Third Sunday after Easter, April 30th, 2023

 Third Sunday after Easter, April 30th, 2023

When you go on a trip, do you ever notice how much time you spend in preparation for the trip by packing?  If you are like me, it seems like you pack half the house to go on a trip.  And even if you are only going to be gone a few days, it's unbelievable how much stuff we pack for those few days: clothing items and shoes . . . . jackets  . . . .  hygiene items  . . . .  The list goes on and on.  Then you spend all that time in preparation making sure you are bringing everything you need.  And then when the trip is done, you have to make sure you don't leave anything behind.  You've heard of people with a fear of spiders or people with a fear of flying?  I think I have a fear of leaving something behind in the motel room.   I will check and recheck to make sure we did not leave anything behind.  It's amazing how much time we spend in packing and preparing for going places.  But truth be known, we don't take anything with us when we die, do we?  I joke around and say that I'm going to take my Elvis record collection with me when I die, but of course that's ridiculous.  We don't take anything with us when we die.   The only thing that we take with us to the grave, it seems to me, is the love that we have in our heart.  When our time comes to an end here on this ol' earth that we call home, the only "thing" we will take with us is the love that we have for God . . .  love for our neighbors . . .  and love for one another.  Other than that, what do we take with us when we die?   Just the love that we have in our heart.  Why do we spend our lifetime accumulating so much stuff?  In comparison, though, how much time do we spend preparing our heart in regards to showing love towards God and our neighbor?

In the Sixteenth Chapter of St. John's Gospel, we hear Our Lord speaking to the disciples about various matters.  One of the things that He tells the disciples is preparing them for when He shall leave.  He says:  "A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father." (St. John 16:16)  Our Lord is preparing the disciples for His departure because He knows that they will be in sorrow and distress at His departure:  But Our Lord states that the sorrow the disciples will feel at His departure will be turned to joy.  "And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." (v. 22)  Again, many things that we have in life can be lost, taken from us, or stolen but the love and joy we have in our heart, nobody can take that from us.  Our Lord's last words in this discourse state:  "I came forth from the Father; and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father." (v. 28)  We can say the same thing, it seems to me.   When we are born, our life is a gift from the Good Lord Himself.   And when we die, we leave the world and return to God.   And when we return, the only thing that we have to show for our journey is how we have lived our life while we were here . . .  how much love we have for one another . . .  and how much love we showed while we were here.  When we travel here on earth, we are careful to pack what we need for the trip.  We should also prepare for our "final trip" by loving one another and showing the love that God has shown us and sharing that love to one another.  

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 Easter, April 23rd, 2023

 Second Sunday after Easter, April 23rd, 2023

In the Gospel for today's Mass, the Second Sunday after Easter, we hear Our Blessed Lord describe Himself as a "good shepherd:"  "JESUS said, I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.." (St. John 10)  Notice that He does not just describe Himself as a "shepherd" but He specifically describes Himself as a "good shepherd."  He tells us the reason why He says this:  " . .  . the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."  Our Lord is indeed the Good Shepherd!  He has in fact laid down His life for His sheep . . .  us!!!

In the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, we hear the following:  "As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day."  (Ezekiel 34:12)

The Good Shepherd has indeed sought for us where we have been scattered.   As sheep are scattered, not paying attention, but are focused solely on eating and filling themselves, not paying attention to anything else.  As human beings, we are similar to the sheep in the regard that  we also have been scattered.  This is because we human beings become focused solely on what we want right then and right now:  wealth; possessions; drink; wine; drugs; power; envy; jealousy; hatred; ourselves and our pleasures . . . .   all these different things have led us down various paths and directions and as a result have been scattered.   But Our Blessed Lord has sought for us.  He has searched for us no matter where our travels have taken us.  And He has laid down His life for us . . .  on the Cross at Calvary!  We just have to respond and give our life to Him!  We  need to give our life to the Good Shepherd.    We were scattered but He sought for us:  "'I will seek out my sheep, and deliver them .  . . ."  Let us also seek for the Good Shepherd as He searches for us!

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 Easter, April 16th, 2023

 

First Sunday after Easter, April 16th, 2023

Have you ever had the experience of starting a project or a job and then you discovered shortly thereafter that you did not have the correct tool or instrument to do the work?  And then you had to stop the project that you were working on until you obtained the correct tool.  In order to do certain tasks, you need certain tools.  In order to accomplish certain jobs, you have to have the correct instrument to finish your task.  Whether it is something as big as needing a stove in order to cook or something as simple as a certain type of a screwdriver to remove a screw.  Whether it is something small or something big, we have to have the right tools to do the job right and correctly.  In the First Epistle of St. John, we hear the following:  "WHATSOEVER is born of God overcometh the world. . . ."  (I St. John 5:4)  In other words, St. John is telling us that in order to overcome the world we need to be "born of God."  He is telling us that we need to have God in our lives if we want to overcome the world.  Sometimes we hear phrases such as "the world is a rat-race" or "it's a dog eat dog world out there."  In many ways, these are accurate descriptions in regards to the world in which we live.  It's a mean world out there with lot's of dangers.  Thus, to overcome the world we need to have the assistance of Our Heavenly Father.  Without Him, we can accomplish nothing.  We need to put our faith and trust in the Creator of the world.  This comes through having a relationship with Him and living for Him.  St. John continues:  "Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God . . ." (I St. John 5:5)  Put your trust in the One that has overcome the world . .. . the One Who has overcome death . . .  the One Who has come to forgive you your sins:  Jesus Christ!

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.

Easter Sunday, April 9th, 2023

 Easter Sunday, April 9th, 2023

As I was growing up I remember Easter being a wonderful holiday with going to church and having dinner with your extended family of grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, etc.  It is certainly still a wonderful holiday without a doubt but to so much of the world it seems like just another day.  How many people in the world don't see the significance and importance of Easter?  To them it is just another day.  No big deal.  Nothing different from any other day.  Or to others it is the day in which you simply give colored eggs and candy and visits from the Easter Rabbit. And yet we know that Easter is so much more than that.  We know that Our Blessed Lord gloriously rose from the dead on that first Easter morn defeating death on our behalf.  Our Lord did all on our behalf.  He died on the Cross to save us from our sins and He rose again from the Tomb in order to save us from death.  By His efforts on our behalf.   He has allowed us to share in eternity in the presence of Our Heavenly Father.  But we need to say yes.  We need to give our life to Christ.  We need to dedicate our life to the One Who dedicated His life for us.  Our Lord gave His life for us.  He became the Sacrificial Lamb and sacrificed His life for us.  Eather represents new life . . . new beginnings . . .  In this light let us dedicate our lives to Christ in a new way.  Let us dedicate our life to our Heavenly Father.  Let us become a new creature in Christ Jesus!

PLEASE NOTE:  ON EASTER SUNDAY, APRIL 9TH, 2023, MASS WILL BE CELEBRATED AT 11:00 AM INSTEAD OF 10:30 AM.  MASS WILL BE CELEBRATED A HALF HOUR LATER ON THIS DAY.

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.  

Palm Sunday, April 2nd, 2023

 Palm Sunday, April 2nd, 2023

I got a job delivering newspapers when I was around 11 or 12 years old and I have been working ever since.  I have worked at a number of jobs and places.  I have done some very interesting things at my job and I have also done very boring things as well.  I am sure you can probably say the same thing about your various jobs throughout your life.  I've also had some very interesting bosses and supervisors    the way.  Some were nice.  Some were not as nice.  Some were supportive and others not so supportive.  Again, I am sure you can say the same.  The best bosses, in my opinion, were the ones who led by example.  The best supervisors were the ones who got down in the trenches with you, so to speak.  They were the ones who were not afraid to do the work right next to you.  These bosses were not afraid to do the work and got right in there and worked alongside of you to get things accomplished.  They led by example.  In a certain way we could say that Our Lord is like that, isn't He?  He chose to come to earth so that He could be among His children.  He chose to be a Man so that He could lead by example and show us the right path.   He chose to walk among HIs children so that He could tell them about the love of the Father.   St. Paul writes that Our Lord "made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."  (Philippians 2:5)  In other words, everything that you go through in life Our Lord has gone through as well.  Our Lord knows your pain.  Our Lord knows your sorrow.  He knows what it is liked to be hated and despised.  He knows what it is like to be mocked.  He knows what it is like to be tired  . . . to be sorrowful . . . . to be exhausted.  Our Lord loves us so much that He wanted to be with us, to walk among us, to share with us the joys, the sorrows which life has to offer.  Our Lord, as St Paul stated, humbled Himself to take the 'form of a servant.'  He came to serve and to show the Father's love.  As Christians, we are called to emulate Our Blessed Saviour.  We are called to humble ourselves.  We are called to serve our brothers and our sisters.  We are called to become obedient to God in all our ways  

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.