Posts by Celina Manville
Self-Giving Living
Lent is indeed a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, yet how easy it is to get caught up in these practices externally without thought to the internal preparation. In today’s first reading, Isaiah calls out the people for this: Lo, on your fast day, you carry out your own pursuits and drive all your…
Read MoreSabbath Living
The beginning of a year has always been a great time to reflect on how we are living and making resolutions to help us attain goals – perhaps to be healthier, have a greater work-life balance, and to grow deeper in our relationship with Christ. Let us take time today to reflect on what Jesus…
Read MoreAdvent Prophets
A prophet has a special role in Salvation History. His main role is to be a mouthpiece for God. In order to be effective, he must enter into the grittiness of everyday life with God’s people to wake them up and call them back. The word Advent means “coming” so it is a fitting word…
Read MoreThe Kingdom of God
In this Gospel passage, Jesus gives some practical advice to help his followers stay on the right path. He begins by offering a warning about staying grounded in the truth of what the words “Kingdom of God” truly means. Let us consider three points we can draw from this short passage: 1. To find the…
Read MoreSign Seeking
Sometimes discerning the will of God can feel like a treasure hunt. How can we know what God wants us to do in this or that situation? What is He asking of us today? These questions may range from a pivotal life decision to more common scenarios from our day-to-day lives. How often we may…
Read MoreThe Fruit of a Firm Foundation
There is nothing like a piece of ripe fruit. It is beautiful, colorful, juicy, sweet, nutritious, and delicious. In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us that good fruit can only come from a good tree and bad fruit (think rotten, spoiled, foul odor, unsatisfying), can only come from a bad tree. The tree, the fruit’s foundation,…
Read MoreFace-to-Face
The first reading comes from the end of the book of Deuteronomy. We read a short testimony about Moses’ death, in the beautiful verse: Since then, no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face. (Dt. 34: 10) What does it mean to be face-to-face? In Hebrew, face is…
Read MoreAbundant Life: The Wait, the Word, and the Will
This Sunday’s readings have a deeply affirming message to share about the security and peace that are founded on living the Will of God in our lives. It all begins with the WAIT. The Wait To wait for something is to live with a sense of grand expectancy. Both the first reading and the Gospel…
Read MoreO Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
On this Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, take a moment to gaze at an image of the Sacred Heart. As I was writing this reflection, I found myself lost in time as I searched online through numerous images of the Sacred Heart. I was particularly intrigued by one of the earliest images…
Read MoreEntering the Mystery
Wow! Just wow! The Mass readings for today explode with both mystery and victory! If we dive into the Gospel for today, we are amidst Jesus’ Last Supper discourse. Jesus has so much he wants to share before his Passion begins. Let us re-read this passage in this context, so we can feel the intensity…
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