Third Sunday after Epiphany, January 24th, 2021

 Third Sunday after Epiphany, January 24th, 2021

My mother was a quiet, reserved woman but when she asked me to do something . ..  . I did it.  And sometimes . . . . but very rarely . . .   I would ask her why I would have to do something and her response was "Because I said so."   Married men, I would dare say, do what their wives tell them to do because as the old saying goes:  "Happy wife, Happy life."  But think about all the things we do on a daily basis because someone asks us to do it.  We go to work and our boss or supervisor tells us to do a job or a task that needs to be done right away.  What do we do?  Well, if we want to keep our job we drop what we are doing and do what the boss says.  If someone we know is in trouble or needs assistance and they ask for our help, what do we do?  Again, if we are in the position to help, by all means we drop what we are doing and assist them in their need.  Our children ask us for something, we help them.  Our neighbor asks for our help, we help them.  When you think about it, we even do what the television tells us to do.  In other words, a commercial comes on TV telling us to go get this product or that product.  And what do we do?  We go out and buy it.  The bottom line is that throughout our life we have the experience of people telling us what to do and we do it.   

In the Second Chapter of the Gospel of St. John we read about when Our Blessed Saviour went to the wedding feast at Cana.  And we know how this plays out, don't we?  Our Blessed Lord along with His mother  and the disciples went to the wedding feast at Cana and the couple ran out of wine.  Now, this would be very embarrassing for anyone hosting a party to run out of something.  But back then it would have been very devastating for the young couple to run out of wine at their wedding feast.  As a result, St. Mary sprang into action, so to speak.  She took the best course of action that she could think of.  She took the problem to her Son and asked Him for His help.   At first Our Blessed Lord questioned what running out of wine has to do with Him.  But Our Lady did not hesitate.  St John tells us:  "His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it."  (St John 2:5)   Let these words sink in because the importance of these words is beyond measure.    These words of our Blessed Mother are the greatest advice we could ever receive:  "Whatever He tells you, do it."  We do all kinds of things that the world tells us to do.  We do all kinds of things that our friends tell us to do.  We do all kinds of things that the media tells us to do.  But how often do we do what God tells us to do?  Part of the problem is that we don't hear what God is telling us to do.  That is usually because we are not listening to God as we are too busy listening to the world.  "Do whatever He tells you."  If a sports celebrity, or a famous entertainer, or a politician tells us to do something, how many of us would fall over each other trying to do it.  But when God tells us to do something, do we rush to get it done?  Our Lady knew to take this problem to her Son because she was so sure He was the perfect person to help.  She knew this because she had faith in her heart and confidence in her Son.  We also need to have faith in our heart and confidence in Our Blessed Saivour.  We need to make a point to listen to Him and tune out the world so that we can hear Him better.  It is at that point when we are listening to Him . . . . and hearing what He has to say to each one of us . . . . . . it is then that we can "do whatever He tells us."

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, January 24th, 2021.

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!