Posts by Sr. Mary Valerie Schneider

I’m starting a work week, and I hope there will be something special about the week. “Special” could happen unexpectedly, but often enough it means I have to create “special.” One way is to change my vision. An experiment I participated in recently proves this point. The audience was asked to introduce themselves to someone…

To some today, especially youth, many things have a one-year shelf life. Some need a new phone every year, for example, and the weekly “Business” section of the newspaper touts new brands and styles that suggest any former model is obsolete. Clothes hang idly in closets for fear someone saw us in the outfit last…

The morning after a nighttime rain each leaf of a pin oak tree held a teardrop at its tip. The tree had become a chandelier of droplets. Often we think of rain in negative terms, such as “It’s raining on our picnic.” But there can be beauty after the rain. If today has “rain on…

During my annual retreat I started each day by taking a cup of coffee with me to the edge of a lake where I would sit for a while in reflective silence. One morning without any previous thought I lifted my cup and said “Cheers!” to God. Simultaneously I sensed God saying “Cheers!” to me.…

Just six months until Christmas Eve! Have you started your shopping? Today’s feast on the Church calendar is a solemnity—the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist. John was the precursor of Jesus, the Messiah, so today looks toward the birth of Jesus. Today’s feast and Christmas were selected for their proximity to…

In 1969 the three branches of the Sisters of Notre Dame celebrated the canonization of Julie Billiart. Some attended the ceremony in Rome, while the majority had celebrations at home. Our Toledo province gave a concert that day, singing the biography of Julie and the history of Notre Dame. Even though Julie suffered much from…

The window in the Lial Renewal Center chapel allows the worshipers to see the outdoors though not distinctly. Much of the window is a large yellow circle that seems to embrace the outdoors, signaling “Come in! Come in!” And at the very center of the yellow circle is the tabernacle, miraculously containing the Lord of…