Mary M. McGlone

Mary M McGlone, a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet, gives retreats and days of reflection and is a writer and interpreter/translator. She may be reached at [email protected].

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The official image for the 10th World Meeting of Families was released July 28, 2021. The image, created by Jesuit Fr. Marko Rupnik, depicts the Wedding at Cana. (CNS/World Meeting of Families)

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time: The hour has come

Scripture for Life: "My hour has not yet come." Jesus' reply was not enough for Mary. Representing her needy world, she told the servants to do what Jesus bid them, knowing that when that happened, all would be well.

A child is pictured in a file photo being baptized at a church in Mexico City. (CNS/Reuters/Edgard Garrido)

The Baptism of the Lord: Be like Jesus, trust the Spirit

Scripture for Life: After allowing himself to be baptized, Jesus heard the divine voice say, "You are my beloved Son." Jesus had received not just a baptism, but an affirmation and a naming.

The Adoration of the Magi is depicted in a stained-glass window at St. Mary of the Isle Church in Long Beach, New York. (CNS/Gregory A. Shemitz)

The Epiphany of the Lord: Look to the Magi as models

Scripture for Life: As a synodal people, let us be on the move, discerning the signs of our times while refusing to be awestruck by self-important leaders. Let us share the Magi's humble curiosity. 

A Nativity scene given by Panama's Embassy to the Holy See is pictured at an exhibition of 100 Nativity scenes at the Vatican Dec. 7, 2018. (CNS/Paul Haring)

The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) Mass at Dawn: God's entry into everydayness

Scripture for Life: Today, we celebrate God's entry into our everydayness. Our Nativity scenes remind us that God has taken flesh like ours as one of the humblest. Luke invites us to enter into the scene with both the shepherds and with Mary.

St. Joseph Sr. Marian Cowan's sculpture "The Visitation" is pictured at the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet motherhouse in St. Louis. (Courtesy of Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet/Sarah Baker)

Fourth Sunday of Advent: 'Blessed are you who believe!'

Scripture for Life: Today's liturgy offers the little ones of history the promise that God truly works through them and a challenge to risk allowing that to happen while the privileged are challenged to remain silent enough to perceive where God is working in spite of them. 

A young girl is dressed as Our Lady of Guadalupe outside Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Houston Dec. 12, 2019. (CNS/Texas Catholic Herald/James Ramos)

Third Sunday of Advent: A fiesta of love and liberation

Scripture for Life: This feast day offers us individual and communal invitations to conversion. On the personal level, Zephaniah and Our Lady of Guadalupe invite us to hear the message of God's indomitable love and presence among us.

The life of St. John the Baptist is depicted in medieval mosaics at the Baptistery San Giovanni in Florence, Italy. (Wikimedia Commons/Sailko)

Second Sunday of Advent: Take the road of transformation

Scripture for Life: The thing about genuine conversion or metanoia is that we can't plan it. It is God's offer in a particular moment of history — a grace of insight that shakes us up and turns us around. All we can do is be open to it.

A cormorant is seen on the Anacostia River April 26, 2020, near Bladensburg, Maryland. (CNS/Chaz Muth)

First Sunday of Advent: Our boomeranging prayer

Scripture for Life: Scripture leads us to discover that prayer is like a boomerang: We launch it only to have it come back at us. When Jesus told people that their faith had saved them, he was saying that God works through us, never replacing human effort nor overriding our freedom.

"Jesus Before Pilate, First Interview" (1886-94, detail) by James Tissot (Brooklyn Museum)

Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe: 'What have you done?'

Scripture for Life: We might wonder why the church should celebrate a solemn feast day honoring Jesus with a title that he avoided using for himself and that was the ultimate pretext for executing him as a seditionist.

(Unsplash/Jared Murray)

Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time: Apocalyptic times call us to act

Scripture for Life: We are living in apocalyptic times. Our moment calls us to a realistic assessment of our crises and a response that springs from the grace of believing that now is the time to lift up our heads and see that the Son of Man is at the gates. 

A homeless person in Birmingham, Alabama, eats breakfast during the distribution of food and clothes April 18, 2020. (CNS/Reuters/Carlos Barria)

Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time: We are all vulnerable

Scripture for Life: The widows of today's liturgy invite us to ask ourselves how we can allow our experience to lead us into solidarity. Rich or poor, we are all vulnerable, even if we are not courageous enough to admit it.

(Unsplash/Scott Rodgerson)

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time: What it was like to be Jesus

Scripture for Life: What it was like to be Jesus was to be hopeful, generous, capable of much, but able to do only as much as others would accept from him. That is how he was Godlike.

In the kitchen of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Phoenix in June 2016, volunteers prep food for struggling families and individuals. (CNS/Nancy Wiechec)

Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time: To be great, be a servant

Scripture for Life: The nearer we come to God the more we will share in God's glory: passionate, self-giving. Then we will understand the invincible power of vulnerable love.

Detail of a 20th-century painting of Jesus and the rich young man in the Church of Santa Maria de Montalegre, Barcelona, Spain (Dreamstime/Jozef Sedmak)

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time: A story of inheritance

Scripture for Life: There's a trick in this story of inheritance. Like the wealthy man, we can forget that our inheritance is about genetics and biology, status and goods, things we did nothing to deserve.

Couple on a hillside (Unsplash/Casey Horner)

Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time: Made for each other

Scripture for Life: Genesis 1 and 2 teach that God placed us in the midst of creation to enjoy and grow in communion with one another in the image of the Trinity. Jesus invites us to live into that truth for the rest of our lives.

A statue of St. Martin de Porres stands at the entrance of St. Augustine Church in Washington, D.C. (CNS/Elizabeth Bachmann)

Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Room for everyone

Scripture for Life: Those who carry on Jesus' work are his co-laborers, no matter what disqualifications others might wish to put in their way. Disciples are recognized for how they serve others. That trumps everything else.

A volunteer carries coffee for people waiting for a free meal at the Church of Santa Anna in Barcelona, Spain, April 21, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. (CNS/Reuters/Nacho Doce)

Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Power, service and love

Scripture for Life: Today's liturgy invites us to assess our personal and communal relationships with God and one another. Are we willing to gamble that servant love is sufficient to transform evil?

Shadow of a crucifix (CNS/KNA/Harald Oppitz)

Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Whose disciples are we?

Scripture for Life: Much as we resist it, the God we meet in Jesus, the Christ who is our savior, is thoroughly unlike the materialistic, political or militaristic gods the world urges us to worship.

A woman and man join hands during the Our Father during Mass. (CNS/Bob Roller)

Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time: Faith comes from Christ, community

Scripture for Life: The Gospels portray discipleship as a long apprenticeship that comes to fruition as Jesus' followers begin to comprehend their vocation in the light of his death and resurrection.

Baked bread (Unsplash/Serghei Savchiuc)

Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time: Scandalously ordinary

Scripture for Life: Jesus was scandalously ordinary, except in how he loved God and made God's love available to others.

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