God Shifts Things Around

By Sr. Mary Valerie Schneider | January 27, 2014 |

puzzleAll of us possess a “once upon a time” in our lives. Then something happened. God shifted things around, and we had a choice.  We could accept and go with God’s flow, or we could say “No way.” If we let God break in, we found the “pearl of great price.” Perhaps at that insightful moment we learned that we need to be continually open to the next intrusion of God. Did we take on a willingness to change? Letting God mess up the jigsaw puzzle of our lives and throw a few pieces away is always a good beginning to letting the reign of God establish itself (actually Himself) in our hearts.

March for Life 2014 – Adoption is an option!

By Sr. Mary Teresita Richards | January 24, 2014 |

As I sat on the bus waiting for my fingers and toes to warm up after 3 ½ hours of standing and walking outside on the streets of Washington D.C., I reflected on what an amazing experience the March for Life was for me.

Bundled under 5 layers of clothing and equipped with toe warmers in our boots and hand warmers in our mittens, we were ready.

Our first stop was the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception to join thousands of others for Mass.  The Mass at this location and all the others taking place that morning was akin to the largest 40 Days for Life event in the USA.  Just having that many people joined in prayer for one specific need is effective.  Prayer changes hearts, first our own.

photowithHeidiThe crowd was predominantly teenagers and young adults.  They were cold, but joyful, positive and focused.

The speakers added a new emphasis this year – help others to consider the option of adoption.  A  member of the House  shared the joy of being able to adopt a child, a woman who had an abortion as a college student and was left sterile by it shared her deep gratitude for the sacrifice and courage of the woman who allowed her to adopt her child.  A young man shared his gratitude for his birth mother for choosing life and to his adoptive parents for choosing and loving him.

This new focus is something the participants could take home with them.  The front lines of the fight against abortion are now in college dorm rooms and in the homes of their friends.  A simple home pregnancy test and the morning after pill are obtainable over-the-counter.  Friends who are fearful might turn to them for advice.  Here is their chance to give witness to what they have learned.  Along with scientific evidence of how destructive this choice is to the child and the mother, they can offer them hope and an alternative, adoption.

While we marched youth joyfully sang Christian songs or ProLife parodies or chanted cheers:  “♪Go tell it to the Congress, Senate and House and everywhere.  Go tell it to the Congress that babies must be born! ♪”  “We love babies, yes we do, we love babies how ‘bout you!”  (This chant was echoed at one point by a group standing on a balcony of a federal building.)

The older gentleman who was our bus driver was also deeply moved by the youth on our bus.  He said he noticed their prayerful spirit and was moved by the powerful reflections they shared about their experience over the speaker system on the bus after the March.  He also affirmed the power of youth to speak out on behalf of noble causes like this.  “Never say you are too young to make a difference!”

Just before we got off the bus one college student said that she hoped to see us next year, IF it is necessary.

So, IF it is necessary, who wants to march with me next year? Circle the date: January 22, 2015.  If you’ll walk with me, I’ll bring the toe warmers for your boots!

Truly a Blessing

By Sr. Marilyn Marie | January 20, 2014 |

???????????????????????????????Each year we gather the employees of our Sisters of Notre Dame Sponsored Ministries and honor those employees who are marking an anniversary year of employment with us, and each year I find myself a bit overwhelmed. These are individuals who have committed to more than a job; they make a statement by their day-to-day efforts that this is about ministry – the ministry of introducing Jesus Christ to all those they meet.

Whether they serve at Maria Early Learning Center, Notre Dame Academy, Lial Catholic School or Double ARC, our collaborators in ministry are living proof of the impact of our fourth guiding principle: an integrated education for transformation. In big ways and small ways, their presence and service makes a great difference and helps to change our world – for the better!

 

I am truly grateful for the blessing of each of our employees!  Is there a particular employee in one of our sponsored ministries who has touched your life and helped to transform your world?

Simeon and Anna Ministry

By Sr. Marilyn Marie | January 15, 2014 |

Anna and SimeonWhen Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple to present him as in infant, they encountered two wisdom figures – Simeon and Anna.  We’re told in the Gospel that these two individuals spent a great deal of time in the temple (and had done so for years!) awaiting the Messiah.  They lived lives of prayer, all the while very alert and attentive to the many people they encountered each day.  They had honed their skills of awareness, so that when they met Jesus they KNEW he was the One!

Our newest ministry here at Little Flower Parish (Toledo) is the Simeon and Anna Ministry.  Our parishioners who are 65+ years of age are invited for a luncheon and short presentation each First Friday of the month. As I shared with them in January, it is our way of saying thank you to them for the wisdom and witness they provide for the rest of the parish and to help them continue on their faith journey. Not only do they carry a history of the parish, they teach us how to be aware of Jesus in our daily encounters in a wise, holy and integrated way.

The wisdom figures here in the parish as well as those among my Sisters give me so much to strive for and to look forward to!  Who are the wisdom figures in your life who serve as models and mentors for you?

Change of Heart

By Sr. Mary Valerie Schneider | January 7, 2014 |

We Christians have so many opportunities to change our hearts. We make New Year’s resolutions, reflect on our heart literally and figuratively at Valentine’s Day and during Heart Month, and use Ash Wednesday (quite late this year) as our perennial call to change. But first we need to change our minds, for metanoia should be translated “change your mind.” Until my mind says “you must,” I don’t have the strength to get my heart in gear.

Heart_handRichard Rohr in The Naked Now claims that a change of heart leads to a change of mind, and vice versa. Both must change to see properly. So perhaps changing my heart comes from thinking differently.  What do I need to think about differently this year?  Do I need to see my narcissism as a camouflage for some deep-seated wound that continually festers? Do I need to think about another’s conduct from a different perspective? Do I need to think about a different job or other life change?

O God, let me know how you want me to change my heart.

Motherhood of Mary

By Sr. Mary Valerie Schneider | January 2, 2014 | Comments Off on Motherhood of Mary

-Madonna_childHow Mary and Joseph thrilled when Jesus may have said his first word, “Mama,” or in Hebrew, “Amma.”  A year and more ago Mary had consented to be the mother of the Messiah. “Be it done unto me according to your word,” Mary said. And every day after that, God was “done unto her,” and Mary allowed God to do unto her. And now at Jesus’ first word, Mary experienced in a new, thrilling way her motherhood. The Word who became flesh gave “flesh” to her motherhood, as “Mom” became her new name.

In union with Jesus, let us say the name “Mom” throughout the day, asking Mary to intercede for us that we can freely let God “do unto us.”  (Idea for this blog from Richard Rohr, The Naked Now, p. 18)

 

 

New Year’s Resolution

By Sr. Mary Valerie Schneider | December 30, 2013 | Comments Off on New Year’s Resolution

Although I don’t make New Year’s resolutions, saving that self-correction for my annual retreat usually in late spring, I admire those who do. It certainly feels right to look toward a new year with a desire for a new seedling“you.” Perhaps you have some thoughts about your self-improvement and are formulating a plan.  But have you ever stopped to think that God may have planted that desire in you? Putting up a new calendar may have jarred you into letting God’s desire become your own. You may desire a new “you” that prays more often or more deeply, a new “you” that exercises more, a new “you” that is involved in works of mercy and justice, a new “you” that reaches out to those who have been neglected or need your forgiveness. Whatever resolution flies into your consciousness has already been inside you, lying dormant in 2013 and germinating in 2014. So ask God to grow the seed that God has planted and let the new “you” come to full flower in 2014.

Oh, the Possibilities!

By Sr. Mary Valerie Schneider | December 23, 2013 | Comments Off on Oh, the Possibilities!

Gospel_of_Matthew_Chapter“Oh, the possibilities” sounds like a good title for a Dr. Seuss book. It could also be another title for the New Testament, for Jesus came to show us what is possible for humanity. He preached the reign of God as a dynamic process of relatedness by which the world could move forward to a new level of unity, ultimately when all will be one in God. He taught us that everything will return to the Father in unity with him.  In other words, Jesus “made wholes”; that is, he came as the Head of Creation to make all creation one big “whole.”  How did he do this?  He healed physical, emotional, and spiritual divisions to save. Note: salvation is not abstract; it’s concrete and personal and expressed in renewed relationships. Our relationship with God is not just a connection to the highest Being, but accepting others as part of ourselves because we are one in the depth of God’s love. Come to me, Divine Whole-Maker.

 

FIAT! Let it be!

By Sr. Mary Teresita Richards | December 19, 2013 |

pray_skyMary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word.”      Luke 1:38

IN LATIN, this response of Mary was “FIAT!”  That tiny word holds lots of meaning.  Literally it means “Let it be.”  Perhaps we could also translate it as – Lord, I want what you want.  What desires does God have for your life?  What wild, amazing adventures does the Good God want to invite you on?  Are you brave enough to ask?

Here’s a first step:  simply open up your hands as you pray.  Try it during the Our Father as you pray “Thy kingdom come, they will be done.”   Pray for the grace to desire what God desires.  Or try opening up your hands when you sing the Great Amen at the end of the consecration of the Mass.  Let that gesture be your way of praying Whatever you want God that is what I want — help me to desire it.”  

Don’t limit God by telling Him what you think you need.  At times we don’t even know what the best thing is for us.  We dream too small at times.  So go ahead and try it.  Open your hands and your heart and dare to say “FIAT!”

 

God Loves Our Silence

By Sr. Mary Valerie Schneider | December 16, 2013 |

Stained_glass_window_of_nativityEvery day in December I practice for Christmas. If it’s not the school children’s play, it’s a group’s pre-Mass program for one of the Advent or Christmas liturgies. During the 11:30 p.m. program before the Christmas midnight Mass the narrators says,   “People of God, steep yourselves in mystery and stay in silence. There are not words enough for such an incarnation!  Only a God immense would dare to become so terribly small.” When we pray, we don’t have to say anything; just be in grateful awe.  God loves our silence, as well as our prayers.

Come to me, God of Silence.