Posts by Sr. Mary Valerie Schneider

On Thursday evenings I meet with a few adults who have lost spouses in the past months. We set aside nine consecutive weeks to come together, weeks corresponding to the nine lessons in our book The New Day Journal. Each week brings the group a bit closer together through sharing stories of loved ones, their…

If you’re looking for a parable, don’t turn to the Gospel of John. You won’t find anything about seeds and weeds, prodigal sons and pearls, yeast and nets. You won’t read that the Kingdom of God is like a vineyard. No, you will have the Vine Himself. Jesus is the vine. His Father is the…

I have often lived in big houses with several sisters older than I. I personally marked May 1, the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker, as the beginning of spring cleaning not only for my assigned areas of the house, but also for the many rooms for which older sisters were responsible. I would come…

Whenever I go to the library, I almost invariably come out with two books–a biography and historical fiction. I feel that both types of books make me a better person perhaps by the example of fictional and real people, but also by getting me out of my daily life to see a bigger picture. Although…

Over the past year I have found more time to read. It was a banner day when the library down the street opened for business. I have discovered another favorite author—Hazel Gaynor. I love historical fiction, because I’m learning history while enjoying an intriguing plot. I have also found that learning the plight of destitute…

The earliest depictions of Jesus Christ were those of a shepherd. Pictures of the sufferings and crucifixion of Jesus were too painful and inappropriate. The early followers of Jesus felt the image of Good Shepherd was the heart of the Christian message. “I am the Good Shepherd” is the Risen Lord’s self-portrait. I AM professed…

It’s impossible to respond to this question from Psalm 116. There is nothing I can do; however, fortunately God gives us the ability to make some return. We can take up the cup of salvation. We can call upon the name of the Lord. We can vow our lives. We can be God’s servants. We…

April is such a beautiful month. It’s easy to say with Gerard Manley Hopkins “Glory be to God for dappled things.” I rejoice in the variety of nature. In almost anything else I enjoy variety—food, recreation, work, anything. Our Church Year gives us a variety of saints and sinners in its list of saints from…

The Easter candle continues to burn throughout the Great Fifty Days. Are you still aglow with its flame? Let’s return to the Easter Vigil. The New Fire is lit, and a spark is taken to light the Paschal Candle. The gesture symbolizes Christ’s rising from the dead in glory. As the deacon processes with it,…

Today’s First Reading begins with “a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem,” which forces the believers to move out of the area. They land in Samaria and bring “great joy in that city.” In the Gospel Jesus says to the crowd that no one will be rejected; all who believe will have eternal life.…