Call me no longer Naomi. Call me Mara,
for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me. (Ruth 19:20)
Like Naomi in the book of Ruth, Sheila Clare DeLuca, CBS Class of 2016, seems to have God's poetry within.
Exhibit A: "Call Me Mara"
A contributor to the new Wisdom Commentary series DeLuca writes: "I love Mara.... I understand her sorrow but, even greater, her failure to grasp her God's wisdom as she declares the numerous 'afflictions' she has received at God's hand.... This is the place most difficult to acknowledge for the faithful; where we feel neglected, rejected, or forgotten by the One who matters most to us.... This loss of relationship ... brings the faithful to a crossroads: one made by God." (Wisdom Commentary, Vol. 8, Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2017, p. 48)The new biblical commentary series from Liturgical Press is currently in process. The Ruth volume is written by scholars Alice Laffey and Mahri Leonard-Fleckman (former CBS faculty member). Each volume in the series intends to invite additional voices, co-authors like Sheila DeLuca, to enter into dialogue with the text in meaningful ways.
I give thanks to God for Sheila, who is living and leading in God's word on an international level, and for all in our communities who are engaging God's Word in fruitful ways as missionary disciples.
How will the Bible inspire you? To find out, Read, Reap and Rise with the Catholic Biblical School.
