Posts by Sr. Mary Valerie Schneider

  Beatrice Bruteau writes in The Easter Mysteries that we like to keep the roles straight, something Jesus didn’t do when he washed the feet of his horrified apostles. The Lord and Master was acting out of character. Aghast at the improper role undertaken by Jesus, Peter may have said (in Bruteau’s words), “You’ll upset…

I love the stories during the Octave of Easter. My favorite is the story of the two disciples walking to Emmaus, scoffing at a Stranger who “does not know of the things that have taken place” but soon becoming quite impressed by the wise Stranger’s understanding of the Scriptures. I like this story so much…

Good Friday “Darkness. Emptiness. There is nothing left. That is how it must have been for the disciples. For his friends. Dark. Empty. He was dead. All their hopes were shattered. . . . On Good Friday no one thought about Easter, because Easter hadn’t happened yet, and no one could dream of such an…

First and Always Compassion Jesus spent his last days on earth doing works of compassion. Jesus could have stayed away from Martha and Mary’s home, but he went to comfort them with the reassuring words that he was the resurrection. Compassion. Although the apostles did the legwork to prepare the Passover meal, Jesus had made…

When Self-Emptying is Self-Acceptance In Words Made Flesh Fran Ferder writes: “The true kenosis of Jesus lay not in self-abnegation but in self-embrace, saying a consistent and honest yes to all the demands that being fully human made on him. . . And his self-emptying took two forms: profound self-acceptance and radical self-disclosure.” I don’t…

God Empties Out The kenosis of Philippians 2:7 is Divinity poured out and thus Love poured out, for God is Love. In this pouring out, the Second Person of the Trinity became human, taking the form of a slave. This pouring out continues as love is poured out over the universe, God taking on the…

  It’s Holy Week! Will you really make it a “holy week”? To do so enlarge or unclog your arteries. Clear out space in your week to be fully engaged in the Church’s prayer. Don’t miss the beautiful Holy Thursday liturgy, the meaningful and engaging Good Friday service, and the glorious—absolutely stunning—Easter Vigil. If you…

Henri Nouwen writes: “A spiritual discipline. . . is the concentrated effort to create some inner and outer space in our lives.” Do we feel over-extended? Have we promised ourselves that we won’t take on one more thing? Saying no to the next request takes self-discipline (unless the request is something we know God wants…

We’re over halfway through Lent. Is your heart feeling better? This week we’ll look at our spiritual rib cages. Perhaps we feel “caged in” by our bad habits and addictions. But there are ways to expand our hearts by the protective rib cage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Confession gives us spiritual strength and protection…

God Lives Where God Loves       [March 16] The enemies of Jesus can’t believe that Jesus is the Christ. After all, they know where Jesus is from, and no one will know where the Messiah comes from. How wrong they were in limiting Jesus Christ to a geographical location. God has many attributes:  mercy, healing, omnipotence,…