Are We Outraged?

In the Twenty-Seventh Chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew, we read about the various events leading up to the Crucifixion of Our Blessed Saviour.  The chapter begins point blank:  "When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put Him to death." (St. Matthew 27:1)  This sets the tone for the events described in this chapter.  One of the main characters portrayed in this chapter is, of course, Pontius Pilate. This is because the chief priests and elders had enough with this "radical rabbi," . . .  . this "miracle worker," . . . . this "blasphemer," . . . . . and they led Him away, and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.  The reaction of Pilate always struck me as someone who is in a sort of a "calm panic."  In other words, Pilate  . . . . at least in my opinion . . . . always seems to be somewhat calm in his demeanor on the outside.  On the inside, though, he seems to be in a panic:  he does not know what to do with the Man Jesus that is brought before him.  Pilate seems to know that he was caught somewhere in the middle and was about to be squeezed from both sides. "And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release Him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar." (St. John 19:12)  Remember also  it was the wife of Pilate, who received a warning in a dream and told her husband not to have anything to do with Jesus.   It is at this point in the chapter that Pilate speaks to Our Blessed Saviour:  "Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly."  (St. Matthew 27:13-14)  Now if you survey this whole Twenty-Seventh chapter of the St. Matthew's Gospel, you will find that the interaction between Pilate and Our Blessed Saviour takes up a big chunk of this chapter.  And throughout this whole interaction between Pilate and Our Lord, He only says two words to Pilate in response to Pilate asking Him if He was a king, Our Lord responded:  "Thou sayest."  (v. 11)  You see, Pilate "marvelled greatly" because he was facing a man who was facing imminent death.  Most men, I am sure, in similar circumstances were probably protesting their fate, telling how innocent they were, and begging for mercy.  But now Pilate is facing off against someone who is doing none of these things.   He does not know how to react to this reaction from Our Blessed Saviour to the dire consequences He is faced with.

If you look throughout the chapter, you can not help but contrast the emotions and reactions of those around Him.  It is interesting to compare and contrast the reaction of the Lord compared to the crowd.  If you look at the example of the crowds and the chief priests and the elders mentioned in this chapter, it would seem that they were outraged, full of anger, and filled with hatred.  When we read this account from St. Matthew we can feel the anger and hatred and outrage from the crowd all directed toward Our Blessed Saviour.  And despite this "venom" from those around Him, ". .  . He answered (Pilate) to never a word . . . "  This is why Pilate, as St. Matthew observes, "marvelled greatly."  It is no wonder that Pilate found this contrast amazing because on the one side he saw so much hatred . . . and anger . . . and bitterness  . . . . . and when he saw Our Lord, he did not witness any of those emotions.  

How often in our own life is our first reaction to become outraged when someone has wronged us?  How often do we become angry when we feel we are in the right about something?  How often do we react with bitterness and contempt towards others around us when they have differing points of views that do not necessarily match ours?  It is so easy for us in the day and age in which we live to become "outraged" about a multitude of things.  With "social media," not only can we get outraged about events happening halfway across the world in addition to local events that can enrage us.  We can get outraged about international events or local events or even "personal" events such as getting stuck in a traffic jam or when gas prices jump up in price forty cents.  We have the potential to be outraged about a whole host of things from little to huge.  
An interesting quote in light of the subject at hand in our own day and age:  "Outrage (has become) a substitute for religion: It convinces us that our existence has some kind of meaning or significance beyond itself, that is to say beyond the paltry flux of day-to-day existence, especially when that existence is a securely comfortable one." (Dalrymple, "Better Left Unsaid," Takis's Magazine, Dec. 31, 2016)  
  

Did the crowd described above look to the chief priests and elders for something to get "outraged" over?  Do we look for things to get "outraged" over?  We are called to pattern our lives after Our Blessed Lord.  Of course, as humans, we are prone to failure but we are still called to keep on trying.  All of us have reason to be outraged.  All of us have reason to feel frustrated in life.  All of us have reason to feel anger at various points now and then.  And yet it is our reaction to these feelings that we need to work on.  Are we constantly outraged like the chief priests and crowds surrounding Our Lord or are we calm and prayerful like Our Blessed Saviour?  When confronted by our enemies and those who have wronged us, is our reaction "anger" and "outrage" or even "revenge"?  Or when confronted by those who hate us and are angry with us, do we ever respond with prayer for that person and maintain a sense of calm?  Remember Our Blessed Saviour stated:  "But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you."  (St. Luke 6:27)   If we see something on social media that makes us mad .  . . .  if we get cut off in traffic by some inconsiderate jerk . . . .  if we get chewed out by our boss . . . .  is our first reaction to be "outraged"?   Do we constantly seem to be outraged or angry about something?  As much as possible, we should be different from the world.  As much as possible, we should not conform to the world.  We achieve this by following the teachings and the example of Our Blessed Saviour. Just like Pilate "marvelled greatly" at Our Lord's  reaction to the outrage and the anger of the crowds, the world should "marvel greatly" at the way in which we react to anger and outrage: responding with love and prayer.

You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened . . .

In the annals of "Pop" music, one of the biggest hits  . . .  if not the biggest hit . . . .  for Gladys Knight and the Pips was their version of "You're The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me."  Although I don't have any numbers or statistics in regards to how many records it sold, I would dare say that their version was the biggest selling version of this song.  But it would probably surprise many people that they were not the first artists to record this song.  Actually, I enjoy the version of this song by Ray Price, which was released in the 1950's . . . . some twenty years prior to the "Gladys Knight / Pips" version.  Now the song was obviously a song telling of  love between two people devoted to one another.  And yet as I listen to the song I can not help but think of God when I listen to the lyrics of the song.

In particular, some of the lyrics in the song that make me think of God are as follows:  "If anyone should ever write my life story . . . . For whatever reason there might be . . .  You'll be there between each line of pain and glory . . . "

When I hear that last line of the lyrics mentioned above I can not help but think of God because, without a doubt, He has been there for me in the good times and the bad.  We know as human beings we will experience good and we will experience bad.  Sometimes we will get a promotion at our job and sometimes we may get laid off.  Sometimes we will have the pleasure of getting bills paid off and other times we will end up receiving an unexpected bill like when the car quits running.  Our lives are similar to the weather sometimes . . . .  always unpredictable  . . .  despite the best efforts of the weather-man.  Life sometimes goes more smoothly than other times and life is certainly more difficult at times and less difficult at other times.  But whether we are experiencing good times or difficult times, God is the one constant that we can always depend on in our life.  To paraphrase the song, "God has been there between each line of pain and glory" in our life.

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." (Ecclesiastes 3:1) Of course, this verse and the following verses from the Third Chapter of Ecclesiastes are very famous.  These verses remind us that there is a time for every action.  Just as there are different seasons:  Winter . . .  Spring . . . . Summer . . . Fall . . . . there are times for us to build and times for us to work.  There are times for us to rest and times for us to move.  There are times for us to rejoice and times for us to mourn.  None of us are guaranteed an easy life.  None of us are guaranteed a perfect life.  None of us are guaranteed a life without burden.  But no matter what season we find ourselves   .  . . . no matter what difficulties life throws at us . . . .  we know that God is always there for us.  The Psalmist reminds us:  "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou are God. (Psalm 90:2)  God is indeed everlasting and His love is everlasting.

The thing that we always have to remember about God is that He is always faithful to us even when we are not always faithful to Him.  There are times in our life where we get sidetracked.  There are times in our life where we get distracted.  There are times in our life perhaps when God seems distant.  And yet we know that it anything, we are the ones that separate ourselves from God and His Majesty.  "For I am the Lord, I change not . . ." (Malachi 3:6)

Always remember that God is there for us if we only go to Him.  Spend this holy season of Lent looking forward to Easter.  We are not a people that live in the past.  We are a people of hope.  We look towards the future.  Our hope lies in Christ, Who is our Saviour.  "'Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is." (Jeremiah 17:7)

Raising A Catholic Family

If you think about all of the difficult jobs in the world today, I would imagine that the job of "Raising a Catholic Family" would probably be near the top of the list.  Certainly, in today's culture in which we live, raising a family is difficult enough.  Period!  But raising a family with any sort of faith-based foundation is even more difficult.  Let's face it, in our society which we find ourselves today, the world is so "Anti-religion," "Anti-faith," "Anti-God,"  etc. that it is a daunting task to remain a good Christian our self, let alone raise a Christian family.  In this out of control world, the odds of raising a Catholic family seem overwhelming, to say the least.  But fear not, nothing is impossible with God's help . .  .  even raising children.   Let us reflect on some good "general rules" when raising a good Catholic family:

Rule Number One:  Always Stay Close To God . . .  .

I have found a good rule of thumb in any task I undertake is to always STAY CLOSE TO GOD!  As I say, this is good advice, first and foremost, for anything we do in life.  So many people in our world today do just the opposite.  They leave God out of everything they do.  In other words, people today . . . .  in general, of course,  . . . . seem to go about their merry way with no thought of God at all in their daily routine.  They don't pray . . .  they don't go to church . . .  they don't read Scripture . . . . It would seem the only time that most people in our society today ever think about contacting God is when they get into some trouble that they can not get themselves out of.  God becomes a "last resort," as it were.  We should never allow God to become a "last resort" in our life.  And this is true whether we are talking about ourselves as individuals or as a family.  Always make God a priority in your life and in the life of your family.  "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." (Deuteronomy 6:7)   Children learn best, it seems to me, through example.  And if the way you live your life matches up with what you instruct them, the child will understand better.  Always stay close to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  And let your children know just how important this is.  Let your children know how important this is not only by the words you speak to them, but also (more importantly!) by the way you live.  

Rule Number Two:  The Importance Of Prayer . . . . 

Communication is key to any relationship.  Whether we are talking about the relationship between a husband and wife or an employee-employer relationship, for that matter, good communication is the key.  Thus, communication between ourselves and God is of utmost importance as well.  On this I am sure we will agree.  Communication with God is what we call "prayer."  Let your children know how important prayer is  . . .  and should be . .  . in their life.  "Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up." (St. Luke 18:1)  Teach your children to always go to God in prayer.  Let them know that God is always ready to hear our prayers.  Communal prayers done in unison can form a good foundation for more personal, individual prayer later on.  For example, children should be taught early on prayers such as the "Our Father" and the "Hail Mary" and the "Glory Be."  Children should be taught the Rosary so that not only can they pray it on their own but families can also pray the Rosary together in unison.  Let your children know early on that prayer is a powerful weapon.  A former bishop of mine was keen to often say:  "Play dirty and pray . . . "  In other words, his meaning was that prayer is a powerful weapon that most people do not utilize.  When we pray, we are in the presence of the Almighty.  Let your children know how important this is.  Good communication is the key to any good relationship.  And prayer is our communication with the Almighty.  Encourage your children to communicate daily with God: whether it be saying grace before meals; praying the Rosary either alone or as a family; or just sitting in the presence of God reflecting after reading Scripture or in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament in Church.    

Rule Number Three:  Going To Church As A Family . . . . 

When I was growing up, going to church on Sundays was very important.   In other words, it was just something that you did on Sundays:  you went to church as a family.  I know I was brought up that way and raised that way.  To this day, Sunday doesn't seem like Sunday unless I go to church.  Unfortunately, so many people do not feel this way any longer.  Why?  Because it was not taught to them.  The importance of going to church . . .  either as a family or as individuals . . .  . is not taught . . . . it is not emphasized . . . . and it is not explained.  Thus, children do not understand the importance of going to church on a regular basis.  We will not do something if it is not important for us.  In order for children to understand, it has to be explained why it is important to go to church.  As with most things, always keep in mind, teaching usually comes in two "formats:"  1)  Explaining verbally; 2) Teaching by Example.  Keeping this in mind, it doesn't matter how good you "explain" to your children the value of something if you don't do it in practice.  Will children truly appreciate the value of weekly church attendance when they don't see their parents attending church on a regular basis?  This seems pretty obvious but how many families do just this?  They try to explain the importance of doing something . . . .  for example, going to church . . . . but they never actually do it in practice.  Children are smarter than we give them credit for.  If they do not see their parents putting into practice what they "preach," the children more than likely will not put it into practice to begin with.  "Train up a child in the way he should go; Even when he is old he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)

Rule Number Four:  Be A Strong Role Model In The Faith . . . . 

After reading through these various "rules" so far, I hope that you have been able to see a "constant theme" through each rule:  to lead by example.  This is something that needs to be emphasized time and time again, in my humble opinion.  As stated above, children will not practice what they have not been taught.  And whether we like it or not, children learn mostly by what they see being done.  St. Paul writes:  "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger; but bring them up in the discipline and instruction in the Lord."  (Ephesians 6:4)  We teach by instruction, yes, but the best "instruction" comes first by example.  As parents, we need to allow our children to see how we actually lead our life . . . . how we live our life . . . . if children "see" that we do our best to live good, Christian lives, they will be more willing to "listen" to why we do it.  Children, , . . . and adults, for that matter .  . . .  will not listen to someone who "talks the talk" but doesn't "walk the walk."  As a parent, if you tell your child how important it is to go to church, for example, but that child never sees you never attend church yourself, the child will see that your words are hollow and you don't even follow your own advice,  . . . so why should they?   We parents need to instruct, yes, but first and foremost we need to "instruct" through our own actions.  We need to "instruct" first by the way in which we lead our own life, by the way we live our own life.  

Certainly, these four points as discussed above are meant to be "general rules."  Once these "general rules" are set in place, other practices will fall into place.  For example: Advent wreath at home; catechism lessons at home; as mentioned earlier, Rosary recited as a family; having a Sacred Heart or Blessed Mother statue in the home; etc.  The world will do everything in its' power to go against God and the Church. "These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (St. John 16:33)   Everything we can do as parents to let our children know about God will help to strengthen the child once they go "out into the world."  Give the child the "tools" he/she will need to be strong in the faith and always stay close to God.

Epiphany . . . . The Search For The Saviour

The Feast of Epiphany falls on January 6th each year.  It is a feast that seems to be almost forgotten by so much of our society because Christmas is finished to most of society.  Christmas was finished on December 25th and, in the eyes of much of society, it's time to move on.  "Much of society" started celebrating Christmas and preparing for Christmas around Thanksgiving.  And as such they are tired of Christmas by the time December 25th arrives.  On January 6th, "Much of society" is too busy focusing on moving on with their lives and trying to figure out what to do with their New's Years Resolutions.  This is why I say that to "Much of Society," the Feast of Epiphany is in many ways the "Forgotten Feast," . . .  And this is a real shame for so many reasons.  For you see, Epiphany is the feast day set aside by the Church to celebrate and remember the fact that Our Blessed Saviour came to reveal Himself as the Son of God to the Gentiles:  in other words, you and me.

There are so many things that we could write about this wonderful feast day but for our purposes right now, I would like to limit it to two points, if you will allow me:  Firstly, the search by the three wise men for the Child Jesus. Secondly, the gifts that they brought along with them.

The Search for the Christ Child

"When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Juda, in the days of king Herod, behold there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem, saying: Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the East, and are come to adore Him." (St. Matthew 2:1)

Those who were searching for the Christ Child, referenced in the Second Chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew, have come to be known by many names:  the wise men . . . . the three kings . . . . the magi . . . .  and tradition has given them specific names:  Melchior; Caspar; and Balthassar.  No matter what name they go by, their purpose was still the same:  to answer the question, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?"  In other words, their search was a vital one to them.  Their search had great meaning or else they would not have undertook the journey to begin with.  To them, their search had purpose.

Quite frankly, though, for each of us doesn't every "search" have a purpose?  In other words, if you think about it, every single day we search for something, don't we?  Now don't get me wrong, the search might be for something as simple as "where did I lay down my eyeglasses this time?" or "where is that phone number that I need?"  But no matter what we search for, the item that we are searching for must have great meaning to us or else we would certainly not make the effort to search for it in the first place.  Our Lord makes this very point when He tells the story of the woman looking for the lost coin, for example.  And He says that she sweeps the house and looks diligently for the lost coin until she finds it.  It is important to her.  It is valuable to her.  She has need of it and this is why she puts the effort and the time into searching for it.  Quite frankly, as stated above, we basically search for things that we need at the time . . . . we search for things that are valuable . . .  we search for things that we have need of.

If you look back to the Old Testament, you will find:  ". . . . and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them: and that ye seek not after your own heart, and your own eyes." (Numbers 15:39)  So much of the world around us is seeking after "their own heart" and "their own eyes."  In other words, they are seeking those things that are important in the eyes of the world.  They are searching for those things that are considered valuable to the world in general.   But the things in which the world searches for, these items only bring temporary happiness at best.  Mechanical items or electronic items eventually wear out or break completely . . . .  what is "hot" and "in fashion" today is suddenly "out of fashion" tomorrow.  The hottest fads and trends are just that . . . .  a fad . . . . a trend.  And they are only popular until the next "fad" or "trend" comes along.  And yet so much of the world spends its' time searching after worldly lusts that can only bring happiness, at best,  temporarily.

The wise men chose to search after something much more permanent.  This is the important lesson we can learn from them.  They chose to spend their time in search of the "King of the Jews."  " . . .  and in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek."  (Isaiah 11:10)  We need to follow the example of the three wise men in spending our time searching for God.  So much of our time during this human life is spend chasing after worthless things.  We seek after things which can not bring any lasting joy.  "But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (St. Matthew 6:33)

Let us follow the good example of the three wise men.   Let us focus our time on searching for the Christ Child instead of focusing our time looking for the things of the world that ultimately have no lasting value.  Only a relationship with God has permanent, lasting value.  Let us spend our time in this world wisely and concentrate on searching for God.

The Gifts We Bring

Whenever you look at a Nativity scene, you see the three wise men bearing gifts to the Christ Child.  As it has come to be known, Melchior offered gold; Caspar offered frankincense; and Balthassar offered myrrh.

"And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshipped Him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh." (St. Matthew 2:11)

At that time it was customary to bring gifts to a king when visiting him.  Certainly, this is a custom that seems to still be observed in our own time.  If you ever watch the news, you will hear about visiting presidents or dignitaries who visit our country and they present gifts to the president.  Or you will see our president vising other countries and bringing gifts to honor the king or president, as the case may be.  With this in mind, the gifts that the three Magi brought had specific meaning.  The first gift, Gold, was brought to venerate Christ as Lord and King; the second gift, frankincense, was meant to emphasize the divinity of Christ; and the final gift, myrrh, was presented to express that Christ, the Son of Man, must ultimately die on the Cross.  Each gift had meaning.  Each gift had value.  Each gift was presented with an express purpose in mind.

Similar to the three kings, we also can present "gifts" or "presents" to God.  We can offer God various gifts:  our obedience; our self-denial; alms given to the poor; etc.  The one gift that we can give to God that He desires more than any other gift, though, is the gift of our heart.  God desires that gift more than anything else.  You see, as I say so often, God is a perfect gentleman.  He never barges in unannounced.  He never forces His way in.  He never invites Himself.  He waits until He is invited into our heart.  Only we can issue that invitation.  Only we can make room in our heart for Him.  So often, our hearts are crammed full already of the loves and desires of this world.  Only we can "clear things out" and "make room" where God can dwell.  The greatest gift of value that we can give to God is the gift of our love.

The Lineage of Christ

I try to emphasize in my sermons and other talks the importance of reading Holy Scripture.  Simply put, not enough of us read the Good Book as often as we should.  One of the excuses that people often cite for not reading the Bible is it is difficult to read.  Especially in regards to the Old Testament, with the names of people or the names of places, it is understandable because many of the names are in fact difficult to read.  The other reason I have heard people cite in not reading the Bible  . . . .  although people do not often like to admit it out loud . . . . is that to them reading the Bible is boring.  Again, it is understandable that people might feel this way especially in regards to the Old Testament because so much of the Old Testament is filled with lists of people whose names are hard to pronounce.  And yet this is pretty much how St. Matthew chose to begin the Gospel attributed to him.  He began his Gospel by relating the lineage of Our Blessed Saviour.  Why would St. Matthew do this to begin with?, we ask ourselves.  In all fairness, St. Luke also includes the genealogy of Our Lord.  But at least in the example of St. Luke's Gospel, at least St. Luke put his lineage in the third chapter.  In other words, he doesn't start out with it like St. Matthew does at the very beginning.  And so the question remains:  why was including this lineage so important to St. Matthew?

When we think about other examples, oftentimes we also place great importance on lineage.  Have you ever watched a dog show, for example.  The owners of these championship caliber dogs take great pride in listing the "pedigree" of the dogs they show.  And with us human beings as well, there are many people interested in genealogy.  Just look at websites such as "Ancestry.com," where people go there to look up where they came from in regards to their relatives.  Even in regards to cars, you can look up their history to see who owned a car before you or property . . . . who owned a house or a piece of property before you.  So, you see, we are interested in lineage as well.  In part, this tells us  where we came from.  To the Jews, though, they were very interested in genealogies.  Getting back to the subject at hand, the very first verse of the Gospel of St. Matthew begins:  "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham." (St. Matthew 1:1)

As mentioned earlier, knowing where people came from was very important to the Jewish people.  If we look at the Old Testament, especially the Book of Genesis, we will see multiple lists of generations for famous people in the Bible.  In part, the Jews wanted to keep accurate records to know who was "pure" and who was "not pure."

Why is any of this important for our consideration?  Well, it shows the importance of why something was written  . . . or why something was highlighted for its' importance.  But beyond that, this still has great meaning for us.  All of us have our roots . . . . where we come from.  It may be that we only know our parents and/or our grandparents but so often family history or stories of our family members get passed down from generation to generation.  So often we hear amusing stories about great-uncles or great-grandparents, for example, as we gather together at Christmas dinners or other family gatherings.    It's not just "amusing stories" that get passed on from generation to generation.  We learn from our parents and those who came before us.  We learn both good things and bad things, quite frankly.  Human beings learn much better by example or by experience, I am afraid.  A mother can tell a young child over and over and over not to touch a hot stove but until the child actually touches the hot stove and gets burned, the child will listen to "experience of getting burned" better than listening to the mother.  I know as I have grown older, I have discovered that I do the things that my parents did.   In other words, I find myself saying the things that my mother would say.  Or I find myself doing the things that my father does.

In a spiritual sense, we have a "spiritual heritage" as well.  Going all the way back to the very first chapter of the Book of Genesis:  "Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness." (Genesis 1:26)  "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him." (Genesis 1:27).  Our heritage is of God.  We were created by Our Heavenly Father.    But as is often the case, it did not take very long for everything to fall apart real fast.  Adam and Eve proved they would rather serve themselves than to serve God.  They were not content to be in the Garden under the guidance of God.  They preferred to guide themselves.  This unfortunately has not changed since then.  Man still desires to guide himself.  Or should I say more accurately that  Man is guided by his desires.   We want things our own way.  We want to do things how we want them and when we want them.   We do not like anyone telling us what to do . . . .  even God Himself.

But this is why the lineage of Our Blessed Saviour is so wonderful.   It not only tells the roots of Our Blessed Saviour but it also points to the reason for Our Blessed Lord's birth.

If you read through Scripture, very often Our Blessed Saviour is referred to by people as the Son of David.  Multiple examples throughout all the Gospels list people calling Our Saviour  by this title.  The reason this point is so \important is because it points out that Our Lord is royal.  The fact that Our Lord's lineage was traceable back to David reminded the Jews of the great promise of David through His kingship.  It reminds us today that Christ is Our King and that we owe Him our obedience as faithful servants.  So often we place our trust in everything but God.  But the faithful, devout Christian will continue to serve the King of the Universe, Our Blessed Saviour.

St. Matthew, in short, began his Gospel with the genealogy of Christ to show not only where He came from but to also point to what His purpose was in this world.  For our part also, we must never forget where we came from.  "God created man . .  . "  Our roots are found in God.  We need to daily remind ourselves that we belong to God.  We need to remind ourselves that our roots lie in the Almighty.  Despite the fact that we were created by God, so often our desires lead us far from Him.  But our God loves us so much that He not only created us but He also went looking for us . . . . to save us from ourselves . . .  to save us from our own wicked desires.  He sent His only Son into the world to save us from our sins . . .  to save us from something that we could not save ourselves from.

Join us for the 25th Sunday after Trinity, November 13, 2016

Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Trinity, 

(Second Sunday before Advent), 

Sunday, November 13th, 2016

If you are anything like me, you avoid watching the news if at all possible.  The "local" news is filled with nothing but reports of crime, deaths and murders.  The "national" news is filled with . . .well,  .  . .  crime, deaths and murders.  But, nonetheless, it is hard to miss the news coming out this week.  Of course at the beginning of this past week everyone was talking about the election and who would win.   But once the election was over, soon the attention of the media turned to "protests" against who won the election.   I put the word "protests" in quotation marks because, in my humble opinion, they aren't "protests" as much as they are "riots."  But I'll get to that more in a bit.  It's interesting that I saw a meme on Facebook in the past few days and the meme is a picture of "protesters" amid smoke and fires and litter and broken glass scattered all around them and the message goes something like this:  "Claims Trump will destroy America . . . .  as they go about destroying America."  To me, what we have seen in the past few days on TV, as I stated earlier, are not so much protests as they are riots.  Oh, I know the media labels these events as protests but, honestly, they resemble riots more than they resemble protests, if you ask me.  

Come to think about it, if you were to ask me my opinion, these events that we have come to witness in various cities are really closer to a big, collective "Temper Tantrum."   Temper Tantrums, if you recall, are something that two year old and three year old children throw when they do not get their way.  They yell and they scream and they cry.  They throw things and maybe even break things.  They do all this in hopes of getting their way.  Most people, though, quite frankly grow out of this stage.  They grow and mature physically but, more importantly, they grow and mature mentally and emotionally.  Generally speaking, if I am allowed to generalize here, there are a lot of people today who have never matured emotionally.  They are stuck in the stage where if they don't get what they want, they throw a fit.  Life is not about getting what we want when we want it, if you want to know the truth.  Life is about working for what you want.  Sometimes, to be honest with you, even when you work your tail off you will find that sometimes things don't go your way.  Usually, I find this to be the case when I work and work and work to pay off bills and then when I've got a major bill paid off . . .  it never fails . . . .  something breaks or needs to be replaced.  And then I have to jump on the bill-paying merry go round all over again.  Again, life is not about getting what you want when you want it.  Life is not about treating others with contempt who have a different opinion than you do.  Life is not about going to "safe spaces" so that you will not have to listen to other "big, scary people" and their "big, scary words."  Life is difficult.  Life is hard.  But, as Bishop Sheen reminded us, Life is certainly worth living.

We are reminded in the third chapter of the Epistle to the Colossians:  "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering: forbearing one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye."  (Colossians 3:12 ff)  You see, we are called to be kind .. . . and humble . . .  and meek  . . . and understanding of others.  And why is this?  Because Our Blessed Saviour was all of these things.  That's why we are called to be these things.  Being a Christian is not easy.  This whole "turning the other cheek" business is difficult to say the least.  And yet this is what Our Blessed Saviour did while he was on the earth dealing with difficult people.  . ..  dealing with people that hated Him . . . .  dealing with people that wanted Him dead.  How did He react to these folks?  Well, ultimately, He stated while hanging from the Cross, nonetheless:  "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."  We are called both by word and also by the example of Our Lord to treat others with love and charity  . . . . even to those with whom we disagree.  This is where we show our Christianity.  Our Lord said:  "For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye?  for sinners also love those that love them . . .  but love your enemines, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again: and your reward shall be great, and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil."   And then Our Lord finishes up with:  "Be ye therefore merciful as your Father also is merciful."  (St Luke 6:32-36)  Strong words.  Difficult words and concepts to follow, to say the least.  And yet Our Lord practiced what He preached.  

Join us on Sunday morning at St. Margaret Church as we come together as God's family to worship Him.  We gather together each and every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM.  We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  We use the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Join us as we worship Our Heavenly Father and receive the Precious Body and Blood of Our Blessed Saviour at Communion time.  

The Importance of All Saints Day

“All Saints Day” is a feast traditionally celebrated on November 1^st of every year in our Western Church.  Keep in mind that the development of the actual universal Solemnity of All Saints may be somewhat confusing and hard to trace.  Why do we suggest this?  Because, keep in mind that various local churches celebrated their own “local” versions of All Saints Day from the earliest centuries.  One of the earliest origins of what has come to be known as All Saints Day dates all the way back to around the year 609 when Pope Boniface IV consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to the Blessed Mother and all the Martyrs of the Church.  This feast of All Saints was celebrated on May 13^th, though.  But even prior to this, we can see Church Fathers such as St. John Chystostom, for example, who assigned a date to commemorate a day in honor of All Saints.  His date was not set as November 1^st as we know it, though.  It was celebrated on the First Sunday after Pentecost, where it is still celebrated in Eastern Churches to this day.   It was about the time of Pope Gregory III where the celebration of All Saints was commemorated  on November 1^st.  Prior to this, as mentioned earlier, various churches in various countries around the world celebrated their own All Saints day at various dates throughout the year.   The point that we need to focus on in pointing out this brief history of sorts for All Saints Day is that Christians throughout the world were interested in celebrating and commemorating those Christians who had gone before them.  Again, this is not a new feast, in other words.  It is an ancient practice dating back to the earliest centuries of the church.   Many need to bear in mind that not only Roman Catholics and Orthodox but also Anglicans as well as even Lutherans and Methodists also celebrate All Saints Day.  Which now leads us into the importance and the underlying meaning of the Feast of All Saints to the Church in general and us as individuals.

Perhaps, first, we can make an analogy which may help to explain the underlying meaning behind the feast.  In America, for example, we will soon be commemorating “Veterans Day.”  In a similar vein, the idea is closely aligned with the general purpose and meaning of All Saints Day, when you think about it.  Veterans Day simply sets aside a day where we as a nation remember, honor, and commemorate those who have served our country to help insure the freedoms that we enjoy.  Again, to point out another secular example, we also commemorate “Presidents Day” to remember all the presidents who have helped to guide our country.  “All Saints Day,” then for the Church, is a day where we remember all those (both known and unknown) who are members of the “Communion of Saints,” in other words, the thousands who are recognized as canonized saints.  

Why is the Solemnity of All Saints important?   The Church commemorates various feast days or Saint days throughout the year (e.g., the feast of St. Andrew, St. Francis, St. Patrick, etc.) But on All Saints Day, the Church makes a point to remember all those saints who have gone before us and are now enjoying their reward in Heaven.    This includes those “known” and even “unknown” saints.  Again, why should we even care about remembering . .  . let alone set aside a day in honor of . . . . canonized saints?  The bottom line is that the Church honors those holy men and women as saints who have proven to be worthy of imitation.   In other words, they have each done their part, and in their own way, to  lead others to God.  Were the saints perfect during their lifetime?  Is this what we are celebrating when we celebrate All Saints Day?!?  Certainly not!  If we look at the Calendar of Saints, we will find all sorts of people from all walks of life . . .  priests, religious .   . . . . husbands, wives . . .  . teachers .  . . .  soldiers . .  .. farmers .   . . . . kings and queens .   . .  you name it!  No matter what their station in life, these wonderful men and women provide for each one of us an example of leading a holy life dedicated to God.  This is something we should all strive for:  to follow God and to live for God each and every day of our life.  The Solemnity of All Saints Day then should inspire each one of us to be a saint.   The Baltimore Catechism says:  “The faithful on earth, through the communion of saints, should honor the blessed in heaven and pray to them, because they are worthy of honor and as friends of God will help the faithful on earth.” (Lesson 13 from the Baltimore Catechism)  Yes, they are friends of God and they should be our friends as well.  They each have shown what it means to love God and to be faithful to God.  As such, they are valuable reminders of dedicating one’s life to God.  On the Solemnity of All Saints, the Church remembers those good and faithful servants who have gone before us as such good role models.  “Let us now praise men of renown, and our fathers in their generation. (Ecclesiasticus 44:1)”