First Sunday after Christmas, December 29th, 2024

 First Sunday after Christmas, December 29th, 2024

In the Fourth Chapter of the Letter to the Galatians, we hear the following:  "God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ."   It is never good to be "full of ourselves."  In other words, we should never think too highly of ourselves than we ought, but when you consider the fact that God thinks so highly of His creation that not only did He send His Son into the world to save us, but that as a result we are now considered "sons" and "daughters" of God, the honour is beyond comprehension!  Think about it, God has chosen you . . . He has redeemed you . . . He has made you His very own child!  The only thing that we have to do is to respond and then act accordingly.  So often, when we are out and about, we may see a child in a store who is throwing a fit.  And the first thought to our mind is:  "What an ungrateful child" or "spoiled child."  And, yet, when it comes to the spiritual life, are we not "spoiled children" to Our Heavenly Father?  Perhaps, we ignore God completely.  Perhaps, we only approach God when we want something.  Maybe, we don't hear God speaking to us because we are too far away and not paying attention.  We have to always remind ourselves on a daily basis the dignity and honour that God has given to each one of us by being called "son" or "daughter" of the Almighty.

Join us at 10:30 AM on Sundays at St. Margaret church.  We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis. 

Please consider joining us for Mass.  Come hear the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Consider setting aside an hour of your week where you can dedicate that time solely to God.  Come hear the Word of God.  Listen to God speaking to you directly and hear what He has to say for YOU!  Receive the Precious Body and Blood at Communion time to be strengthened and nourished for your journey!

 Fourth Sunday in Advent, December 22nd, 2024

"REJOICE in the Lord always . . . " (Philippians 4:4)

Have you ever tried to do something "non-stop"?  In other words, you kept doing the same thing over and over and over.  It's gets tiring after a while, doesn't it?  And after a while, we get worn out from doing whatever we are doing.  Whether it's going to always working on reports or always working without any days off.  Whether it's always fixing the same thing over and over and over again.  And yet St. Paul is telling the Philippians to "Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS!"  As human beings, we rejoice when we are happy.  When our favorite sports team scores late in a game and wins, we rejoice.  When we are with good friends that we haven't seen for a while, we rejoice.  We rejoice when we get a raise at work.  We rejoice when a difficult project gets completed.   And yet most people don't constantly rejoice, do they?   Sometimes our favorite sports team doesn't win the game.  Sometimes we get overwhelmed at work.  Sometimes we get bad news.  Sometimes we get angry.  Do we rejoice in these situations?  No.  And yet St. Paul reminds the Philippians  . . .  as he does us . . . . to "Rejoice in the Lord always!"  The key is to set our mind to rejoicing no matter what.  The key is to remind ourselves that life is sometimes good . . . . sometimes it's bad.  Sometimes we are healthy, other times we get sick.   Sometimes we get a raise at work.  But sometimes we get laid off from a job.  Again, life is not one constant, straight path where nothing ever changes and always stays the same.  If it was that way, it seems to me that it would be somewhat boring.  Sometimes things get difficult in life.  But if we remind ourselves that God is always with us, even in the bad times, then we can rejoice.   Even in the times that things seem the darkest, as long as we keep our minds focused on God being with us, we know that we will get through whatever faces us.  God loves us more than we will ever know.   How do I know this, you ask?  I know it because He sent His only begotten Son into the world to save us from our sins.  He sent His Son into the world to walk among us, to be with us, to eat with us, to talk with us, to witness our good times and our bad times.  God knows that life is not always easy for us.  And yet Our Blessed Lord is always with us . . .  in the good times and the bad.  And we are called to always rejoice in that fact.  As we are on the doorstep of Christmas on this Fourth Sunday of Advent, let us not get overwhelmed by life, but rather let us rejoice that God sent His Son into the world to be with us always.  Let us remember that God is with us when we are on the mountain top but He is also with us when we are far down in the valley.  Let us rejoice that God is always with us.

Join us at 10:30 AM on Sundays at St. Margaret church.  We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis. 

Please consider joining us for Mass.  Come hear the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Consider setting aside an hour of your week where you can dedicate that time solely to God.  Come hear the Word of God.  Listen to God speaking to you directly and hear what He has to say for YOU!  Receive the Precious Body and Blood at Communion time to be strengthened and nourished for your journey!

Third Sunday in Advent, December 15th, 2024

 Third Sunday in Advent, December 15th, 2024

Have you ever been overjoyed by something and before you knew it, the joy had worn off?  Or the joy that you had experienced had certainly lessened.  As children, especially at Christmas time, we are overjoyed at what Santa Claus will bring us.  We anxiously look forward to all the presents under the tree and try to figure out what is wrapped inside.  Or it could be the case as you had gotten older and you decided that you just had to have the latest electronic doo-dad or perhaps it is some clothing item such as a new dress or a fancy pair of boots.  And so you save your money and finally go and make your purchase and you are overjoyed at what you have obtained.  But then after a while your joy lessens because after a while your attention is turned toward the next "item" that you have set your sights on acquiring.  Let's be honest, whether as children or adults,  . . .  whether it is a gift given to us or something we have purchased ourselves  .. . .  whether it is an actual physical product or whether it is simply a good meal that we look forward to devouring . . . . the point is the same:  things of this world do indeed bring us joy for a time but then the joy eventually fades.  Even if you look at it from the perspective of someone who turns to drink or drugs to find their "happiness,"  . . . . what happens when the effect of either drink or drug wears off?  That person goes back to feeling like they did before.  The "high" feeling . . .  the "drunk" feeling only lasts so long.  Things of the world . . .  whether they be electronics .  . . or food . . . . or clothing . . .  or positions of honour . . . . or titles at our jobs . . . or booze  . . . . or drugs . .  . all these things only bring temporary fulfillment.  They do satisfy, yes, but only for a time.  The joy we find in them  is only temporary, never lasting.

For the Christian, on the other hand, the joy that is everlasting is our relationship with God.  "Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous, for it becometh well the just to be thankful." (Psalm 33)  Our personal relationship with Our Blessed Saviour will never disappoint.  Our personal relationship with Our Lord and Saviour is one that will last an eternity.  While other things in this earthly life will fade away . . .  or be consumed . . . or rust away . ..  or go out of fashion . . . . the relationship that God offers to us is forever.  God will always be faithful to His people.  "Gaudete in Domino semper" ("Rejoice in the Lord always")  (Philippians 4:4-5)  Rejoice in the fact that God loves you!  Rejoice in the fact that God sent His only Son to die for you!  Rejoice in the fact that God offers you the possibility of eternal life!  Give your heart to the One that offered His Heart to you!  Give your life to Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and rejoice in the Lord always!

Join us at 10:30 AM on Sundays at St. Margaret church.  We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis. 

Please consider joining us for Mass.  Come hear the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Consider setting aside an hour of your week where you can dedicate that time solely to God.  Come hear the Word of God.  Listen to God speaking to you directly and hear what He has to say for YOU!  Receive the Precious Body and Blood at Communion time to be strengthened and nourished for your journey!

 Second Sunday in Advent, December 8th, 2024

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost."  (Romans 15)

Did you ever order something or send away for something and the item finally arrived and you open it with great anticipation.  And when you open the package and see what you ordered, the item that arrived does not match up with what you thought it would be.  You were "under-whelmed," so to speak.  "This is it?!?"   "This is what I've been waiting for?!?"   As we have spoken in the past, the faithful Jews were indeed praying for a Messiah to save them.  They were anticipating the arrival of the Messiah.  They knew that God would save them and they were waiting.  But they had a preconceived notion of what the Messiah would look like, I would imagine.  They expected the Messiah to arrive as a great warrior riding in on a powerful horse, surrounded by a mighty army in support with flags waving and banners raised.  They expected this messiah and his army to wipe out their foes and save them from their misery.    And yet we know that, yes, the Messiah did indeed arrive as promised but Our Saviour arrived as an innocent little baby, born to a common family, born in a lowly manger on a cold winter night  because nobody would take them in otherwise.  In fact, the actual arrival itself was so "low-key" that hardly anyone knew about it at all except for the angels and a few shepherds.  I mean let's be honest here.  In regards to anticipating the arrival of the Messiah, I am sure that none of us would picture the Saviour of the world arriving as a small baby, born to an impoverished family, with nowhere else to stay other than in a place for animals.  But, then again, if we look at a dying man hanging on a cross, if we didn't know any better, we wouldn't picture that as "victory," either.  It would seem more like "defeat" than "victory."  And yet we know through our faith that hope was born in that little manger at Bethlehem and we know that victory truly was earned on that Cross at Calvary.  Sometimes, hope is deceiving to our physical eyes.  The important thing for us to always remember as people of faith that we have to look at hope through the eyes of faith if we really want to see how God is working in our lives.  So, use this holy Season of Advent to look at things in a brand new way, the way of faith.

Join us at 10:30 AM on Sundays at St. Margaret church.  We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis. 

Please consider joining us for Mass.  Come hear the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Consider setting aside an hour of your week where you can dedicate that time solely to God.  Come hear the Word of God.  Listen to God speaking to you directly and hear what He has to say for YOU!  Receive the Precious Body and Blood at Communion time to be strengthened and nourished for your journey!