All Saints Day, November 1st, 2020

 

All Saints Day, November 1st, 2020

Let's face it, in the secular society in which we are all a part of, Halloween has become a staple of life this time of year.  I remember reading an article stating that money spent on Halloween related items . . . . whether it be costumes, or candy, or decorations, etc. . . .  . has sky-rocketed to Number Two right behind Christmas.  What does this have to do with the feast of All Saints, you are probably asking.  Well, our secular version of Halloween sprung up out of "All Hallows Eve," in other words, the day before All Saints Day, November 1st.  And the only reason we are pointing out this fact is to ask the question:  how many people in our secular society know anything about All Saints Day and yet they all know about Halloween?     Halloween comes and goes.  And yet each one of us is called to be a saint.  A saint, you see, is someone who has given their life to God. A saint is someone who has dedicated his or her life to God.  A saint is someone who,  despite all the struggles in this earthly life, has said to themselves, to God, and to the world that God is "Number One" in their life.  In that sense, the saints are a role model to all dedicated, committed Christians throughout the world.  And this is why the Church celebrates the feast of All Saints every November 1st:   to celebrate those who have fought the battle and have won the prize!  Of course, that prize is eternal companionship with God in Heaven. 

It is sad that many people do not care about becoming saints, quite frankly, because in their own mind they do not consider themselves to be "worthy" of becoming a saint!  They look at the other examples of the saints:  St. Peter; St. Paul; Our Blessed Mother; St. Augustine; St. Monica; St. Gemma; etc., etc.  These people look at the lives of the saints and they see extraordinary people doing extraordinary things.  And they quietly tell themselves that they could never be like that; they could never be holy like that; they could never do extraordinary things like the saints have done.  Thus, we defeat ourselves even before we begin and we never even try.  if would only stop to remember that we are the "ordinary" and God is the "extra."  And when you put the two together, that is how we get the "extraordinary!"  That may seem very simple, but quite frankly, it is as simple as that:  the saints are ordinary people just like you or me but with the help of God, they became extraordinary in their faith.  They were willing, they were committed  . . . . and God provided the rest.  

Dedicate your life to God.  Stay committed to becoming a saint.  Make God the top priority in you

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, November 1st, 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!

The Feast of Christ the King, October 25th, 2020

 

The Reign of Christ (Christ the King)

October 25th, 2020

The Book of Common Prayer sets aside the last Sunday in October to celebrate the Feast of Christ the King.  This is a good time to celebrate this Feast day, it would seem to me, because it falls right before our election time here in the United States.  As such, during this time we are bombarded with all kinds of commercials, . .  . . advertisements,  . . . . announcements,  . . . . news stories,  . . . . all related to the upcoming election and which candidate we are going to support with our vote.  Every candidate spends his / her time begging for your support.  In the weeks leading up to an election, as I say, we are bombarded with non-stop political advertisements.  They all are intended to convince you to give your precious vote to their candidate.  They want you to endorse them through your vote.    I would imagine that most politicians start out as being genuine in regards to their intentions.  They truly want to help people.  But as time goes on and candidates are involved in politics over a long period of time, it seems that most of them become self-serving and/or more interested in serving their political party, the special interest lobbyists, or their donor's.  These types of politicians get in the mindset that they rule over the people.  They forget that they are actually the servants of the people.  They get used to all the applause and the accolades and the fancy titles.  They get used to making important speeches and voting for laws that affect everyone else.  In so doing, they run the risk of forgetting whom they serve.  They serve the people.  Not the other way around.  

Our Blessed Lord never forgot Who He was.  He never forgot the reason for His coming to earth.  He spent His time on earth healing those in need of God's healing touch.  He spent His time teaching and preaching about the love of God.  He did not spend His time on earth in royal palaces in the presence of servants and attendants.  No, Our Blessed Saviour spent His time on earth being the servant of all.  He spent His time in the presence of common folk, and laborers, and even in the presence of sinners.  He used every opportunity He had to tell the world of His Heavenly Father.  His was not an earthly crown which He desired.  It was not an earthly throne which He sought after.  After all, Our Lord said to Pilate:  "My kingdom is not of this world." (St. John 18:35)  Additionally Our Lord would state leading up to this encounter:  "My time is not yet come." (St. John 7:8)  The "altar" Our Lord sought was the altar of the Cross.  It was there where He wished to be placed in order that He would save us from our sins.  Our Lord came to serve.  Even hanging from the Cross, lifeless and dying, He continued to serve.  He came to save fallen man.  This was His mission.  And we are called to follow His example.  We are called to learn from Him.  We are called to imitate Him through serving our brothers and sisters and telling the world about Our Heavenly Father.  

The Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist, October 18th, 2020

"The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few . . . " (St. Luke 10:2)  These are the words of Our Blessed Lord recorded in the Tenth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke.  I was in a store about a week ago or so and the person behind the counter was all by himself and I could see that he was doing every thing himself:  help customers; answering the phones; putting things on the shelves; etc.  I could tell by his reactions that he truly was overwhelmed.  I could just see in his expression his question:  "Where is my help?!? I need some help!!!!"  I would imagine just about all of us feel that way at our jobs.  Things get busy and we get overwhelmed by everything that needs to be accomplished and we begin to question, "where is everyone?!?  I need some help!!!  NOW!!!"    "The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few . . . "  So too when it comes to doing the work of God.  Sometimes it seems as though we are the only ones doing what needs to be done.  Sometimes we begin to wonder where everyone is at in regards to doing the work of God.  Hey!  Where is everybody?!?!   I could use some help here.  Thanks.  And on top of that it can seem like such a thankless job at times.   When you try to be a faithful Christian in the world of ours, you run the risk of:  getting criticized . . . .  getting laughed at . .  . made fun of . . .  mocked . . . . scorned . . .  belittled . . . . overwhelmed . . . . The list goes on and on.  And yet we have comfort in knowing that Our Blessed Lord does not ask us to do anything that He did not do Himself.  Our Blessed Saviour also endured all these things and more.   Have you ever had a boss or supervisor who asked you to do something, expected you to do something, but that same supervisor refused to do that job themselves.  Contrast that with a boss or supervisor who led by example and was not afraid to get in there and also do the job they are asking you to do.  This is Our Blessed Lord.  Yes, the work is hard.  Yes, the work is difficult.  But Christ Himself calls us to do what He Himself did.  And the thing that amazes me is that Christ does not NEED our help.  Rather, He DESIRES our help.  In other words, Our Blessed Lord asks us for our help.  He asks us for our assistance.  Thus, it is up to us.  We are the ones who have to decide and the power, so to speak, is in our hands.  Yes, the harvest is truly great, as we are reminded in St. Luke's Gospel.  God is calling us to assist Him.  It is up to each one of us to decide if we will take on the responsibility or not.  It is up to each one of us to answer the call.  It is up to each one of us to do the work.  Will we be one of the few who answer the call????  It is up to you.

************************ 

The Uncaught Captive

 I heard a wonderful poem recited by Bishop Sheen on a television program originally aired in the early to mid 1970's, I am sure.  Bishop Sheen never stated the name of the poem nor did he state who wrote the words.  But doing a search the poem seems to be attributed to an English poet named Elizabeth Cheney, born 1859.    I am unsure of the title of the poem.  I call it "The Uncaught Captive" because these are the two words which caught my attention the most when I heard Bishop Sheen recite this lovely poem.  

    
"I slipped His fingers, I escaped His feet,
     I ran and hid, for Him I feared to meet.
     One day I passed Him, fettered on a Tree,
     He turned His Head, and looked, and beckoned me.

    "Neither by speed, nor strength could He prevail.
     Each hand and foot was pinioned by a nail.
     He could not run or clasp me if He tried,
     But with His eye, He bade me reach His side.

    "For pity's sake, thought I, I'll set you free.
     'Nay -- hold this cross,' He said, 'and follow me.
     This yoke is easy, this burden light,
     Not hard or grievous if you wear it tight.'

    "So did I follow Him Who could not move,
     An uncaught captive in the hands of Love."