Posts by Nicole Buchholz
Zachariah Was Right
Being Set Free Zachariah starts his canticle (Lk. 1:67-69) blessing the Lord “who has come to his people to set them free.” He goes on to say that the Lord comes to set them free from their enemies. That they are free to worship him without fear. Zachariah foresees the fulfillment of God’s covenant in…
Read MoreA Seeming Contradiction
There is nothing as hard as getting bad news close to the holidays. Today in the United States we are celebrating the holiday of Thanksgiving. The daily readings, however, are all about the end times, yet the psalm is joyful and invites us to joy and thanksgiving. It seems to be a contradiction. When I…
Read More“…and live in love…”
Love is one of those concepts that is constantly being delved into. It is a natural human desire to love and be loved. What is love? It is more than an emotion since the whole spectrum of emotions can be related to love. You can be happily or sadly in love. You can suffer love…
Read More“…and they were afraid to ask him…”
Fear Paralyzes Talking about my health can paralyze a conversation. The reality that I have an incurable disease brings the reality of death to the forefront. Death is literally looking you in the face. I’ve experienced moments of awkward silence as well as deep conversations about life, death, heaven, hell, and fear. Based on those…
Read MoreHe Sees Us
The Call God is constantly calling to our hearts and continually surprising us. There are moments in our lives when we think we are abandoned or alone, perhaps even hidden from God. Even in these moments, however, He is there. He is calling. He tells us, as He told Nathanael (Bartholomew) in today’s Gospel reading,…
Read MoreForgiveness
“Forgive us our sins as we forgive everyone in debt to us.” (Lk. 11:4) Difficulty to Forgive I don’t know about you, but there have been moments in my life when forgiveness has been very difficult to live. I’ve come to accept about myself that I can forgive, but I may not always forget. My…
Read MoreLove
It is difficult to limit myself to a few paragraphs when it comes to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. As a Catholic, as a Christian, He is my Savior and Lord. As a woman wholly consecrated to Him, He is my Spouse and my greatest love, the most ardent desire of my heart. So, of…
Read MoreWe Are Not Alone
Jesus’ Love Letter John chapters 14-17 is one of my favorite parts of the Gospels to read. I think of it as Our Lord’s love letter to us. These were the last recorded words with his apostles before his Passion. They reveal his heart to us. He knew what was coming. Jesus knew how it…
Read MoreDivine Mercy Sunday
Today is Divine Mercy Sunday. It was instituted by Pope St. John Paul II during his pontificate on the Second Sunday of Easter in the year 2000, during the Mass of canonization of St. Faustina Kowalska. Prompted by Jesus, St. Faustina promoted this devotion to Divine Mercy throughout her life and in her writings. What…
Read MoreHis Peace
Openness to His Voice As we prepare for the consecration of Russia and the Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary tomorrow, the words of today’s readings are quite a call for me. “Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people.” (Jeremiah 7:23) “If today you hear…
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