Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur

Thirty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time – Sr. Barbara Barry, SNDdeN

Matthew 25: 1-13

Today’s gospel comes from a section of Matthew’s gospel called The Sermon on the End. It seems to be for the disciples and not the random crowds that follow Jesus. The disciples are trying to put all the pieces together. This man, Jesus, challenges many of the practices of the Jewish faith in his day. He emphasizes the messages of the prophets and yet he doesn’t seem to be the political “savior” that many were expecting. He preaches a kingdom of love, compassion and peace. At the same time Jesus is realistic about the human condition and nature. There are wars among nations and natural disasters that cause death and destruction. And there are women and men who choose God’s ways and those who don’t.

Perhaps the greatest gift we have as human beings is free will. God’s desire for us is to live in peace, to be compassionate toward one another, and to have life in abundance. This way of life is not forced upon us. It is a choice. Today’s parable tells us of ten virgins, some who listen to the Word and live by it and some who don’t commit to the vision of the Beloved Community. Some are ready for the final days and some are not.

As we come to the last weeks of the liturgical year, let us remember that it is our daily choices that prepare us for the “end days” and that God’s desire for each of us to choose wisely.

Matthew 25: 1-13

Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise.

The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

At midnight, there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise ones replied, ‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’

While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked.

Afterwards the other virgins came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’ But he said in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’

Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Meet Sister Barbara Barry SNDdeN

Sister Barbara is a native Bostonian and entered the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in 1969 at Ipswich, Massachusetts. She has ministered primarily in secondary education administration, served for ten years on the SND EW leadership team and now serves as the Executive Director of the Congregational Mission Office.

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Sr. Eileen Burns, SNDdeN

Matthew 22: 34-40

Well, this gospel struck me in a way that it never has before! It starts out with the Pharisees’ gathering together around Jesus and “testing” him.   I would have felt intimidated if I were him which was, I am sure, their intention. Jesus’ answer about loving God is so beautiful and simple.  Do we each love God with our whole heart and soul and mind?  But Jesus doesn’t stop there. Am I able to thank God for who I was created to be and to truly love myself? Do I love the others in my life whom God created to be themselves? What about those not so easy to love? The Pharisees are standing there together trying to test Jesus and hoping he will fail their test. Jesus’ response has always seemed to me to teach them the importance of loving others. What if he also stood there in their midst and simply loved them as he loved himself?

Matthew 22:34-40

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a scholar of the law tested him by asking, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”

He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Meet Sister Eileen Burns, SNDdeN

Eileen Burns grew up as the oldest of 6 children in the Merrimack Valley section of Massachusetts, USA. She joined the international Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in 1975. Sister Eileen is a member of the their US East-West Province and received a Bachelor’s degree in biology from U Mass Boston and a Masters in Ministry with a focus in Justice and Peace from Seattle University. She has ministered in schools, parishes and agencies, especially with immigrants to the USA. She has also served in SNDdeN province leadership. She is grateful for the experience of serving for a summer with our sisters in Peru and being a delegate to international SNDdeN chapters. Sister Eileen is currently a campus minister at Emanuel College in Boston, MA, USA..