Author: Renee Yann, RSM

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.

Fear or Faith?

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Church, Community, Courage, Faith, Gospel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Prayer, Truth2 Comments

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

       Readings:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/082818.cfm

Mt 23_24 camael gnat

Today, in Mercy, Paul talks seriously with the community at Thessalonika. Some early Christians expected the final coming of Christ to happen imminently. They had become upset, and somewhat obsessed, with concerns and rumors about “the end times”. Reactions range from fear to panic to denial.

Paul basically tells the community to settle down – “Hold fast to the traditions that you were taught.” In other words, focus on the core teachings of your faith – love, service, and grateful, joyful worship – not on the imagined fears of some unenlightened shouters.

We see such misdirection manifested in fundamentalism, scrupulosity, exaggerated devotional practices, cultic behaviors, even superstitions – the kinds of attitudes Jesus condemns in today’s Gospel.  These conditions cause us to become judgmental, elitist and superficial. They distract us from attention to the heart of our faith – mutual love, unselfish service, merciful justice, Christlike inclusivity.

Even as I write this reflection, we have a Church — like Thessolonia — fraught with turmoil.  Many call it unprecedented, although any student of Church History knows it is not. Still. it is a time when we who love the Catholic faith must pray for light, courage and fidelity. Let us pray too for Pope Francis that he may rely on the Holy Spirit to help him act courageously and definitively, as Paul did, to right the Beloved Community.

As for each of us, the fullness of God needs a large soul – not one shrunken by its own pettiness, fears, and self-righteousness. As St. Augustine prayed:

Narrow is the mansion of my soul;
enlarge Thou it,
that Thou mayest enter in.

Music: A Heart Like Yours ~ CeCe Winans

All That Is Upon the Altar

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Charity, Church, Community, Prayer, repentance, suffering1 Comment

Monday, August 27, 2018

          Readings:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/082718.cfm

we always pray for you

Today, in Mercy, on the feast of St. Monica, I think of all the good priests and religious throughout the world, whose hearts weep with victimized children, whose souls rage at the treachery of their brethren, and whose dreams of fealty with the People of God lie wounded at their feet.

In our first reading, Paul speaks to these religious and to all of us who love the Church:

We ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters,
as is fitting, because your faith flourishes ever more,
and the love of every one of you for one another grows ever greater.
Accordingly, we ourselves boast of you in the churches of God
regarding your endurance and faith in all your persecutions
and the afflictions you endure.
This is evidence of the just judgment of God,
so that you may be considered worthy of the Kingdom of God
for which you are suffering.

Let us encourage each other, servants of God and of God’s People – in this time of suffering but also of renewal – not only to remain true, but to become truer. For as Jesus says in the Gospel:

” One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it;
one who swears by the temple swears by it
and by him who dwells in it;
one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God
and by him who is seated on it.”

St. Monica, who prayed incessantly for the deep conversion of your son Augustine, pray for us in our time of testing. Amen.

Music: Servant Song ~ Richard Gillard

Fish, or Cut Bait!

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Courage, Discipleship, Faith, Jesus2 Comments

Sunday, August 26, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/082618.cfm

Today, in Mercy, our Sunday readings present us with spiritual ultimatums.

Jn6_67 Chhose

In our first reading, sensing his impending death, Joshua gathers the tribes on the Great Plains of Shechem – the land of their father Abraham. Joshua requires a commitment from the people:

“If it does not please you to serve the LORD,
decide today whom you will serve …
As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

In other words, “fish or cut bait” – you’re either with God, or you’re not. And your lives should reflect the choice.

In our Gospel, Jesus too feels death’s approach. His teachings have become more intense and direct, particularly regarding the Eucharist. This intensity has caused some of his listeners to waver. They’re not sure they can accept his words. Some drift away.

Jesus challenges the Twelve, those on whom he depends to carry his message after his death.

“Do you also want to leave?

( As for the unfortunate and contested second reading from Ephesians, this long but superb article from Elizabeth Johnson is worth your time.

Click here for Johnson article. )

Music:  I Will Choose Christ – Tom Booth

Only One Place to Begin

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Church, Community, Conversion, Courage, Discipleship, Jesus, repentance2 Comments

Saturday, August 25, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/082518.cfm

Today, in Mercy, as the Catholic Church continues to struggle with the reality of institutional corruption, our Gospel reminds us of the solution Christ gave us as the Church was born.

Mt3_9one father

As Jesus instructed his disciples somewhere near Jerusalem, the Pharisees and Scribes edged along the crowd, seeking reasons to attack him. They saw Jesus as the evil that would destroy their religion. They were unable to see the evil within themselves eating away the substance of their faith.

Jesus says the signs of that corrosion are evident: empty preaching, contradictory lifestyles, doctrinal oppression, the failure to serve with compassion. He condemns the pharisaical  pretense at leadership which cloaks an avarice for singularity and entitlement. He denounces the hierarchies which faithlessness builds to protect its selfish interests.

Scripture scholars believe that the writer of Matthew emphasizes this strongly cautionary passage because he sees the same sins emerging in the early Church. Less than a century after the Resurrection, institutional decay already plagues the Christian community.

Is it, indeed, impossible to form a human community without these imperfections eventually fracturing it? Jesus says no, it is not impossible. But the way is incontrovertible:

“As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’
You have but one teacher,
and you are all brothers and sisters.
Call no one on earth your father;
you have but one Father in heaven.
Do not be called ‘Master’;
you have but one master, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

Removing centuries of accretions from our Church, deconstructing embedded hierarchies, and returning to the humble model of Christ are the daunting tasks before us. Where can we possibly begin?

It is at the only place we can ever begin — ourselves. 

What allegiance and investments do I have in the elements that have crippled our Church? Is my “membership” simply a cosmetic on my otherwise uncommitted life, or am I willing to share real responsibility for reforming and enlivening the community of faith? Let’s pray these questions together as a faith community desiring healing.

Music: Philippians Canticle ~ John Michael Talbot

Remember Your Fig Trees

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Discipleship, Faith, Jesus, Prayer, spirituality7 Comments

Friday, August 24, 2018

Readings: Click here.

Jn 1_48 fig

Today, in Mercy, we celebrate the Feast of the Apostle Bartholomew, also known as Nathaniel. As with many of the Apostles, little is known of Bartholomew’s life outside of a few Gospel stories. John’s Gospel tells the wonderful story of Nathaniel’s call by Christ.

The encounter is a very personal one. Jesus and Nathaniel share a conversation that must have impressed the other listeners because it was remembered and recounted word for word in the Gospel.

One exchange, in particular, carries deep significance for Nathaniel. Jesus says that there is no duplicity, or pretense, in Nathaniel. There is a transparency in him shared even with God. Nathaniel wonders out loud , “How do you know me?” Jesus answers, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

What was going on with Nathaniel under that fig tree? A moment of intense prayer, questioning, decision, doubt, hope? Whatever it was, Jesus had shared it, even at a distance. When Nathaniel realizes this, his faith in Jesus and vocation to follow Him are confirmed. Nathaniel professes, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

Where are the fig trees in your life story — those moments when, looking back, you realize that God was with you even though seeming distant?

What were the turning points in your faith, when you came out from under the shadow of a challenging experience, to the grateful amazement that God had accompanied you through it.

What are those pivotal, intimate moments when it was just you and God – those transparent moments that changed your life?

If you can’t recall any such moments, perhaps you are not giving yourself the time and space to let God reach you.

It might be time to seek out a “fig tree” – a place of spiritual solitude where you may speak honestly and directly to God about the most important things in your life. Open your heart, like Nathaniel, to hear what God already knows about you.

Music: The Memory of Trees – Enya (Some lyrical New Age music to listen to under your fig tree!)

 

 

A Stony Heart

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Faith, Mercy, repentance, spirituality2 Comments

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/082318.cfm

Ez36_26 stone

Petrified! We’ve all been there:

  • an unexplained sound in the house at night
  • the suggestion of a traumatic diagnosis
  • a threat delivered by natural or human power

These are just some of the circumstances that come into our lives, causing us to freeze – to be unable to respond.

But there are internal forces too that immobilize us:

  • indecision
  • buried anger or pain
  • depression 
  • envy and jealousy 
  • self-doubt
  • addiction
  • all the seven “deadlies” in their multiple disguises

These conditions of the spirit have their root in fear – fear of making the wrong decision, of engaging someone who angers us, of not being successful or popular, of looking foolish, of confronting pain, of losing the things we have no hold on anyway, of being different, alone, or abandoned.

These immobilizers suck the life out of us, rendering us but a stony outline of the full and glorious spirit God intends us to be. They ensnare us and blind us to the depth and power of our hearts. Faith, hope and charity become brittle in us. We fragment, rather than thrive, in the normal challenges of living.

This happened to Israel as they yielded their allegiance to idols and sin. But our ever-merciful God says he is going to wash these numbing poisons out of their hearts, giving them new hearts to love and serve him.

Sometimes we are so used to our dysfunctions that we don’t even see all the petrified spots in our relationships and behaviors. Maybe today, trusting God’s promise of a new heart, we might be willing to examine ourselves for signs of stoniness toward God, Creation, and Self.

Music: Heart of Stone ~ David Bilborough

Mary, Mother of Jesus

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, Faith, Mary, spirituality4 Comments

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/082218.cfm

Queen of Heaven

Today, in Mercy, we celebrate the Feast of the Queenship of Mary.

Mary, the Mother of Jesus, plays a key role in the faith of Catholics and many other Christian believers. But a clear theology of Mary has, over the centuries, become entangled with some unhelpful and pietistic devotions. These have limited the power of the reality of Mary to speak to our faith heritage with full meaning.

Theologian Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ has done much to relieve that entanglement in her books Truly Our Sister. For your thoughtful prayer this morning, here are two key summaries in the author’s own words:

We began by asking what would be a theologically sound, spiritually empowering and ethically challenging view of Mary, mother of Jesus the Christ, for the 21st century. Our answer leads along the path of remembrance in the communion of saints. To relate to Miriam of Nazareth as a partner in hope in the company of all the graced women and men who have gone before us; to be encouraged by her mothering of God to bring God to birth in our own world; to reclaim the power of her dangerous memory for the flourishing of suffering people; and to draw on the energy of her memory for a deeper relationship with the living God and stronger care for the worldthis theological approach fits at least one pattern of contemporary spirituality. When the Christian community remembers like this, Mary the friend of God and prophet inspires the lives of women and men alike.
—- Mary of Nazareth: Friend of God and Prophet, America magazine, June 17, 2000

“Remembering Mary as a friend of God and prophet in the communion of saints, a woman who is truly sister to our strivings, allows the power of her life to play in the religious consciousness of the church, encouraging ever-deeper relationship with the living God in whom our spirits rejoice, and allying us with God’s redemptive designs for the hungry, the lowly, and all those who suffer, including in an unforgettable way women with their children in situations of poverty, prejudice, and violence.”
— Truly Our Sister

Music: Magnificat ~ sung by the Daughters of Mary

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SyXafdQogEo

Who’s First?

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, dying, Eternal Life, spirituality3 Comments

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/082118.cfm

first Last

Today, in Mercy, our readings are full of “either – or” talk, opposing categories that render us either blessed or damned:

  • rich or poor
  • death or life
  • first or last

The distance between these contrasts appears to be measured in possessions and power:

  • Ezekiel pronounces God’s Word to the Prince of Tyre: “ … your heart has grown haughty from your riches…”
  • The responsorial from Deuteronomy cautions: “It is I – not you- Who give life and deal death.”
  • And the Gospel advises, “Anyone who has given up (possessions) for My sake … will inherit eternal life.”

For centuries, Christians have struggled with these concepts. It is counterintuitive to want to divest of one’s “riches”. Yet Jesus is telling us that it is almost impossible not to be coöpted by our possessions – not to have our spirits so distracted by their acquisition and retention that they displace God as the center of our lives. Jesus says is like a camel trying to pass through a needle’s eye.

Ezekiel suggests that to believe we possess anything is an illusion. Everything can be taken from us in an instant. Jesus says the illusion will be flipped in the Kingdom of Heaven where the “first”and “last” will switch places.

These are radical concepts that each Christian must absorb into her own life through prayer and service in order to find grace for her own circumstances. Life is not “either/or” for most of us. There is a lot of grey where we constantly weigh what God would want of us.

Through prayer and service, we can invite God to patiently change our perception of where true riches lie. The degree of change will determine whether we possess our “riches”, or they possess us.

Music: Only Jesus – Casting Crowns

Follower of Christ

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Discipleship, Eternal Life, Faith, holiness, Jesus, spirituality3 Comments

Monday, August 20, 2018 – Memorial of St. Bernard

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/082018.cfm

st Bernard

Today, in Mercy, our Gospel tells us the story of a rich young man with a good and holy heart. He asked Jesus what he needed to do, beyond keeping the commandments, to become perfect in God’s sight. 

Jesus tells him to sell what he has, give the proceeds to the poor, and follow Him. Apparently, this is too much for the man to accept and he goes away sad.

On the other hand, we have St. Bernard of Clairvaux whose feast we celebrate today. Bernard, too, had been a wealthy young man. Hearing Christ’s call to leave everything behind and follow Him, Bernard entered the Cistercian monastery. 

He desired only to live a deeply contemplative life, but his many intellectual and spiritual gifts brought him significant roles in the broader life of the Church. Doctor of the Church, Abbot, Advisor of Popes, Reformer of Religious Life – any of these titles fit Bernard today. 

But perhaps the title he would treasure most is the one he first pursued: Follower of Christ.

We do not need to be a monk or a nun to follow Jesus. We simply need to know where our true treasure lies, and to give everything for it.

Music: Follow Me – Casting Crowns

Taste and See!

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Eternal Life, Faith, holiness, Prayer, spirituality3 Comments

Sunday, August 19, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/081918.cfm

Ps34_Honey

Today, in Mercy, in the beautiful first reading from Proverbs, Wisdom builds her house and invites us to turn in to her welcoming door. Picture a lovely cottage, set in a varied garden. You are coming off a long road through the darkness. But Light shines from Wisdom’s doorway, carrying the invitation for refreshment and rest.

But there is a caveat before you partake:

Let whoever is simple turn in here …
she says,
Come, eat of my food,
and drink of the wine I have mixed!
Forsake foolishness that you may live;advance in the way of understanding.

Are we simple enough to become wise? Do we have a heart sincere enough to trust that there is an Infinity beyond our understanding Who loves and invites us from the depth of It’s Mystery?

In our Gospel, Jesus clarifies that He is the door by which we enter into the fullness of Wisdom. When we meet Him in Eucharist, in the deepest simplicity of faith, we pass through the door to Eternal Wisdom – to the sweet, infinite simplicity of God.

Today’s Responsorial Psalm offers us a refrain to thread through our prayer today:

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

This is Wisdom’s invitation offered to us in each experience of our day. May we be simple enough to hear it.

Music: Psalm 34 ~ The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir