Feast of the Holy Innocents, December 28th, 2025

 

Feast of the Holy Innocents, December 28th, 2025

In the Gospel for today's Mass (St. Matthew, Chapter two) in commemoration of the Feast of the Holy Innocents, the scene unfolds before us: The angel appears in a dream to St. Joseph and tells him in no uncertain terms to take Our Lady and the Child Jesus to safety, saying to him:  "Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt . . . ."  The reason for this urgency is because Herod was angry.   "Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem . . . . "  Herod was beyond angry.  In fact, Herod was scared, quite frankly.  He was scared that the Messiah had finally come and would replace him of his kingship.    St. Joseph did as he was directed by the angel and fled into Egypt along with St. Mary and the Child Jesus.   St. Joseph is always such a good teacher for us.  In this case, the lesson that we can learn from St. Joseph is to always take God with you no matter where you are going.  You see, if we get into the habit of having God with us wherever we go, we will always be in good company no matter the situation we find ourselves in.  In this case, St. Joseph was in the company of Our Lady and the Child Jesus.  What better company could he have chosen?  We are known by the company that we keep.  Thus, if we get in the habit of keeping company with Our Blessed Saviour, we know that He will never steer us wrong.  Our Saviour makes the best company, . . .  the best friend,  . . . the best counselor,  . . .  When we get in the habit of travelling with Our Blessed Saviour we know that we will always go in the direction that He wants us to go in.  Even when danger or trial or tribulation faces us, just as it did in today's Gospel passage, take God as your travelling companion.  He will always keep you close to Him and never leave you alone.

Please make a point to join us for Mass on Sunday.  St. Margaret Church gathers together each and every Sunday at 10:30 am.  We worship at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Join us as we listen to the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible.  We use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  And receive the Most Precious Body and Blood of Our Saviour at Communion time.   We are all busy.  We all lead busy lives.  Take an hour out of your busy week and dedicate it to God.  Give that hour to God and spend it with Him.

Fourth Sunday in Advent, December 21sr, 2025

 

Fourth Sunday in Advent, December 21st, 2025

Human beings seem to exaggerate at times.  This is their way of making a point or to emphasize something.  For example, if you are anything like me you might say something like:  "I am ALWAYS looking for my car keys!"   . . .  . or  .. . . . "I am ALWAYS paying bills!" . . . . or  . . . . "I am ALWAYS doing laundry!"   We say to ourselves or to others that we are "always" doing something to emphasize that we are constantly doing something"  "I'm ALWAYS tripping over that rug!"  Well, in today's epistle from Philippians 4:4 ff, we hear:  "Rejoice in the Lord always and I again I say rejoice!"  This is certainly good advice for us human beings because, it seems to me, that human beings complain an awful lot.  We like to either complain about our lot in life or focus on the negative.  Now, don't get me wrong, certainly if we look around there are things to complain about:  unemployment . . .  bills . . . . family or loved ones being sick . . . . crime . . . .  etc.  Yes, if we make the point to look for negative things in general or specifically in our own life we will find them.  But if this is true, then the "opposite" would be true as well:  we need to make a point to look for the positive things in our life as well.  Just as there are negative things that we could find in our life, there are just as many . . .  . . no, there are more  . . . .  positive things we could find in our life, if we only make a point to look for them.  And when we find them, we should rejoice in them.

Advent is a season of anticipation, of preparation . . .  We are anticipating the coming of the Christ Child.  We are preparing for His birth on Christmas day.  But, unfortunately, our society has turned the month or so prior to Christmas into anticipating what gifts we will be getting or preparing for what stores to shop in and spend our money at.  While this is very nice, I'm sure, it also has caused great stress among people in regards to worrying about what to buy and anxiety over how to pay the bills.  A relationship with God gives us something to truly rejoice in . . . . a personal relationship with our Loving Saviour gives us something to truly be thankful for . . . . a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father gives us something to look forward to in life.    There is enough negative things that try to control our life.  Let's make the effort to focus more on the positive things in our life.  And the first thing that we should focus on is that God loves us and that Our Blessed Saviour forgave our sins by dying on the Cross for us.  This alone should cause us to  . . .  "Rejoice in the Lord always!"

Please make a point to join us for Mass on Sunday.  St. Margaret Church gathers together each and every Sunday at 10:30 am.  We worship at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Join us as we listen to the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible.  We use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  And receive the Most Precious Body and Blood of Our Saviour at Communion time.   We are all busy.  We all lead busy lives.  Take an hour out of your busy week and dedicate it to God.  Give that hour to God and spend it with Him.

Third Sunday in Advent, December 14th, 2025

 

Third Sunday in Advent, December 14th, 2025

When St. John the Baptist was in prison.  He sent two of his disciples to inquire of Our Blessed Saviour:  "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" (St. Matthew 11:3)  Now if you read this passage it would almost sound like St. John is not sure and he wants to find out definitely.  And yet I would contend that St. John the Baptist has an ulterior motive in sending his two disciples to Our Lord.  He sent his disciples so that they could see with their own eyes and hear with their own ears.  He was already sure that the Messiah had come into the world.  He knew this through faith.  He knew this through a personal relationship with God.  He knew this through his commitment to God.  

Advent reminds us of the three ways in which Our Blessed Saviour comes to us.   The first way has already taken place.  On that first Christmas Day over two-thousand years ago Our Lord came to the world as a small, innocent Baby born in Bethlehem.  Although to our eyes He appeared as a small, innocent baby, we know through faith that this truly was the long-awaited Messiah of the world.  The second way Our Lord comes to us in in Blessed Sacrament.  Our Lord tells us in the Sixth Chapter of the Gospel of St. John:  "For the bread of God is He which cometh down from Heaven, and giveth life unto the world." (6:33)  Our Lord did come down from Heaven to give life to this world.  Our Lord continues in Verse 51 of this chapter:  "I am the living bread which came down from Heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."  Our Lord comes to us in the form of Bread and Wine when we receive Him at Communion time.  He feeds us.  He nourishes us.  He sustains us.  The third way in which Our Blessed Saviour will come to us is at the Second Coming.  We know He will appear to us at that Last Day.  He will appear to us in all His Majesty and All His Glory!  The Holy Season of Advent reminds us to be on the look-out.  Advent reminds us to prepare.  Advent reminds us to make our hearts ready. 

Please make a point to join us for Mass on Sunday.  St. Margaret Church gathers together each and every Sunday at 10:30 am.  We worship at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Join us as we listen to the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible.  We use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  And receive the Most Precious Body and Blood of Our Saviour at Communion time.   We are all busy.  We all lead busy lives.  Take an hour out of your busy week and dedicate it to God.  Give that hour to God and spend it with Him.

Second Sunday in Advent, December 7th, 2025

 

Second Sunday in Advent, December 7th, 2025

"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 an item, and the item finally arrived, and you open it with great anticipation.  And when you finally open the package and see what you ordered, you soon discover that the item does not match up whatsoever with what you were anticipating?  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.  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 the Lord Himself has said not to base our opinions on outward appearances:  " . . . for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."  (I Samuel :7)  So often we judge solely on "outward appearances," don't we?  And so often we are sorely disappointed, aren't we?  The product we see advertised on television doesn't really match up when we see it in person. 

And yet we know that 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.  Faith is something that we find with the heart and not solely what we see with our 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.  Look at the world with the eyes of faith.

Please make a point to join us for Mass on Sunday.  St. Margaret Church gathers together each and every Sunday at 10:30 am.  We worship at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Join us as we listen to the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible.  We use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  And receive the Most Precious Body and Blood of Our Saviour at Communion time.   We are all busy.  We all lead busy lives.  Take an hour out of your busy week and dedicate it to God.  Give that hour to God and spend it with Him.

St. Andrew the Apostle, November 30th, 2025

 

St. Andrew the Apostle (First Sunday of Advent), 

November 30th, 2025

In the Tenth Chapter of the Epistle written to the Romans, St. Paul is emphasizing the importance of being saved.  But he makes one point which stuck out to me.  In verse 14, St. Paul is emphasizing the importance of believing.  And he makes the point in order to believe in God you must first hear about God.  And then he writes:  "and how shall they hear without a preacher?"  And then St. Paul goes on to write:  "And how shall they preach, except they be sent?"  You see we do not spend years studying in the seminary or a school of theology in order to be a preacher.  All of us have the ability to preach about God through our daily interactions with those around us.  And if you don't feel comfortable preaching by your words, you can always preach through your actions.  Preach through the way you live your life.  Preach the love of God by the way in which you treat your loved ones, your neighbors, your coworkers, even the stranger.  Preach about God each and every day.  St. Francis gave a famous quote along these lines when he said "Preach at all times and sometimes even use words."  In other words, all of us have the ability on a daily basis to preach the most wonderful sermon by our interactions with those around us.  We show people the love of God through our actions and the way in which we live our life.  Never forget that you are sent to preach to the world about God and preach some powerful sermons.

Please make a point to join us for Mass on Sunday.  St. Margaret Church gathers together each and every Sunday at 10:30 am.  We worship at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Join us as we listen to the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible.  We use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  And receive the Most Precious Body and Blood of Our Saviour at Communion time.   We are all busy.  We all lead busy lives.  Take an hour out of your busy week and dedicate it to God.  Give that hour to God and spend it with Him.

Sunday Next before Advent, November 23rd, 2025

 

Sunday Next before Advent, November 23rd, 2025

We hear the following from the Twenty-Third Chapter of the Book of The Prophet Jeremiah:  "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." (Jeremiah 23:5)  "Behold, the days come .  ..  . ."  Yes, the days do come but what do they bring for you?  At this time of year the holidays come . . .  Thanksgiving  . . . . Christmas . . . New Years . .  .  People are getting ready for family gatherings.  People are getting ready for holiday meals.  People are preparing Christmas celebrations.  "Behold, the days come . . . . "   But what do the days bring for you?   At this time of the year people are preparing for something.  People are waiting for something.  Those of us who work, we keep busy preparing reports that are due or projects that we are working on.   Perhaps we are awaiting packages which we ordered online in time for Christmas.  Perhaps we are waiting for a time in which we are paid up on our bills.  Maybe we are waiting for our health to improve.  We might be waiting for someone to come visit us.  For the Christian, we are called to wait for Our Blessed Saviour.  The Prophet Jeremiah reminds us that the a "righteous Branch" will raise up.  He reminds us that a "King shall reign and prosper . . ."  Are we waiting?  Are we looking?  Are we keeping watch?  The holy season of Advent will shortly be upon us.   It is meant to remind us to be on the watch.  It is meant to remind us to wait for the coming of the Saviour.  It is meant to focus on preparing for the Lord.  The secular world truly hijacked Christmas.   Instead of focusing on receiving the Christ-Child we now focus on what gifts we are going to receive.  We should focus as much as possible in the upcoming weeks on the true meaning of Advent and truly await the coming of the Lord.  Open your hearts to Him.  Focus on Our Blessed Saviour.   The world tries so hard to grab our attention away from God.   The holy season of Advent is meant to bring that focus back to Christ . . . to focus on Him.   Use the upcoming weeks leading up to Christmas to prepare a place in your hearts for the Divine Infant Jesus.  Will you have room for Him there?

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.

 

Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity, November 16th, 2025

How often do you get angry with someone or some thing?  How about irritated?  Do you ever get upset with other folks?  If so, do you get angry at someone once in a while?  Once a week?  Once a day?  Once you get angry with someone do you hold on to a grudge?  Do you let your anger build up inside of you until you explode?  I think everyone gets angry at times.  It comes very easily, let's face it.  This is because people around us can be irritating at times.  People do stupid things.  People say stupid things.  In short, it's easy to get angry and upset with people.  This is why we do it.  And yet Our Lord gives us good advice when it comes to times like this.  He tells us to forgive those who make us angry.  He tells us to forgive those who irritate us.  He tells us to forgive those around us.  This is probably one of the most difficult things we will ever do, wouldn't you agree?  Some people are just irritating.  Some people are just frustrating beyond words.  Some people just get under our skin.  And yet Our Lord never expects us to do anything that He did not practice Himself.  As difficult as it is Our Lord calls us to forgive those who have wronged us.  He calls us to forgive those who make us angry.  When St. Peter asked Our Lord how often should we forgive those who sin against us:  "How oft shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him?  till seven times?"  (St. Matthew 18:21)  And Our Lord responded:  "I say not unto thee, Until seven times but, Until seventy times seven." (St. Matthew 18:22)  Seventy times seven?!?!  Our Lord was emphasizing the importance of forgiving our enemies.   You ask why it is important to forgive those around us?   It is important because we want God to forgive us for the wrongs which we commit.  We want to God to forgive us when we mess up.  And it gets kind of tricky when we expect ask God to forgive us when we boldly refuse to forgive those who have done wrong to us.  So let's all do our best to follow Our Lord's advice to St. Peter:  Get in the habit to forgive seventy times seven times those who wrong 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.