Quinquagesima, or the Sunday next before Lent, February 27th, 2022

 Quinquagesima, or the Sunday next before Lent, 

February 27th, 2022

I don't know much about construction or building projects, but it seems pretty self-evident that a building is in need of a strong foundation if it is going to remain standing.  Without a proper foundation, no matter how nice the rest of the building looks it will ultimately collapse.  In the Thirteenth Chapter of his First Epistle written to the Corinthians, St. Paul emphasizes what should be the foundation of our Christian Faith:  Love.  St. Paul writes:  " . . . and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing" (I Corinthians 13:2)  Going back to the example of our building, the foundation is what gives it support.  It doesn't ultimatley matter how pretty the building looks, without a good foundation it will ultimatley fall apart, won't it?  This is the point St. Paul is making to the Corinthians . . .  and to us reading his words two-thousand years later . . . . that no matter what we do in life we also need a "base," if you will.  And this base is "love."  As Christians, St. Paul is reminding us that we need to have love as the "foundation" for everything we do: whether it be speaking to others, preaching, giving to charity, reacting to those around us, etc.  All of these have to have a "foundation of love" or else the acts which we do will be nothing.  They will mean nothing.   Our Blessed Lord did everything with love as His foundation.  "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son . . . " (St. John 3:16)   The problem is that it is very difficult for us to love at times.  It is difficult to show love to those people who are not lovable, so to speak.  And yet we know this is exactly what Our Lord did on a daily basis.  To be loving will not always be easy.  To show love will not always be easy.  To remember to be loving will be difficult at times.  But, as Christians, we are called to make the effort.  We are called to do our utmost.  We are called to keep trying as best as we can.  During this upcoming season of Lent, let us focus on showing love to God.  In so doing, I am sure that we will soon see that the love we show to God will spill over to showing love to those around us.  And in the world in which we live today, it could definitely use some more love and less hate. 

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE:  Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.  

Please Join us as we gather together as God's family to:  hear the Word of God; listen as God speaks to each one of us in our hearts; worship God in song and in word; listen to the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer; and, finally, receive Our Blessed Lord in Holy Communion so that we can be nourished for the journey we call life.  Take one hour out of your busy schedule to worship God, to honour God, to acknowledge the need for God in your life. 

Sexagesima, or the Second Sunday before Lent, February 20th, 2022

 Sexagesima, or the Second Sunday before Lent, 

February 20th, 2022

In the eighth chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, we hear Our Blessed Saviour tell the Parable of the Sower.  And in this parable, Our Lord tells the story of the sower who goes out to sow the seed:  some seed fell along the way; some seed fell on rocky soil; some seed fell on good soil; etc.  Our Lord, when He is finished telling the parable, describes what the parable means to the disciples.  In the parable there are different types of people represented:  those that hear the Word; those that do not hear the Word; those who pay attention for a time and then fall away; etc.  This reminds me of the many types of people we will encounter in our lifetime.  Some people we encounter are just that:  people we encounter.  Nothing more, nothing less.   While others become friends due to common interests or similarities.  Out of these, some friends become life-long friends, and others (through moving away; or getting another job; or going to another school; etc.) move on and we lose contact with.  

There are a variety of people in our life, and many of these people, I am convinced that God has placed them in our life to inspire us, to strengthen us, to encourage us, to be with us.  Obviously, many of these people placed in our life are related to us by blood:  our parents; our grandparents; aunts; uncles; cousins; etc.  Other people such as a spouse or  good friends, for example, God may have placed them in our lives to give us support along the way.  Each one of us can point out special people in our lives who have supported us or inspired us along the way.  I, for my part, can certainly point toward my parents; my grandparents; wonderful, inspiring priests who have blessed me with the Sacraments; I can point to wonderful friends who have been there for me.  Each one of these people, I am convinced that God has placed those special people in my life to encourage me along the way.  These people have touched my life.  They have played a part in forming the person I have become.  Certainly, as a priest, I can point towards many wonderful members of churches I have served who have been a wonderful inspiration to me.  God places special people in our life to assist us and to inspire us.  Let us always remember the fact that for others around us, we may be the one that inspires those around us.  You may be the special person that God has placed in that person's life to inspire him or her.  Let us always remember to inspire others to greatness.  Let us always remember that for the dedicated, committed Christian, we have the potential to be the "Face of Christ" in the world.  Let us never forget that God uses us as His instruments in this world to let others know about Him.

St. Margaret Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE:  Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.  

Please Join us as we gather together as God's family to:  hear the Word of God; listen as God speaks to each one of us in our hearts; worship God in song and in word; listen to the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer; and, finally, receive Our Blessed Lord in Holy Communion so that we can be nourished for the journey we call life.  Take one hour out of your busy schedule to worship God, to honour God, to acknowledge the need for God in your life.

Septuagesima, or the Third Sunday before Lent, February 13th, 2022

 Septuagesima, or the Third Sunday before Lent, 

February 13th, 2022

Have you ever had the experience of buying a product and before you knew it, the thing you bought proved to be no good.  Maybe it broke down.  Maybe it stopped working.  Maybe it wore out.  And you were disappointed because you spent your hard-earned money on such a piece of garbage.  Some things last longer than others but the bottom line is that everything we buy either breaks, or wears out, or goes out of style, or loses its' usefulness, etc.  In St. Paul's first Epistle written to the Corinthians, St. Paul emphasizes that Christians need to place their emphasis on obtaining a Heavenly crown which will never wear out, . . .  will never break,  . . . will never expire.  So often in life as human beings we get so wound up, so fixated on obtaining worldly things which ultimately will not last.   "Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible" (I Corinthians 9:25)  St. Paul is encouraging us to remember that we should put our efforts into obtaining the Heavenly Crown of eternal life offered to us by God.  And we do this by saying "Yes" to God.  We do this by doing God's will in our life.  We do this by living for God and not for the world.  

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE:  Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.  

Please Join us as we gather together as God's family to:  hear the Word of God; listen as God speaks to each one of us in our hearts; worship God in song and in word; listen to the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer; and, finally, receive Our Blessed Lord in Holy Communion so that we can be nourished for the journey we call life.  Take one hour out of your busy schedule to worship God, to honour God, to acknowledge the need for God in your life.

Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, February 6th, 2022

 Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, February 6th, 2022

" Let both grow together until the harvest"  (St. Matthew, Chapter 13)

In this Thirteenth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew, we read about the time in which Our Blessed Saviour told the parable of the man who planted the harvest of wheat in his field.  And yet Our Lord tells us that after the wheat had been planted, the man's "enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way" (St. Matthew 13:25)   When it was discovered that the tares were growing together with the wheat, the servants asked the man if they should go and gather up all the tares which were growing with the wheat.  The man responded that if they did that they would also tear up the wheat that was growing there as well.  Wait until harvest time, said the man to his servants, and both will be gathered up: the tares will be taken to burn and the wheat will be taken into the barn.

Many people wonder why bad things happen in life along with the good things which happen in life.  Man has been asking this question since the world was created, I am quite sure.  Obviously, God does not wish bad things upon His children.  But at the same time, we know that life is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination.  Bad things will happen in life, unfortunately.  Just like the tares and the wheat grew together in the parable which Our Lord told, so too will good things and bad things happen during our lifetime.  As Christians, we are called to make a choice between good and bad.  God has granted His children a certain sense of freedom to choose in life.  Similar to the parable, the enemy will plant bad things in our life as well.  As a result, in our lifetime we will experience good things and we will experience bad things as well.  How will we respond to the bad things in life?  Will we give up or give in?  Will we learn from our bad experiences and grow stronger as a result?  The key is to always have God close by no matter what.  Stay close to the Cross of Christ and always do everything with Our Blessed Saiour in mind!  

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

NOTE:  Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.  

Please Join us as we gather together as God's family to:  hear the Word of God; listen as God speaks to each one of us in our hearts; worship God in song and in word; listen to the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer; and, finally, receive Our Blessed Lord in Holy Communion so that we can be nourished for the journey we call life.  Take one hour out of your busy schedule to worship God, to honour God, to acknowledge the need for God in your life.