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!

Fourth Sunday after Easter, May 3rd, 2026

 

Fourth Sunday after Easter, May 3rd, 2026

When I was growing up my mother used to make a point that we have two ears but only one mouth.  The implication meaning that we should make a point to listen twice as much than we speak.   It seems to me that this advice is especially profound today in the age of "Social Media."   We hear from St. James in the First Chapter of his epistle:  ". . .  let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God."  (St. James 1:19)   Again, in the day and age in which we live we have instant access to voice our opinion.  If you don't like something, post an opinion on Facebook.  If you are put out by some business write a review on social media or send an email via the corporate website.  Sometimes we are correct in being offended but most times I would dare say we are just feeling offended.  Nothing more and nothing less.  I recently went to a fast-food restaurant and it seemed to take a long time to get my food.  As I was waiting there for my food I took note of all the other patrons waiting for their food as well.  I tried to divert my attention away from the food but it seems like I would keep returning to the "game" of counting the folks ahead of me waiting for their food.   Now one piece of the puzzle that I need to tell you is that there were only two employees working at the time.  So these two employees were trying to work the front counter . ..  take care of the drive-through . .. prepare the food . . . serve the food . . .  . I am just making the point that I could have sat there and gotten madder and madder that it took so long to get my food . . .  or I could have considered the circumstances of the situation and tried to understand why it was taking so long.  I decided to take the latter course.  It wasn't the employees fault.  They were working as hard as they could under the circumstances.  But again getting back to the subject at hand, I could have complained . . .  I could have told my friends: "Oh, I had a horrible experience at that place, never eat there.'  I could have written a scathing review on social media or Facebook telling the whole world not to eat there.  But would telling the whole world of my seeming inconvenience have told the whole story of that experience?  No.  Very often it is best to slow down and take things slowly.  In this day and age in which we live. We want everything done "five minutes ago."  We're in a rush for everything and we want to tell the whole world how we feel about everything.   It would also seem from looking at social media and watching the news that as a society we are in a rush to be offended also today.  

We need to get in the habit of listening more and talking less.  This is certainly true in the spiritual sense.  How often do we take time to pray . .  . . . when we make the time to pray, that is . . .  and 99 percent of the prayer seems to be based solely on TELLING God what to do.  We tell God what we want.  We tell God what needs to be done.  We tell God how we want things  . . .  when we want them . . . and how He should do them.  Wouldn't it be better if we got in the habit of listening to God when we speak to Him instead of telling Him how to do His job?  It seems to me that God loves us very much.  Why else would He have sent His Son into the world to save us if this was not the case.  It seems also that the Good Lord knows us.  He knows our faults.  He knows our habits.  He knows our sins.  And despite this knowledge, He still waits for us to come to Him.  He still waits for us to approach Him.  We should make a point to try and listen to Him.  Maybe then we will hear Him and hear what He is trying to say to 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!

Third Sunday after Easter, April 26th, 2026

 

Third Sunday after Easter, April 26th, 2026

Have you ever had the opportunity to see someone after a long time without seeing them?  A long-lost friend?  A relative?  A fellow classmate?  And what took place?  Were you happy to see them?  Overjoyed?  Did you meet for supper?  Did you invite them over for dinner?  If so, did you clean up the house?  Prepare the meal?  Make sure everything was "just right."  In today's Gospel reading coming from St. John, Our Lord says to His disciples:  "A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me" (St. John 16:16)  How will we feel when we see the Lord face to face?  Will there be immense joy?  Will there be anxiety?  Will there be nervousness?  Sometimes when we have some sort of an engagement down the road, we get nervous or we get anxious.   If we have a meeting planned with a supervisor or a manager where we work, for example.  Or if we have a job interview lined up. Or if we an upcoming medical procedure planned.  But if we spend time with Our Lord right here and right now.  In other words, if we get in the habit of spending time with God in prayer each and every day.  If we get in the habit of reading the Scriptures each and every day.  If we get in the habit of doing our best to please God and do things the way He would want us to do.  It seems to me we won't be nearly as anxious or nervous when we will see Our Blessed Saviour face to face.  How will you feel when you see Our Lord?

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 Easter, April 12th, 2026

 

First Sunday after Easter, April 12th, 2026

In the First Epistle of St. John, we hear the following:  "For there are three that bear witness, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one." (I St. John 5:8)  Here, St. John is pointing out the obvious that the Spirit, the water, and the blood are in agreement and confirm one another.  Obviously, St. John is making reference to the Holy Ghost, Baptism, and the Precious Blood of Christ.  All are in agreement and all confirm the holiness and righteousness of God.  When we look at our lives, shouldn't all the different aspects of our life should be in agreement as well?  When you think about it, there are different aspects of your life:  you work; you go shopping; you go to church; you work home projects; you relax; you pray; etc. You could say that you wear many "hats" in your life.  And the point is this that whether we are in church or at work or at home or at the store,  . . . .  all the different aspects of our life should be in agreement one with another.  I am sure that we have met people that act one way at church and another way outside of church.  More than likely, we would call this person a hypocrite.  That type of person would probably dress up and get all pretty and then go to church.  This person would act a certain way at church and act a completely different way when they are not at church.  But we need to remember that it is what we have on the "inside" and not on the "outside" that makes us a Christian.  What makes us a committed Christian is found on the "inside:"  our heart; our soul; our mind.  And as long as we are committed on the "inside," we will be the "same person" no matter where we find ourselves:  at work; at church; at home; etc.

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.