Posts by Sr. Mary Valerie Schneider

Today’s gospel relates how Jesus was made known to the disciples on the road to Emmaus “in the breaking of the bread.” Even as they are telling the story, Jesus has “a piece of baked fish” to eat with them. So many ways to discover Jesus Christ during the Easter Season! We go from empty…

The poem “My Silence Is the Lord” by Brother Paul Quenon begins “My silence is the Lord, / I listen, his silence speaks at all times. / When I listen not, my hearing is filled with words/ and my tongue takes to rambling.” We have all experienced the truth of this poem, I’m sure. Take…

Abigail Carroll’s poem “Creed” begins “I believe in the life of the word, / the diplomacy of food.” The power and life in Jesus’ words as he gratefully blessed the five loaves multiplied the bread until thousands had their fill. Did Jesus use the diplomacy of food in the multiplication of the loaves? Jesus was…

Julian of Norwich wrote, “The fulness of joy is to behold God in everything.” The smell of plowed earth, the absoluteness of grace, deer tracks in snowmelt, futures free of the past, twirls of incense, children’s babble, wonder of breathing, contented hugs, contrite sobs. Behold God in everything. As today’s First Reading states, “He does…

The poem “Rosing from the Dead” by Paul J. Willis tells of Hanna commenting, “Sunday Jesus will be rosing from the dead.” The narrator of the poem agrees that resurrection may have been like a red blossom “pulsing from the floor of the tomb.” The soldiers are “overcome with the fragrance, and Mary at sunrise…

The origin of communities of religious men and women lies in today’s First Reading. We read that the community of believers was of “one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common.” Not claiming anything as one’s own provides the factual basis…

In his conversation with Nicodemus Jesus said, “Unless one is born of water and Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.” Billions of years ago the Spirit gave life to creation, giving an unimaginable variety of creatures. And creation hasn’t stopped! The universe’s birth depicted in Genesis’ “Let there be light” and the scientists’…

Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent Sometimes you might see images of a desert during Lent to remind us that just as Jesus went into the desert, so must we. Sand is constantly shifting due to wind or other factors. An image I have used with high school students at the time of a…

The Solemnity of Saint Joseph A new baby becomes the center of attention in the parents’ lives. It would have been no different for Mary and Joseph at the birth of Jesus. Together they watched Jesus grow in wisdom, age, and grace. In his role as head of the family, Joseph four times heeded the…

Thursday of the Fourth week of Lent In early centuries those who observed Lent were the catechumens and penitents. Members of these two groups had spent years in prayer, penance, and learning. When it was time for the penitents to return to the community and the catechumens to become part of the community, the last…