Category: Community

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

Click for Scripture

Our Saints

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, Courage, Discipleship, dying, Eternal Life, Faith, spirituality9 Comments

November 1, 2025

Often, we see someone more clearly in death than we do in life.

One Sunday, nearly 25 years ago, our religious community gathered to commemorate the precious life of our Sister Germaine Donohue. Germaine, who was more familiarly called Mercedes (Mercy), was one of our missionaries in Peru. She was vivacious, compassionate, holy, and too young to die. While ministering in our remote mountain home village of Pacaipampa, Peru, this marathon runner who loved to dance suffered an unexpected heart attack. By the time the neighboring villagers brought her down the eight-hour descent to Lima, she lived only a few more hours. It was All Saints Day.

At her funeral liturgy, the legacy of love she had quietly planted throughout her life blossomed like a field of vibrant wildflowers. Listening to stories that spanned the 40 years of her religious life, it was easy to see how consistently she chose to be with others in simplicity, honesty, and joy. It became clear that everything in her life had led her to a remote mountain village among the poor, who perfectly mirrored her deepest values. They were her heart’s companions.

Just like producing a prize-winning garden, bringing one’s life to such a degree of simplicity and beauty is no easy task. As human beings, we are constantly battling the weeds of self-interest and the complexity it breeds. But when, like Germaine, we choose to learn from those who are poor, we can grow in our capacity to trust a Power greater than ourselves to sustain our lives. We thus become freer to celebrate the beauty of others and of life around us.

For their first ten years in Pacaipampa, our Mercy community had been laboring — without success – to bloom roses in their tiny garden. When the sisters returned from Lima with Sister Germaine’s body to bury her among her beloved poor, they were greeted with the miracle of the first Pacaipampa rose. It blossomed there, a new life among the simple “pueblos jóvenes”. Perhaps they named that rose “Mercedes”.

I share the story of Sister Germaine’s passing because I hope it will offer you the gift it gave to me. The slow, daily, and sometimes frustrating work of building our lives around truly important values will — in the long run — transform and bless us. In everyday decisions, it is difficult to get enough perspective always to realize that. But when our lives are gathered someday in the story-telling of our children, our friends, and our communities, may we be fortunate enough to have left a legacy of beauty — our own miracle “rose”.

Music: El Condor Pasa

This song, popularized by Simon and Garfunkel, is actually drawn from a Peruvian folk song.

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: Proverbs 31 (Adaptation)

Who can find a merciful woman?
She is worth far more than rubies.
Her community has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
She brings them good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
She gets up while it is still night;
she provides food for her neighbors
and portions for the very poor.
She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
She sees that her work is fruitful,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the affairs of her beloved community
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her neighbors arise and call her blessed;
her family also praises her:
“Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman of mercy is to be praised.
Honor her for all that her hands have done,
and let her works bring her praise at the heavenly gate.

October Blue

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, Courage, Cross, dying, Eternal Life, friendship, spirituality3 Comments

October 14, 2025

That long-ago October was particularly brilliant. It was one of those rare seasons where each morning was filled with sunshine and promise. It was a month that measured up to the poet, Helen Hunt Jackson’s, description:

O suns and skies and clouds of June,
And flowers of June together,
Ye cannot rival for one hour
October’s bright blue weather.

I remember that October so well because one of my friends was dying, stricken suddenly and irrevocably by a severe pneumonia. Only two of us could visit at a time, so I, along with her many other friends, would gather at times on the bench outside the hospital where she struggled to survive. We would watch that bright blue sky and turn over and over in our minds those questions that have no answers. Why so young, why now, why her?

Starling Murmuration – Joe Hisaishi

Flocks of starlings were in their seasonal dance, bold against that brilliant blue sky. Maybe you have noticed a few already this month, swerving through the air in their perfectly balanced helix, like smoke at the wind’s disposal. I remember watching them during that distant October, wondering if we had told Gail often enough how precious she was. She was a small, humble, and joyous person – very quiet and unassuming. I wondered if people fully understood the powerhouse of generosity and goodness underneath that humility.

Gail De Macedo, RSM
August 11, 1937 – October 14, 1995

I found the answer at her funeral. Hundreds of people jammed the lanes to our Motherhouse and filled the chapel with their song to celebrate her life. She had quietly made her mark – and what a mark it was! Now, years later, the sharp edge of her loss has dulled somewhat, but her bold, quiet, courageous legacy has only deepened. In times when I need the gifts of humility, patience, generosity, and kindness, I pray to her. She always helps me.

Over this weekend, we should begin to see that “bright blue weather”. Watch for the graceful starlings, pirouetting their way to a winter refuge. Above all, as you wonder at Creation, reflect on love and kindness. Honor these virtues where you find them in yourself and your neighbors. They endure beyond all seasons.

Music: No More Goodbyes – Tom Dermody

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: Revelation 21:1-4

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