Sunday Next before Advent, November 26th, 2023

 Sunday Next before Advent, November 26th, 2023

"BEHOLD, the days come, saith the LORD .  . . " (Jeremiah 23:5)

  Our society is obsessed with upcoming events.  For example, this time every year, we get constant reminders about how close we are to Christmas, courtesy of all the department stores, retail stores, online book stores, etc.  Behold, the big sale is about to happen . . . . Behold, this sale won't last long . . .  Behold, come and spend your hard-earned money here so that your loved ones will be happy at Christmas time.  But these "reminders," in all fairness go on all year around, quite honestly.  We are reminded on the nightly news about the upcoming summits, or upcoming sessions of Congress, or when a bill is about to be voted on.  Even in our personal life, we have to deal with upcoming reports at our jobs being due, and upcoming doctor's appointments, and things to do around the house:  whether they be preparing the house for winter or getting ready for an upcoming dinner.  So, you see, we are constantly reminded of upcoming events and the days ahead . . .

But this is not what Jeremiah wants us to think about.   In the "reminders" that I mentioned above, they are concerned with earthly, material things.  And nothing is necessarily wrong with with the things that I mentioned:  it's good to give gifts as a token of affection to loved ones;  it's good to prepare your home for the winter; it's good for politicians to do their job, etc.  But we have to keep everything in perspective of what is important.  Jeremiah continues:  "BEHOLD, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth"    We need to be concerned with the coming of the Lord as Christians.  We need to concern ourselves with making a place ready for Him when He comes.  And, quite frankly, we can make that happen now!  Yes, we can prepare our hearts for Him and prepare a place in our heart for Our Blessed Lord.  You see, all of the daily routines in life have their place: the daily chores, preparation of meals, going to work, paying bills, etc.  But there is one more daily "chore," and it should not even be called a "chore,"  it would be better described as a "daily necessity,"   . . . . and this "daily necessity" is time spent with Our Lord and preparing  a place for Him in our hearts!  As we come upon the liturgical season of Advent, the Church prepares for the coming of the Lord as a small innocent Infant.  Let us also prepare our hearts for the coming of that small Divine Infant by making a place for Him to dwell.  Get to know Jesus.  Give Him your heart because He has already given His Sacred Heart to you!

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. 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.

Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Trinity, November 19th, 2023

Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Trinity, November 19th, 2023

When you go shopping are there just certain brand-names that you trust?  When you see a certain company's name on a product, does it automatically register "quality" in your mind?  Or on the other hand, when you see a certain product name, do you avoid it at all costs?  Very often this trust . . .  or dis-trust, for that matter .. .  comes from experience, doesn't it?  When we get a specific brand of laundry detergent and we use it a few times and our clothes look bright and appear brand new after a wash.  Or they smell fresh like spring.  Well, if this experience continues to be the case for us each time we buy that product, for us that brand is a "winner."  On the other hand, if we buy  a product at the store and it turns out to be lousy or does not meet our expectations, our faith in that product will be lacking and we likely won't buy that brand any time soon.  Again, in either case, whether we like a product or whether we do not like a product, more than likely both are based on experience.  The same can be true of going to a restaurant.  If we had a good experience  . . . . the food was good . . . the service was excellent . .  . the price was not over-whelming . . .  then, by all means, our opinion of that establishment will be high.  Conversely, our  opinion of that same establishment will be lacking if the food was lousy or the service was poor, for example.  So, very often our faith in a product, or lack of faith in a product, is based on experience.   

St. Paul writes in his Epistle to the Colossians:  ". . . . since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus " (Colossians 1:3 ff)  In this sense, where does "faith" in God come from?  Very often we learn about God from other people: our parents; our grandparents; etc.  As children, our parents perhaps take us to church or we go to Sunday School or we might go to Vacation Bible School in the summer months.  As we grow, we still are influenced by what we hear and see about God coming from others around us, but as we grow spiritually, we need to experience our own "faith" in God.  You see, our faith life is very much like a journey that we travel on.  Sometimes the road is very easy.  Other times it might be rough or rocky.  Sometimes there are a twists and turns that we were not expecting.  Often, our journey does not match up with our expectations or what we were planning on.  Faith in God is  something completely different.  We know that we can depend on God.  We know that He will never leave us.   But faith comes mainly from experience but first we have to "experience" God ourselves.  So many people give up on God because their experience of Him is lacking.  They have no faith because they have not seen Him.  But it could be that they have not seen Him because they were not really looking to begin with.   Let us tell people about God by the way in which we live our life.  Let us tell people about God by the way in which we treat others around us with love and compassion.  Let people see the "faith" in us by always staying constant, by always being sure no matter what befalls us.  Let people know about your faith in God by letting them see the life you lead and the attitude you have.

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. 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.

Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity, November 12th, 2023

 Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity, November 12th, 2023

In the Twenty-Second Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, we hear Our Lord say:  "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's"  Needless to say, this quote is one of the most remembered quotes found in Scripture.  Certainly, in this response, Our Lord is being very direct in what He says.    There is no need to remind any of us that we all lead busy lives.  Most every person I know seems to lead a busy life.  And as such, we wear many different hats.  Think of all the different "hats" you might have worn in your life-time:  Child; Parent; Student; Teacher; Employee; Boss; Husband; Wife; Neighbor; Home-Owner; Volunteer; etc. etc.  And the list can go on and on.  In each of these roles that I have described above, and countless others, we all have a different role that we play.  The role of a parent is far different from the role we played as a child.  The role that a boss plays is different than that of an employee.  So in each of these positions, we are called to play a different role, depending on the situation.  But throughout each of these "roles" that we play, we are called to put our Christianity into it as much as possible.  We need to find a way to perform our "roles" and do what we are called to do but at the same time never forget that ultimately we are Christians first and foremost.  Today's Gospel passage reminds us that Christians are citizens of two worlds:  the Heavenly world and the earthly world.   We are "dual-citizens," in that respect.  And it will not always be easy to "coexist" between the two.  But that is what we are called to do:  live as a human being but do it in a Christian manner.

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. 

Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity, November 5th, 2023

 Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity, November 5th, 2023

"I THANK my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy," (Philippians 1:3)

I do my best to always show my gratefulness.  I do this when someone takes the time to hold the door open for me.  I do this when a waiter or waitress brings me the food I ordered.  I do this when someone hands me something that I need.  In these situations, and so many more I am in the habit of saying "Thank you."  Yes, without a doubt, this is indeed a habit.  It is a habit that has been with me an entire lifetime.  And I owe the development of this "good habit" to my dear parents who so long ago cultivated this important habit and showed me the importance of being grateful and showing thanks.   It is important to show thanks.  It is important to show our gratefulness and our thanksgiving to those around us.  

I would dare say that the importance of saying "Thank you" and being grateful extends to God as well, wouldn't you agree?  And yet how often do we take the time to thank Our Heavenly Father?  How many times do we make a point to thank Him for all the blessings He has bestowed on us?  Or do we only go to God when we need something?  We're good when it comes to running to God when we need Him.  We're good at going to God when we are in trouble and need His help but how often do we make a point to simply thank Him, to show our gratefulness for all He has done for us?   Being grateful is a mindset and showing gratefulness is a habit.  When we come to God, we need to have the mindset of being grateful for all the blessings He has bestowed upon us.  And showing our gratefulness to God is a habit we need to develop.  So many people only seem to call upon God when they need something and they don't speak to Him again until the next time they need something.  We need to thank God each and every day of our lives for all the blessings He bestows upon us.  Thank God daily.  Thank Him for your life.  Thank Him for the blessings in your life.  Bless Him for the salvation He freely offers.  Thank Him for all you possess.

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.