St. Margaret of Scotland Catholic Church

12/24/2018

Join us for Christmas Mass! Christmas Eve at 7:30 pm or Christmas at 10:00 am.

Send a message to learn more

12/24/2018

Join us for Christmas Mass! Christmas Eve at 7:30 pm or Christmas morning at 10:00 am.

10/28/2018

Some pictures from this morning's Baptism.

03/24/2018

Whether you're a lifelong Catholic or someone just starting to investigate and ask questions, you are welcome at St. Margaret's. The Holy Week services are weird and full of symbols, but it’s totally normal to just sit in the pew and watch the drama unfold — come and see what happens. Make yourself available to be challenged, surprised, or even moved. To find out more, visit our website at http://www.stmargaretchurchhouston.org

03/20/2018

Our Lenten series in partnership with St. John XXIII College Preparatory continues tonight at 6:30 pm. Details below. Come on out!

Our Lenten series continues tonight with a talk by Dr. Roland Millare. Light supper at 6:30 pm with talk to follow at 7:00 pm. The Sacrament of Confession will be available at the end of the evening for anyone who wants it. Extra Credit still available in theology for SJ23 students. Come on out!

03/17/2018

Here's the latest from Fr. Steve:

Dear Saint Margaret of Scotland Catholic community --

Blessings to all of you on this "not-quite-raining-as-previously-expected" Friday evening! I think we got four or five drops of rain this morning at our house. That's about it. I hope you are all having a wonderful ending to Spring Break week!

Every year about this time, as Holy Week approaches, I find myself thinking about a seminary classmate from the early 1980's who was a graduate student from Uganda. His name was Fr. Isaiah Obote, and he became a priest in the Anglican Church shortly after we graduated. I think about him often, especially since his death in February of 2011, and his gentle passion for the Christian faith. (I have never used the phrase "gentle passion" before, but somehow it always fit Father Isaiah.) He was much more than a priest to his village -- Ocelakur, Uganda. He was a father figure and town elder. Not only did he raise his own family of nine children, but he took in his brother's 10 children when his brother died unexpectedly. His lifelong project was to teach young farmers about the Christian faith, and also to teach them how to provide for their own families. His letters to us in the 1990's sounded like words from St. Paul. He was on the front lines of cultural and religious upheaval, yet he was always starting a library, or a school, or a hospital, or a medical clinic.

In particular, I remember a story Isaiah told our class about a young Ugandan teenager who went to work as a houseboy in the home of a wealthy American family. The young boy worked hard for his money. He mowed the yards, polished the cars, ran errands for the family, accompanied the children to appointments, helped serve tables at parties, and assisted the cook and the maids. Suddenly, after only six months, he thanked the American lady for the job and announced that he was quitting, effective immediately. She was furious. She said she had personally trained him, and that she had tried him very well. He simply could NOT quit.

The young boy just smiled. He explained that he had taken the job for one reason only: TO SEE HOW CHRISTIANS LIVE THEIR FAITH. For the six months prior to working for them, he had served as a houseboy for a Muslim family. And he said he could see no evidence that the Christian faith made any difference in the way the Americans lived. With the Muslims, he saw their faith every day. And, so, he had made up his mind to become a Muslim. The woman was shocked. Stunned. She tried to protest, but it was too late.

I remember Fr. Isaiah's story because that is also the challenge we face each day: To LIVE our faith in a way that reflects the LOVE, MERCY, HUMILITY, and COMPASSION of the Lord Jesus. We only get one chance to make a first impression on others, and I pray that the first impression we make is of the Lord's LIGHT, HOPE, and FORGIVENESS. As Fr. Isaiah explained, we never know who is watching us.

We are one week away from HOLY WEEK. Next Sunday is Palm Sunday, and there is an announcement in our Sunday bulletin (attached) about our worship times both at St. Margaret's and at St. John XXIII. We have Masses and special liturgies every day from Palm Sunday to Easter, and you are welcome to attend all of them.

I look forward to seeing all of you at Mass this Sunday!

God bless you!

Fr. Steve Sellers, D.Min., Ph.D.

03/10/2018

Don't forget to change your clocks tonight. Otherwise you'll be late for Mass!

03/10/2018

Here's the latest from Fr. Steve (including our Holy Week Schedule) -

Dear St. Margaret of Scotland Catholic Community --

Blessings to all of you on this first weekend in SPRING BREAK! I hope all of you are able to find refreshment, renewal, and relaxation over the next week -- the fourth full week in the Season of Lent. Many of us will be staying close to home this week, catching up on projects and deferred maintenance around the house, while a great many others will be hitting the airports and Interstate highways on their way out of town. Wherever you are, and wherever you go, please remember that you are always in the hands of the Lord, who loves you and accompanies you each minute of the day. And as strange as it might sound, I have found that Spring Break is a wonderful time to "practice the presence of God" -- to call to mind every moment that God is with you, within you, and around you, covering you with His love and mercy and inviting you to share in the light of His holy presence. If you can, take extra time this week to pray, to read the daily Scripture lessons and offices, to recite the Holy Rosary, and to meditate on the blessings we receive from Him each day. And try to do something kind for others each day, especially those who suffering, and those who are alone. And please PRAY for Fr. Scott and Kathy Blick as they lead our pilgrimage group through the Holy Land this week! They left town Friday and will be in Israel for 10 days, returning on Monday, March 19.

Don't forget to set your clocks FORWARD one hour today, as we once again navigate our way into that wonderful (and completely pointless) universe known as DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME! And, yes, much of the world will not be joining us in this new "time," including the state of Hawaii and other scattered parts of the U.S. Daylight Savings Time is now 100 years old, having begun in 1918 as a way to save energy costs during World War I. Ironically, most now agree that it didn't really accomplish that purpose in 1918, and it doesn't today, either. But it's now a tradition. And you know what bureaucrats think about traditions. My favorite story about pointless traditions: When Prussian statesman Otto von Bismarck visited St. Petersburg in 1859, he discovered that a soldier was posted 24 hours a day, seven days a week, over a small plot of dirt in a field outside Moscow. When he asked why the soldier was guarding an empty field, inquiries were made, and no one seemed to know. Finally, it was discovered that Catherine the Great, Empress of all Russia, had excitedly discovered an early blooming rose at that exact spot in the late-winter snow in the mid-1760's, and commanded that the spot be guarded "forever." And so it was. Until 1859, at least. Almost 100 years.

We are two weeks away from Palm Sunday -- Sunday, March 25, the beginning of Holy Week. Our Mass times for the week are:
PALM SUNDAY (March 25) -- 10 a.m.
MAUNDY THURSDAY (Thursday, March 29) -- 7:30 p.m.
GOOD FRIDAY (Friday, March 30) -- 7:30 p.m.
EASTER VIGIL (Saturday, March 31) -- 7:30 p.m.
EASTER (Sunday, April 1) -- 10 a.m.

Our Tuesday night Lenten program continues for three more weeks: 6:30 p.m. this Tuesday (March 13); 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 20; and 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 27. Our program begins with a light meal at 6:30, followed by a presentation on one of the Seven Lively Virtues and one of the Seven Deadly Sins, with a time for questions at 7:30 p.m. One of our priests will be available for confessions at 7:30 p.m. The program is called "Finding Light in the Darkness."

I hope you have a great weekend! And I will see you all at Mass tomorrow morning!

Fr. Steve Sellers, D.Min., Ph.D.

02/16/2018

Here is the latest message from Fr. Steve:

Greetings to all of you on this beautiful, balmy, and exciting second day of Lent -- Thursday, February 15. Amazingly, the sun has come out, the clouds have parted, and the temperature has started to climb. And that can only mean ONE thing: I am on my way to a retreat center to spend a few days with 50 high school students and faculty! Yes. It happens every time. Even the weather SMILES on a high school spiritual retreat. I will be at the Stoney Creek Retreat Center near Columbus, Texas, today through late Saturday night for our KAIROS retreat for juniors and seniors. This is always a great retreat, helping our students to develop a closer, deeper, and more personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ, through the student-led Ignatian style of retreat. For my part, I say Mass every day, hear confessions, and make myself available for spiritual guidance and counsel. I always get much more out of these retreats than I put in. There is something about seeing young people encounter God that is humbling, inspiring, and contagious. Please keep us in your prayers over the next three days, and I will give you a report this coming Sunday morning at Mass.

Speaking of this Sunday's Mass, we will be in our second weekend for our annual Bishop's Appeal from Bishop Lopes -- the time where we come together as Ordinariate communities throughout the U.S. and Canada to prayerfully support the mission and outreach of our part of the Catholic Church. Our goal at St. Margaret this year is a little over $1,800. If you haven't already, please pick up a pledge card and a letter from Bishop Lopes and send your gift directly to the Chancery in one of the self-addressed envelopes.. No gift is too small, and every gift goes directly to fund the evangelistic outreach of our bishop and the Ordinariate's 43 communities. Thank you especially to those who have already responded to this mission appeal.

If you haven't yet decided on what to "do" for Lent, then please come Sunday morning prepared to hear some unusual suggestions! God has a plan for YOU and YOUR FAMILY this Lent!

I look forward to seeing all of you this Sunday at Mass!

Fr. Steve Sellers, D.Min., Ph.D.

12/30/2017

It may not be a holy day of obligation this year, but that doesn't mean it's not still worth celebrating! Join us this Monday at 10:00 am in our usual location for a special Mass for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.

12/24/2017

Our Schedule of services for Christmas

Christmas Eve:
10:00 AM (Advent 4)
7:30 PM (Christmas Vigil Mass)

Christmas Day:
10:00 AM (Spoken Mass)

12/16/2017

Please join us tomorrow at 10:00 am for the confirmation of six of our young people! Bishop Lopes will celebrate and preach. Pot luck lunch to follow. Bring friends!