Category: Community

Guardians of Peace

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, Conversion, Courage, Faith, justice, peace, spirituality5 Comments

Memorial Day
May 25, 2026

Memorial Day!

In the Northern Hemisphere, many await the day with parched longing for sun-kissed skin, salt water, and cook-outs.

In the swirl of that longing, we may forget the real meaning of the day, a day to honor and mourn lives given in military service. Originally titled “Decoration Day”, the memorial included the practice of strewing flowers, or “decorating”, the graves of fallen soldiers.

Immediately after the tragedy of the Civil War, there was an abundance of American graves to be so decorated, and a nation deeply wounded by its internal rivalries. A striking example is the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, a quiet town of about 2000 residents in the late 1800s. But in November 1864, in the farmers’ fallow fields, 10,000 Americans were wounded by one another, and 2300 died. Even if every resident buried a soldier, there would not have been enough grave diggers!

Confederate soldiers killed in the Battle of Franklin were buried on a two-acre plot of land at the Carnton Plantation donated by the McGavock family. “Widow of the South” Carrie McGavock cared for the cemetery for the rest of her life. Photograph courtesy of the Battle of Franklin Trust

Practical healing was sorely needed. In that hope, Memorial Day was formalized by an order issued by Grand Army of the Republic Commander-in-Chief John A. Logan in 1868. It has been observed ever since to honor those sacrificed to our continuing obsession with war.

Despite the happiness of approaching summer, I find Memorial Day heartbreaking. How profoundly sad that men, women, and children die, even now, in the wreckage of war when the human mind is capable of designing peace.

Each evening, somewhere between the Nightly News and Jeopardy, ads pop up for organizations like Wounded Warriors or Second Chance. The images of young men and women – their broken bodies, minds, and dreams – overwhelm me with a turbulent mix of pity and anger.

Ask yourself: Where do they get the guns?

The human family can change this! To do so would be a truly reverent way to honor our fallen and wounded heroes. World leaders could initiate the dismantling of systems that feed war, and reinforce efforts to establish global agreements for sustained peace. It is each of our responsibilities to demand this of our leaders and of ourselves.

To begin, we must ask ourselves these questions, determining where we fit in the answers:

  • Who benefits from war?
  • Who enriches themselves by its machinery?
  • Who retains power and wealth by appeasing warmongers?
  • Who pays the greatest price for war, and why are we willing to dehumanize and sacrifice them?
  • How does the rhetoric of force, retribution, and domination feed the avaricious fears of tyrants and their sycophants? How does such language affect me?
  • How do my own language, advocacy, and voting patterns reflect my understanding of war and commitment to peace?

Each Memorial Day, each Veterans Day, I do indeed honor our heroes. There are beloved members of my family and friends among them who have been willing to stand in harm’s way for my sake. Still, at a deeper level, I pray that war may recede to an ancient memory and not another name be added to its lamentable honor rolls.

On this sacred day, let us pray with the encouragement offered by Pope Leo on the 2026 World Day of Peace:

Dear brothers and sisters, whether we have the gift of faith or feel we lack it, let us open ourselves to peace! Let us welcome it and recognize it, rather than believing it to be impossible and beyond our reach. Peace is more than just a goal; it is a presence and a journey. Even when it is endangered within us and around us, like a small flame threatened by a storm, we must protect it, never forgetting the names and stories of those who have borne witness to it. Peace is a principle that guides and defines our choices. Even in places where only rubble remains, and despair seems inevitable, we still find people who have not forgotten peace. Just as on the evening of Easter Jesus entered the place where his disciples were gathered in fear and discouragement, so too the peace of the risen Christ continues to pass through doors and barriers in the voices and faces of his witnesses. This gift enables us to remember goodness, to recognize it as victorious, to choose it again, and to do so together.

Music: Where Have All the Flowers Gone – Peter, Paul, and Mary

Suggested Reading: Isaiah 2:1-6

Click for Scripture

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?

International Workers’ Day

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, Courage, Creation, holiness, justice, Love, spiritualityLeave a comment

May 1, 2026

The virtue of diligence opposes the deadly sin of
sloth, which is a deep spiritual sorrow or disinclination
to embrace the divine good and God’s Will.

On a late April day several years ago, I sat in my office, gathering thoughts for a reflection on the value of work. A sense of early summer teased me from the other side of my window. In my imagination, it reawakened thoughts that I had often tried to stifle — things like, “Be a beachcomber. Retire early. Live in the woods like Thoreau.” (Remember him? He wrote Walden Pond.) In other words, is it just me, or does everybody have a hard time working as summer approaches?!

Which brings me to my more serious message, as you might have guessed. How do we stay in touch with the dignity of our work despite whatever distractions tempt us? Throughout our lives, how do we grow in diligence, and in the understanding that all work is an invitation to holiness?

Our work, in its essence, is a share in the creative act of God. It is our opportunity to add our unique touch to the masterpiece of Creation. How do we maintain that focus while navigating the often-frustrating demands of our daily responsibilities?

I was fortunate to learn a hard lesson early in my worklife. I loved the actual work that I did, but I had a boss who seemed neither to like me nor appreciate my efforts (maybe for good reason, who knows!)

She stifled my creativity, compromised my efforts, and underestimated my contributions. For many months, I left the office drained, angry, and dispirited.

Surprisingly, she turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me in my young professional life. Because of her, I had to ask myself some challenging questions, and discern answers so deep that they really had nothing to do with her.

Where does the dignity of my work reside? Like the work of the Creator, the dignity of work lies in the love and care with which it is performed. It rests in my own truth, and not how anyone else defines me — neither positive nor negative. It lies in my ability to produce results inspirited with care for the community I serve.

Productive and satisfying work is dependent on only one thing — the love with which it is performed.

  • I must always work for love — not for the love of work itself but for love of those whom my work affects.
  • I must work because of love — not because of a boss, pay, or recognition. When there is no love in my work, I simply have a job.
  • I must work with love — because what I create reflects the value I place on myself and on those affected by my work. You can tell when something is done with love, whether it is an apple pie or a telephone response. You can also clearly tell when a product is the end result of a bitter, resentful, or careless effort.
  • I must work toward love — to work in any other way is self-destructive. My work must create positive opportunities for myself and others to be our best selves. If my work is grudging, resentful, selfish, or irresponsible, it will surely harm others, but I will be the one most seriously diminished.

Now, in my “retirement”, I understand more fully that we always have “work” – something we wish to create, offer, build, or encourage so that we may contribute to the well-being of our various communities. To be able to work is a gift and a responsibility. It is the composition by which our lives will be defined and remembered.

Just as we pursue meaningful work for ourselves, we are called to help others have access to purposeful work and just wages. Work alienated from the common good is self-destructive conceit.

Work, of course, is not always physical. Nor does it always produce visible results. Sometimes in the quiet of the chapel, as I watch a well-worn rosary slip along our sisters’ fingers, I am confident that there is no greater work than that of selfless prayer for the sake of others.

Hopefully, by God’s grace, we can discern “what is ours to do” at each phase of our lives. Today, we pray for that grace for ourselves and all our human family.

Music: The Prayer – Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli

Suggested Scripture: Colossians 3: 23-24

Click for Scripture

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?

Thanksgiving for Life and Friendship

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, Creation, Faith, friendship, Hope, spirituality1 Comment

April 19, 2026

As in the prayer of petition, every event and need can become an offering of thanksgiving. The letters of St. Paul often begin and end with thanksgiving, and the Lord Jesus is always present in it: “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”; “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”
~ from The Catechism of the Catholic church

In the 1980s, when we worked together at Misericordia Hospital, my friend Jude and I had an annual custom that we practiced for a few years. On each of our birthdays, we accompanied the other to the Free Library of Philadelphia, a magnificent Beaux-Arts building on Logan Circle, reminiscent of Place de Concorde in Paris. Both our birthdays occur in the early spring, so the trip was particularly lovely on the beautifully landscaped Ben Franklin Parkway.

Inside the vast building, we climbed the impressive marble staircase to the newspapers and microfiche center that used to be tucked in a balcony upstairs. Our objective was to find the newspaper of the celebrant’s actual birth day, and to marvel at the world in which our lives began.

I have often reflected on that delightful ritual and the multidimensional meaning it held for me.

  • It allowed me to see myself as a particular part of history – to recognize a past beginning, a present reality, and a future hope for my existence.
  • It gave me an awareness of the world my mother carried with her to the maternity ward, and into which she hopefully and protectively welcomed me.
  • It allowed me to honor time as an energy that offers not only unsolicited change, but the opportunity for chosen growth and depth.
  • It reinforced the mutuality Jude and I shared in being grateful for one another’s birth and friendship.

Of course, a birthday requires a bit more frivolity in celebration, so there was a second essential part to our annual outing.  We finished up the day by going “all-Philly” at the renowned Reading Terminal Market with a stop at some of our favorite vendors: Pearl’s Oyster Bar, Bassett’s Ice Cream, Termini’s Bakery, or a Pennsylvania Dutch pretzel and a Yuengling beer.

One’s birthday is a sacred juncture in the long unfolding of time. It is the moment when God imagined us and the power of our lives into being – the moment when God’s hope was given our face, our soul. It is a miracle that summons humble awe and reflective gratitude.

Psalm 139 offers an apt thanksgiving on any morning, but especially on one’s birthday. These verses capture the essence of that prayer. (BTW, I turned 81 today. A birthday prayer would be greatly appreciated.)

For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.

Music: For the Beauty of the Earth – John Rutter, performed by Gracias Choir

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?

FDR

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, Courage, Eternal Life, Faith, Gospel, spirituality1 Comment

April 12, 2026

Franklin Delano Roosevelt
January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945

In 1952, Mr. Farina had a little barber shop near the corner of 2nd and Columbia in Olde Kensington. Like many Philly barbershops today, back then it was a gathering spot for neighborhood men, even if they weren’t getting a haircut or shave. Sometimes, I was sent to retrieve my Grandpop for lunch after he had spent the morning overseeing barbershop politics. Grandpop was the Republican ward leader, and I was his seven-year-old assistant.

As I waited for “The Duke” (grandpop’s nickname) to sum up his morning arguments, I loved to watch Mr. Farina lather up a face for a shave, then lift that heavy strap from the chair’s arm. He would repeatedly slash his long razor on its already sharp edge, as I waited wide-eyed to see if the bearded patron survived the first slice!


On election day, Farina’s Barbershop became the district polling place. It was an exciting transformation. On the wide windows, red, white, and blue bunting had blossomed overnight. Balloons were tied to lawn chairs crowding the pavement. And kids like me scrambled to collect campaign buttons. The prize in 1952 was “I Like Ike”!

My family then were staunch Republicans. It seemed to my seven-year-old self that it might actually be a sin for someone to vote Democrat (a sin I have been committing all my adult life. Sorry, Grandpop!) I asked my Mom about it once, and she told me that we only voted for a Democrat in one circumstance – Franklin Roosevelt. She almost genuflected when she said his name.

Franklin Roosevelt died exactly one week before I was born. I sometimes wonder if we passed each other on our ways to and from heaven and earth, because I am so deeply fascinated and inspired by him and his inestimable contribution to history.
If you’d like to learn more about FDR and the times in which he served, I recommend these two books:

  • Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship by Jon Meacham
  • No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin

You may also enjoy the movie classic, “Sunrise at Campobello”, available for free on the Internet Archive:

https://archive.org/details/sunrise-at-campobello-1960

While this essay is not really a “reflection”, my intention is to celebrate FDR’s life while inviting readers to think about their own place, history, and contribution in civic society. Certainly, our sense of patriotism will suggest some standards. But more importantly, in these conflicted political times, our Gospel inspired-faith must inspire our participation in a global community seeking human rights and dignity for all people. As President Roosevelt put it:

“We have faith that future generations will know here, in the middle of the twentieth century, there came a time when those of good will found a way to unite, and produce, and fight to destroy the forces of ignorance, and intolerance, and slavery, and war.”

FDR: February 12, 1943

Music: Going Home – from the film “Eleanor and Franklin”

Suggested Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:1-4

Click for Scripture

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?

Love’s Balance

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Charity, Community, Conversion, Courage, Creation, Faith, justice, Love, spirituality1 Comment

March 1, 2026
Second Sunday of Lent

What does it mean to hunger and thirst for justice? The Greek word translated here as “justice” is dikaiosune, a term that refers to personal righteousness as well as to social justice. Those who hunger and thirst for dikaiosune have a deep yearning for things to be right in their individual lives and in society. This will happen when God’s kingdom comes completely and creation is restored to God’s original intention.
~ from the website theologyofwork.org

In our readings during this second week of Lent, we are encouraged to let go of guilt, to “remember not the things of the past”. We hear the story of Joseph, who was sold by his brothers, only to “redeem” them by his forgiveness. We are challenged to change the “season” of our hearts and embrace the full life of the Paschal Mystery. Our hunger for justice is truly the deep desire, not for any kind of reprisal, but for right balance in our lives with God and with all Creation, as seen in this story.

“Can you let this not be about you?” the chaplain asked, as Jane tried to explain her resistance and guilt. Evening darkened the small office just outside the tumultuous ER. There had been a building collapse, and Jane’s mother had been nearly crushed. Jane was the only relative, a long-alienated daughter. “But I’ve wanted to be reconciled”, she wept. “I just never had the courage to face her. Now it may be too late.”

Over several hours, the chaplain patiently encouraged Jane along a path of self-awareness, helping her realize that it was herself she needed to face. Her mother’s situation, while tragic, offered Jane a catalyst to confront the years of excuses and denials that had paralyzed her. Slowly, the hope of reconciliation washed over her.

When her mother finally stabilized, Jane leaned close to her battered face. Her mother summoned the strength to whisper, “I have never stopped loving you.” That forgiving whisper breathed a vital courage into both women. Each would survive a particular kind of death that day.

Despite our best hopes and intentions, life can collapse around us. Broken promises, unfulfilled dreams and soured relationships can litter our landscapes. We may even lose God in the rubble. This week, Isaiah offers us God’s forgiving invitation, “Come now, let us set things right”, says the Lord. “Though your sins be like scarlet, they will become white as snow.”

God will never stop loving us. God longs to embrace our repentant hearts. Let us listen to and believe God’s whisper.

Music: Remember Not the Things of the Past – Bob Hurd

Suggested Reading: Psalm 33:4-22

Click for Scripture

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?

Fun=Joy in Action

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, Faith, friendship, inclusivity, joy, Love, spirituality2 Comments

February 7, 2026

Today’s news is full of impending competition – (even outside Washington 😂). Who will prevail, be the best, break the record, win the trophy?

But the opening of the Olympic Games and the start of Super Bowl weekend have me thinking about other kinds of games – the ones we play for fun, not to gain advantage.

Photo by Jim De Ramos on Pexels.com


Long ago, an older friend complained to me, “I have forgotten how to have fun!” The declaration startled me and left me speechless. If there was a formula, “young me” didn’t have it. However, over the decades of my own aging, I have pondered that remark, often examining my own life for signs of “fun diminishment”.

Those signs do seem to increase as responsibility grows or as energy wanes. What came naturally to us as children requires a little attention as we mature. As kids, we simply ran outside into the sunshine or rain, found somebody or something that absolutely entranced us, and magic happened.

I remember sitting on the front step with my friend Harry. We were both nine years old. I had just gotten a plastic camera in the mail with a quarter and a coupon from a cereal box. For an hour or so, we took pictures of pigeons perched on the telephone wires and garbage cans. We imagined ourselves expert artists creating a legacy for generations. It was easy then to forget that we were serious fourth-graders with unfinished homework, impending report cards, and a few chores before bedtime. It was also easy to forget that there was no film in the camera!

Later in life, that kind of beneficial forgetting is not so easy. We must unleash ourselves from a chain of “to dos” and “be carefuls”. We know better now. We don’t go out in the sun without screening, nor into the rain without an umbrella. We mostly try to avoid pigeons and garbage cans. Our potential “playgrounds” become much more constrained, sometimes inhibited by a false requirement of excessive money, planning, or chemical relaxation.

Examining my fun levels today, I realize how blessed I am.

My nieces, nephews, and grands live hundreds of miles away from me. Yet they provide me with invaluable links to pure fun. Every morning, a few of us play Wordl, Connections, or Crossplay together. I know they may be checking to see if I’m still alive, but the main purpose is fun – and the precious assurance of mutual care.

The younger kids delight me with photos of themselves doing modern imitations of Harry and me with the pigeons.
In our convent community rooms, I may find a game of pinochle, Hand and Foot, chess, bingo, or gin rummy. Even more precious, there always awaits a conversation with memories of good times, funny stories, and the generous abandon of enjoying one another.

So, if I came up with a fun formula today, it would include these essentials:

  • Fun is any “playground” where we find and give joy.
  • To have real fun, we don’t focus on the score.
  • We need time to have fun, just like we need time to eat, sleep, work, and pray.
  • We need to know what fun is – that it makes us laugh, appreciate the other, relax, and surrender self-importance
  • Fun is essentially spontaneous, but we can expose ourselves to its influence by not taking ourselves too seriously.
  • Fun always requires getting “outside” – even if it means only from our self-centeredness.
  • We can have fun alone with a game or movie, but it helps to have someone to have fun with, (and as Pope Leo said, someone not created by AI.)

Music: We All Stand Together – Paul McCartney

Let yourself be delighted by the thought of FUN!

Suggested Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:9-13

Click for Scripture

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?

Eat the Pickle, Sister

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, holiness, Love, spirituality, Virtue6 Comments

January 26, 2026

The virtue of Love, known as caritas or charity,
is a theological virtue defined as
loving God above all things
and loving one’s neighbor as oneself.

A friend and I had gone mall shopping not too far from my parents’ home. Finishing early, I asked Mattie if she’d mind an unplanned stop to see Mom. I knew Mom would delight in the surprise visit.

Had I alerted Mom, a banquet would have awaited us. She loved to feed people, and she did so with masterful skill. But this impromptu stop occurred the day before weekly shopping. Thus, the coffers were relatively low, at least by Mom’s standards.

Nevertheless, the kitchen table soon filled with the essential makings of a great sandwich. Mattie and I dug in as Mom arrayed a host of condiments at table’s center. However, in the abundance, one glass jar stood out in contradiction. Alone, behind the green Vlasic label, hid the last remaining kosher dill, an unlikely survivor of my family’s lunch habits.

As Mom joined us at the table, she realized the situation. She looked at Mattie, our guest, and encouraged her, “Eat the pickle, Sister!” We all burst out laughing and, indeed, Mattie did eat the lonely pickle.

Our shared laughter signaled a deeper understanding of this straightforward scene. No one had to enumerate what lay behind Mom’s encouragement:

  • As our guest, you get first choice. (Hospitality)
  • Somebody’s got to eat it. It might as well be you. (Practicality)
  • It’s not really important if the rest of us get a pickle. (Discernment)
  • We are blessed to have more choices beyond the pickle. (Gratitude)
  • We’ll be fine, even if we are “pickleless”. (Blessed Assurance)
  • You are the important thing, not the pickle. (Respect)
  • And anyway, who left one stinkin’ pickle in the jar! (Wise Judgement)

For years to follow, Mom and I laughed about that remark. We quoted it often when there was a nebulous situation that called for a final choice, because the phrase contained all the essential elements of a loving and expeditious decision:

  • What’s important in this situation?
  • Who or what has the greatest need?
  • What resources free us to be generous?
  • What action will best reflect our values?
  • And, remember:

Not to decide is to decide.
So never resist a generous impulse

I delight in remembering the story today, the anniversary of my mother’s death. She left me so many lessons under the most unlikely appearances. Who would think that a pickle jar might influence my decision-making for the ensuing 40 years!
Thank you for that pickle, Mom, and for all the other loving condiments you left to dress my life!

Music: ‘Tis A Gift to Be Simple – Yo-Yo Ma and Alison Krauss

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: Psalm 116: 12-19

Click for Scripture

The Call

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, Courage, Faith, Gospel, inclusivity, justice, spirituality12 Comments

Martin Luther King Day
January 19, 2026

Photo by Chris on Pexels.com

On this blog, I strive never to cross a political line without a clear moral imperative. Today, on the memorial of a fearless prophet for justice, I would be remiss not to comment on our current national socio-political environment.

This administration’s governmental dysfunction can no longer be ignored, excused, or rationalized. It has moved beyond the realm of political differences and polite skirting of “politics” at the dinner table. We are now in the penultimately dangerous dynamic of evil masquerading as good while, in fact, fostering a virtual genocide of anyone who is not white, rich, male, Maga, and subservient to its agenda.

We no longer stand on the doorstep of veiled neo-Nazism, it is consuming us, and many feel helplessly dismayed in its torrent. Look at us! Masked stormtroopers in full military gear, plundering, gassing, murdering unarmed protestors, wreaking havoc on innocent refugees, and teargassing pacifist clergy and children. Weep for our country, seen for decades as the keeper of peace, now threatening and enacting invasion on former allies and weaker countries.

We have a morally rogue President with a spineless Congressional majority to enable him, and an indebted Supreme Court to endorse him. It has become all too evident that we can no longer expect wisdom or leadership from the majority in Congress. There are many heroes there who are fighting the good fight, but they are outnumbered by those who choose to be blind or complicit.

If you are still caught in political denial, please step back into the Gospel. What does our current environment require of us who want to live the Gospel call in our time? Not silence. Not indifference. Not stubborn opinion.

These times require witness, mercy, courage, and accompaniment of those suffering under this plague of evil. You may feel that you can do nothing, but that’s not the case.
You can:

  • Refuse to condone any argument that blames refugees, people of color, or moral activists for current unrest
  • Persistently write and call your members of Congress expressing your outrage and demand for justice
  • Participate to the degree you are able in peaceful protests demanding justice and human rights for all people
  • Vote! Vote! Vote! In 2024, 90 million Americans failed to vote! The vote of another 77 million either ignored the bare fascism of Project 2025, or bought into its extremist agenda. We can never let that happen again!

In the words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King:

The church must be reminded that it is not the servant nor the master of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.

And from Bishop Mark Seitz at the El Paso Courthouse:

I make an urgent plea today that the government and immigration enforcement pull back from the edge and respect the sanctity of every human life, the constitutional and civil rights guaranteed to all in this country, to cease actions that degrade the moral and public order, and take action to address the impunity and lack of accountability we are witnessing in the indiscriminate enforcement taking place every day.

My friends, let us pray for courage; let us act with justice; let us live in mercy. Let us take inspiration from a great prophet of our times, Rev. Martin Luther King.

Don’t Read This!

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, Courage, Eternal Life, Faith, Seasons, spirituality5 Comments

December 31, 2026
Happy New Year’s Eve

You know what? Don’t read this! It’s only all advice, and who needs advice anyway!

Oh, OK. You’re going to read it anyway? Thanks! Here goes:

Have you ever driven on a long road with no visible signposts? Maybe in a driving rain or snowstorm? Maybe on a moonless night? Your passengers constantly ask, “Are we there yet?” You keep saying, “Almost”, as you think, “Please Lord, I hope so!”

Well, life is a long road, and sometimes there are no directions on how to navigate it. The celebration of the New Year can be our human attempt to mark the road with milestones that help us keep going.

No matter where the journey takes me in 2026, I have come to trust the following road markers:

Mile Marker One: YOU WILL CHANGE.

We know this so well! We want the change to be an improvement, not a downgrade. That’s why we make New Year’s resolutions. Here’s a New Year’s resolution worth trying:
Never resist a generous impulse. I remake this particular resolution every year. To the degree that I keep it, it improves everything about my life. I recommend it highly.

Mile Marker Two: YOU WILL STAY THE SAME

In other words, you will survive. Those basic gifts of guts, determination and resilience, which have brought you through challenges you never imagined, will continue to do so. You will make it — no matter how sad, sick, tired or overwhelmed you feel. There is always a new day and a new year. So believe in yourself, have faith, and move with courage through your pain or doubt — because you are a unique and unrepeatable expression of God that nothing can destroy.

Mile Marker Three: YOUR WORLD WILL CHANGE

The New Year reminds us of how passing life is. Take a look in the mirror!
Jobs change. Kids grow up and leave home. Friendships fade. Investments fluctuate. Buildings fall. And people die. So love and cherish all that the present moment offers you: yourself, your family, your friends, your work. Use your resources wisely and generously — the return never diminishes. Build places of love and mutuality — they do not fall. Love unselfishly — death cannot break such bonds.

Mile Marker Four: YOUR WORLD WILL STAY THE SAME

You know it will! The same aches and pains; the same unappreciative boss or uninvested coworker; the same demanding kids, spouse, or in-laws; the same rattle-trap car, horrendous traffic, unbearably excessive weather, and scarcity of downtime. But since so many things really won’t change, why don’t you change?
Here’s how. Live gratefully. That aching body is still alive! You have family and friends when many are alone or abandoned. A dear old friend put it this way when asked how he was: “I woke up on this side of the grass!”
You get the drift! Appreciate. Be positive. Give good energy and ask for it in return. It can turn a resistant world into putty in your hands!

Mile Marker Five: GOD NEVER CHANGES

God’s love for each one of us is complete, unconditional, and constant — and as the Hebrew Scriptures (Lamentations) tell us, it is renewed each morning, not just each year! God thinks you’re the greatest thing that ever happened because God knows your potential: you are made in God’s own image — creative, beautiful, generous, holy and powerful for good. When you look in the mirror all year– every morning, remember that! When you look at every other human being, remember that!
It is a New Year. May you be renewed, blessed and happy.

Thought: St. Augustine’s Ever New and Changeless God

Music: This Ancient Love – Carolyn McDade

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

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