“As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19)
“Like Mary whose name we bear, we are called to hear the word of God and keep it. Our attentive listening shapes in us a contemplative and prophetic attitude toward the whole of life and enables us to act in ways which witness to God’s love and justice.” (SNDdeN Constitution 47)
Perhaps our reflections on the weekly Gospel will help you nurture your own relationship with God.
Through these reflections on the Gospel Readings for the Sundays and Major Feasts of the Liturgical Year, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur from various parts of the world share with you their thoughts and ponderings on these Scripture passages. These reflections are posted in the language of the author with links to translation.
These Scripture readings and reflections reveal Glimpses of God’s Goodness in our daily lives. We pray that these reflections will strengthen your faith, renew your hope and enflame the love of God in you, and through you, to others.
Feast of the Vigil of Easter
Matthew 28:1-10 Feast Day Reflection by Sister Agnes Nelson, SNDdeN There are really two stories in this Gospel. In the first we hear about the soldiers who were so overcome with fear that they seemed like corpses. The women too were afraid but the angel is quite...
Feast of Good Friday
Matthew 28:1-10 Feast Day Reflection by Sister Josephine Threlfall, SNDdeN Our Lenten journey this year has been like no other in our life time. None of us would have thought that we would reach Good Friday with all our Churches closed and without Holy Week Services...
Feast of Holy Thursday
John 13:1-15 Feast Day Reflection by Sister Ellen Keane James O’Connell, MD, founder of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program recalls his first assignment to the Pine Street Inn, a shelter for homeless men in Boston. He shared the following experience as a...
Palm Sunday
Matthew 26:14 - 27, 66 Sunday Gospel Reflection by Sister Mary Ann Cook There are lessons to be learned from the realities of climate change and the global coronavirus pandemic: that we are fragile, vulnerable, mortal human creatures that we are interdependent with...
Fifth Sunday of Lent
John 11:1-45 Sunday Gospel Reflection by Sister Maureen O'Brien Up until this Lent, the death and new life scenario involving Jesus, Lazarus, Mary and Martha in John 11:1-45 had always helped me to pivot from a somber, though hopeful Lenten journey, into that moment...
Feast of the Annunciation
Luke 1:26-38 Feast Day Reflection by Sister Nancy Wellmeier Sometimes we find that the words we use obscure the real meaning. IF this feast were called “the Announcement” would it lift the veil of mystery just a little? What was announced was the Incarnation, the...
Fourth Sunday of Lent
John 9:1-41 Sunday Gospel Reflection by Sister Edna Maier Because I am a music lover, a song and poetic enthusiast, I delight in the various melodies that have been created to accompany God’s word. They can and often do touch our hearts with wisdom and renewed...
Third Sunday of Lent
John 4:5-42 Sunday Gospel Reflection by Sister Magdalen Lawler Glimpse: THE SAMARITAN WOMAN an encounter with Jesus. My fascination with this woman goes back many years. I was familiar with a number of images that portrayed her as a promiscuous woman. I had also heard...
Second Sunday of Lent
2nd Sunday of Lent Matthew 17:1-9 Sunday Gospel Reflection by Sister Godlieve Ziunga On this second Sunday of Lent, the Church our mother, presents the Gospel which recounts the transfiguration of the Lord. This Gospel begins by the words: “at that time…”. The...
First Sunday of Lent
1st Sunday of LentMatthew 4:1-11Sunday Gospel Reflectionby Sister Edithann Kane Here it is – March 1st – the First Sunday of Lent! We think about the usual practices of Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. St. Julie was ahead of the times when she encouraged the...
Feast of Ash Wednesday
Feast of Ash WednesdayMatthew 6:1-6, 16-18Sunday Gospel Reflection by Sister Bernadette Turgeon In our Gospel, Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount, challenges us to be salt for the earth and light for all in this world to see, and do the kinds of things in any given...
7th Sunday of Ordinary Time
7th Sunday of Ordinary TimeMatthew 5:38-48Sunday Gospel Reflectionby Sister Helen Bellew Be holy, be perfect – and how to get there! One of Jesus’ titles is Teacher and He is an extraordinarily gifted one, often using situations, objects, and cultural norms with which...
6th Sunday of Ordinary Time
6th Sunday of Ordinary TimeMatthew 5:17-37Sunday Gospel Reflectionby Sister Maura McMenamin THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT – seems to be one collection of Jesus teachings. Depending on which translation we use, we find that in the Sermon on the Mount, the word...
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
5th Sunday of Ordinary TimeMatthew 5:13-16Sunday Gospel Reflectionby Sister Eileen Burns Matthew shares that Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth. But, if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out...
Presentation of the Lord
Feast of the Presentation of the LordLuke 2:22-40Sunday Gospel Reflectionby Sister Gerry Bolzan Anticipation and waiting…these seem to be the themes that are prominent as we contemplate this feast of the Presentation. The first (anticipation) gives us lots of energy,...
Third Sunday of Ordinary Time
Feast of the Presentation of the LordLuke 2:22-40Sunday Gospel Reflectionby Sister Gerry Bolzan Anticipation and waiting…these seem to be the themes that are prominent as we contemplate this feast of the Presentation. The first (anticipation) gives us lots of energy,...
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
2nd Sunday of Ordinary TimeJohn 1:29-34Sunday Gospel Reflectionby Sister Michela Sheehan John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Here is the one I told you about…”. How did John recognize Jesus? Surely John was ready to find Jesus, probably eagerly watching those...
Baptism of the Lord
Feast of the Baptism of the LordMatthew 3:13-17Sunday Gospel Reflection by Sister Marna Rogersby Sister Marna Rogers The opportunity to break away and go to John the Baptist for Baptism must have been a refreshing moment for Jesus. He had already been quite busy. Our...
The Epiphany of the Lord
Feast of EpiphanyMatthew 2:1-12Sunday Gospel Reflectionby Sister Marilyn Kerber Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Epiphany. “The Lord and ruler is coming; kingship is his, and government and power.” With these words the Church proclaims that today’s...
Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
22nd Sunday of Ordinary TimeLuke 14:1, 7-14Sunday Gospel Reflectionby Sister Camilla Burns The feast of the Solemnity of Mary the Holy Mother of God is the oldest Marian feast tracing its roots back to the Council of Ephesus in 431. Mary’s divine motherhood broadens...
