- By Sr. Mary Valerie Schneider
“For our sakes God made him who did not know sin to be sin, so that in him we might become the very holiness of God.” (2 Cor. 5:21) We call Jesus Christ by many names: Lord, Messiah, Prince of Peace, Good Shepherd, Bread of Life, King, Brother, and the
- By Sr. Mary Valerie Schneider
As I write my blogs I am sitting in a carpeted basement and facing a long gray wall. But I never lose a chance to see the outdoors or take an extra moment to see something beautiful in book or on internet. When I clean at Lial Renewal Center I
- By Sr. Mary Valerie Schneider
What do you long for? More time? More money? A change in habits or attitudes? Whatever you long for, “If we go down into ourselves we find that we possess exactly what we desire” (Simone Weil). God puts into our hearts the desires that will help us become the person
- By Sr. Mary Valerie Schneider
Our unusually warm and wet winter may set our sights on spring much earlier this year. Gardeners are becoming impatient to clear the ground. George B. Shaw claimed “The best place to seek God is in a garden. You can dig for him there.” So maybe those who are saying
- By Sr. Mary Valerie Schneider
“Who shall I be today? The answer is more obvious than the question. Of course I’m going to be me. Me yesterday, me today, me forever. But if I were to start my day with the question “Who shall I be today?” I’d have to start with a decision bigger
- By Sr. Mary Valerie Schneider
Ronald Rolheiser’s book Sacred Fire is written for “mature disciples.” In one section he discusses “the religious faults of mature disciples.” Rolheiser claims that mature disciples find the seven capital sins disappearing from their lives; however, these “seven deadly sins” may just be in a subtler guise. He writes that
- By Sr. Mary Valerie Schneider
Today is the feast of St. Angela Merici, the foundress of the Ursuline Sisters. We Sisters of Notre Dame have close connections with the Ursuline Sisters here in Toledo. These sisters and their employees have taken care of our older Sisters with much love for several years. Some Ursuline Sisters,
- By Sr. Mary Valerie Schneider
Between Christmas and Lent the little space of Ordinary Time gives us stories of Jesus’ boyhood and young adulthood. Jesus grows up. And Jesus goes out—away from the carpenter shop, away from his home town. He heard a call or he felt growing pains or maybe his mother said, “It’s
- By Sr. Mary Valerie Schneider
Many parishes distributed the book Resisting Happiness by Matthew Kelly as Christmas presents. The title and its cover message “why we sabotage ourselves” stop us in our tracks. Who would resist happiness? Who would sabotage themselves? Yet Kelly writes almost two hundred pages to showhow we really do resist happiness.
- By Sr. Mary Valerie Schneider
Recently I was told this true story. The husband had died in early December. Christmas was a sad time for the bereaved wife, children, and grandchildren. His presence was felt, though, when the wife gave her children and grandchildren pillows made from his shirts. Each had a pocket containing a
