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We recently completed the Christmas Season and entered Ordinary Time. While Christmas decorations are taken down and stored, Christmas continues. Christmas celebrated the tremendous coming of Jesus Christ to earth in the womb of Mary, his mother. Yet what we call “Christmas” or “Incarnation” (God becoming human) began billions of years ago. Actually, the Incarnation…

The list of saints in January seems to give a hats-off to teachers. January 1 celebrates Mary, the Mother of God. She is also known as the Seat of Wisdom. (Picture the Son of God sitting on her lap, his seat, and learning his first words and prayers.) Then begins an impressive list of teachers.…

From the ubiquitous hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” written in the ninth century to “Awake to the Day” composed in this century, all Advent hymns touch my heart in a way I rarely experience at other times of the year. I think this is true for many, as I hear our Sisters often claim…

The prophet Isaiah writes “Enlarge the space for your tent, spread out your tent cloths unsparingly; lengthen your ropes and make firm your stakes” (54:2).  These words give encouragement to the Israelites to continue living the covenant with the God whose love “shall never leave you” (54:10). Although I’ve never camped in a tent, I…

In his book The Universal Christ Richard Rohr writes, “God loves things by becoming them.” Rohr explains that while we think of the Incarnation as the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, Incarnation began with the first instant of creation when God united with God’s creatures. God’s “Let there be light” after billions of years would…

In the discussion of nature versus nurture, nurture has my vote. Christmas cards of Mary, Joseph, and the Infant Jesus indicate the artists feel the same. Certainly, Mary’s genes had much to do with Jesus’ physical appearance. But beyond that, the portrayed emotions convey nurture in the tenderness, care, and love of the parents. More…

Albert Einstein said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” Now that’s genius! The holiday season is a time for miracles. Make a miracle happen at least once a day. (Might make a good Advent practice.)…

A bumper sticker reads “If you want justice, work for it. Anyone can honk.” In the past few years, many more of our Sisters are involved with social justice issues. The range of involvement extends from educating ourselves on issues and -isms to contributing to worthy causes. Our Sisters make sandwiches and deliver them to…

Harry S. Truman claimed: “There is enough in the world for everyone to have plenty to live on happily and to be at peace with his neighbors.” As Christmas approaches, numerous organizations, schools, and towns collect toys, clothes, and food. Gifts for the less fortunate fill semis, overflow collection areas, and fill car trunks in…

Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all the others.” How is gratitude the progenitor of all the other virtues? Probably because the focus is not on ourselves. We have done little or nothing to receive our material and spiritual gifts. Moving the focus away from ourselves to…