Palm Sunday, March 28th, 2021

                                    Palm Sunday, March 28th, 2021

We find ourselves entering into the holiest week of the year . . .  Holy Week . . .  which begins with Palm Sunday.  During Holy Week we witness a vast array of emotions ranging from sorrow and sadness.  We witness rage and anger.  We see both love and hatred coming from the crowds surrounding Our Blessed Saviour.  And additionally before the week is over we are witness to amazement, disbelief and wonder at the rising from the dead of Our Blessed Saviour.  But one emotion we are also witness to is "regret."  In the Twenty-Seventh Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, we read about Judas regretting what he did.  " Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself,  . . . "  St. Matthew tells us that when Judas saw what had transpired he regretted his part in it.  He tried to take back the thirty pieces of silver but the "chief priests and elders" would not take back the payment.  They would not take back the "blood money."   So often we regret our actions after things have gone wrong.  Often we feel bad and apologize after we have been discovered.  Is this what happened to Judas?  What happened to him?  Did he not realize what he was doing?  Did he not realize that he was betraying Our Blessed Saviour?  How about us?  Do  we ever betray Our Lord?  Do we betray Him when we choose worldly possessions over Him?  Do we betray Our Lord when we treat those around us with hatred and scorn?  How often do we betray the Lord?    It is easy to look at the example of Judas and  shake our head because we see how wrong that action was.  But we need to focus on the wrongs that we have done wrong and repent from doing them.   Holy Week is the perfect time to turn things around.  Holy Week teaches us that anything is possible with the help of God.   Holy Week teaches us that even when the odds are against us, as long as God is with us, things will turn out just fine.  Holy Week teaches us that, yes, we will have crosses in our life and, yes, we will sometimes have to carry our own cross but as long as we stay close to the Cross of Christ, we will have victory close at hand.  

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, March 28th, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.   

And please remember that you can still show support to St. Margaret Church by sharing these posts on social media . . . sharing the sermons and reflections of Fr. Todd on social media as well.  In this way, despite any sort of "lock-down," you will help St. Margaret Church continue to spread the Gospel and continue to tell the world about our love for Our Blessed Saviour! 

Fifth Sunday in Lent, (Passion Sunday), March 21st, 2021

 Fifth Sunday in Lent, Commonly called Passion Sunday, 

March 21st, 2021

When I was a kid I never paid attention to them.  As I grew into a teenager they still were not that important to me.  But when I grew up they suddenly became very important to me.  What am I referring to, you might ask?  The morning weather and traffic reports, of course.   As I am getting ready for work in the mornings I try to listen so that I know what to expect.  Here's the frustrating part, though, if I get busy doing something else I will totally miss the weather report or I will miss the traffic report.  I may literally be right next to the radio but if I am concentrating on something else I will "tune out" the exact thing I am wanting to hear.  I have to make a point to listen sometimes so that I will hear what I need to hear.  I need to concentrate so that I don't focus on something else.  When you think about it, isn't that how it is with God?  God is always there.  God is always around.  God is always with us.  And yet so often people will say that "God seems so far away."  I would dare say that God speaks to us on a daily basis but so often we don't hear what He is saying to us.  Why is this?  Well, we are distracted by other things around us.  Perhaps we are more interested in hearing what other people are saying.  Maybe the racket and the commotion of the world is drowning out our ability to hear what God is saying.   In the Eighth Chapter of St. John's Gospel, we hear Our Lord say:  "He that is of God heareth God's word"  (St. John 8:46)  Just like I was mentioning with the traffic report of the weather report, we have to make a point to listen to God in order to hear Him.  We have to concentrate on what He is saying or else we will get distracted and not hear what He is saying to us.  Listening is a skill.  So often we develop "selective hearing" over time.  In other words, we hear what we want to hear and listen when we want to listen.  With God, we need to make a point to listen to Him all the time because if we don't the world will drown Him out and we won't hear what He is saying to us.  Our Lenten journey is coming to an end shortly.  Let us spend the time we have remaining listening to God and hearing what He has to say.

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, March 21st, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.   

And please remember that you can still show support to St. Margaret Church by sharing these posts on social media . . . sharing the sermons and reflections of Fr. Todd on social media as well.  In this way, despite any sort of "lock-down," you will help St. Margaret Church continue to spread the Gospel and continue to tell the world about our love for Our Blessed Saviour! 

Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 14th, 2021

 Fourth Sunday in Lent (Laetare Sunday), 

March 14th, 2021

Those who know me are already aware that for my secular job I work for the Department of Corrections as a counselor.  Yet when I meet a person and they find out where I work I can see the look of surprise on their face.  And  they usually have many questions about "life in a prison."  This is because most people would never dream of working in a prison.  Honestly, until I began working for the Department of Corrections, I never would have dreamed of working in a prison either.  Most people understand that you do not want to go to prison, whether that is an an employee or as an inmate.  And yet despite the fact I find myself going in and out of a prison on a daily basis along with my fellow D.O.C. employees.   And as you enter the facility you hear the door close and lock behind you.    Locked in behind closed, locked doors . . .  . fences . . .  barbed wire . . .  .    And some people who are incarcerated do the same thing . . . . they go in and out of prison . . .  in and out of prison.  They do their time and get released and before you know it here they are all over again.  I see some of the kids where I work come back again and it is so sad.  In and out of prison.  In and out of prison.  

And yet in a certain sense, don't all of us do the same thing?  We find ourselves in sinful behavior and we repent and then we go right back to the sinful behavior.  And then the circle starts all over again.  We shake our heads in disbelief at the people who . . . . through their actions .. . . . give up their freedom and go back to prison.  We can't believe why someone would willingly go back to prison.  And yet most of us do the same thing.  We may not go in and out of an actual, physical prison but it's just as bad, if not worse in many ways.  We give up the freedom we find in Christ because we are chained to the sinfulness of the world.   In the Fourth Chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, St. Paul presents us with an analogy between bondage and sinfulness.  St. Paul says that as the children of God we are indeed the "children of promise." (v. 28)  But if this is the case . . . . if we truly are the "children of promise" . . . .  why do we go back to our sinful ways?  Why do we get caught up in the ways of the world?  Why do we "spin our wheels" and never move forward because of our dependency on our addiction to material things here on earth?  Whether it is substance abuse, or alcoholism, or addiction to food, or power or riches or status, etc., etc., etc.  God offers freedom.  Christ has paid our debt of sin when He died on the Cross.  And yet despite our debt being paid we keep turning our back on the freedom that God offers and to back to living in bondage to the sinful ways of the world.  In and out of prison . . .  in and out of prison.  Why do we shake our heads and question why people go in and out of prison when we do the same thing on a daily basis?  We should focus on the fact that we are the children of promise  . . . . we should rejoice in the fact that we are sons and daughters of the Most High . . . . we should glory in the fact that our debt to sinful flesh has been paid by Our Blessed Savior!  With so much to be thankful for, why do we keep going back to our sinful ways?

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, March 14th, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.   

And please remember that you can still show support to St. Margaret Church by sharing these posts on social media . . . sharing the sermons and reflections of Fr. Todd on social media as well.  In this way, despite any sort of "lock-down," you will help St. Margaret Church continue to spread the Gospel and continue to tell the world about our love for Our Blessed Saviour! 

Third Sunday in Lent, March 7th, 2021

 Third Sunday in Lent, March 7th, 2021

I was leaving the building where I work one afternoon this week and as I left the building I had to literally shield my eyes with my hand so that I could see in front of me.  The sun was so bright compared to how drab and overcast it has been prior to this.  And when it is overcast like that we get used to it.  Our eyes adjust to it, don't they?  And then when the opposite happens, we have to "shield our eyes" from the bright sunshine on a clear day because we aren't used to it.  I would imagine this would also be a good explanation for people who get used to living in a sinful world.  We get used to the crime we hear about on the news.  We get used to the violence we see on TV.  We get used to people treating people with hatred and envy and jealousy.  We get used to doing what the world wants us to do, what the world expects us to do instead of doing what God wants us to do.   But what happens when the bright light hits us? 

Of course, for Christians, Our Blessed Saviour is the light of the world.  He is our light.  He gives light not only to the world but He gives light to our personal journey as well.  As we hear in the Epistle appointed for today's Mass:  "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord . . ."  (Ephesians 5:1 ff)  St. Paul explains that prior to knowing Christ, we were struggling to find our way in the dark.  Similar to how it feels when we are driving in the haze or the fog, we are not quite sure of what is ahead.  But Christ gives light to the darkness of the world.  And when Christ is in us, we shine forth the light of Christ to the world around us.  During this holy season of Lent, hang on to Christ.  Make Him the most important part of your life.  Dedicate your life to Christ and allow Him to bring light into your dark world. 

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, March 7th, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.   

And please remember that you can still show support to St. Margaret Church by sharing these posts on social media . . . sharing the sermons and reflections of Fr. Todd on social media as well.  In this way, despite any sort of "lock-down," you will help St. Margaret Church continue to spread the Gospel and continue to tell the world about our love for Our Blessed Saviour! 

Second Sunday in Lent, February 28th, 2021

 Second Sunday in Lent, February 28th, 2021

Growing up, I have always loved "classic" TV shows.  Although so many of these shows were not "classic" when I was growing up, they were "new."  Whether they be "classic" sitcoms such as "I love Lucy" or "classic" detective shows such as "Columbo" or even "classic" westerns such as "Bonanza."  One thing I have noticed about these shows is the fact that no matter how big the problem is, no matter how major of a problem it presents, the problem can always be solved in either a half an hour or an hour, depending, of course, on how long the program lasts.  For example, Columbo can solve the most difficult murder case in an hour,  .  . . . tops.  No matter the problem, you know it will be solved completely by the end of the program.  Yet, in real life, some problems are not solved that quickly or simply.  You need real persistence to deal with some problems in real life.

If nothing else, the Canaanite woman in Chapter Fifteen of St. Matthew's Gospel was certainly persistent.  St. Matthew tells us that this mother was in search of a cure for her daughter who was "grievously vexed with a devil."  (v. 22)  At first she tried to get the attention of the disciples but this only caused them to get irritated with the woman.  In fact, she bothered the disciples so much that they themselves went running to Our Lord asking for His help to get rid of her.  But then even when she was able to approach Our Lord, she did not get the answer that she sought right away.  But that did not stop her.  She kept beseeching Our Blessed Saviour until she finally got the favor she sought.  The Canaanite Woman showed how great her faith was that Our Lord said to her:  "O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt." (v. 28)

We need to be persistent as faithful Christians.  We need to be persistent  . . .  in our prayers . . . . in our faithfulness . . . in our character and morals.  We need to be persistent with the way we live our lives as faithful Christians.  The problem with us is that we want everything done right away.  We want things done "five minutes ago."  As humans, we are inpatient.  And yet not everything is worked out right away.  So often in real life problems are not fixed and taken care of in a half-hour or hour.  And we are called to be like the Canaanite Woman and be persistent in our faithfulness.  Stay close to God and let everything else fall into place.  And especially during this Lenten season, stay close to the Cross of Christ.  Never forget that Our Dear Saviour carried His Cross to the hill at Calvary for our sake.  Never forget that He carried His Cross for you and me because He loved us.  Loved us so much that He was willing to die for us.  When problems seem to much to handle.  When life seems to much to handle, remember Our Blessed Saviour and stay close to Him.

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, February 28th, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.   

And please remember that you can still show support to St. Margaret Church by sharing these posts on social media . . . sharing the sermons and reflections of Fr. Todd on social media as well.  In this way, despite any sort of "lock-down," you will help St. Margaret Church continue to spread the Gospel and continue to tell the world about our love for Our Blessed Saviour!

First Sunday in Lent, February 21, 2021

 First Sunday in Lent, February 21, 2021

In the Fourth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew, we are told how Our Blessed Saviour went into the wilderness where He fasted for "forty days and forty nights." (St. Matthew 4:1)  And St. Matthew describes what happened to Our Lord when He was hungry.  Of course, the devil came and tried his best to take advantage of Our Lord's condition.  He tempted Our Blessed Saviour a total of three times:  first, he tempted Him by offering to turn stones into bread; secondly, he tried to get Our Lord to prove Himself by throwing Himself off the pinnacle of the temple to show that the angels would save Him; finally, the devil  ". . .  . sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; "  in exchange for His loyalty to Him.   Our Blessed Saviour without hesitation turned down each and every one of these temptations despite His weakened condition from fasting for forty days.  

How many of us are tempted by the devil?  How many of us give in at the first sign of weakness?  Our Lord remained firm in His purpose and resolve for forty days although St. Matthew tells us that Our Lord was "hungered."  I seem to get hungry after forty minutes without eating, let alone forty days.  So certainly He was hungry.  But the point being is this:  Our Lord remained firmly committed to His purpose here on earth no matter how tempting the offers of the devil were.  We need to remain true to ourselves and our purpose is the bottom line.  

So often the devil tries to tempt us as well.  And things don't really change that much, the devil still tempts us with the same things he tempted Our Lord with.  We get tempted with gluttony.  We don't know when to stop ourselves sometimes when it comes to eating.  We eat until we are full and then we eat again, knowing full well that we are full, but we eat again simply because it looks "so delicious."  You ever hear that old phrase:  " My eyes were bigger than my stomach?"  Yes, of course.  We see it.  We want it.  End of story.  That's called gluttony.  The devil tempts us to prove ourselves to the world.  How often are we tempted to prove who we are . . .  to show who we are.  As kids we hear:  "Go on I dare you . . .  "  The world mocks us for who we are.  People mock us for what we believe.  Even loved ones will mock us sometimes.  The world dares us.  But we don't have to prove anything to anyone.   The only thing that we need to "prove" is that we are loyal to Our Heavenly Father.  And, finally, don't we sometimes daydream what it would be like to be rich . . . . to be famous . . . to be a star?  Do we ever ponder what it would like to be a millionaire .. . .  or in charge of a company  . . . . or to live in a mansion?  Sure, all of us have these dreams from time to time.  All of us think about "what if?"   What if I was rich?  What if I was famous?  What if I was in charge?  What if   . . . . what if . . .  what if . . . .  What we need to focus on is doing the will of God in our life.  We need to focus on staying close to Our Blessed Saviour in the good times and the bad.  We need to focus on showing God that we are a loving son or daughter to Him.  Our Blessed Saviour remained loyal.  He remained true to both Himself and His Heavenly Father.  This is the lesson we can learn from Our Blessed Saviour's forty days in the wilderness:  stay true to who we are; stay true to what we believe in; stay true to God in the good times and the bad.

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, February 21st, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.   

And please remember that you can still show support to St. Margaret Church by sharing these posts on social media . . . sharing the sermons and reflections of Fr. Todd on social media as well.  In this way, despite any sort of "lock-down," you will help St. Margaret Church continue to spread the Gospel and continue to tell the world about our love for Our Blessed Saviour!

Quinquagesima, Sunday Next before Lent, February 14th, 2021

 Quinquagesima, Sunday Next before Lent, February 14th, 2021

In the Thirteenth Chapter of St. Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul speaks a lot about love.  Now, bear in mind if you are reading this chapter in the King James Version, you will see the word "charity" instead.  If that is the case, just remember that when you see the word "charity," St Paul is speaking about  . . . .  Love.   And St. Paul is correct in pointing out we can do many things but if we do not do these things based in love, they mean nothing.  "And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing" (I Corinthians 1:2-3)  In other words, St. Paul is pointing out that love needs to be the basis for why we do anything we do as a Christian.  If we preach, we should do it with love.  If we donate our money to a school, or an orphanage, or a homeless shelter, we should do it with love, if we pray for our enemies, we should do it with love, if we forgive our enemies, we should do it with love.  The cold reality is that so much of what we do in life is done without love.  We may do something such as donate to a good cause . . .  such as building an orphanage or giving to a homeless shelter . . . .  but we may not necessarily donate out of love.  Perhaps we donate because we do not want to look "cheap" in front of our friends.  Maybe we donate because it will make us feel better about ourselves if we give.  Maybe we are trying to "keep up with the Jones" and we see everyone else donating so we go ahead and donate too so that we won't feel "left out."  Perhaps we feel "pressured" to give because our friends or relatives keep asking us about donating.  How many times have we left a store around Christmas time and there is that red kettle and someone is ringing the bell, have there been times when you dug into your pocket and gave something because you felt guilty about "not giving anything?"  Have you given a donation because you wanted to impress someone because they saw you giving to charity?  St. Paul wanted the Corinthians to understand and wants us to understand that there are many motivations for doing something but for the Christian our motivation for doing something first and foremost should be "love."  And this is because Our Blessed Saviour did everything for us for no other reason than LOVE.  He was born as a small innocent baby because of His love for us.  He grew as a man and lived among us because of His love for us.  He went around preaching and teaching and performing miracles because of His love for us.  He was mocked, spit upon, beaten, made to carry His Cross and Crucified on that same Cross because of His love for us.  He laid in the Tomb and was raised to new life on that very first Easter morning because of His love for us.  He did everything He did out of love for us because He loves us.  So next time we do some action.  Next time we treat someone one way or another.  Let us ask ourselves if we are doing it because of love or for some other reason.  

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, February 14th, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.   

And please remember that you can still show support to St. Margaret Church by sharing these posts on social media . . . sharing the sermons and reflections of Fr. Todd on social media as well.  In this way, despite any sort of "lock-down," you will help St. Margaret Church continue to spread the Gospel and continue to tell the world about our love for Our Blessed Saviour!