Third Sunday after Trinity, June 21st, 2026

 

Third Sunday after Trinity, June 21st, 2026

You sometimes hear questions from people as to why evil goes on in the world.  Why do bad things happen to good people?  In a certain sense, this is a fair enough question.  Theologians along with great thinkers throughout history have been asking this same question basically since the world began.  Why do bad things happen at all?  And then many people start placing the blame on God at least indirectly when they ask:  why did God "allow" this to happen?  

If we turn to the First Epistle of St. Peter, we hear the following:  "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: . .   " (I St. Peter 5:5 ff)  Let's be clear.  The devil is indeed prowling throughout the world causing as much mischief as he can.  The devil does certainly plant seeds in our minds, hearts and souls with evil intent.  He misleads us and he lies to us. He plants foundations of confusion in our minds so that we will not see the truth but see things how he wants us to see them.  But we need to take St. Peter's advice and be "vigilant" and be "sober" . . . . in other words, pay attention! . . . be on guard! . . . . the devil wants to devour us . . . the world wants to devour us . . . . .  . evil wants to devour us!  All the more reason to stay close to God.  Get to know God on a personal level.  Make Him your best friend.  Make Him your personal adviser.  Let God be your instructor in life.  You see, so many people today let Satan instruct them and they don't even realize it.  What happens when there is a void?  Typically, something comes in to fill up that void.  This is what happens when we do not have God in our life.  We have a void when we do not have God in our life and that void is filled with all kinds of things:  evil thoughts and misinformation and hatred and jealousy  .  . .  . . Fill your hearts with God and there will be no room for hatred!  Fill your mind with things of God and there will be no opportunity for the devil to fill it with thoughts of mischief.  Fill your soul with Christ and you will never go wrong.   Let God fill your mind and your heart and the devil will never have the opportunity to take control!

********

Second Sunday after Trinity, June 14th, 2026

In the Fourteenth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke, we hear about Our Blessed Saviour going to eat at "the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath day." (Chapter 14 verse 1).  While he was there, St. Luke tells us that Our Blessed Lord told many stories, parables and answered questions for all the guests gathered there.  Further on in this same chapter though Our Lord tells the story of a man that made a great supper and invited many people to the feast.  But as Our Lord tells the story we soon find out that many of the people that got invited to the supper came up with all kinds of excuses for not coming.  One, for example, says that he has bought property and has to go see it.  Another one states that he has bought farm animals and has to go take care of them.  Another one states that he just got married and has to take care of his wife.  Well, you get the idea.  Our Lord, as He tells the story, is pointing out that everyone that got invited to the supper is making excuses for not coming.

How many excuses do we make when it comes to having a personal relationship with God?  How many excuses do we come up with when it comes to not spending time with God?  Quite frankly, all the people in the story had legitimate reasons for not going to the supper.  All of their "excuses" were valid and yet how many "valid" excuses do we try to use to justify the fact that we do not go daily to God in prayer?  How many of us say how busy we are with work  . . . .  and chores around the house . . .  . and running errands?  Do we use our busy schedule as an excuse to justify not spending time with God?  All of us lead busy lives.  But if we are too busy to spend time with God . . . .  we are TOO busy.  The story that Our Blessed Saviour tells about the man who made a supper and invited folks represents, of course, God.  God invites each of us to have a personal relationship with Him.  The only question is whether or not we accept His invitation.  Let us prioritize our lives in such a way that we "make time" for God . . . . not make excuses for avoiding Him.  Let us go to Our Heavenly Father on a daily basis . . .  not only when we "need" Him for something.  Let each of us accept His invitation.

Please join us as we gather together at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Mass begins at 10:30 am.  Please join us this day and hear the Word of God and give praise and honor to Our Risen Saviour!

 

Second Sunday after Trinity, June 14th, 2026

In the Fourteenth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke, we hear about Our Blessed Saviour going to eat at "the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath day." (Chapter 14 verse 1).  While he was there, St. Luke tells us that Our Blessed Lord told many stories, parables and answered questions for all the guests gathered there.  Further on in this same chapter though Our Lord tells the story of a man that made a great supper and invited many people to the feast.  But as Our Lord tells the story we soon find out that many of the people that got invited to the supper came up with all kinds of excuses for not coming.  One, for example, says that he has bought property and has to go see it.  Another one states that he has bought farm animals and has to go take care of them.  Another one states that he just got married and has to take care of his wife.  Well, you get the idea.  Our Lord, as He tells the story, is pointing out that everyone that got invited to the supper is making excuses for not coming.

How many excuses do we make when it comes to having a personal relationship with God?  How many excuses do we come up with when it comes to not spending time with God?  Quite frankly, all the people in the story had legitimate reasons for not going to the supper.  All of their "excuses" were valid and yet how many "valid" excuses do we try to use to justify the fact that we do not go daily to God in prayer?  How many of us say how busy we are with work  . . . .  and chores around the house . . .  . and running errands?  Do we use our busy schedule as an excuse to justify not spending time with God?  All of us lead busy lives.  But if we are too busy to spend time with God . . . .  we are TOO busy.  The story that Our Blessed Saviour tells about the man who made a supper and invited folks represents, of course, God.  God invites each of us to have a personal relationship with Him.  The only question is whether or not we accept His invitation.  Let us prioritize our lives in such a way that we "make time" for God . . . . not make excuses for avoiding Him.  Let us go to Our Heavenly Father on a daily basis . . .  not only when we "need" Him for something.  Let each of us accept His invitation.

Please join us as we gather together at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Mass begins at 9:30 am.  Please join us this day and hear the Word of God and give praise and honor to Our Risen Saviour!

First Sunday after Trinity, June 7th, 2026

 

First Sunday after Trinity, June 7th, 2026

In the Sixteenth Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, Our Blessed Lord relates the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man.  In this story, Our Saviour contrasts the difference between how these two men lived their lives:  the rich man wore fine clothing and ate  delicious foods while Lazarus was a poor beggar who lived a miserable existence.  We are further told that when both men died, Lazarus went to Heaven and the rich man went to hell.  In fact, the rich man suffered so much in hell that he cried out to Abraham to send Lazarus to him to give him even the slightest bit of relief to his torment and we then hear the following:  "But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things . . . ." (St. Luke 16:25)

This Gospel passage points out the problem faced by so many in our society today.  So many of us are fixated on the good things in life.  We have everything we want:  the latest gadgets; the newest car; a house in the fanciest neighborhood; the latest fashions; etc.  Now, there is nothing wrong with any of these things just mentioned, but when they take our attention away from God, that is where the problem arises.  We are called as Christians to keep our attention fixed on God.  It is God Who provides all the blessings in life but if these "blessings" divert the attention away from Him, what use are they in the long run?  Fashionable clothes go out of style . . . the latest electronics become obsolete . . .   cars break down . . .  but the one thing they never goes bad is the love of God.  "Put your money where your mouth is."  We've all heard this phrase.  In essence, it means that you better back up your words or else they are "just words" and no more.  Well, God did back up His words.  He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that He loved us by sending His Only Begotten Son into the world to save us from our sins.  Our Blessed Saviour died on the Cross for us.   Why do we keep our attention focused on earthly items that will fade away into nothing?  We have been given a gift beyond measure:  the gift of salvation.  It is offered freely.   Keep your eyes focused on God.  Keep your attention on your Heavenly Father.

 We gather together at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Mass begins at 9:30 am.  Please join us this day and hear the Word of God and give praise and honor to Our Risen Saviour!

Trinity Sunday, May 31st, 2026

 

Trinity Sunday, May 31st, 2026

In the Third Chapter of St. John's Gospel, we hear a conversation between Our Blessed Saviour and Nicodemus.  Now, Nicodemus is asking Our Saviour how someone can be "born again" if they are old.  Our Lord answers:  "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (St. John 3:1 ff)  Our Lord makes a clear distinction here between what is flesh and what is spirit.  Now, of course, the context of this particular conversation recorded in St. John's Gospel refers to being born again.   Nicodemus was asking for clarification on how someone can be "born a second time."  This is why Our Lord made a distinction between what is "spiritual" and what is "physical."  Sometimes, we as Christians also make this distinction between what is spiritual and what is physical and take advantage of the "difference."  In other words, I have seen people clearly do anything and everything under the sun Monday through Saturday and then they are good as pie on Sunday when they show up for church.  Folks go out and do all kinds of things during the week:  they booze it up; and they cheat other folks; they gossip; they sleep around; and they do this, that and the other and anything else they can  think of.  But then come Sunday morning, many of these very same folks wake up; they get all gussied up and look all pretty and they head to church.  And they look so pretty and holy in church, you wouldn't know that this was the same person that you just saw at the nightclub the night before.  Now, I am not going to point fingers at anyone else because we are all sinners . . . . . including me . . .  . and we have all done things we should not do . .. . . including me.  But the problem with the picture that I described above is this:  as Christians, we cannot divide our time into "Christian-time" (i.e., on Sundays and when we are in church) and "Non-Christian time." (i.e., all the OTHER days of the week).  Some people, as described above , try to do just that:  they convince themselves that as long as they are not in church, they can do anything, and everything, and act anyway they want to act.  They can act "flesh-ly,"   They can act "in the flesh."  But when they get into church, they have to act "spiritual" and "holy" and "pious."  As convenient as this might be for most of us, it just does not work that way.  As Christians, we are to be the same person seven days a week; not just on Sundays.  Now, of course, as mentioned above we are humans and we will make mistakes from time to time but the point is still the same:  we are to think about God; honour God; try to be Christ-like; always do as Christ will have us do SEVEN DAYS A WEEK and NOT only on Sunday!!!!!  

We gather together at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Mass begins at 9:30 am.  Please join us this day and hear the Word of God and give praise and honor to Our Risen Saviour!

Pentecost, commonly called Whitsunday, May 24th, 2026

 

Pentecost, commonly called Whitsunday, May 24th, 2026

In today's Gospel from St. John, we hear the following:  " . . . . If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." (St. John 14:15 ff)  Today we celebrate the feast of Whitsunday, or Pentecost.    "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting." (Acts 2:1 ff)   Without a doubt, as we hear described here in the Second Chapter of the Acts of the Apostle, the whole house was filled, and the sound was like a great rushing, mighty wind.  But, again, it states that the "house was filled."  " . . . .  and it filled the house . . . ."  But they were filled also with the Holy Ghost because we hear in Verse 4:  "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost . .  ." (Acts 2:4)

God has the ability to fill us up as well . . . but we have to allow Him.  God has the power to fill us with His Presence . . .  but we first have to be open.  God can come into our lives and empower us . . . but we have to be willing.   You see, God can do all things.  Obviously, we know this is true because He created the universe and everything in it.  But God will not come into our hearts without being invited first.  Just like the Apostles and the Blessed Mother, we need to be open to God coming into our hearts and our souls and our lives . . . . "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost" . . .   We, too, just like them can be filled with the Holy Ghost but two things have to happen first:  1) We need to invite God into our hearts and be open to Him;  2) We need to empty our hearts to make room for the Holy Ghost to come in.  You see, if we need to move something into the closet, such as jackets or sweaters or clothes, for example, we first have to make room in the closet for the new items we are moving there.  In other words, if the closet is already packed full of other things, you can not very well move anything else in there.  Make room in the closet so that you will have room for the new items.  In a similar way, how can the Holy Ghost find a place in our heart if our heart is already packed full with love of things of this life; love of things of this world; love of self; etc.  Clear your heart first of these things and then there will be ample room for the Holy Ghost to have a place in your heart.

We gather together at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Mass begins at 9:30 am.  Please join us this day and hear the Word of God and give praise and honor to Our Risen Saviour!

The Sunday after Ascension Day, May 17th, 2026

 

The Sunday after Ascension Day, May 17th, 2026

In the Fourth Chapter of the First Epistle of St. Peter, we hear the following:  "As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another . . ."  (v. 10)  We can not give anything to others which we ourselves do not possess.     For example, If someone comes up to me and asks me very sincerely:  "I would really like to learn how to speak Polish fluently.  Would you please teach me how to speak Polish?"  Of course, I would have to refuse this request for the simple reason that I have never been taught how to speak Polish myself.  I can not give that which I do not possess.  I may not be fluent in Polish.  I may not have a fancy mansion.   I do not own millions in my bank account.   There's lots of things which I do not possess.  Therefore I can not give those things which I do not have.  And yet St. Peter makes a valid point.  St. Peter speaks truthfully to each and every one of us.  Every single one of us has a gift.  Each and every one of us possesses a special gift . ..  a talent . . . a skill which is unique to us alone.   God has given to each one of us blessings throughout our lifetime.  Do we recognize those blessings that God has given to us or do we take those blessings for granted?  And even if we recognize the blessings bestowed upon us, are we selfish and keep them to ourselves?  Or do we share our blessings with others around us?   As I like to say, God leads by example.  He never asks us to do anything which He Himself is not willing to do.  Our God is a giving God.  He is a generous God.  He gave to the world His Only Begotten Son.   And the Son of God became the Lamb of God Who took upon Himself our sins.  He carried our sins to the Hill at Calvary to hang there.  He took our place on that Cross and paid the price for us.  No matter who we are.  No matter how rich or how poor we are in the eyes of the world.  No matter what our station in life is.  Each and every one of us can never say that God has not blessed us.  The blessings are all around us.  It would seem that as human beings we have the habit on focusing on our troubles instead of focusing on our blessings.  Sometimes we focus so much on the burdens of life that we completely forget about the blessings.  But if we make a point to look for them, we will find the blessings which the Good Lord has provided for us.  And once we do, we should do our best to go out and share our blessings with those around us. 

We gather together at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Mass begins at 9:30 am.  Please join us this day and hear the Word of God and give praise and honor to Our Risen Saviour!

Fifth Sunday after Easter (Rogation Sunday), May 10th, 2026

 

Fifth Sunday after Easter (Rogation Sunday), May 10th, 2026

It is interesting to reflect on the Epistle of St. James on Mother's Day.  In the First Chapter we hear the following:  "BE ye doers of the word, and not hearers only" (St. James 1:22)  If anything, mothers are "doers," are they not?  They take care of their children, take care of their homes.  They pack lunches and do laundry and act as chauffeur driving to practices and sporting events, etc.  They also deal with all the last-minute emergencies that spring up at literally the last minute.  Moms just don't sit around and talk about "mom stuff," they do the "mom stuff."  In a similar fashion, St. James is saying the same, exact thing about those of us who are trying to be good Christians.  He is telling us that we need to do what we hear when it comes to things of God.  It is one thing for us to listen to what God says but it is completely different to do what God says.    It's one thing for me to read my personal copy of the Good Book and read what it has to say and then not do what it says.   "BE ye doers of the word, and not hearers only" Put what you learn into action.  Listen to what God is saying to you and then do what He tells you the best way that you can.  Get involved in your local church.  Volunteer at a food bank.  Help your elderly neighbor.  "BE ye doers of the word, and not hearers only"

We gather together at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Mass begins at 9:30 am.  Please join us this day and hear the Word of God and give praise and honor to Our Risen Saviour!