Category: Conversion

What Would I Ask For?

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, dying, Eternal Life, holiness, Prayer, Truth2 Comments

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

          Readings:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/092618.cfm

Today, in Mercy, what an interesting prayer we find in Proverbs! The speaker beseeches God to grant him two things before death:

  • to be surrounded by truth and
  • to be neither rich nor poor

A fascinating and radical request, don’t you think? And we get eavesdrop on it.

Prov30_7 truth

The supplicant fears riches because they may cause him to forget his need for God.
He fears poverty because it might cause him to steal and thus betray God’s law.
All he wants is a nice, even life with not too much drama. I get it, don’t you!

In our Gospel, Jesus sends his disciples out, telling them to let go of drama too. If people don’t engage you, move on he says. He instructs them not to be caught up in material possessions, but to leave all behind that for the sake of the truth they will be preaching.

Both these readings are really about truth and freedom, two gifts that allow us to live in grace, hope and joy. They are about not being bound by our possessions, our pretenses, our success, or what people think of us. They are about being at peace with who we really are before God and others.

The Proverbs passage makes me wonder—  if someone were eavesdropping on our most radical prayer, what things they might they hear us asking for? What is it that would free us to be our truest selves before God?

Some quiet music to think about that question:

Anchoress ~ Kerani 

In God’s Hand

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Discipleship, Eternal Life, Faith, holiness, Prayer, spirituality1 Comment

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

          Readings:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/092518.cfm

Today, in Mercy, our readings instruct us on what it means to really belong to God – heart and soul.

Proverbs tosses out a series of minstrel-like two-liners that could easily be overlooked for their beauty and depth. For example, the first couplet says: 

Like a stream is the king’s heart
in the hand of the LORD;
wherever it pleases him, he directs it.

Would we all not desire that kind of heart, where our thoughts and choices are so directed by God’s power and grace – held and guided into freedom by God’s loving hand? How confident, peaceful and joyful our lives would be!

Psalm 199 discern

Today’s Psalm 119 is a passionate prayer to be guided through an entangling world by our deep loyalty to God’s own truth, learned by meditating day and night on God’s goodness.

Our Gospel, in an often misinterpreted incident, shows us how Jesus considers his true disciples as close to him as his own mother and family.

So today, to deepen our own closeness to God, let us practice making our ordinary life into a constant prayer – allowing it to flow, like water, through God’s tender, guiding hand. 

We can do this by gratefully noticing God’s Presence in nature, in our companions, in the opportunities for kindness, honesty and service  that come to us today. 

Or, sadly, our experiences today might cause us to notice God’s absence in these places. This offers us an incentive to invite, beg and pester God to transform the desert places in our lives and world.

Whichever approach we take, it will open up a constant conversation with God about our life as we experience it at each moment. We begin to listen better to the Word of God revealing itself in our daily life. We begin to live more consciously in God’s Presence… in God’s dear family.

God’s Law is already written deep in the fabric of our lives. We pray for discernment to discover that guiding grace by opening our hearts to God’s Presence in our every experience.

Music: I Belong to You ~ Hillsong

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WV6_nPD2sG4

The Harlot’s Hair

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Discipleship, dying, Love4 Comments

Thursday, September 20, 2018

      Click here for readings.

Can you see her? 

She is known throughout the town for the woman she is – no ordinary, unknown panderer of her body’s wares. She is a true “madam”, and a few of her customers already sit, silent and furtive, at the Pharisee’s table.

Lk7_37 jar

She wears an elegant robe, for her fees are steep. Gem-encrusted bracelets encircle her wrists and ankles. But it is her hair that crowns her beauty. Flowing like a sable river, it is wound in deep waves around her lovely face and shoulders. It is scented with a small bit of the precious ointment she now carries in her alabaster jar.

Among her many assets, it is her hair that sets her apart. Some women see it through green eyes; some men through black hearts. But she, even in the confusion of her choices, has always known it to be a gift. 

How to use the gift has been her life long challenge. Ultimately, would it prove to be her salvation or her damnation?  Is it not so with every special gift, with every leverage that makes us singular among our peers? 

These gifts may take the form of possessions, power, position, favor or myriad other shapes. They may reside in a clever wit, and incisive mind, and agile body, a profound spirit. They may rest in a dogged perseverance, an adhesive memory or a dynamic imagination. Whatever our unique power, it is the key to our self-definition. It speaks our particular presence in the world.

At some point in her soul’s journey, this gorgeous gospel woman decided that her superior beauty would serve Jesus. What might have caused that dramatic conversion in her life?

Some versions of the story say that seven devils were once cast from her by Jesus’s merciful hand. Whatever the moment might have been, we can see from today’s Gospel scene that it was profound, intimate, and complete.

Her luxuriant hair has become a sacrament of healing, offered on this night to a friend about to suffer death for the sake of Love. Because her own love is so great, she understands this suffering in Jesus long before his other followers.

This reading leaves us with so much to consider about our own gifts and how we use them; about the depth of our relationship with Jesus and how we show him our love; about what is in our alabaster jar and where we choose to pour its treasure.

Music: Pour My Love on You – Philips, Craig, and Dean

Lay it Down for God

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Discipleship, dying, Eternal Life, Jesus1 Comment

Sunday, September 16, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/091618.cfm

Today, in Mercy, our Sunday readings increase in dramatic tone.  The passage from Isaiah describes a Savior bent on his mission despite mounting resistance and expressed hatred.

Psalm 116 describes a person set upon by suffering and death threats, still trusting in the Lord’s saving grace.

In the Epistle, James says we must demonstrate our faith by our works — by putting our money where our mouth is.

Mk 8_34 lay down life

And in our Gospel, Jesus says we do this by following him, denying ourselves and taking up our cross.

This is heavy stuff. Jesus wants us to be like him — and it would be so much easier not to be!  It would be so much easier to think that our life is all about ourselves, and that we have no responsibility for Beloved Creation.

It would be so much easier not to give our lives to Christ to allow Him to bless the world through our love.

But if we wish to “save” our lives like this, we will — in the end — lose them for eternity.

Let us pray today for the grace to take our life and lay it down over the Cross of Christ.

In that laying down, to conform ourselves to the pattern of his love, to place the weight of our burdens and hopes on the crossbeam of his strength 

Let us ask for the strength to live 

  • for God
  • for others
  • for good in the world
  • and never for self when it injures or lessens others or our Sacred Home.

This is the way we will keep our lives in Christ.

Music: Take Up Your Cross – David Haas

Be Opened!

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Eternal Life, Faith, Gospel, Prayer4 Comments

Sunday, September 9, 2018

       Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/090918.cfm

Today, in Mercy, we pray in the power of the Gospel:

mk7_14 ephphatha

(Pray each phrase slowly.
Let the silence between each
find the closed places deep within.)

Ephphatha!  Be opened:
  • All minds to God’s omnipresence
  • All hearts to God’s infinite love
  • All spirits to God’s tender proposals
  • All eyes to God’s eternal vision 
  • All ears to God’s cry in the poor
  • All mouths to speak God’s Word in justice
  • All plans to the rhythm of God’s freedom
  • All dreams to God’s dream for all.
  • Be opened – especially in me today. 🙏 Amen!

Music: Open My Eyes, Lord – Jesse Manibusan

Decant the New Wine

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, inclusivity, Jesus, Love, Mercy, peace, spirituality1 Comment

Friday, September 7, 2019

       Reading: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QbJaM_EneMw

Today, in Mercy, Jesus offers the Pharisees “new wine”, the freedom of his law of love over their accustomed law of requirements.

Lk5_38 Wine

Have you ever found yourself in circumstances where you’re saying or hearing things like this:

  • It’s the law
  • That’s the way we’ve always done it
  • Sorry. They’re the rules.
  • Doesn’t matter. No exceptions.

In such situations, we are experiencing a code of limitations where we are defined either by what we must do or must not do. 

The Pharisaical law had become such a code, its spirit and freedom worn away by ages of control, authoritarianism, and brittle institutionalization.

Jesus preaches the new law of love, which can sound a little squishy and self-indulgent at first, because our navel-gazing culture has so eviscerated the meaning of love.

But real Christian love is the hardest “code” we will ever practice. Patterned on Jesus’ life, it is a discipline of mercy, self-sacrifice, radical inclusivity, non-violence, and forgiveness. Such a love will die for the sake of the beloved’s life in God.

Drinking this “new wine” brings us a profound freedom in God Who loves us like this — but infinitely.

Music: New Wine – Hillsong

Drop Everything for Christ

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Courage, Discipleship, Jesus, spirituality6 Comments

Thursday, September 6, 2018

       Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/090618.cfm

Today, in Mercy, our readings lead us to consider our call.

Lk5_11 leftJPG

The call to discipleship comes to us within the other calls of our life: the call to be a good parent, spouse, sibling, child. It comes in the call to be a moral, values-driven employer; an honest, hard-working employee; a supportive, engaged co-worker. Christ asks us to mirror him as neighbor, friend, colleague, and citizen.

In whatever skill or profession we practice, Christ asks us to exercise it as he would – to choose, judge and behave as he would.

In our Gospel, the first disciples are astonished at the miracle of the fishes. Like a lightening bolt, that astonishment transforms their world view. They now see Christ as the Center of their lives. They drop their nets on the seashore. They leave everything to follow him.

What is it that we must leave to make Christ the center of our lives? What nets are we caught in that keep us from freeing the call within us?

We are challenged by a world filled with the entanglements of greed, destructive power, aggression, bigotry, lies, and political & social pretense. How much have these infected the purity of our desire to follow Jesus?

Music: Lord, You Have Come to the Seashore- Caesareo Gabarain

Lord, You have come to the seashore
Neither searching for…the rich nor the wise,…
desiring only…that I should follow
Refrain:
O Lord, with your eyes set upon me,
gently smiling, you have spoken my name;
all I longed for I have found by the water.
At your side, I will seek other shores.

Lord, see my goods, my possessions;
in my boat you find…no power, no wealth…
Will you accept then…my nets and labor?

Lord,…take my hands and direct them
Help me spend myself in seeking the lost,…
returning love for…the love you gave me.

Lord,…as I drift on the waters…
be the resting place…of my restless heart,…
my life’s companion,…my friend and refuge.

Choices

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Creation, Eternal Life2 Comments

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

          Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/082918.cfm

Today, in Mercy, we memorialize the Passion of St. John the Baptist, his imprisonment and beheading at the hands of Herod, the whim of Herodias, and the weakness of Salome. This incident, with its accompanying history and ensuing repercussions, is a classic psychological study in good and evil.

IMt 6_24_Baptist

The characters have repeated themselves in every generation:

Herod: the weak, corrupt, fearful man whose entire energy is spent satisfying himself at the cost of others
Herodias: the faithless, power-hungry schemer who will use any means to advance herself – the holder of grudges
Salome: the spineless sycophant who submits to her mother’s evil agenda is order to preserve her privilege
John: the enlightened protester who suffers the ultimate sacrifice for his beliefs

The passage, like all Bible stories, offers us an opportunity to measure ourselves, and our choices, against these ancestors. 

Bits of each of them rise up in us, challenging us over the course of a lifetime. Our challenges may not have the sweeping dramatic overtones of this story, but they still have the power to color our entire character.

  • Do I use my power for or against others?
  • Do I try to hurt, or shun, others because of my harbored grudges and selfish agendas?
  • How do I respond to the pressure to cooperate with, or ignore, evil?
  • Could my commitment to Christ withstand even death – not only physical death, but the death of a relationship, job, dream, or cherished possession?

John the Baptist dies because he has confronted the sins of Herod, Herodias and Salome. But they cannot disentangle themselves from their knotted immorality. They conspire to take John’s life physically, ultimately eternally strangling their own.

We all have choices – big and small. For George Jones in the attached song, the choice was about drinking. But the song works for whatever choice might divert us from the path to wholeness in God. Maybe we can plug in our own challenges as we listen. Maybe we can be braver the Herod, Herodias and Salome. Maybe John will inspire us!

Music: Choices – George Jones

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