Palm Sunday, March 28th, 2021

                                    Palm Sunday, March 28th, 2021

We find ourselves entering into the holiest week of the year . . .  Holy Week . . .  which begins with Palm Sunday.  During Holy Week we witness a vast array of emotions ranging from sorrow and sadness.  We witness rage and anger.  We see both love and hatred coming from the crowds surrounding Our Blessed Saviour.  And additionally before the week is over we are witness to amazement, disbelief and wonder at the rising from the dead of Our Blessed Saviour.  But one emotion we are also witness to is "regret."  In the Twenty-Seventh Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, we read about Judas regretting what he did.  " Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself,  . . . "  St. Matthew tells us that when Judas saw what had transpired he regretted his part in it.  He tried to take back the thirty pieces of silver but the "chief priests and elders" would not take back the payment.  They would not take back the "blood money."   So often we regret our actions after things have gone wrong.  Often we feel bad and apologize after we have been discovered.  Is this what happened to Judas?  What happened to him?  Did he not realize what he was doing?  Did he not realize that he was betraying Our Blessed Saviour?  How about us?  Do  we ever betray Our Lord?  Do we betray Him when we choose worldly possessions over Him?  Do we betray Our Lord when we treat those around us with hatred and scorn?  How often do we betray the Lord?    It is easy to look at the example of Judas and  shake our head because we see how wrong that action was.  But we need to focus on the wrongs that we have done wrong and repent from doing them.   Holy Week is the perfect time to turn things around.  Holy Week teaches us that anything is possible with the help of God.   Holy Week teaches us that even when the odds are against us, as long as God is with us, things will turn out just fine.  Holy Week teaches us that, yes, we will have crosses in our life and, yes, we will sometimes have to carry our own cross but as long as we stay close to the Cross of Christ, we will have victory close at hand.  

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, March 28th, 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! 

Fifth Sunday in Lent, (Passion Sunday), March 21st, 2021

 Fifth Sunday in Lent, Commonly called Passion Sunday, 

March 21st, 2021

When I was a kid I never paid attention to them.  As I grew into a teenager they still were not that important to me.  But when I grew up they suddenly became very important to me.  What am I referring to, you might ask?  The morning weather and traffic reports, of course.   As I am getting ready for work in the mornings I try to listen so that I know what to expect.  Here's the frustrating part, though, if I get busy doing something else I will totally miss the weather report or I will miss the traffic report.  I may literally be right next to the radio but if I am concentrating on something else I will "tune out" the exact thing I am wanting to hear.  I have to make a point to listen sometimes so that I will hear what I need to hear.  I need to concentrate so that I don't focus on something else.  When you think about it, isn't that how it is with God?  God is always there.  God is always around.  God is always with us.  And yet so often people will say that "God seems so far away."  I would dare say that God speaks to us on a daily basis but so often we don't hear what He is saying to us.  Why is this?  Well, we are distracted by other things around us.  Perhaps we are more interested in hearing what other people are saying.  Maybe the racket and the commotion of the world is drowning out our ability to hear what God is saying.   In the Eighth Chapter of St. John's Gospel, we hear Our Lord say:  "He that is of God heareth God's word"  (St. John 8:46)  Just like I was mentioning with the traffic report of the weather report, we have to make a point to listen to God in order to hear Him.  We have to concentrate on what He is saying or else we will get distracted and not hear what He is saying to us.  Listening is a skill.  So often we develop "selective hearing" over time.  In other words, we hear what we want to hear and listen when we want to listen.  With God, we need to make a point to listen to Him all the time because if we don't the world will drown Him out and we won't hear what He is saying to us.  Our Lenten journey is coming to an end shortly.  Let us spend the time we have remaining listening to God and hearing what He has to say.

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, March 21st, 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! 

Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 14th, 2021

 Fourth Sunday in Lent (Laetare Sunday), 

March 14th, 2021

Those who know me are already aware that for my secular job I work for the Department of Corrections as a counselor.  Yet when I meet a person and they find out where I work I can see the look of surprise on their face.  And  they usually have many questions about "life in a prison."  This is because most people would never dream of working in a prison.  Honestly, until I began working for the Department of Corrections, I never would have dreamed of working in a prison either.  Most people understand that you do not want to go to prison, whether that is an an employee or as an inmate.  And yet despite the fact I find myself going in and out of a prison on a daily basis along with my fellow D.O.C. employees.   And as you enter the facility you hear the door close and lock behind you.    Locked in behind closed, locked doors . . .  . fences . . .  barbed wire . . .  .    And some people who are incarcerated do the same thing . . . . they go in and out of prison . . .  in and out of prison.  They do their time and get released and before you know it here they are all over again.  I see some of the kids where I work come back again and it is so sad.  In and out of prison.  In and out of prison.  

And yet in a certain sense, don't all of us do the same thing?  We find ourselves in sinful behavior and we repent and then we go right back to the sinful behavior.  And then the circle starts all over again.  We shake our heads in disbelief at the people who . . . . through their actions .. . . . give up their freedom and go back to prison.  We can't believe why someone would willingly go back to prison.  And yet most of us do the same thing.  We may not go in and out of an actual, physical prison but it's just as bad, if not worse in many ways.  We give up the freedom we find in Christ because we are chained to the sinfulness of the world.   In the Fourth Chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, St. Paul presents us with an analogy between bondage and sinfulness.  St. Paul says that as the children of God we are indeed the "children of promise." (v. 28)  But if this is the case . . . . if we truly are the "children of promise" . . . .  why do we go back to our sinful ways?  Why do we get caught up in the ways of the world?  Why do we "spin our wheels" and never move forward because of our dependency on our addiction to material things here on earth?  Whether it is substance abuse, or alcoholism, or addiction to food, or power or riches or status, etc., etc., etc.  God offers freedom.  Christ has paid our debt of sin when He died on the Cross.  And yet despite our debt being paid we keep turning our back on the freedom that God offers and to back to living in bondage to the sinful ways of the world.  In and out of prison . . .  in and out of prison.  Why do we shake our heads and question why people go in and out of prison when we do the same thing on a daily basis?  We should focus on the fact that we are the children of promise  . . . . we should rejoice in the fact that we are sons and daughters of the Most High . . . . we should glory in the fact that our debt to sinful flesh has been paid by Our Blessed Savior!  With so much to be thankful for, why do we keep going back to our sinful ways?

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, March 14th, 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! 

Third Sunday in Lent, March 7th, 2021

 Third Sunday in Lent, March 7th, 2021

I was leaving the building where I work one afternoon this week and as I left the building I had to literally shield my eyes with my hand so that I could see in front of me.  The sun was so bright compared to how drab and overcast it has been prior to this.  And when it is overcast like that we get used to it.  Our eyes adjust to it, don't they?  And then when the opposite happens, we have to "shield our eyes" from the bright sunshine on a clear day because we aren't used to it.  I would imagine this would also be a good explanation for people who get used to living in a sinful world.  We get used to the crime we hear about on the news.  We get used to the violence we see on TV.  We get used to people treating people with hatred and envy and jealousy.  We get used to doing what the world wants us to do, what the world expects us to do instead of doing what God wants us to do.   But what happens when the bright light hits us? 

Of course, for Christians, Our Blessed Saviour is the light of the world.  He is our light.  He gives light not only to the world but He gives light to our personal journey as well.  As we hear in the Epistle appointed for today's Mass:  "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord . . ."  (Ephesians 5:1 ff)  St. Paul explains that prior to knowing Christ, we were struggling to find our way in the dark.  Similar to how it feels when we are driving in the haze or the fog, we are not quite sure of what is ahead.  But Christ gives light to the darkness of the world.  And when Christ is in us, we shine forth the light of Christ to the world around us.  During this holy season of Lent, hang on to Christ.  Make Him the most important part of your life.  Dedicate your life to Christ and allow Him to bring light into your dark world. 

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, March 7th, 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!