Seventh Sunday after Trinity, July 31st, 2022

 Seventh Sunday after Trinity, July 31st, 2022

If there is one thing which is lacking in the day and age in which we live, if you would ask me, it is compassion.  Why do we lack compassion?  What is the reason?  Maybe we are so wrapped up in our own lives that we don't have time to worry about someone else.  Perhaps we like to see others going through trouble because it takes our mind off of our own troubles.  Perhaps we are so busy and so involved with everything that we have to do that we do not have time to worry about anyone else and their problems.  

In the Eighth chapter of the Gospel of St. Mark, we begin this chapter by listening to St. Mark recount how Our Blessed Saviour fed the four thousand.  Now, remember that back in the end of Chapter Six of this very same Gospel, we hear about the feeding of the Five thousand.  In my humble opinion, the most wonderful thing about this incredible miracle is actually not the miracle itself . . .  although feeding four thousand people with a few fish and a few pieces of bread is simply amazing.  No, what I always like to point out is what leads to this miracle.  After seeing the vast crowd gathered around Him, Our Lord says:  "I have compassion on the multitude."  In order to have compassion, you first have to take notice of someone's need.  In other words, we have a God Who is not distant.  We have a God Who is not far away.  We have a God Who takes the time to notice how we feel.  We have a God Who actually cares about His people.  Our Blessed Saviour was concerned that those who traveled from a distance would be in need of food.  

I know that all of us can think of someone in our life who cares for us . . .  whether it is a relative, or a neighbor, or a close friend, or a coworker.  We all have someone in our life that takes the time to notice when we are down.  Or that one person in our life who does simple things to show how much they care.  Perhaps they call you for no other reason just to see how you are doing.  Or they are the person you can always depend on in time of need . . . . when everybody else has given every excuse under the sun for not being there for you.  For those people that are always there for you, don't you feel like you would also like to be there for them as well?  That's how it should be for God.  God is always there for us.  Even when everyone else turns their back on us, God is always there waiting for our return to Him.  God is always faithful to us . . . . despite the fact that we are not always so faithful to Him all the time.  We should always remember the wonderful things that God has done for us.  In this, though, sometimes we are forgetful.  We forget everything that God has done for us because we get so fixated on the things of the world that grab our attention.  

Make a point to improve your memory, at least, in regards to the wonderful things that God has done for you in your life.  Never forget the faithfulness of God.  Yes, God is faithful to you when it is us that should be faithful to Him.  Never forget that.

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.

Sixth Sunday after Trinity, July 24th, 2022

 Sixth Sunday after Trinity, July 24th, 2022

In the Sixth Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, we hear the following:  " . . .  Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him   . . . " (Romans 6:3 ff)  I would imagine that just about all of us have been in the position at one point  or another in our life where we had the feeling that we had hit "rock bottom."  Perhaps it came when we had lost a job unexpectedly.  Maybe it came about when we struggled with a difficult project that fell apart and had to start all over again.  Maybe it had involved health issues or the death of a family member or a close friend.  Nonetheless, whatever circumstances we can think of, I am sure that most of us have had the feeling at one point or another that our world came crashing in on us.  I know I have felt that way a time or two in my life.  I have found myself struggling with some issue and everything seems to go wrong all at once and I feel like the whole world is crashing in on top of my head.  But then afterwards I moved forward and the world brightened.  In other words, I had to go through the darkest hours in order to finally see the light of dawn ahead of me.   And then everything seemed to improve and things got better and better and better . . .  . . Sometimes, as I say, we have to hit rock bottom in order to move forward.  Sometimes by struggling and going through the darkness, we are able to get stronger and learn from our difficulties.  We become strong through our struggles, it would seem.  We learn from our mistakes . . . . or at least we should learn from our mistakes.  When I look back on my life, I realize now that it was the struggles that made me a stronger human being.  It was the times when things seemed the worse, that I was able to move forward and grow stronger.   Although we may not want to admit it, it seems like the best "teacher" is to learn from our mistakes.

This is what we are also hearing from today's passage from the Epistle to the Romans, that through death to sin we are able to live again with Christ.  It is through dying to self that we can live with Christ.  It is through dying that we can live.  We must never forget that Christ did not experience Easter Morning without first carrying His Cross to the hill at Calvary.  The same is true for us.  We can not truly live in Christ until we have died to our sinful ways.  And for most of us, this is painful whether we want to admit it or not.  As human beings, we want things our way.  We want people to do things the way we want them to be done.  We want to be comfortable.  We desire our wants and we want them right now.  We focus on our own needs and desires and forget about what God wants for us.  Most of us, quite frankly, only go running to God when we need Him for something.  Other than that, we go our own way in life.  But sin is a barrier that keeps us away from God.  Sin is like a brick wall that we keep running into time and time and time again.  We have to remove the brick wall of sin in order not to run into it again.  And once we do this.  Once we die to our sinful selves.  Once we do all we can to get rid of the sinful desires in our life, it allows us to focus more and more on God and less and less on ourselves.

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.

Fifth Sunday after Trinity, July 17th, 2022

 Fifth Sunday after Trinity, July 17th, 2022

In St. Luke's Gospel at today's Mass, we hear the story of the beginning of the association between Our Blessed Saviour and St. Peter.  As was very often the case, the crowds were pressing against Our Blessed Lord so much and He could not make Himself heard.  We hear the following:  ". .  . . He stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two ships . .  . : "  (St. Luke 5:1)  And as a result, Our Lord got into St. Peter's boat so that He could preach to the multitude that had gathered to hear Him speak by Lake Gennesaret.  Now the rest of this passage obviously focuses mainly on Our Lord directing St. Peter to throw the nets out and ended up hauling in a miraculous load of fish when he could catch nothing by himself.  But the one thing that really caught my attention in reading and rereading this Gospel passage was the fact that there were two ships, St. Luke tells us.  But then if there were two ships, why did Our Lord choose the one that St. Peter owned and not the other ship?   The fact of the matter is that God chooses each one of us for specific tasks because each one of us has particular skills and talents.  One person might be good at teaching while someone else is good at preaching.  Or it might be the case that someone is good at fixing things while another person is skilled in music.  The bottom line is that each one of us might not be talented in one area but very skilled in something totally different.  Again, I can not help but focus on the fact that there were two ships in today's Gospel passage and Our Lord picked one but not the other.  Maybe I am making too big of a deal out of this fact, but in my mind, it does point out that Our Lord does pick us.  He chooses us.  He singles us out and calls each one of us.  The key, though, is that we need to respond accordingly.  We have to say "yes" when we are called.  We may not understand why Our Lord has chosen us.  Look at today's passage, St. Peter did not understand Our Lord's instruction to cast the net out when he had been working so hard all night and caught nothing.  And yet he did it anyway.  Our Lady most certainly did not understand when she was told that she would be pregnant with child and yet her response was "Let it be done to me according to your word!"  She said yes despite the fact that she did not understand . . . .  St. Peter said yes despite the fact he could not understand how it would be possible.  This is the definition of faith.  God chooses us.  We respond. And sometimes we may not even understand how it will take place . . . . or why it will take place . . . . or why in the world that God would choose me . . . but we respond to God's call and move forward.   This is faith!

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.

Fourth Sunday after Trinity, July 10th, 2022

 Fourth Sunday after Trinity, July 10th, 2022

Being a Christian is not an easy job by any stretch of the imagination.  Come to think of it, being a human being is not an easy thing either.  Having to make decisions that affect your own life.  Having to make decisions that affect others . . . . for example, if you are a parent or the owner of a company.  Having to do things that you would prefer not to do but have to be done . . .  cutting the grass comes to mind or paying bills.  Having to juggle various roles all at the same time . . .   going to work . . . taking care of your home . . .  being a parent . . .  being a child . . . . paying bills . . . doing chores . . .  etc. The point being is that life is busy . . . at least it is for me . . . and life is full of difficulties and challenges . . .  again, at least it is for me.  But as I look around on social media and in the news and listening to people's conversations, it seems that people must have a whole lot of free time that they don't know what to do with.  It used to be that if you held a different belief than me, I might not have agreed with you but it amounted to nothing more than that:  a difference of opinion.  Period.  End of story.  I might not like your choice or I might not like your belief but on the other hand you might not be too fond of my choices or beliefs either.  But we just left it at that.  And, more importantly, we left it alone.  You had your belief.  I had my belief. Period.  Today, people get into all kinds of arguments and criticisms of one another if they do not agree and support the other person one hundred and twenty percent.

In St. Luke's Gospel, Our Lord said:  " BE ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful."  (St. Luke 6:36)  But then He goes on to say in the following verse:  "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned; forgive, and ye shall be forgiven."   (v.37)  It is that last part that we should be most concerned with . . . ". .  . forgive, and ye shall be forgiven."   I have long said that we tend to be so focused on the wrong-doing in others lives, if for no other reason, it takes the focus off of our wrong doing.  If I focus on someone else and where they are wrong in their life, it means that I have less time to focus on what is wrong in my own life.    A few verses later, Our Lord states in Verse 41:  "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?"  Why am I so concerned about the speck that I see in my brother's eye when I am totally oblivious to the plank in my own eye?!?  The bottom line is this:  Don't be too quick to criticize someone else because your backyard probably needs a little sprucing up as well.  You don't have to be in complete agreement with someone in order to be civil and loving to that person.  Our Lord stated that we need to "love one another"  He did not say that we need to "agree with one another."  And finally,  show a little mercy and compassion to those around you.  Do not be so quick to condemn someone who does not agree with you.  That person may not agree with you either on other subjects.  The bottom line is that each one of us needs to be concerned if we agree with God.   I should be LESS concerned about making MY own voice heard  . . . and be MORE concerned about making GOD'S voice heard in my life and the way in which I treat others around me.

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.

Third Sunday after Trinity, July 3rd, 2022

 Third Sunday after Trinity, July 3rd, 2022

I am sure that you have lost something or misplaced something that you were looking for and you can not find it.  Or you organize things or do a good cleaning and afterwards you suddenly do not know where something is that you need.  If this happens, what do you do?  Of course, you search high and low until you find what you are looking for.  I can only speak for myself but not being able to find something that you are looking for is one of the most frustrating things in life.  We search for things that we need.  We search for things that are important to us.  We search for things that we need to find.  We place time and effort into searching for something that we either need or is important to us.  If we didn't need it  . . .  or if it was of no importance . . . .  we wouldn't care about the lost/missing item.  In the Fifteenth Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, we hear Our Lord speaking to the publicans and sinners.   But as He is speaking, St. Luke lets us know that the Pharisees and scribes started talking among themselves that Our Lord "receiveth sinners, and eateth with them." (St. Luke 15:2)  Our Lord noticed their objection that they were making and responded by telling a parable.  In the parable, He spoke about the example of the man who searched for the lost sheep and the woman who lost the one piece of silver.  In the case of the man with the lost sheep, Our Lord pointed out that the man still had the Ninety-Nine sheep but he was worried about the one lost sheep; and the woman still had Nine pieces of silver, but she was concerned about the one missing piece that she could not account for.  After much searching for  the lost piece of silver, Our Lord stated the woman's words: "Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost." (St. Luke 15:9)  God sent His only Son into the world because we were lost.  We are lost without God.  God searches for us, hoping that we will return to Him.  If we were not important to Him, He would not have sent His Son into the world to redeem us with His Precious Blood.   Keep in mind we only search for things that are valuable to us; important to us.  We have value to God and this is why He goes to great lengths to find us.  Conversely, the reason why so many people throughout the world do not search for God is because other things (money; power; possessions; booze; drugs; etc.) are what is important to those people.  We only search for things that we need or are dear to us.  Make a point to search for God.  Make a point to remind yourself that God is the most important person in your life.  Make a point to find Him.  There is nothing more important than God in our life.

Take time out of your busy schedule to spend time with God.  Dedicate one hour to be with Him.  We dedicate time out of every day to:  sleeping; eating; working; relaxation.  Let us take one hour out of a busy week and dedicate it solely to God.  Join us for Mass as we hear the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Join us as we worship Our Blessed Saviour as God's family in traditional worship.  Join us as we receive the Precious Body and Blood at Communion time so that we can be nourished and sustained for the week ahead.

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.