Posts by Radhika Sharda, MD
She Sat at His Feet and Listened
When I was in college, I had a professor of Shakespeare whose classes often lasted nearly three hours. There was no plan to the day’s lecture, no work to be done; he simply discoursed freely on the genius of Shakespeare, weaving in philosophy and history throughout his talk, so that by the end of each…
Read MoreIf Your Brother Listens, You Have Won Him Over
Confrontation is uncomfortable. Settling a perceived wrong with the person who has done it takes us out of our comfort zone. Far easier it is to complain about it to someone else or to brood over the wound on our own. Yet in today’s Gospel reading, Jesus exhorts his disciples to take the other person…
Read MoreWe Wish to See Jesus
Today’s Gospel reading holds a special fascination for me, because it links the Paschal mystery with Jesus’ desire for those outside the chosen people of Israel. For a long time before my conversion to the faith, I believed that the doors of every church were barred to me as a Hindu. After all, Christ was…
Read MoreAscending and Descending
And he dreamed and behold, there was a ladder set upon the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven… Years ago, when we moved into our home, my boys delighted in discovering a hidden stairway. There was a trapdoor in the ceiling upstairs which could be pulled down to unfold a ladder leading…
Read MoreOut of One’s Poverty
To give out of one’s plenty is simple enough. Yet giving out of one’s own lack is a different matter entirely. How does one give when there is nothing left over for oneself? Is it even possible? Logic tells us that the emptier our purse, the more we ought to hold on to what little…
Read MoreAbide in Me, and I in You
What does it mean to abide in Christ? Why do we speak of abiding in, rather than with or through Him? Perhaps nowhere else in literature do we encounter this peculiar idea of remaining in another. St. Paul confesses that “It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.” Today’s Gospel…
Read MoreYes, It Really Happened!
Christ is risen, alleluia! Several years ago, when I was coming into the faith, my mother happened to ask me what Easter meant. As a Hindu, she had never considered it before. I told her that it marked the day on which Jesus rose from the dead. She stared back at me and replied, “Well,…
Read MoreFrom Scapegoating to Forgiveness
Have you ever noticed how easy it is to blame or do wrong to another person, when we gather with others who echo those feelings? Scapegoating I remember when I was in sixth grade there was a new student who faced repeated mockery from the other boys, and one day was even crammed into a…
Read MoreBe Opened!
Have you ever wondered what life would be like for you if you had been born deaf? If you had never heard sounds, or been able to speak words? It is a sobering thought. Recently my younger son was reading a biography on Helen Keller, and as we discussed her story, we reflected together on…
Read MoreTrue Authority
What was it about Jesus of Nazareth that captivated the people who saw him? What was so different about him, compared to scribes and prophets of the past? Amazed and Astonished Today’s Gospel reading invites us to ponder what people experienced in his presence when they saw him teaching in the synagogue or later casting…
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