Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist, April 25th, 2021

 

Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist, April 25th, 2021

Have you ever received a gift and for whatever reason you just never used it?  You appreciated the thought and you were grateful for receiving the gift but for whatever reason you just never used it.  Whether it be a sweater or a shirt that got hung up in the closet or something else that got put up on the shelf gathering dust.  St. Paul speaks of receiving grace as a gift from Our Blessed Saviour:  "UNTO every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. "  (Ephesians 4:7)  St. Paul makes the point that each and everyone of us is given grace.  And each one of us is given various gifts which we are called to use.  St. Paul goes on to list the different types of offices within the Church:  "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ" (Ephesisans 4:11-12)  In other words, we are all offered grace by God as a free gift and we are all called to use our gifts for the edification of others for the glory of God.  But, sadly, just like those sweaters which are received and never used and hang in a closet gathering dust, so many people never make use of the gifts given to them by God.   Make a point to make use of the gifts given to you by God.  Use these gifts for the benefit of those around you for the glory of God.  Each one of us has our own unique skill and talent.  We are called to make use of these God-given gifts and not let them go to waste.  We all have something to offer.  The question is will we make use of our gifts or simply put them to waste?

LEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, April 25th, 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! 

Second Sunday after Easter, April 18th, 2021

 Second Sunday after Easter, April 18th, 2021

In the Tenth Chapter of St. John's Gospel we hear Our Blessed Saviour making the claim that He is the Good Shepherd.  And in making this claim it seems to me that He makes two main points about being the "Good Shepherd."  First and foremost, He says that "I lay down my life for the sheep." (St. John 10:15)   Now, we know that this is literrally true because Our Blessed Saviour did indeed lay down His life for you and me by dying on the Cross so that our sins could be forgiven.  The second main point that Our Blessed Lord makes in reference to being the "Good Shepherd" is "knowing."  During this conversation Our Blessed Lord states that He knows His sheep and they know Him.  How true this is and it is a good reminder to all of us.  You see, we need to know God on a personal level.  We need to know God through having a relationship with Him.  We need to not only know what God desires for our life but we need to know what God would have us do with our lives . . . . how we serve Him . . . . How we serve our brothers and sisters .. . . how we conduct ourselves on a daily basis.  You see, yes, God gives us freedom to live our life but to live as Christians, we need to know God first and foremost.  In order to live a Godly life we must know and serve God!  So many of us don't live "Godly lives."  We live "ME lives."  In other words, we live our lives satisfying ME!  We live our lives only worrying about ME!  We pick and choose our friends based on what what they can do for ME!  We do things based on whether or not it is convenient for ME!  If we want to say that we know Our Master's voice we must spend time with Him . . .  live with Him . . .  study Him . . . . speak with Him . . . In other words, have a relationship with Him.  And then we will recognize His voice when He speaks to us.  We will understand what He wants for our lives.  We will understand what He would have us do.

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, April 18th, 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! 

Easter Sunday, April 4th, 2021

 Easter Sunday, April 4th, 2021

In the Sixteenth Chapter of St. Mark's Gospel we read the following:  "WHEN the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the Mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him"  (St. Mark 16:1)  But they would soon be surprised to find that the stone had been rolled away.  And this scared them, quite frankly.  They were scared because they had not expected this.  They were scared because they did not know what was going on.  They were confused and  out of their confusion came fear.  They were afraid that someone had done something to the Lord's body or had taken Him away.  But soon an angel appeared to them and told them not to be afraid.  He told them that the Lord had risen from the dead.  And yet even after speaking with the angel and even after being told that the Lord had risen from the dead, St. Mark tells us that they were still afraid.  Human beings get scared.  Whether we want to admit it or not, we get scared.  We especially get scared of the unknown.  We are afraid when we face something new . . . . a new job . . . . moving to a new neighborhood . ..  . going to a new school . . . . We are afraid of the unknown.  This past year has presented most of us with all sorts of opportunities to face the unknown:  businesses being closed; people losing their job; people getting sick; losing a loved one; unable to pay your bills or your rent; etc.  Life is scary, sometimes, when we do not know what is coming.  And yet we know that when we are afraid we should stand with Christ.  We know that when fear is overwhelming us, it is the Cross that we should stand close by.   Stay close to the Cross of Christ.  Stand close to Our Blessed Saviour.  We know that Our Blessed Saviour assured us that He will never abandon us.  Our Lord said "I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."  (St. Matthew 28:20)  

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, April 4th, 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!