Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, January 29th, 2023

 Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, January 29th, 2023

In the Eighth Chapter of St. Matthew, we read the words of true faithfulness.  We read the words of absolute belief.  We read the words of utmost confidence in the Almighty.  For as we read through this Eighth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, we hear the story of Our Blessed Saviour meeting the centurion when He entered Capernaum.  The centurion approached Our Lord and asked Him to heal the centurion's servant who was ill.  And when Our Lord stated that He would go and heal the servant we hear the following:   "The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. " (St. Matthew 8:8)  The centurion did not have to see the answer to his request.  The centurion did not have to witness the healing first in order to believe.  He already believed.  He already had faith.  He knew without a shadow of a doubt that what Our Lord promised would come true.  He believed.  So often in life we have good reason not to believe.  People let us down.  Whether they be family, friends or loved ones.  We get discouraged when lying politicians say one thing during the campaign season and do something completely different when they get elected.  We can each come up with our own examples.  But do we trust God?   Do we completely trust Our Blessed Saviour?  I hope that we are like the centurion and have absolute faith in God.  People will disappoint us so often.  God will never disappoint.  Human beings will fail.  God will never fail.  

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 Epiphany, January 22nd, 2023

 Third Sunday after Epiphany, January 22nd, 2023

When reading the Good Book, I have to admit that I prefer the King James Version.  But oftentimes I will look at other translations to compare and contrast.  In the Epistle to the Romans (King James Version), St. Paul writes:  "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:21)    But look at what the New Living Translation version of this same verse states:  "Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good."  Either way you look at it, St. Paul could give the very same advice to us living today:  Don't give in to evil.  Don't let evil win over you.  Don't let evil win.  So often in the world in which we live, we just immediately give in to our emotions.  We get mad at what someone says or does and we end up doing exactly the same thing as what we are getting mad about.  If someone calls us a name, what do we do?  We do the same thing.  We call them a name.  If we find out someone is spreading gossip about us, what do we do?  We indulge in the gossip too.  And in the modern, technological age in which we live, treating others badly is oh so easy to do, wouldn't you agree?  If someone says something nasty about us, we can write a nasty post and put it on social media.  This way the whole world can see you getting back at the person, right?   The problem is that it never ends there, does it?  The other person responds and other people may get involved too and it goes from there.  But this is the point which St. Paul is making.  He is acknowledging that there is evil in the world.  He is not denying that people are going to do bad things at times to slander you, hurt you, make you feel bad.  And without a doubt feeling hurt and abused is never easy.  But St. Paul also wants us to remember that we are Christians.  And Christians are called to act differently from how the world acts.  Christians are called to be different.  Christians are called to be Christ-like as hard as that may be at times.  "Don't let evil conquer you," St Paul wrote.  Satan wants us to confront evil with evil.  He wants us to reply to hatred with more hatred.  Satan wants to see us fight with one another.  Who do you think is stirring the pot when it comes to confrontations we get into?  But St. Paul is reminding us to be Christ-like, as difficult as they may be.  "Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good."  

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. 

Second Sunday after Epiphany, January 15th, 2023

 Second Sunday after Epiphany, January 15th, 2023

The Gospel for the Mass from the Second Sunday after Epiphany comes to us from the very beginning of St. Mark's Gospel.  And it makes sense that St. Mark writes here at the beginning of his Gospel by speaking about St. John the Baptist.  We hear:  "Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee." (St. Mark 1:1)   St. Mark is quoting this verse from the Old Testament book of Malachi  to describe St. John the Baptist:  "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me . . . ." (Malachi 3:1)  It is entirely appropriate that St. Mark would use this Scripture verse in reference to St. John the Baptist.  St. John did in fact prepare the way by preaching and speaking and telling about the Messiah Who was to come after him.  Very often, in our own life, it is through the introduction of other people that we get introduced to our friends.  Perhaps it is through a friend of a friend; or a cousin of a coworker; or a business acquaintance; etc.  The point being that we end up having a friendship with someone through being introduced to him or her by someone else.  And, if not for this introduction, we would most certainly have never met that person.  St. John the Baptist did just this:  he introduced countless souls to Our Blessed Saviour.  He did, in fact, prepare the way of the Lord through his preparation of preaching and baptizing and preaching.  Each of  us should follow the example of St. John the Baptist by preparing the way for the Lord.  We do this by introducing others around us to Jesus.  How do we introduce others to Our Blessed Saviour?  We do this in various ways:  speaking about our relationship with God; talking about what we read in Scripture; inviting others to come to church with us; acting with love towards others; and even praying for others that God will bless them.  There are many wonderful ways to prepare the way before Our Lord.  This reminds me of one of my all-time favorite quotations.  St. Francis said:  "Preach at all times, and sometimes even use words!"

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.

First Sunday after Epiphany, January 8th, 2023

 First Sunday after the Epiphany, January 8th, 2023

As we celebrate the First Sunday after Epiphany, we turn to St. Luke's Gospel (St. Luke 2:42 ff) to hear the story of the finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple:  ". . . . they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him."  You see, the Holy Family was traveling to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover.  And when they had stayed there the days that were required, as St. Luke reminds us, they left to go back home.  While they were traveling, they discovered that the Child Jesus was not with them.  I am sure that just about all parents have experienced at the very least a small bit of anxiety when they find out that their child is not where he or she is supposed to be.  Whether it is during a trip to the mall or the local grocery store, etc., we turn around and little Johnnie or Susie is not behind us.  And we panic just long enough to discover our child over in the candy aisle.  Anyway, in that light, we can imagine the panic that came over Our Lady and St. Joseph when they discovered, much to their horror that the Child Jesus was not in their company.

Truth be known, we normally do not begin to look for something until we discover that the item is missing.  For example, when we are trying to leave the house to go to work or to an appointment and then suddenly we discover that the car keys are not where we thought we left them.  And then we panic because we don't want to be late and we need to find the car keys.  Any item that you can think of . . . . the remote control,  .   . . . the shirt that you wanted to wear . . ..  even the "missing" mate to a sock that you have just taken out of the dryer . . . . where, oh, where did it go?!?!?  Obviously, we don't search for things or items until we know that we are in need of them and suddenly realize that we don't know where the item is.  e.g., the lost car keys.  And only then do we make a point to go search for them.  I would contend that this is how it is in regards to our search for Jesus.  So many people do NOT search Him out because they do not know that they are missing Him.  This is because their minds are caught up in the things of the world:  their material possessions; their money; their pleasures; their food; their drink; etc.  They are too busy concerning themselves with the cares of the world that they don't have time to "search out" Jesus.  We do not make a point to search for something until we realize it is missing or realize that we need it.  Let each of us make the point to realize our need for Jesus and then search for Him until we find Him and never let Him go.

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.