Month: November 2025

On That Day …

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Advent, Courage, Eternal Life, Scripture, spirituality5 Comments

First Sunday of Advent
November 30, 2025

On that day, the Lord will bind up the wounds of His People.
Isaiah 30:26

Today, we will begin the sacred season of Advent. It is a time of miracles, and we do not want to miss them because of our Yuletide distractions. Let me tell you a story about someone who longs for such miracles.

Christine is a beautiful woman, inside and out. She is as vital as fresh air or summer sun. She is successful, strong, sincere and faith-filled. But her heart is a fragile hidden glass, ready to break at any moment, because her beloved son is a heroine addict. Johnny lives in a tidal darkness beyond the shore of her sustaining light. Like spilled ink, that darkness regularly invades her joy and conspires to steal her hope.

Spiritual darkness holds a profound contradiction. It is the place where we may be deeply lost but even more deeply found. It is an interior tunnel through which every person walks at least once in her life, the deep chasm from which Isaiah pointed to the distant mountaintop.

During the thrilling season of Advent, we step out into the land of promises and prophets. The language of hope unfurls in a galaxy across the heavens, calling us out of darkness toward an Infinite and Incarnate Light. In this first week’s glorious readings, the prophet Isaiah points to our salvation, star by prophetic star:
• There is a Day coming, he tells us, and on that Day, the Lord will bind up the wounds of his people.
• In a very little while, he tells us, Lebanon will be changed. A shoot shall sprout from the tree we had thought to be withered.
• On this very mountain, he tells us, we will behold our God.

For all of us who, like Christine, carry human sorrow in the shadowed valleys of our spirits, there is healing on the near horizon. The Daystar of Jesus Christ is about to dawn through the darkness. God is about to put on the very humanness that is our burden and transform it into glory. Let us begin, with an eager faith, to enter the divine mystery being sung among the stars.

Music: Darkness and Light – Harald Hauser

For Your Reflection:

  • What feelings or reactions do I have after reading this reflection?
  • Do my feelings or reactions remind me of any passage or event in scripture, especially in the life of Christ? 
  • What actions might I take today because of my response to these readings?

Suggested Scripture: Readings for the First Sunday of Advent

Click for Scripture

Grace

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, Courage, Faith, Prayer, spirituality, Thanksgiving3 Comments

November 26, 2025

What is “grace”? I think it can be many things:

Saquon Barkley weaving through the opposing defense like an electric needle
Alysa Liu, her silver skates writing poetry
in the icy air.
Andrea Bocelli, embracing a world he cannot see
with the vision of song

Yard by yard, spin by spin, note by note, these graceful artists work their lovely craft.

This Thanksgiving Day, many families will begin their sumptuous meal with Grace, that humble awareness that all we are and have belongs to God. At some tables, the youngest will be appointed to say the blessing, encouraging them to recognize God’s gifts. Whoever offers the prayer, let the moment be a reminder for us of what true grace is.

Grace is an attitude of the heart that lives life gratefully. It is that constant, though sometimes silent, acknowledgement that I did not create myself, nor any of the gifts that bless my life. With kindness and respect, we see all life as gift, a reflection of Divine Generosity.

In a harsh world, where Life and Earth are often dismissed with irreverence and violence, Thanksgiving offers us the grace to reach deepened awareness and compassionate action.

Meister Eckhart, 14th-century mystic and theologian, said, “If the only prayer we say in our entire lives is ‘Thank You’ it is enough.” And it is enough. When we realize that gratitude is the only appropriate response to the awesome gift of life, that realization is enough to make us holy, happy, and wise. It is enough to let us live with true joy.

Thanksgiving Day, our all-American feast, is a time to gather family, friends, memories, and hopes, celebrating the community that embraces us. Even if the past year has brought a measure of loss or struggle, still we have been blessed with one another’s courage and support.

In a way, we become like the luminaries mentioned earlier. Through grace, we find the opening in the defensive walls around us. Through grace, we keep our footing in icy circumstances. Through grace, our lives create their own melody.

Don’t let the cascade of football games or preparations for Black Friday shopping obscure our appreciation for this holy time. Grace is the light of God’s life within us, and no darkness can ever extinguish it. Revere it on this beautiful holiday.

Tomorrow, as we give thanks for God’s gifts, let your gratitude be evident. It may take the form of a long-overdue reconciliation, or a private “thank you” for overlooked work. It may be a little extra help in the kitchen, or an offer to head the clean-up crew. It may even be volunteering to say the Grace with humility and hope. It may be a walk after dinner with someone who needs your light. Whatever form your thanks takes, may it fill your heart – and the hearts of your family and friends – with renewed strength and love.

And thank you all sincerely for your kindness and encouragement in supporting me and this Lavish Mercy. Know that you are in my Thanksgiving prayers. ❤️ Renee

Music: The Thanksgiving Song – Ben Rector

For Your Reflection

  • What feelings or reactions do I have after reading this reflection?
  • Do my feelings or reactions remind me of any passage or event in scripture, especially in the life of Christ? 
  • What actions might I take today because of my response to these readings?

Suggested Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-23

Click for Scripture

Extraordinary Days

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Advent, Hope, joy, Love, Mercy, Prayer, spirituality1 Comment

November 20, 2025

As we draw close to the Holy Season that will close our year, let’s welcome each final day as an extraordinary gift, grateful for the faith, hope, and love that sustain our lives.

Music: “Your Love” from “Once Upon A Time in the West” ” – by Ennio Morricone – performed by Hauser

For Your Reflection:

  • What feelings or reactions do I have after reading this reflection?
  • Do my feelings or reactions remind me of any passage or event in scripture, especially in the life of Christ? 
  • What actions might I take today because of my response to these readings?

Suggested Reading: Lamentations 3:22-23

Click for Scripture

Eucharist Means Thanksgiving

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Jesus, spirituality, Thanksgiving5 Comments

November 16, 2025

It may be a bit early, but as we draw closer to the season of Thanksgiving, it is time to make preparations for our “family eucharist”.

Families pass batons much like relay teams do.  One generation hands its gifts and stories on to the next.  Eventually, the cycle of love and tradition wears a deep path in history that becomes known by your family name.

How often do we see a newborn child and comment that she has her grandmother’s eyes?  How many times have we said to someone, “You remind me so much of your father.”? Whenever we see the pattern of strength and generosity repeated through the generations, we are given reason to hope and to be grateful.

In our family, the making of the Thanksgiving pies is a beloved tradition.  Over the years, it has passed from my grandmother to my mother, my father, my brother, and me.  Like many family traditions, pie-making has become a mark of our family – a “charism”, if you will – symbolizing our desire to feed, support, and love one another. It is also a way of remembering those who have taught us its intricacies.

30 years ago....

Over thirty years ago, I went into the kitchen and found my oldest niece, then about nine years old, preparing the pie crust and stirring the filling.  Looking at her, I realized that she and her brother and sisters are the beloved hope of our family’s future and the blessed confirmation of its past. Now, I have the joy of seeing their children making the Thanksgiving pies – so symbolic of that renewed hope and blessing – and such a source of joy.

Cookies Count Too
Pie with Grandpa
Some prefer to eat pie
Training without product!
Where’s the meat …?

The Newest Generation

Be especially mindful of your children this Thanksgiving. Confirm in them the traditions they continue and the newness they contribute to your family.  Whether they sit over at the kids’ table or have joined you at the “big table”, make Thanksgiving Day a special time to love them.  Share the stories that connect them to their heritage. Offer them that irreplaceable stability as they create their unique chapter of your family’s story.

Such simple moments can offer us a eucharistic grace – 

  • the welcoming of all at a shared table, 
  • the telling of stories that define our values,
  • the exchange of joyful hope, and the security of forgiveness with our familial community
  • the challenge and encouragement to model such hope in the world

Surely at such times, Jesus is with us, reminding us to “Do this in memory of Me.” As we pass the bread – or the pie – to one another, let’s remember the power of such Love.

My Mom’s Family-Famous Chocolate Pie

Music: “Family is Family” from the movie “Family Camp”

For Your Reflection

  • What feelings or reactions do I have after reading this reflection?
  • Do my feelings or reactions remind me of any passage or event in scripture, especially in the life of Christ? 
  • What actions might I take today because of my response to these readings?

Suggested Scripture: Ephesians 4:2-3

Click for Scripture

Imagine a letter …

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn spirituality3 Comments

November 11, 2025
184th Anniversary of the Death of Catherine McAuley

Venerable Catherine McAuley (left) and Frances Warde
in Our Lady of Mercy Window
BASILICA of the NATIONAL SHRINE
of the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
Washington, DC

Fifteen years ago, as the Sisters of Mercy in Merion, Pennsylvania, prepared for the Sesquicentennial of our founding, we imagined what Catherine McAuley might write to us as we celebrated.

As we lovingly remember her today, on the anniversary of her death, perhaps you would enjoy reading the imagined letter she so graciously sent us:

Beloveds in Mercy,

I wish I could be with you in person on this special occasion, but – well, I’m sure you understand.  In place of that, I hope this letter brings you the warm blessing of knowing how grateful I am to each of you.

When I was contacted to offer you a few words, I indicated that I had already been talking with all of you for quite some time. If each one of you would think, just for a moment, our first conversation will come back to you.  It was the moment you realized that when you serve someone in the name of Mercy, you share the glorious and humbling call that I received so long ago. You share the work of God!

You and I may have talked in your classrooms or labs, in the crowded corridors at the change of class, or on your way home after a tiring week. We may have spoken just before a Board meeting, or in the midst of a celebration such as the one that brings us here today.  Perhaps we spoke at a hospital bedside, or kneeling beside a warm street grate on a snowy night.

Our connection happened in that moment when you realized, as I did in my own life, that you loved your wards and life companions the way God loves them – wanting their good, forgiving their shortcomings, honored to be with them on life’s journey. You loved them with Mercy.

For some of you, that sacred realization came when you helped a young person recover her self-esteem. For others, it came when you listened patiently to a harried parent until he found his way back to confidence.  For some of you, it was the pride you took in keeping the school beautiful, the records in order, the cafeteria churning. For some, it was the mutual support you found among your peers. For others, it was the ministry of sponsorship that you have exercised in my name for the sake of those we serve.

For many of you, it was the needy cry of the world outside a school or hospital. It was your courage to help your students and co-workers hear that cry too, and to guide them toward a merciful response. It is a call repeated to others by your witness of fidelity, justice, and charity in a tumultuous world.

How proud I am of each and every one of you! Long ago, when I still walked the streets of Dublin, I had already thought of you. It’s true! On a spring afternoon, passing by the sycamores of St. Stephen’s Green, I would imagine someone, long into the future, fired with the same passion for mercy that filled my own heart. That someone was you. Even then, when our little community was only a seedling, I knew it would endure and spread like a noble tree. I could already see its leaves shimmering with your names.

Over these nearly 200 years, I have slowly learned each of your names by heart – the thousands who have preceded you, and the thousands who will come after. You are one – and a very dear and special one – in an infinite line of compassion. You are the eternal reach of God into human need. You are the tender community of Mercy.

Today’s ritual marks a significant time in the evolution of this community.  It is a time of reminiscence, gratitude, blessing, and hope. I give you my everlasting thanks for joining your heart to this mission and your courage to carry it into the future. It was God’s dream in me so long ago, and it endures because of you.

But the years also bring change, which carries its own considerations, I know.  I went through many changes and challenges in my short ten years of ministry. And the changes over two centuries – oh, I can’t begin to tell you! They can bring hesitation and worry, but they also offer the opportunity for faith and creativity.  As I encouraged my first Sisters long ago, “We have one solid comfort amidst this little tripping about, our hearts can always be in the same place, centered in God, for whom alone we go forward or stay back.”

My final words to you today are these: trust our Merciful God who is always with us. Your trust will bring a new grace and a new call. It is the next imagination of mercy, and you are its architects! Be faithful and be blessed. Be Mercy in the world!

And, oh my friends, will we all meet in heaven? What joy even to think of it!

Your loving sister,

Catherine

Veterans Day

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn spiritualityLeave a comment

November 11, 2025

Photo by Wilson Rodriguez on Pexels.com

Today, we recognize all our men and women, living and dead, who have served in the United States Armed Forces.

This is not a celebration of war or military strength.  Rather, it is an acknowledgement of individual courage, generosity, and patriotism.  These are men and women who are willing to stand in the breach for the rest of us to protect our peace and freedom.

Yes, they are brave. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t frightened sometimes, or lonely, or discouraged about the course of international events.  Our veterans may show us ribbons, or pictures, or tell proud stories now. But that doesn’t mean they didn’t pay a huge personal price for their years of service. So did their families.

One cannot avoid the fact that there is confusion today among Americans as our military is domestically deployed against unarmed citizens and refugees. Many consider the deployment to be politicized presidential overreach using our military as pawns. We have yet to acknowledge what damage this does to the reputation of our military, the respect earned for 250 years of selfless service, and the well-deserved patriotic pride of its members.

Our men and women in service have made a valiant choice. They deserve to be inspired by leaders who value and honor that choice.  Their skills should be deployed in a manner that draws the respect of their countrymen and the world.  And upon discharge, they deserve to have the healthcare, housing, and benefits they have earned. 

However we feel about war or politics, to serve our country is an admirable contribution to the common good.  So if you know a Vet, thank them today for what they have done for you and your family.  And if you see a soldier, pilot, sailor, or marine in the airport or mall on this special day, say thanks and God bless you.  They answered the call to stand up for everything you have the freedom to celebrate today.

Music: God Bless Our Veterans – Voice of the Lamb (lyrics below)

Come to me all who are weary and burdened
I will give you rest and comfort your soul
The Lord is close to those with broken hearts
He saves those crushed in spirit never apart

In the darkest hours when shadows fall
He carries the weight answering the call
With gentle hands He heals the pain
In His promise of peace we remain

God bless our veterans brave and true
In every trial He stands with you
Through the pain and the sorrow His love renews
With strength from above He sees you through

He mends the hearts that are torn and worn
In His gentle touch the wounded are reborn
Fear not for He is ever near
With His righteous hand casting away your fear

In the darkest hours when shadows fall
He carries the weight answering the call
With gentle hands He heals the pain
In His promise of peace we remain

God bless our veterans brave and true
In every trial He stands with you
Through the pain and the sorrow His love renews
With strength from above He sees you through

Praise be to our God source of all comfort
In every affliction His love never falters
With the comfort we’ve received we comfort too
In His everlasting love all things are renewed

God bless our veterans brave and true
In every trial He stands with you
Through the pain and the sorrow His love renews
With strength from above He sees you through

He mends the hearts that are torn and worn
In His gentle touch the wounded are reborn
God bless our veterans in His holy light.

After Daylight Savings Time

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn spirituality1 Comment

November 3, 2025

The world changes.
The evening shadows
gather and surprise us,
like dinner guests arrived too early.

The meal is not ready;
the wine not fully decanted;
the candles yet unlit;
our warm spirits not yet gathered
to receive our visitors,
carried by the chilly dark.

It is this way with life as well.
Seasons of sadness, loss,
longing and incompleteness
intrude themselves into our light.
We are not ready
for their frosty secrets.

Yet they too carry
the Great Spirit’s warm caress,
though harder to discern.

So challenging to find the way
to a peace hidden in darkness.
So effortless to keep the path
in a summer afternoon’s full light!

Yet we must not shun
these blessed November evenings.
They squeeze the most amazing brilliance
through the vespering clouds.

Be still in their encroaching darkness.
It is but a moment until,
like a pinprick on velvet,
the Evening Star appears
tumbling a universe of diamonds
into the night.

~ Renee Yann, RSM

Music: Adagio – Tomas Albinoni

For Your Reflection

  • What feelings or reactions do I have after reading this reflection?
  • Do my feelings or reactions remind me of any passage or event in scripture, especially in the life of Christ? 
  • What actions might I take today because of my response to these readings?

Suggested Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:11

God has made everything beautiful in its time,
and has also set eternity in the human heart;
yet no one can fathom what God has done
from beginning to end.