Good Lord has provided for us.  And once we do, we should do our best to go out and share our blessings with those around us.  

On Sunday, June 2nd, 2019, please make a point to join St. Margaret Church as we welcome Fr. Francis Dominic from Topeka, Kansas.  Fr. Francis will join us for Mass and will preach to us.  God will bless all of us as we listen to the words God has given Fr. Francis for us to hear.

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.