Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist, Sunday, December 27th, 2020

 

                         Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist, 

                        Sunday, December 27th, 2020

Did you ever hear the expression:  "You are like an open book;" or "Your life is like an open book?"  I say to my wife frequently, "I know you like a book."  In other words, when I tell my wife this saying I am telling her that I know her.  I know what she is most likely going to do in a given situation.  I know what she is usually thinking.  I know what she likes and doesn't like.  It means that I know her so well, she is similar to a book that I have read numerous times over and know what the book is about and how it ends.  "I know you like an open book."  On December 27th, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist. The Gospel appointed for this Sunday is the final chapter of the Gospel of St. John . .. . the Twenty-First Chapter . . . . and the end of the Gospel goes as follows:  "I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written."  (St. John 21:25)  Of course, St. John is referring to all the things that Our Blessed Lord did during His life time that were NOT written about.  In other words, his meaning is that if every single thing that Our Blessed Lord did during His life time was written down, there would not be enough room for all the books necessary for such an undertaking.  I suppose that the Evangelist was correct.  You see, there were many things written about in the Bible that Our Lord did during His lifetime:  His preaching and teaching; His miracles; His interactions with people; the places He visited and traveled to; etc.  There are a LOT of things that Our Lord did that we can read about in the Bible.  But what about the ways in which Our Blessed Saviour has affected your life?  How about how He has affected my life?  What about all the ways in which Our Lord has influenced the world in the two-thousand or so years since Our Lord walked the earth?  Each one of us, I suppose, if we sat down and put pen to paper .  . .  . . or fingers to keyboard . . . .  I would say that each one of us could write down an entire book on how Our Blessed Saviour has worked in our lives.  But, of course, we would have to take notice and try to remember all of the details before we could attempt such an undertaking.  A good biographer has to get all the details of a person's life before that person's biography can be written.  Thus, it is good for each one of us to reflect on how God has influenced our life; how He has affected us; how He has guided us; nourished us; strengthened us; sustained us.  How has God influenced your life?  God knows us like an "open book."  He should . . .  He created each one of us.  But the question is, do we know Him?  The only way to be sure of this is to get to know God in a personal way; read Holy Scripture on a daily basis; pray often and frequently; and try to be the person that God wants us to be.

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, December 27th, 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!