Posts by Sister Veronica Schueler, F.S.E.
My Word Shall Do My Will
The Our Father is a prayer that is the exemplar of a word that “shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.” This is because it is a prayer that comes directly from the lips of Jesus and is the only indication that comes from Him about how we are to…
Read MoreFaith Is the Answer
This evening as I caught the 45th stink bug and deposited it outside (there are consequences for crushing stink bugs), I thought of the many little obstacles to holiness that we can encounter. Stink bugs are an invasive species which has made itself at home in the Pacific Northwest. They love warm weather and have…
Read MoreGod Is Light
Today’s first reading recalls the words of a hymn by Kathleen Thomerson: “I want to walk as child of the light. I want to follow Jesus.” It has always been striking to me that the joy of Christmas is followed so quickly in the Church calendar by the severe reminders of the price to be…
Read MoreNowhere in Israel Have I Found Such Faith
The Gospel for today is one of my favorite readings. In it, Jesus encounters a centurion, a Roman military officer, who seeks healing for his paralyzed servant. That a member of the occupying army should have been so concerned about a servant is in itself remarkable. That he would have approached a member of the…
Read MoreChallenges to a Mission
Chosen for a Mission Today’s Gospel reading puts us at the scene of the selection of the twelve Apostles from the crowd of people following Jesus. We know that Jesus was in dialogue with his Father prior to this action. We know the choices were the will of the Father. They were the result of…
Read MoreProceeding on the Journey
Let Me Go First and Bury My Father The recent birth in our family of the first great-grandchild (and grandniece for me) brought to my mind the ties that hold us together. Recent deaths and illnesses of friends and loved ones have made me recall the fragility of those relationships and yet the enduring nature…
Read MoreConduct Your Affairs with Humility
The theme of this Sunday’s readings is humility. What is humility and how do we exercise it, especially in a culture which values “self-esteem?” We are all familiar with manifestations of pride and arrogance that make life hard for everyone. False humility, which masquerades as virtue but is in reality only another form of pride,…
Read MoreSorting at the End of the Age
The Net Thrown into the Sea In Volume Two of his exhaustive series on the Gospel according to St. Matthew, Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word, Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis describes the sorting process at the end of the age as very concrete. Also as a simple process of means of distinguishing between the “beautiful” and…
Read MoreWhy Are You Terrified?
The Word Pronounced Today’s readings deal with two kinds of fear. The first is the fear that the prophet asserts the people of Israel should have because of their transgressions against the law of God. After all that their God has done for them, the people have not returned to Him but have gone their…
Read MoreFigures of Speech
The Way of the Lord Joy emanates from today’s readings. A man named Apollos comes to Ephesus and begins to speak about Jesus. He is on target but lacks complete understanding of Jesus as the Way. Paul’s disciples, Priscilla and Aquila, apply a gentle and tactful corrective. Apollos obviously accepts what they have to say…
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