Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 13th, 2026

 

Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity, September 13th, 2026

In the Epistle for today's Mass, we are listening to a section of St. Paul's sixth chapter of the Epistle to the Galatians.  In this section, St. Paul is trying to warn the young church at Galatia not to be swayed by false teachers, some of which were preaching and teaching and vying for followers.  St. Paul writes:  "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Galatians, Chapter 6:14).  As is usually the case, when we read statements in Holy Scripture, normally it is said/written for a reason.  St. Paul's words cited above are no different.  The reason why St. Paul said what he said was because there were certain false teachers only wanting to compel their followers to follow Jewish laws and customs.  In this case, they wanted the men to be circumcised in order to be "more Christian."  These false teachers were more interested in satisfying themselves than they were in serving Our Blessed Lord.  See verses 12 and 13 of this chapter:  " . . .  they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the Cross of Christ.  For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh."

St. Paul's point in this:  there is only one thing ultimately that has made a difference in the world . . . . a lasting difference, a permanent difference, if you will . . . and that is the fact that Our Lord was willing to give up His own life for you and for me. He paid the price for OUR sins.  And this is the only thing that will ultimately save us:  His Death on the Cross.  It is this one saving event in the history of the world that has made a permanent, lasting effect for all people: Christ died on the Cross to save you and me from our sins.  Nothing else we can do will save us from our sins, including circumcision, is the point that St. Paul is making.  St. Paul was not condemning the practice of circumcision.  In fact, just the opposite, he says further on this chapter:   ".  . .  .peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God." (verse 16)  He is just making the point that signs and symbols and good works and good thoughts . . . .  all of these are fine but none of these will save us.  Only the Cross of Christ has the saving effect for all eternity.  Only Our Lord's Sacrifice on the Cross is the permanent solution to our sinful ways and lifestyle.  He died on the Cross to atone for OUR sins . . .not His! . . .  OUR sins and then He rose again on the third day so that we will have the opportunity to share eternal life with Our Heavenly Father.  We need to keep this thought in our minds each and every day.

So many times we place all of our hopes in things, or actions or events and we are positive that these things will make everything better for us . . . . "Oh, if I can only make it to the weekend, everything will be fine.  Let me make it through this week"  "If I could only get this upgraded computer, everything will go much better, and I could do more things, and it would run faster . . . ."  "If I could only get all of my chores done at the house, then I could  .. . . ."  You see, as human beings, we pin all of our hopes and obtaining certain things or reaching certain goals . . . . whether they be obtaining new jobs, or new homes, or the latest gadgets . . .  and we are sure that everything will be just fine if we only get this certain item.  And this seems to appease us only briefly until we get fixated on getting the next "must-have" item or the next earth-shattering event in our life.  But ultimately, none of these things matter in the course of eternity.  There is only one thing and one thing only that matters for us:  the fact that Christ was willing to die on the Cross to atone for your sins and mine.  That is the single solitary event in the history of the world whose effects are ever-lasting.  Everything else is just temporary.

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!

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!

Ninth Sunday after Trinity, August 2nd, 2026

 

Ninth Sunday after Trinity, August 2nd, 2026

As it has come to be known, the story of the "Prodigal Son" is certainly one of the most famous stories in all of Holy Scripture, if not the most famous.   There are so many aspects of this story that it is hard to pin it down to just one thing.  Of course the story revolves around the son who decides that he would rather have the inheritance "now" rather than "later."  And as a result he spends his inheritance on lavish living and then finds himself afterwards broke, and living in squalor.  And ultimately he comes back home with the intent of begging forgiveness from his father.  In my opinion, the most wonderful part of the whole story comes at about the midway point of the story:  "But when (the son) was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him."  (St. Luke 15:20)  If you notice, Our Lord tells us that the son was still a great way off when the father saw his son.  This implies to me that the father was on the "look-out" for his son.  And then when the father did finally see his son, he ran to him.  The father did not wait for the son to come to him.  He not only went to the son.  He went running to meet his son.  

This story of the Prodigal Son is really the story of humanity.  Humanity is the "prodigal son."  We have been given the gift of life.  We have been given the gift of salvation.  But not content with these two gifts we spend our "inheritance" also on riotous living as well.  We want to live life our own way and rarely bring God into our day to day living.  And just like the prodigal son in the story, we only think about God when we need Him or when we find ourselves in desperation.  And it is  then that we go to Him for help.  Like the loving father in the story, though, Our Heavenly Father also waits for us.  Our Heavenly Father comes running to us.  But He came running to sinful mankind in the form of His Son.  He sent His Son to rescue fallen mankind from their sinfulness and pride.  God is always on the lookout for us.  He not only waits for us . . . . . He looks for us to return to Him.  He is always ready to forgive, ready to bring us back, ready to love us and embrace 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!

Eighth Sunday after Trinity, July 26, 2026

 

Eighth Sunday after Trinity, July 26th, 2026

In the Eighth Chapter of the Letter to the Romans, we hear the following:  "The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."  This passage is a powerful reminder that the Holy Ghost Himself is our Witness that we are the children of God.  And, as children, we are "joint-heirs with Christ."  But we should point out that we are joint-heirs in the glory but also the suffering.  We must always remember that we are not exempt from suffering simply because we are a child of God.  Our Blessed Lord was not exempt from suffering . . .  His Blessed Mother was not exempt from suffering . . .  the saints in Heaven were not exempt from suffering while they were here on earth.  None of us is exempt from suffering.  What we are called to do, just like Our Blessed Lord did, is to embrace our Cross and to endure the suffering.  Sort of like riding out the storm together with Our Blessed Saviour.  The point is that as Christians we are called to offer up our victories and also to offer up our sorrows as well.  Whether we are in the valley or up on the mountain-top, the key is to always keep close to Our Blessed Lord.  Make Him a part of every day of your life.  Some people only run to God when they are in trouble.  These people see God as their "last resort."  Please do not run to God only in times or trouble or only when all other avenues are exhausted!  Run to Him on a daily basis . . . in both good times and bad  . . .  . keep close to Him and He will keep close to you!

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!

Seventh Sunday after Trinity, July 19th, 2026

 

Seventh Sunday after Trinity, July 19th, 2026

In the Sixth Chaper of the Epistle written to the Romans we hear:  "I SPEAK after the manner of men"    And then he continues:  " . . . . for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity "  (v. 19)  So often we choose to talk the way we hear others talk.  We make a point to talk the same way, use the same phrases, speaking like we hear our friends or people on TV or what we hear in songs, etc.  But it is not just limited to speech, we imitate mannerisms we see in others.  We imitate others through our actions and what we do ourselves.  Just turn on the nightly news to see proof of exactly what I am speaking of.  Night after night, day after day, we hear of shootings and robberies.  We hear about road rage incidents.  We read about strings of burglaries and robberies.  The list goes on and on and on.  As a people, we have indeed "yielded our members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity!"  All the more reason that we as Sons and Daughters of the Most High need to let the world know that there is a new way.  There is a different path.  We hear in verse 23 of this same chapter:  "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord"  We need to remind the world that the only thing worth chasing in life is not anything that the world has to offer.  The only thing worth chasing is a relationship with Our Heavenly Father.  He is the One Who offers eternal life.  He is the One Who heals what is broken.  He is the One Who sent HIs Son into the world to die for our sins.  

 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!

Sixth Sunday after Trinity, July 12th, 2026

 

Sixth Sunday after Trinity, July 12th, 2026

In the Sixth Chapter of the Epistle written to the Romans we hear the following:  "KNOW ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?"  When we are baptized into the Christian faith, in essence, we are called to die to the world.  When Christ was crucified on the Cross and laid in the grave, His enemies thought that He had been defeated.  They thought He was gone and done for.  And yet He rose on that first Easter morn.  He rose to new life utterly defeating death itself.  In our Baptism we are called to die to the world and rise from the waters of Baptism as a new creature in Christ.  And yet, so often this is not the case.  The world continues to attract us in so many ways.  The things of the world seem to hold us captive and hold us down.  As Christians, we are called to focus our attention on God and the things of God.  We are called to be the instruments of God in this world.  And yet so often we only do the things which we want done instead of doing what God calls us to do.  We focus on what we want instead of focusing on what God wants.  We need to remind ourselves Who we belong to.  We need to remind ourselves what our purpose in life is as faithful sons and daughters of the Most High.  We must remind ourselves that through our relationship with Our Blessed Saviour we have died to the world and have a new life with Him.  And we need to have put all things into perspective that God comes first and foremost in our lives and our life in Him needs to take priority.

   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!

Fourth Sunday after Trinity, June 28th, 2026

 

Fourth Sunday after Trinity, June 28th, 2026

Being a Christian is not an easy job by any stretch of the imagination.  Come to think of it, being a human being is not an easy thing either.  Having to make decisions that affect your own life.  Having to make decisions that affect others . . . . for example, if you are a parent or the owner of a company.  Having to do things that you would prefer not to do but have to be done . . .  cutting the grass comes to mind or paying bills.  Having to juggle various roles all at the same time . . .   going to work . . . taking care of your home . . .  being a parent . . .  being a child . . . . paying bills . . . doing chores . . .  etc. The point being is that life is busy . . . at least it is for me . . . and life is full of difficulties and challenges . . .  again, at least it is for me.  But as I look around on social media and in the news and listening to people's conversations, it seems that people must have a whole lot of free time that they don't know what to do with.  It used to be that if you held a different belief than me, I might not have agreed with you but it amounted to nothing more than that:  a difference of opinion.  Period.  End of story.  I might not like your choice or I might not like your belief but on the other hand you might not be too fond of something about me either.  But we just left it at that.  And, more importantly, we left it alone.  You had your belief.  I had my belief. Period.  Today, people get into all kinds of arguments and criticisms of one another if they do not agree and support the other person one hundred and twenty percent.

In St. Luke's Gospel, Our Lord said:  " BE ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful."  (St. Luke 6:36)  But then He goes on to say in the following verse:  "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned; forgive, and ye shall be forgiven."   (v.37)  It is that last part that we should be most concerned with . . . ". .  . forgive, and ye shall be forgiven."   I have long said that we tend to be so focused on the wrong-doing in others lives, if for no other reason, it takes the focus off of our wrong doing.  If I focus on someone else and where they are wrong in their life, it means that I have less time to focus on what is wrong in my own life.    A few verses later, Our Lord states in Verse 41:  "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?"  Why am I so concerned about the speck that I see in my brother's eye when I am totally oblivious to the plank in my own eye?!?  The bottom line is this:  Don't be too quick to criticize someone else because your backyard probably needs a little sprucing up as well.  You don't have to be in complete agreement with someone in order to be civil and loving to that person.  Our Lord stated that we need to "love one another"  He did not say that we need to "agree with one another."  And finally,  show a little mercy and compassion to those around you.  Do not be so quick to condemn someone who does not agree with you.  That person may not agree with you either on other subjects.  The bottom line is that each one of us needs to be concerned if we agree with God.   I should be LESS concerned about making MY own voice heard  . . . and be MORE concerned about making GOD'S voice heard in my life and the way in which I treat others around me.

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!

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!

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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!

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.

Easter Sunday, April 5th, 2026

 

Easter Sunday, April 5th, 2026

Our Blessed Lord is Risen from the grave!  He is Risen Indeed!  As people of faith, we know that Our Blessed Lord rose on the third day on that original Easter Sunday morn.  The stone was rolled away and Our Lord rose from the dead.  Death could not hold Him.  Death could not defeat Him.  We know that Our Blessed Saviour died on the Cross so that we could be forgiven our sins.  He rose from the grave on that glorious Easter morn so that we could have eternal life with Him in Heaven!  With all that said, we turn to the Third Chapter of the Epistle written to the Colossians:  "IF ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above" (v. 1)  And also:  "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth" (v. 2)   As sons and daughters of the Risen Lord why do we set our affections on earthly things?  We live in the world, yes, but as children of faith, we are not of the world!   Our kingdom is in Heaven and Christ is Our Risen King!  Let us set our sights on Heavenly things.  Let us seek those things above and not spend our precious time seeking earthly things which will ultimately just fade away.  The love of God is everlasting.  

PLEASE NOTE:  Easter Mass at St. Margaret Church will begin at 11:30 am on Easter day, April 5th, 2026.  

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

Palm Sunday, March 29th, 2026

 

The Sunday Next before Easter, commonly called Palm Sunday, March 29th, 2026

Without a doubt, in my humble opinion,  I would dare say that Judas is certainly one of the most negative figures though-out all of human history.  It is understandable given the fact that he betrayed Our Blessed Lord.  And yet when we begin to read the Gospel appointed for Palm Sunday, coming to us from St. Matthew's Gospel (Chapter 27) we read the following verse:  "Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood . . ." (St. Matthew 27:3-4)   And Judas then threw down the blood money, the thirty pieces of silver he was given, the price for betraying Our Blessed Saviour.  St. Matthew tells us that after this Judas went and "hanged himself." (v. 5)  Very often we find ourselves in the same position as Judas.  What I mean is that we find ourselves committing a wrong and then we regret it deeply.  And like Judas we wish that could undo the wrong we have done.  And, again, similar to Judas we find that undoing a wrong that we have committed is not such a simple thing.  It is obvious that Judas regretted what he had done.  Why would he have approached the elders and the chief priests to return the thirty pieces of silver if he did not have regret?  As we read previously, St Matthew himself writes that when Judas saw Our Lord was condemned he "repented himself." (v. 3)  And yet the deed was already done.  Judas' act of betrayal could not be undone . .  . no matter how much remorse he had at that point.  So, too, with us.  When we come to the realization that we have done a great wrong . . .  to others . . .  to ourselves . . .  to God Himself . . . it is too late to "undo" the act or correct the wrong we have committed.  In this regard Judas does serve to teach all of us a valuable lesson:  Let us do our best not betray God in the first place.  Do we not betray God when we wrong others out of selfishness and greed?  Judas was willing to betray Our Saviour for thirty pieces of silver.  Do we not betray God when we only think of only ourselves and ignore others around us and how they feel?  Judas was thinking of himself when he made plans to betray Our Lord, wasn't he?  And like Judas, do we sometimes regret what we have done when we come to our senses only to realize that it is too late to take back our words . .  . too late to undo our actions . . . just too late?  How about the times that we do not even care enough to regret the sins we have committed.  Rather, we seek to justify and explain away the wrongs we have done.   Our Heavenly Father realizes that we are imperfect.  He realizes that we sin when we ought to know better.  He knows that we frequently turn our backs on Him.  This is the reason why God sent His Only Begotten Son into the world to save us from our sins.  God knew that we could never achieve this end by ourselves.  Our Blessed Lord freely chose to carry His Cross to Calvary so that we can be forgiven.  In addition to the Cross, Our Lord carried our transgressions to that hill at Calvary.  In that sense, we should always make a point to remember that it was our sins which Our Blessed Lord carried to to Cross.  It was our sins which caused Our Saviour to be nailed to that Cross.  It was our sins which caused Our Blessed Saviour to die on that Cross.  Let us think of these things before we sin again.

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.