“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.
Third Sunday of Advent
John 1: 6-8, 19-28 Sunday Reflection by Sister Mary O'Brien, SNDdeN The third Sunday of Advent is traditionally known as Gaudete Sunday – ‘Rejoice for the Lord is near’. I am writing this at a time when, in England, we are in lockdown at least until 2 December. There...
Feast of the Immaculate Conception
Luke 1: 26-38 Feast Day Reflection by Sister Anne Louise Nadeau, SNDdeN DOES IT REALLY MATTER? Mary, what are we to believe about you? How do we strip away the myths, the folklore, the falsehoods, and the mysteries surrounding your personhood? How do we look under the...
Second Sunday of Advent
Mark 1:1-8 Sunday Reflection by Sister Ginny Scally, SNDdeN In today’s Second Reading, we are assured that “the Lord is not being slow. The Lord is being patient…wanting (us) to change our ways,” so that “righteousness will be at home” among us. But God DOES seem, not...
First Sunday of Advent
Sunday Reflection by Sister Marna Rogers, SNDdeN The Nobel Poet for 2020 is an American writer, Louise Gluck, of whom the Nobel Committee notes in the award statement..."a poet of radical change and rebirth, where the leap forward is made from a deep sense of...
Feast of Christ the King
Matthew 25: 31-46 Sunday Reflection by Sister Roseanne Murphy, SNDdeN As we come to the end of our liturgical year, we find the images of Christ as Shepherd and as King. In the first reading for today, the prophet Ezekiel portrays an image of Christ as a loving,...
Thirty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time
Matt. 25: 14-30 Sunday Reflection by Sister Esther Adama, SNDdeN Beloved in Christ, the word of God today talks about how active and committed we ought to be as Christians with our God given talents. It also calls us to action, not carelessness in faith. The three...
Thirty-second Sunday of Ordinary Time
Sunday Reflection by Sister Eileen Cassidy, SNDdeN An initial reading of this parable about the wise and foolish virgins feels rather uncomfortable on two counts: it seems to approve of the wise virgins’ apparently selfish behaviour which resulted in the foolish...
Commemoration of the Faithful Departed
John 6: 37-40 Feast Day Reflection by Sister Betty Smoyer, SNDdeN Our hearts are stretched wide as we gather in the love of deceased relatives, friends, co-workers and community members on this All Souls Day. Our hearts are stretched as we pray for all those who have...
La fête de Toussaint
Mattieu 5, 1-12a Réflection par Soeur Adrienne Kapela, SNDdeN Chantez, louez, célébrez le Seigneur…… Créés à l’image de Dieu et à sa ressemblance, chanter et louer le Créateur est la raison d’être des baptisé(e)s. Il nous invite, chaque jour davantage, à découvrir...
Feast of All Saints
Matthew 5: 1-12 Sing, praise, celebrate the Lord… Created in the image of God and resembling God, singing and praising the Creator are the purpose of our being baptized. God invites us, more and more each day, to discover the immensity of his love for each one of...
Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Matt. 22: 34-40 Sunday Reflection by Sister JoAnn Recker, SNDdeN As with many, if not most of you, the months of March, April, and May were very difficult ones for me. Similar months are still persisting for a great number of our sisters and brothers. Suddenly, like...
Twenty-ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Matt. 22: 15-21 Sunday Reflection by Sister Maureen Lomax, SNDdeN Whose image? Soon after a baby is born, admirers begin to see physical characteristics in the face and body of the new-born that make them compare the child to its ancestors. Who is she/he like? Is it...
Vingt-huitième Dimanche du Temps Ordinaire
Mattieu 22, 1-14 Reflection par Soeur Victorine Mansanga, SNDdeN Dans l’évangile d’aujourd’hui, Jésus utilise une parabole remplie de symboles pour expliquer le Royaume de Dieu qu’il compare à un Roi qui célébrait les noces de son fils. Le texte nous dit que le Roi...
Twenty-Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Matthew 22: 1-14 Sunday Reflection by Sister Victorine Mansanga, SNDdeN In today’s Gospel Jesus presents a parable full of symbols to explain the Kingdom of God which he compares to a King who is celebrating the wedding of his son. The text tells us that the King...
Vigésimo séptimo domingo del tiempo ordinario – Spanish
Mateo 21, 33-43 Reflexión dominical por la Hermana Juana Jaqueline Castillo-Salvador, SNDdeN La parábola de los viñadores causa mucha interpelación ya que al leerla descubrimos el actuar maquiavélico de los arrendatarios. Adentrándonos en la reflexión descubrimos que...
Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 21: 33-43 Sunday Reflection by Juana Jaqueline Castillo-Salvador, SNDdeN The parable of the workers in the vineyard raises many questions since when we read it, we discover the Machiavellian actions of those who tend the vineyards. As we enter into reflection,...
Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Sunday Reflection by Sister Anne Flanagan, SNDdeN Today’s Gospel contains the Parable of the Two Sons-the “Yes” and “No” sons, as one writer described them. Jesus is speaking to the scribes and the elders. The tax collectors and prostitutes have said “no” to the...
Reflexão de domingo setembro 20 – Portugese
Mateus 20, 1-16a Reflexão de domingo 20 de setembro - pela Irmã Jane Dwyer, SNDdeN O Evangelho de hoje é uma experiência perturbadora da força dinâmica da Boa Nova. Essa força dinâmica, quando assumida, vira nosso mundo de cabeça para baixo e de um lado para o outro,...
Twenty-fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Matthew 20: 1-16a Sunday Reflection by Sister Jane Dwyer, SNDdeN Today´s Gospel is an unsettling experience of the dynamic force of the Good News. This dynamic force when assumed turns our world upside down and around, inside out and back again moving us ever to...
Twenty-fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Matt. 18: 21-35 Sunday Reflection by Sister Marie Andre Mitchell, SNDdeN Forgiveness without Limit. Today’s gospel is all about forgiveness. It begins with Peter asking Jesus, “How often must I forgive…” Peter was feeling magnanimous and gives the largest number he...
