Posts by Sr. Mary Valerie Schneider

It’s Monday. The start of another week of work. Mondays are a time to make a goal or two or three. For me, such goals give me life. Whether it’s cleaning or yard work or a project at my place of employment or a special menu, my goals inspire me to get moving. Beyond inspiring…

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Kateri Tekakwitha who was canonized in 2012. Her 23 years of life were filled with suffering—the death of both parents, smallpox causing poor vision, a trek to Montreal where she could practice her Christianity, and the denial of her request to found a convent. It is a day…

I remember as a little kid liking this line from Scripture: “And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple—amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward” (Mt. 10). Great! I thought. I’m assured heaven for such a…

Typically a number of Sisters of Notre Dame move to a new residence in the summer, usually due to a change in a place of ministry. A sister, for example, may be a teacher in one town but becomes a pastoral minister in another town. A change may derive from health reasons or the need…

The Epistle to the Ephesians begins with God’s plan of salvation—and it includes us! And not only us but every generation. We were all chosen by God in Christ before the world began and given the responsibility “to be holy and blameless in his sight, to be full of love” (Eph. 1:4). In other words,…

Because evolution follows the trajectory toward more consciousness and more complexity, I guess that requires each of us to become more conscious and more complex. Sounds pretty heavy, doesn’t it, especially when July puts many of us into vacation-mode.  So what can we do to become more complex? We can re-create ourselves by developing our…

Our contemplative attitude toward living lies in seeing the real. We see people—all persons, even the annoying ones—as the presence of God. God says to each person, “You are my beloved.” To understand ourselves as beloved, we need to let the truth of our Belovedness become part of everything we think, say, and do.

What do you radiate? The electromagnetic field of the heart is about 5000 times more powerful than that of the brain. When our hearts are holding joy and love, the brain is less likely to focus on worry and stress. Instead, the brain focuses on love, empathy, creativity, and joy. Because the heart’s electromagnetic signal…

Today’s beautiful reading from Ephesians (3:8-12, 14-19) states that Christ dwells in our hearts. Yet the feast celebrates our need to reside in Christ’s heart, to take on his heart, to learn from Jesus Christ who is meek and humble of heart. But the dwelling is reciprocal.  Christ’s dwelling in us gives us the strength…

I just finished reading Camron Wright’s novel based on a true story, The Orphan Keeper. A child stolen from India and living over 20 years in the United States senses his need to return to a place that’s a half-globe away. Wright’s page-turner tells of loneliness, abandonment, and loss of identity. The reader senses that…