Sister Renee Yann, RSM, D.Min, is a writer and speaker on topics of spirituality, mission, and ethical business practice. After twenty years in teaching and social justice ministry, she served for over thirty years in various mission-related roles in Mercy Health System of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
Friends, on November 29, 2024, you have received the last Lavish Mercy in the old pattern. For December 1st, Lavish Mercy gets a makeover. For those who missed my earlier communication, I made this decision after 10 years of the daily scripture reflections, having just about exhausted my best thoughts on them. The Spirit moved me to something new.
Below, I have sketched the pattern for most of the new reflections so that you will be comfortable navigating the redesign. Reflections will come at least weekly, but sometimes more frequently. I hope you will want to use a reflection for more than one prayer time, depending on what emotions it evokes in you. I suggest journaling as a good way to deepen your response to the reflection questions and any suggested scripture.
Most of the pattern will be familiar to my longtime readers. One new element is the “Accompanying Music”. If you choose to click the white arrow head, you will have a nice instrumental as background to your prayer. Just make sure to click it off before listening to any other music.
I would greatly appreciate knowing how you feel about the new Lavish Mercy, either by a “Like” ⭐️ or “Comment” on the page, or an email to renee.yann@gmail.com ❤️
The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul; The decree of the LORD is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The command of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eye. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; The ordinances of the LORD are true, all of them just. They are more precious than gold, than a heap of purest gold; Sweeter also than syrup or honey from the comb. ~from Psalm 19
Our Gospel tells the almost unbelievable story of hardy fishermen dropping their nets, family, and livelihood to follow an itinerant preacher. What could possibly make them do that?
There was a magnetism in Jesus that completely captured the first followers. His words, his judgments, his entire being reflected the Way, the Truth, and the Life. His call unleashed a force in theirs that they hadn’t known was there.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: On this eve of Advent, we ask ourselves, “Why do I follow (or fail to follow) Jesus? Are my judgments aligned with the Truth who Jesus is? What great attraction is drawing my heart to the next depth of holiness?
Poem: The Call – George Herbert (1593-1633)
Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life: Such a Way, as gives us breath: Such a Truth, as ends all strife: Such a Life, as killeth death.
Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength: Such a Light as shows a feast: Such a Feast, as mends in length: Such a Strength, as makes his guest.
Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart: Such a Joy, as none can move: Such a Love, as none can part: Such a Heart, as joyes in love.
Music: After 300 yers, George Herbert’s poem was put to music by Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Jesus told his disciples a parable. “Consider the fig tree and all the other trees. When their buds burst open, you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near; in the same way, when you see these things happening, know that the Kingdom of God is near. Luke 21:29-31
Jesus tells his followers to be attuned to the emergence of God’s Kingdom.
The reality is that the Kingdom of God already enfolds us, but it is difficult for us to see it with our human eyes. When we see a ripe peach or tomato, we know it is ready to come to the table. But are we able to see the Spirit of God ripening in the world around us? Are we ready to pluck grace from our everyday circumstances so that God’s Reign is released into the world?
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We prayerfully consider all that blossoms in our daily life. Where is the invitation to holiness within our circumstances? May God lift us to pick the fruit offered.
Poetry: Go to the Limits of Your Longing – Rainer Maria Rilké
God speaks to each of us as he makes us, then walks with us silently out of the night.
These are the words we dimly hear:
You, sent out beyond your recall, go to the limits of your longing. Embody me.
Flare up like a flame and make big shadows I can move in.
Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final. Don’t let yourself lose me.
Nearby is the country they call life. You will know it by its seriousness.
And now, bless the God of all, who has done wondrous things on earth; Who fosters people’s growth from their mother’s womb, and fashions them according to his will! May he grant you joy of heart and may peace abide among you; May God’s goodness toward us endure to deliver us in our days. Sirach 50:22-24
Remain faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Revelation 2:10
.In Luke 21, Jesus exhorts his disciples to remain faithful. Then he describes how fraught with difficulties that faithfulness will be: denouncement, imprisonment, false judgment, disavowal by family and friends, hatred, and even death. What is so terrifying about the Gospel that it evokes these responses in its enemies? What is so powerful about the Gospel that it will sustain its believers even through such trials?
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: I ask myself, “Have I ever really suffered anything for the sake of the Gospel”? What would that suffering look like? Would it not be setting aside my selfishness for the sake of the neighbor – even the unloved neighbor? If we dare to do that, we will surely suffer.
Prose: from Walter Bruggemann in “God’s Neighborly Economy”
“Who is my neighbor?”(Luke 10:29)
The Bible is unflinching and unambiguous in its identification of the neighbor: widow, orphan, immigrant, the poor, lepers, the blind, deaf, lame … all those without viable resources or reliable advocacy.
I, John, looked and there was a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud one who looked like a son of man, with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Another angel came out of the temple, crying out in a loud voice to the one sitting on the cloud, “Use your sickle and reap the harvest, for the time to reap has come, because the earth’s harvest is fully ripe.” So the one who was sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. Revelation 14:14-16
The Book of Revelation paints another image for us of the end times. We wonder about it, don’t we? The image of God reaping the harvest of which we are a part! Wow!
What will it really be like at the end of the world? Will it come in my lifetime? Will we see our beloveds again? Will we celebrate together the Second Coming of Christ? John wondered the same things we do, and today’s reading describes how he imagined the Parousia.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We spend time in prayer, not so much imagining the unimaginable, but in asking ourselves if we are ready to receive the fullness of Christ for all eternity.
Poetry: For the Interim Time – John O’Donohue
When near the end of day, life has drained Out of light, and it is too soon For the mind of night to have darkened things,
No place looks like itself, loss of outline Makes everything look strangely in-between, Unsure of what has been, or what might come.
In this wan light, even trees seem groundless. In a while it will be night, but nothing Here seems to believe the relief of darkness.
You are in this time of the interim Where everything seems withheld.
The path you took to get here has washed out; The way forward is still concealed from you.
“The old is not old enough to have died away; The new is still too young to be born.”
You cannot lay claim to anything; In this place of dusk, Your eyes are blurred; And there is no mirror.
Everyone else has lost sight of your heart And you can see nowhere to put your trust; You know you have to make your own way through.
As far as you can, hold your confidence. Do not allow confusion to squander This call which is loosening Your roots in false ground, That you might come free From all you have outgrown.
What is being transfigured here is your mind, And it is difficult and slow to become new. The more faithfully you can endure here, The more refined your heart will become For your arrival in the new dawn.
Music: The Ride of the Valkyries – Richard Wagner
Sometimes when prayer is beyond words, music may capture our feelings and speak them to God for us. I love to play this piece when praying these end-time passages.
Stay awake! For you do not know when the Son of Man will come. Matthew 24:42,44
Our Gospel today is a repeat of one we had about two weeks ago, so I have focused our prayer on the Responsorial Psalm.
Stay Awake!
When I hear that phrase, I think of the cowboy movies that were popular when I was a kid. (and still are!) A couple of guys would be out in the desolate prairie, pitch dark all around. They would each take their turn on the watch after the boss’s exhortation to “Stay awake”!
Are you kidding me! We just rode all day on horseback, there is not a sound but crickets and hoot owls, there is a warm night breeze, and YOU EXPECT ME TO STAY AWAKE?
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We ask for the spiritual stamina to stay awake for God. The watch may be long, dark at times, and a little scary at others. But, as we will discover in prayer, God is already beside us in the vigil.
Poetry: Don’t Sleep – Rumi
For those of you who have troubled sleeping, this poem might be confusing. But the poem refers to the sleep of the soul, not the body.
Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming amid the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. All the peoples of the earth will lament him. Yes. Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, ” says the Lord God, “the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.” Revelation 1:5-8
Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King in his 1925 encyclical Quas primas. The encyclical was written in response to growing secularism and secular ultra-nationalism. The encyclical, wedged between two World Wars, attempted to focus people’s minds and hearts on Christ whose power unites and directs us to peace rather than domination.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We pray to be agents of peace and justice in our world, sustained by our devotion to Christ who modeled his kingship by loving service, especially to the poor and marginalized.
Blessed be the LORD, my Rock, who trains my hands against temptation, my fingers for the struggle.
My mercy and my fortress, my stronghold, my deliverer, my shield, in whom I trust, who brings me to right relationship with all Creation
O God, I will sing a new song to you; with a ten stringed lyre I will chant your praise, -You who raise us up in mutual peace and deliver your servant from evil. ~ interpretation of Psalm 144
David, likely author of Psalm 144, had a few nicknames for God. By exploring these names, David deepened his understanding of God’s Presence in his life, and personalized his prayer in a meaningful way.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We consider the intimacy and power of our relationship with God – how it has changed over the years, how it is at this point in our lives. Do we, like David, have special names for God, reflecting those places in our hearts that are most vulnerable to grace? Perhaps we wouldn’t have a reason to call God “my Rock”. But maybe we might call God my Poet, my Song, my Patient One, my Confidence or my Beloved.
How is God most needed or most present to you today, and how do you name that awareness?
Poetry: Prayer Poem to the Names of God – Richard M. Fewkes
How shall we address thee who art the One of a thousand names yet ever nameless?
O Vishnu, Maya, Kali, Ishtar, Athene, Isis… Great Mother of Creation, Womb of the universe, The Feminine Divine…. Blessed art thou who hast given life to all And receiveth us at the end, forever thine…
Jupiter, Zeus, Apollo, Dionysius… Lord of creation, the masculine divine, In quest of the golden apples of Hesperides, God of ecstasy and wine, and reason sublime…
Amen, Horus, Aten, Ra… God of beginnings and endings, the soul, the ka, Soaring like a bird To the life-giving, light-giving power of the sun, All life is one…
Shiva-Shakti, Yin and Yang… The dance of life and death from hand to hand, In perfect balance the movement of forces, As the earth turns ‘neath the stars in their courses…
Rama, Krishna, Varuna, Bramah… God of the Upanishads and Rig Veda, mystic priests and the Bhagavadgita, Om Shanti, the lotus, a holy vow, Creating our own karma and reincarnation, here and now, And the ever present realization, that art Thou…
Buddha, Nirvana, the Enlightened One… Liberation sought and won, in daily life begun, Under a tree, in the sun, To a state of being indescribable, comparable to none…
Allah-Akbar and Ahura Mazda… There is no god but God, the All, Ah! the One, The Righteous One, purity of Fire. Goodness and Truth to inspire, Fight fire with fire, quench the evil desire, Let the call ring forth from minaret to spire…
El Shaddai, Adonai, Yahweh, Elohim The God of Peace be with you, Shalom Haveyreem Ten Commandments and the Law for Gentile and Jew The birth of conscience and a Day of Atonement To confess, to forgive, to begin anew…
Abba, Spiritus, Logos-Son… God in Three Persons, God in One, God in all persons: prophets, teachers, daughters and sons, The Kingdom of Heaven is within us, O let thy Kingdom come… How shall we address thee who art Alpha and Omega, The stars in their courses from Denib and Altair to Sirius and Vega?
Thou of a thousand names and yet ever nameless, Let us confess the mystery of thy holiness, Let us proclaim the wonder of One without a name, Let the silence praise thee, And the nine billion stars of thy namelessness.
How sweet to my taste is your promise! In the way of your decrees I rejoice, as much as in all riches. Yes, your decrees are my delight; they are my counselors. The law of your mouth is to me more precious than thousands of gold and silver pieces. How sweet to my palate are your promises, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Your decrees are my inheritance forever; the joy of my heart they are. I gasp with open mouth in my yearning for your commands. from Psalm 119
Today, I choose to pray with our Responsorial Psalm 119, a beautiful love song to God. The psalm lists everything for which we might love God.
Picture a beloved asking you, “What do you love about me? Can you make a list?” Picture God doing the same thing. Psalm 119 is one person’s list of how they love the sweetness of God. What would your list look like?
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We take time in prayer to share “love talk” with God. How does the Divine Sweetness touch us, change us? How do we return that sweetness to God by our touch upon God’s Creation?
Poetry: Song Silence By Madeleva Wolff, CSC
Yes, I shall take this quiet house and keep it With kindled hearth and candle-lighted board, In singing silence garnish it and sweep it For Christ, my Lord.
My heart is filled with little songs to sing Him— I dream them into words with careful art— But this I think a better gift to bring Him, Nearer his heart.
The foxes have their holes, the wise, the clever; The birds have each a safe and secret nest; But He, my lover, walks the world with never A place to rest.
I found Him once upon a straw bed lying; (Once on His mother’s heart He laid His head) He had a bramble pillow for His dying, A stone when dead.
I think to leave off singing for this reason, Taking instead my Lord God’s house to keep, Where He may find a home in every season To wake, to sleep.
Do you not think that in this holy sweetness Of silence shared with God a whole life long Both he and I shall find divine completeness Of perfect song?
Music: Cor Dulce – Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959), sung by Benedictines of Mary
Sweet heart, most loving heart; our love wounded, our love languishing; be merciful to me.
Heart of Jesus, sweeter than honey; heart purer than the sun; Holy word of God, fullness of God’s wealth.
Thy haven for a shipwrecked world; secure portion for the faithful, defender and refuge of our minds; rest for our faithful hearts.
Lavish Mercy 