Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, August 30th, 2026

 

Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, August 30th, 2026

For years now I have made a point to listen to the radio each morning as I get ready to start my day.  And I do this for multiple reasons, quite frankly.   I want to hear what's going on in the news.  I want to hear the baseball scores.  Additionally, I want to hear what the weather is going to be.  And I also want to hear the traffic report so I will know if I need to avoid any accidents or back-ups.  I have basically done this most of my adult life, it would seem.  Anyhow, here locally, this week it was reported that the man who does the traffic reports which I listened to for years died suddenly last weekend.  It's funny how something like this can affect you when you hear the news of a person passing away.  The man who did the traffic reports was Matt Bair and he gave the reports for years on the station that I listen to on a daily basis.  I had never met him in person.  He did not know me.  I had never communicated with him in any way, form or fashion.  And yet this man whom I had never met was a part of my life (albeit through the radio) for many years.  We never know how we affect others, do we?  We may think that we are simply "insignificant cogs in the wheel" but we matter and what we do in life matters.  Our actions and what we do affects not only us but those around us either directly or indirectly.  I had never met Matt Bair in person, but I looked forward to hearing him on the radio each day.   Each one of us has the potential of either being a positive or negative influence in another person's life.  We affect others by the actions which we take or do not take, as the case may be.  Certainly, as Christians we are called to be a positive influence on others.  We are called to be God's ambassadors in the world.  We are called to be His instrument in the world in which we live.  Be the person God wants you to be.  Live for others as you live for Him. 

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!  

Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, August 23rd, 2026

 

Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, August 23rd, 2026

In the Seventh Chapter of St. Mark's Gospel, we read the encounter between Our Lord and someone who could neither hear nor speak.  "And they bring unto Him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech."  (St. Mark 7:31)  St. Mark tells us that Our Lord healed the man so that he could hear and speak.  Our prayer should be that we are cured from our deafness.  What?  Deaf?  "I'm not deaf," you might be saying to yourself.  Keep in mind that I am referring to a spiritual "deafness."  I am referring to being "hard of hearing" when to comes to listening to God   When I was in the seminary, I lived in a church not far from the elevated train.  And every few minutes or so the trains would pass by.  And as you can imagine, the trains were very loud.  Factor into this the other "sounds" coming from the neighborhood:  car alarms going off constantly . . . . traffic going by . . . . sirens wailing.  At first, with all this noise it was hard to concentrate.  But over time I became accustomed to the racket and the noise and it didn't bother me.  I would dare say, spiritually speaking, we get used to the "noises of the world."  These "noises" drown out our listening to God.  These "noises" keep us from listening to what God is telling us.  These "noises" keep us from paying attention to what we need to focus on.  The problem is that we get used to these "distractions."  We get used to these "noises."  We get used to these "hindrances" which keep us from God.  Thus, in a spiritual sense we become "deaf" or at least "hard of hearing" when it comes to hearing what God is trying to tell us.  Let us pray that our spiritual hearing will be healed so that we can listen fully to what God is saying to us.

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!

 

Tenth Sunday after Trinity, August 9th, 2026

St. Luke describes to us Our Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem in the Nineteenth chapter of his gospel.  Now, keep in mind that all four of the evangelists talk about this event in their respective gospels but in St. Luke's Gospel, we hear something that is not found in the other three.  ". . . he beheld the city, and wept over it " (St. Luke 19:41)  In other words, St. Luke is describing the fact that as Our Lord beheld the great city of Jerusalem, as He saw it, He began to weep, . . .  . He began to cry.  Now we cry for a multitude of reasons, don't we?  We can cry out of sadness.  We can cry out when we get frustrated.  When we are at our wit's end we may start crying.  We even cry sometimes when we are happy . . .  they are called "tears of joy."  Perhaps Our Lord could have been crying for all of the above reasons.  He was crying because He was sad.  Sad at the fact that the people wasted so much time and energy on useless pursuits instead of pursuing a relationship with God.  He cried too out of frustration because He knew that despite all of the best efforts of the prophets, despite the best efforts of St. John the Baptist and all the holy men and women of God throughout the ages to let the people know of the love of God.  And now, despite the best efforts of the Son of God Himself, despite all these efforts and energies, people still turned their back on God!  And, finally, Our Lord was crying with some joy in His heart because He knew that there is hope for all those that He saw.  Our Lord is the hope of the world!  Our Blessed Saviour is the remedy for all the illnesses of the world.  He is the Way, the Truth and the Life!  

As parents, we want the absolute best for our children.  In particular, we want them to have the best "future" that they possibly can with the best job, with the best home, with the best spouse, etc.  We want them to be happy but we don't want them to settle for the "second best."  But, as parents, we still need to let our children live their own life when they grow up.  As babies, as children, their parents have to make decisions on their behalf but when they grow up, they have to live their own life.  And, sometimes, as parents, we are disappointed in the choices that our children make.  It grieves us and frustrates us as parents because we don't want our children to settle for "second best."  This is why Our Lord was crying for the children of Jerusalem because He knew that they could have so much more by following God but instead they settled for "second best."  And Our Lord certainly knew that despite the fact that He died on the Cross many souls would still choose to turn their back on God.  Let us never turn our back on God.  Let us never settle for "second best."  Let us always choose the "best" way of life . .  . and that is a personal relationship with Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!

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!