Posts by Celina Manville
Desire for Greatness
The desire for greatness – while it sounds like a selfish wish or purely worldly pursuit, it is not. It is a holy desire. Each of us, as a son or daughter of God the Father, is created in His image. So, our DNA is encoded for greatness! To be any less means we are…
Read MoreOutside Our Comfort Zone
As Jesus entered the town of Bethsaida, the people brought him a blind man, and what was the very first thing Jesus did? He took this man “by the hand and led him outside the village” (Mk 8:23). Jesus led him outside what is familiar, outside his comfort zone. Jesus guided him away from this…
Read MoreLessons from Cana
When the wine ran short… What an interesting beginning for Jesus’s first recorded miracle! So many of His recorded miracles involve healings—giving sight to those who are blind, hearing to those who are deaf, health to those who are ill, and even life to those who have died. But wine running short? Somehow that doesn’t…
Read MoreThe Mystique of John the Baptist
It is interesting to think about a person like John the Baptist. Jesus points out the obvious. John certainly wasn’t someone fashionably dressed or living the life of the kinds of celebrities we see today, yet he was indeed a celebrity of sorts. Crowds came to follow and hear him. So, what drew so many…
Read MoreThrough Zacchaeus’s Eyes
During this Gospel reflection, let me enter into this beloved Gospel scene. Let me see Christ through Zacchaeus’s eyes, and let me see myself through Christ’s eyes. O Holy Spirit, flood my heart, and make me keenly aware of Your Presence. Pause and reread the account in Luke 19: 1-10. Actively visualize this event. Place…
Read MoreAm I Ashamed of Christ?
Acknowledgment is a common courteous behavior parents teach their children in their earliest years. Parents want their sons and daughters to acknowledge a person’s presence as well as gifts they have received. Acknowledgement is a way of saying that the person matters. In the beginning of today’s Gospel, Jesus is very clear about this basic…
Read MoreGratitude: The Space-Maker
I have been married for 27 ½ years, and throughout, I have marveled at my husband’s ability to be grateful for everything, literally everything! I’ll admit, I even found it rather annoying at times. When I would be all caught up in some temporal concern, he’d remind me that God gave us a beautiful day,…
Read MoreCourageous Questions
We ask all kinds of questions daily. Questions form the basis of conversations and the building of relationships. So, do we ever ask questions in prayer? Asking the Right Questions To get the information we need, we must ask the right questions. Typically, we start with a general question and then go deeper with more…
Read MoreBeyond Rules, Mercy
As someone who tends to be very detail-oriented, I know I often get stuck in the minutiae. I am also a “rule-follower” by nature. Rules can be important. They can ground us and ensure our safety, but today’s Gospel warns us about where I place both my attention and my security. Are they only in…
Read MoreHide and Seek
As a child, I loved playing hide and seek. I remember the excitement of finding the perfect hiding spot, one in which I was convinced no one could ever find me. I remember the delight of quietly waiting in that spot until just the right moment to make a dash to the base. In this…
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