Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, August 31st, 2025

 

Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, August 31st, 2025

In the Eighteenth Chapter of his Gospel, St. Luke writes of the time Our Blessed Lord told the parable of the two men who went into the temple to pray.  In telling this parable, Our Blessed Lord portrays the first man, a Pharisee, as being very self-righteous.  Our Lord describes the way this man prays:  "I thank Thee that I am not as other men . . . ."  "I fast twice in the week."  "I give tithes."  And then Our Lord describes the prayer of the other man:  "God be merciful to me a sinner."  The point which Our Lord was trying to make in telling this parable was to be humble because He explains:  "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." (St. Luke 18:14)  How often do we depend on ourselves and ultimately end up failing miserably?  How often do we depend on others and end up being disappointed?  How often do we put our trust in worldly possessions which end up coming short?  In the Fifteenth Chapter of his First Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul counts himself as one of the Apostles because the Lord appeared to him and chose him.  And he then goes on to briefly describe all the labors he performed as working for the Lord.  But ultimately, St. Paul acknowledges that everything he did  . . . . all the good works he was able to achieve . . . none of it would be possible without God's graces.  " . . .  yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." (I Corinthians 15:10)   The Good Lord has given each one of us strengths, abilities and skills which we possess.  Each of us have something that we are very good at.   But that being said, we should always be like St. Paul.   We should acknowledge where these abilities come from.  We should acknowledge that all that we have, all that we are, all that we possess is only made possible through the good graces of Our Heavenly Father.  In the parable which Our Blessed Saviour spoke, the problem with the Pharisee was that he emphasized himself when he prayed:  "I .  . .  I  . . . . I . . ."  We need to be more like the second man and place the emphasis on God.  We need to always humble ourselves and acknowledge where are gifts come from.

Join us at 10:30 AM on Sundays at St. Margaret church.  We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis. 

St. Bartholomew, Apostle, August 24th, 2025

 

St. Bartholomew, Apostle, August 24th, 2025

On August 24th, the Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle, which this year falls on a Sunday.   It seems that we know very little about St. Bartholomew.  The only time he is mentioned in Scripture is when he mentioned by name in a list of the Apostles.  Some scholars believe that St Bartholomew is simply another name for Nathaniel.   Tradition also says that St. Bartholomew might have preached in India, Mesopotamia, Egypt, or other lands.  So, as you can see, very little is actually known about St. Bartholomew.  There is more speculation than there is actual fact.

But celebrating the Feast of St. Bartholomew allows us to consider the attitude of leaders within the Church.  In today's Gospel, Our Lord is speaking to the Apostles in response to their arguing about who is the greatest, who has the most authority, who is the leader, etc.:  "AND there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest." (St. Luke 22:24)  And Our Blessed Saviour goes on to explain to them that whoever wants to be the greatest needs to be the least.  Whosoever wants to be the leader needs to be the one who serves.  The elder needs to be as the younger, Our Lord states.  Certainly, St. John the Baptist stated this belief perfectly when he said:  "He must increase, but I must decrease."  (St. John 3:30)   Seen in the light of what Our Lord told the Apostles, the fact that little is known about St. Bartholomew it would seem that St. Bartholomew took Our Lord's words to the heart.  In other words, St. Bartholomew was more interested in making Our Lord's Name known than he was in making his own name known.  This is how it should be for all Christians, not just the Apostles.  We should be more interested in making Our Lord's Name be known than making our own name known.  If we look at the lives of the Apostles and the disciples and the lives of the saints, we see that these holy men and women have dedicated their lives to God.  They were more interested in making God's Name be known throughout the world.  Their glory was in glorifying God and making Him known.  In this, we should follow the advice of St. John the Baptist and St. Bartholomew:  "God must increase . . .  and we must decrease . . . "

Join us at 10:30 AM on Sundays at St. Margaret church.  We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis. 

Ninth Sunday after Trinity, August 17th, 2025

 

Ninth Sunday after Trinity, August 17th, 2025

I would imagine the most famous parable which Our Lord ever told was the parable of the "Prodigal Son."  But I have believed firmly that this parable is misnamed.  I do not believe that it should be called the "Prodigal Son" but rather the parable of the "Loving Father."  I understand why the focus of the parable is on the son because he is the one who wants to get his share of his father's inheritance early.  The son is the one who leaves home in other to live life as he sees fit.  The son spends all his inheritance on riotous living.   And the son comes home with his tail between his legs hungry and embarrassed with egg on his face.  But what we really should focus on is the response of the father in the story.  "But when he 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)  The response of the father is really what we should focus on.  This is because it is the response of our Heavenly Father to His ungrateful children:  in other words, humanity.  Aren't we like the "prodigal son" so often in our life?  We want the good things given to us without having to work for them.  We want to run off from our responsibilities and live the "good life."  We focus on God's blessings and pray for God to give us what we ask for.  But when we get what we want we run off and leave God so that we can live life the way that we want to live.  When you think about it, we are very similar to the "prodigal son" in so many ways.  But God is very much like the "loving father" in the parable.  He loves his children and desires the best for His children.  This is why He sent His Son into the world to save us from our sins.  This is why Our Blessed Saviour died on the Cross for us.  He took our place.  We are the ones who deserve death on the cross but Our Lord loves us so much that He died for us.  He died on the Cross so that He could save us from our sins.

Join us at 10:30 AM on Sundays at St. Margaret church.  We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis. 

Eighth Sunday after Trinity, August 10th, 2025

 

Eighth Sunday after Trinity, August 10th, 2025

We hear in the Eighth Chapter of Romans:  "The Spirit beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God."  (v. 16)  But then it goes on to say in the next verse:  "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."  (v.17)  It seems to me that an important lesson is often forgotten in our modern society by a whole lot of folks that with privilege comes responsibility.  We want all the benefits, but we do not want to have the responsibility.  In other words, if we look at the life of Our Blessed Saviour, we will see that He suffered.  He felt pain.  He cried.  He had sorrow.  We experience all of those things as well in life.  And when we do we feel sorry for ourselves, don't we?  We get all caught up in our feelings and we focus and fixate on our sorrows.  But verse 18 of this chapter gives us hope:  "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."  Yes, we will experience suffering in this life.  Yes, we will experience setbacks in our life.  Can a student experience the joy of getting an "A" on a final exam without first spending countless hours studying and preparing for the exam?  A student must first prepare for the exam by studying and preparing for the test.  In life we must experience hardship and reward.  We should always remember the example of Our Blessed Saviour, Without the Cross, Our Lord would never rise again on the third day.  He had to die first.  We also must die first before we can experience the glory.  We must die to the world . . .  die to sin . . .  die to selfishness.  We must give ourselves to God . . .  dedicate our lives to God Our Heavenly Father.  We must live for Him.  In life we will experience trials and tribulations, but we will endure with the help of God.  We will suffer setbacks but God will see us through.  We are children of God.  We are Sons and Daughters of the Most High.  

Join us at 10:30 AM on Sundays at St. Margaret church.  We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Seventh Sunday after Trinity, August 3rd, 2025

 

Seventh Sunday after Trinity, August 3rd, 2025

In the Eighth Chapter of St. Mark's Gospel, we read about the miraculous feeding of the four thousand.  As St. Mark tells us these four-thousand dear souls had been with Our Lord for some three days.  They were listening to what He was saying.  They were hearing the messages He was imparting from His Father. They were witnessing the Son of God before their very eyes.  No wonder they stayed in His presence for three days.  But as I have said so many times, Our Lord is not someone Who is distant and far-off.  Our Lord is someone Who is nearby and takes notice of us.  We find proof of this fact when we read the words of Our Lord:  "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with Me three days."  (St. Mark 8)  Our Lord certainly does have compassion on us.  All we have to do is read through the accounts of His life found in the Gospels to see proof.  Our Lord had compassion on the mother whose son had died.  Our Lord had compassion on the lepers who cried out to Him for healing.  Our Lord had compassion on the lame and the blind He came into contact with.  And here in St. Mark Our Lord has compassion on the four thousand.  The question is do we have compassion?  Do we have compassion on those around us?  Do we have compassion on those who have done wrong to us?  Do we show compassion to those in need of forgiveness?  Do we take the time to show compassion to those who need to see the love of God?  Do we allow ourselves to be the instrument of God by showing compassion to those around us?  God showed compassion to His children when He sent His Son into the world to save us from our sins.  Our Lord showed compassion when He healed the sick.   Our Lord showed compassion from the Cross forgiving those who put Him there saying, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."  Do we show compassion?  

Join us at 10:30 AM on Sundays at St. Margaret church.  We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis. 

Sixth Sunday after Trinity, July 27th, 2025

 

Sixth Sunday after Trinity, July 27th, 2025

In the Fifth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, we hear Our Lord giving very difficult advice to His disciples:  " I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell-fire."  I don't know about you but I get angry all the time.  I get angry about things I see on the nightly news.  I get angry every time I go to the grocery and see how much the prices have risen since the last time I went to the grocery.  I get angry about people who drive like idiots on the highway.  I get angry when the Cubs lose.  I guess you get the picture.  There's lots of things I get angry about.  And I bet that describes most of us around the world.  And we try to justify our being angry, don't we?  If we get angry with someone it is because someone else is "an idiot," it is because someone else "deserves it," it is because someone else caused us to get angry.   God sent His Son into the world to save us from our sins.  Nothing more, nothing less.  But He did this because He loves us.  All of us.  Nothing more, nothing less.  And Our Lord spent His days on earth showing people God's love.  Off the top of my head, I can only think of one example in Scripture where we see Our Lord angry and that is in the Temple when He sees that they have turned His Father's house into a "den of thieves" and began overturning tables.   All of us, including myself, need to stop getting so angry about this, that or the other.  We need to stop focusing on what gets us angry and focus on God and what God wants for our lives.  We need to focus more on God so that we won't have time to get angry.  Is this easy?  No, it is very difficult.  But it is worth it.

Join us at 10:30 AM on Sundays at St. Margaret church.  We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  

Fourth Sunday after Trinity, July 13th, 2025

 

Fourth Sunday after Trinity, July 13th, 2025

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.

Join us at 10:30 AM on Sundays at St. Margaret church.  We worship at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.