Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Trinity, November 17th, 2024

 Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Trinity, November 17th, 2024

In today's Epistle (I St. John 3:1), we hear the following:  "BEHOLD, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God"  It is good to reflect on the fact that God has chosen us above all other creatures to be His chosen ones.  For elsewhere we hear in Scripture:  "Being made so much better than the angels, as he has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.  For to which of the angels said he at any time, You are my Son, this day have I begotten you?"  (Hebrews 1:5-6)  In other words, It was the intention that Our Blessed Saviour was born as a human being and not as an angel.  God proves the love that He has for us by sending His Son to humanity.  We should take time to reflect on the fact that we are each chosen to be called the sons and daughters of God.  The God that has created the entire universe has chosen us as His sons and daughters.  He has sent His Son to be a human being in order to redeem fallen humanity from its' sins.  This fact should boggle the mind when you think about "what manner of love" the Father has for each one of 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!

Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Trinity, November 10th, 2024

 Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Trinity, November 10th, 2024

In the Ninth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, Our Divine Saviour is coming to the house of the ruler, whose daughter had been very sick for a long time and had died.  And her father implored Our Saviour to come to his home and lay hands on his daughter so that she would live again:  "And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, he said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn."  Now, in all fairness to those who laughed, we need to ask if we found ourselves under the same circumstances, and some stranger came in and announced that our friend was not dead, I am sure that we would be just as shocked and more than likely our reaction would be the same.  But Our Lord paid no attention to the laughing or the scorn of the people.  He came to the house for the sake of the girl and her father.  In other words, He ignored the laughing and the ridicule and went straight to work.  And the results were astounding.  Sometimes, we are also laughed at and ridiculed for standing firm in our faith in today's society.  But we must always keep in mind that holding fast to the faith requires determination on our part as well, no matter what.   People will sometimes mock us and "laugh us to scorn" for standing firm in our Christian faith but as St. Matthew so kindly pointed out to us, people laughed at Our Blessed Saviour as well.  The key is to stand firm with God.  It is never easy to be the target of scorn  but we have to realize that if we choose to stand for what's right, we will automatically become the target of those who choose to do wrong.  Stand with God and you know that you are always in good company.

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! 

Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity, November 3rd, 2024

 Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity, November 3rd, 2024

In the Third Chapter of the Epistle to the Philippians, St. Paul reminds us that our true citizenship is not here on earth:  "For our citizenship is in heaven" (3:17 ff)  For the Christian, we should especially focus on these words at this time.  I say this because here in America we will have a national election in two days.  And leading up to the election we see countless political commercials on television.  We hear political ads on the radio.  We open up our mailbox and we get political mailers each and every day.  And you cannot turn on the evening news without hearing the latest diatribes from the local, state, and national political candidates.  Throughout social media you see endless videos on candidates who spend their time running down their opponent.  It is very easy to get caught up in all of this.  It is easy to get caught up in the endless debates and the controversies which the media shoves down our throats on a daily basis.  And the vast multitude of these political candidates do not care about you or your family.  The vast majority of those in political office, I am convinced, only care about what their party is telling them to care about.  The vast majority of political office holders tell you the voter anything and everything to win your vote but once they get into office they do not listen to you, they listen to the people that fund their campaigns and tell them exactly what to do.  But we should concern ourselves with the words of St. Paul:  "For our citizenship is in heaven"  Our existence here on earth is only temporary.  Our time here on earth is fleeting.  It is our citizenship in Heaven which matters.  It is our citizenship inn Heaven which should truly concern us.  Do not be fooled by what the world promises you.  Do not be tricked into thinking that politicians truly care for you and your family.  Concentrate on God and have a relationship with Him.  

 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!  

Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity, October 20th, 2024

 Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity, October 20th, 2024

In the Fourth Chapter of St. John's Gospel, we hear the passage concerning the Nobleman's son that was gravely ill.  The Nobleman found Our Blessed Saviour and implored His assistance in making his son well again.  "Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way."  It is certain that Our Lord was not against healing the Nobleman's son.  We find many examples where He cures those who are gravely ill.  But it seems that He was simply making a point that we should have faith enough that our belief is not dependent on what we see with our eyes.   It seems in our own age, we have to see everything with our own eyes before we will believe it and even then we might still be skeptical in the back of our minds concerning the whole matter.  Twenty-four hour news channels and sports channels; the internet; You-tube; etc.  Everything is filmed and blogged about from major events to the seemingly unimportant, mundane things of life.  Every story is pulled apart and every aspect of a story is magnified and looked at.  We have to see everything .. . know everything . . . understand everything.  But Our Blessed Lord is telling us that with God, we can have faith alone.  We do not have to depend on seeing signs and wonders with Him.  We can be assured that God will take care of our needs and we do not need proof.  Our proof consists in the fact that Our Blessed Saviour was born as a human being and that He died on the Cross for our sins.

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!

Twentieth Sunday after Trinity, October 13th, 2024

 Twentieth Sunday after Trinity, October 13th, 2024

Can you imagine planning a party for your closest friends.  You want the party to be special indeed, so you put a lot of planning into it. And you spend a lot of money as well.  You buy all the decorations.  You hire the best catering company in the city so that the food will be the most delicious.  You get everything set up and looking absolutely beautiful.  And when the time arrives and everything is in place, nobody shows up.  Not a single person showed up.  None of your guests or friends took the time to show up for an event that you put your heart and soul into planning.  How would you feel if this was you?  In the Twenty-Second Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, we hear Our Lord telling the parable of the king who threw a big party for his son's marriage, but nobody showed up.  Our Lord was making a very important point:  "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come" (St. Matthew 22:1)  How many people around the world today do not make time for God?  How many people in our society do not make time to worship God?  How many people don't have time to come worship God on Sundays or work on His behalf because they are too busy.  They are busy working.  They are busy running errands.  They are busy shopping.  They are busy hanging out and going to parties.  They do not have time for God because they are too busy with the cares and concerns of the world.  They do not have time for God because they are too busy chasing after what the world has to offer instead of chasing after what God has to offer.  Please do not turn your back on God.  If your life is too busy for God, then you are too busy.   Make time for God.  The things of this world are temporary.  A relationship with God is eternal.  

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!

Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, October 6th, 2024

 Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, October 6th, 2024

In the epistle designated for the Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, we hear from St. Paul's fourth chapter of his Letter to the Ephesians.  In the beginning of this chapter, St.  Paul writes:  "I therefore . . .  beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called." (Ephesians 4:1)  Those who are called to be Christians are called to be something truly noble.  That may sound very lofty but it is true. This is because we are called to imitate "light" in a world of "darkness."   This is not very easy at times.  In fact, it's a pretty tall order if you ask me.  But that being said, St. Paul goes on to give some pretty sound advice in this fourth chapter of Ephesians.  In verse 31 of this chapter he writes:  "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice." (Ephesians 4:31)  Probably, I would dare say, this is the best advice of the whole chapter for us to keep in mind.  I say this because we live in a fast paced world.  I would say this is true for all of us.  Whether we are working or retired; whether we live in cities or in towns; whether we are young or old.  Just about everybody I know . . . . myself included . . .  is constantly busy at doing this or doing that.  Going to work.  Going to doctor's appointments.  Going shopping.  Cleaning the house.  Fixing the house.  Doing yardwork.  Picking up the kids.  Going to games.  The list goes on and on.  And, unfortunately, for many of us . . . .  again, myself included . . . . busy schedules oftentimes lead to stressful living.  And stressful living can lead to short tempers and lack of patience with those around us.  We get angry with the idiots that cut us off in traffic and almost cause a wreck.  We get irritated with the people in front of us at the store who are holding up the checkout line by trying to use coupons that have been expired for five months.  We get mad at people who may have a different opinion than we do.  The list goes on and on.  And while these things may seem insignificant in and of themselves, added all together these things have the potential to make our lives very stressful.  

God does not mean for our lives to be filled with stress and anger and irritation.  Quite frankly, when we get irritated with someone or something . . . . even if we are correct to be irritated . . .  this irritation does not harm the other person;  it harms us.  The other person probably doesn't even know of our irritation and probably wouldn't care anyway even if they would know.  The irritation and the anger and the bitterness is what builds up inside of us and harms us. Period.  St. Paul is warning the church at Ephesus just like he is warning us two-thousand years later:  be filled with things of God instead of things of the world.  Fill yourself with the love of God so that you will not be filled with the anger and bitterness offered by the world.  In a certain sense, we are similar to a pitcher or a glass or a box.  If the container is filled with whatever objects we can think of and the contained is filled to the brim, we can not fit anything else in.  Thus, remove the items from the container so that we can fill the other items in there.  Thus, in that sense, how can we expect to fill ourselves with the love of God if we are already filled with anger and bitterness and hate?  Conversely, how can anger and bitterness and hate fill us if we are already filled with the love of God?

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!

Join us at 10:30 AM 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.

Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 15th, 2024

 Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 15th, 2024

In the Third Chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians, we are reminded "that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith"  (Ephesians 3:13 ff).  I have been preaching now for over twenty years.  The more I preach, the more I seem to emphasize that each one of should prepare a special place in our heart where only Christ can dwell.  It stands to reason that for any king,  . .  . or queen, . . .  or head of state such as a president or prime minister, . . . .  for anyone in charge, for that matter, we go to special lengths to prepare a place for them.  If someone special is coming to visit you . . . such as a beloved relative or a dear friend whom you have not seen for a long time . . .  if someone special is coming to visit your home, you go to special efforts to prepare a place for them.  You clean up your home.  You put things away.  You spruce up and dust and put things in order as best as you can.  Why do we do all of this?  We do it out of love and out of respect, of course.  We want to be good hosts and we do it because we want to show love and respect for the person visiting.  When a head of state such as a king or queen or president comes to visit your country, a special place is prepared for the visiting dignitary.  When the boss of your company or corporation comes to visit where you work, you clean up and prepare as much as possible to make sure everything looks top-notch.  It just stands to reason that when someone important visits you, you prepare a place for that person and you do your best to make sure everything is in place.  "The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation: He is my God, and I will prepare Him an habitation"  (Exodus 15:2)  The place that each one of us can prepare a habitation for God to dwell is in our heart.  This, quite frankly, is the place where Christ wants to rule.  "For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also." (St. Luke 12:34)  Christ is our treasure ..  . . the love of Christ is our one possession that will last forever.  While all of our other "treasures" will eventually fade away .  . . . . whether they rust  away . . .  or break . .  . or fall out of style . . . . the love of Christ will never fail us.   So prepare a special place in your heart.  Prepare room in your heart for Christ.  That is the one throne He truly desires to occupy . . .  the one in your heart.

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!

Join us at 10:30 AM 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.