Rogation Sunday, May 17th, 2020

Rogation Sunday, May 17th, 2020

St. James tells us:  ".BE ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." (St. James 1:22)   For a Christian, this sounds like pretty good advice:  " . . . . be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only . . . ."  But this Epistle of St. James has caused some controversy over the years for some Christian thinkers such as Martin Luther, for example.  These thinkers contended that St. James was proposing that we can earn our way into Heaven by what we do.   Now, without a doubt, there have been various individuals over the centuries who have tried to "buy their way" into Heaven.   But I contend what we hear from this verse ".  . . . be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only . .  ."  is just good old  fashioned common sense, if you ask me.  I say this because, sadly, each one of us can think of a person who is "nothing but mouth."  In other words, we probably each know someone who talks about being a Christian but they  do not particularly live as a Christian.  There are a lot of people who could explain the Christian faith and they could go on and on and on about it, but the really important question is:  Can they live the Christian faith and not just talk about it?  "Be ye doers of the word . . . ."  I think this is probably one of the biggest reasons why Our Blessed Lord came to earth as a human being, so that we could see Him in action.  Sure, God could have just simply spoken to us about being a Christian and left it at that.  But Our Lord chose to become a human being so that He could show us how it is to actually live as a Christian.  While Our Lord was with us He worked; He ate;  He traveled; He conversed and spoke and preached;  . . .  etc.  Our Blessed Saviour not only taught about God by His words but He lived His life for His Heavenly Father.  Our Lord was a wonderful teacher and taught the faith wonderfully . . . . but He backed up His teaching by the way in which He lived His life.  This is what we are called to do:  Live our life for God.  Do what God wants us to do.   None of us are perfect and we will make mistakes.  God already realizes this.  This is why He sent His Son into the world.  We are called to live our life for God and the evidence is shown in the way in which we life our life; in the ways in which we treat others;  in what we do for one another:    " . . . .  be ye doers of the word  . . . . ."

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, May 17th, 2020.

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

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

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