Category: Courage

Nest

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Courage, Discipleship, Eternal Life, Faith, Gospel, Jesus, spirituality1 Comment

Monday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
July 1, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070124.cfm

A scribe approached and said to him,
“Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”
Another of his disciples said to him,
“Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”
But Jesus answered him, “Follow me,
and let the dead bury their dead.”
Matthew 8: 19-22

The scribe. What was Jesus driving home to this learned interpreter of the Law who now bursts with enthusiasm for discipleship? Perhaps Jesus looked up to a small nest in a nearby tree. Maybe he pointed to it and told the scribe, ” You have to spread your wings and fly with God if you follow me!”

Basically, I think Jesus is saying this:

  • Think about it. It’s a way very different from your present comfortable life.
  • We are itinerant preachers, going out to the whole world. We are not intrenched in the Law, commanding people to come to us.
  • Even the core responsibilities to which you are devoted will be secondary to your Gospel ministry.
  • The whole foundation of your life will be turned upside-down.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

We want to serve God by living the Gospel with a steadfast and enthusiastic heart. We pray for the grace and courage to do so, understanding clearly where our first responsibilities lie as a committed Christian.

Prose from: The Wisdom of the Carpenter by Ron Miller

Jesus walked the earth as a homeless vagrant
and identified his disciples by their concern
for the most marginalized people in the community.
It’s such a simple criterion
and yet one so easily forgotten.
Daily Prayer: Help me to be especially attentive to You today
in those who have so little of the world’s wealth.

Music: He Had Not Where To Lay His Head
Score: Alison Willis
Text: Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825 – 1911)

Read about her amazing life.

The conies had their hiding place

the fox his stealthy tread a covert found

but Christ the Lord had not a place

to lay his head.


The eagle had an eyrie home,

the blithesome bird its rest,
but not the humblest spot on earth

was by the Son of God possessed.


Princes and kings had palaces,

with grandeur could adorn each tomb;

for him who came with love and life

they gave no room.


The hand whose touch sent thrills of joy

through nerves and palsied frame,

the feet that travelled for our need

were nailed unto the cross of shame.



How feet that travelled for our need

were nailed unto the cross of shame.


Touch

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Courage, Discipleship, Faith, Gospel, healing, spirituality10 Comments

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 30, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/063024.cfm

There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.
She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors
and had spent all that she had.
Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.
She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd
and touched his cloak.
She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.”
Immediately her flow of blood dried up.
She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
Matthew 5:25-29

After praying with this passage from Mark, I wrote this homily almost a decade ago. I liked it very much. And even though it is long, I thought some of you might like to read it or to pray with it this Sunday.

https://lavishmercy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/homily-mk-5-21-43-.docx

Music: Touch the Hem of His Garment – Sam Cooke

One of my favorite voices from the 50s and 60s, Sam Cooke is considered one among the greatest R&B artists of all time. Some of you may recall his pop hits like “You Send Me” and “Twisting’ the Night Away”.

Early in his career, he sang with a Gospel group, the Soul Stirrers.

In 1950, Cooke replaced gospel tenor R. H. Harris as lead singer of his gospel group The Soul Stirrer. Their first recording under Cooke’s leadership was the song “Jesus Gave Me Water” in 1950. They also recorded the gospel songs “Peace in the Valley”, “How Far Am I from Canaan?”, “Jesus Paid the Debt” and “One More River”, among many others, some of which he wrote. Cooke was often credited for bringing gospel music to the attention of a younger crowd of listeners, mainly girls who would rush to the stage when the Soul Stirrers hit the stage just to get a glimpse of him. (Wikipedia)

Wave

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Courage, Discipleship, Faith, Jesus, peace, spirituality5 Comments

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 23, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062324.cfm

A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat,
so that it was already filling up.
Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.
They woke him and said to him,
“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
He woke up,
rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!”
The wind ceased and there was great calm.
Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified?
Do you not yet have faith?”
Mark 4:37-40

Many years ago, at a particularly critical crossroad in my life, a revered mentor rescued me. She did it with a simple phrase, “Do not go down under this wave.”

Her counsel challenged me to stand up and reach for my faith, despite having been knocked down by gross misjudgment. Her confidence led me to realize that with faith we can find God within our circumstances, releasing a power we may not have recognized before.

In today’s passage, Jesus urges his disciples to live this kind of faith. God is with them, even when seemingly asleep. Fully trusting that Presence will allow their lives to unfold in peace, despite any passing storm. And yes, all storms are passing. 🙂

Poetry: I Go Down to the Shore – Mary Oliver

I go down to the shore in the morning
and depending on the hour the waves
are rolling in or moving out,
and I say, oh, I am miserable,
what shall—
what should I do? And the sea says
in its lovely voice:
Excuse me, I have work to do.

Music: Every Storm Runs Out of Rain – Gary Allen

Forgive

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Charity, Community, Courage, Faith, Forgiveness, Gospel, Jesus, spirituality2 Comments

Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
June 20, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062024.cfm

Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.’

“If you forgive others their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.

In these verses, Jesus utters another dangerous prayer: forgive us, God, as we forgive others.

Uh oh! I don’t know about you, but I think we can be pretty bad at forgiveness. It’s so much easier to remember a wrong done to us, to excuse ourselves of any responsibility for it, to fester in its hurt, to calculate a concomitant revenge, to demonize and ostracize the offender.

Jesus says, “Hey, is that the way you want God to forgive you?”

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We examine Jesus’s words in the Our Father to find the secret to forgiveness.

  • We are all the children of One God, equally and completely loved.
  • God wills holiness and joy for every one of us.
  • God will always grant forgiveness to the ready heart.
  • We live for the hope of heaven, and the circumstances of this world pale in its Light.
  • Still, in our daily circumstances, we need to be fed by the Spirit in order to find the courage and desire to forgive as God does.

Poetry: Enemies – Wendell Berry

If you are not to become a monster,
you must care what they think.
If you care what they think,
how will you not hate them,
and so become a monster
of the opposite kind? From where then
is love to come—love for your enemy
that is the way of liberty?
From forgiveness. Forgiven, they go
free of you, and you of them;
they are to you as sunlight
on a green branch. You must not
think of them again, except
as monsters like yourself,
pitiable because unforgiving.

Music: Forgiveness – Matthew West

Flourish

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Courage, Creation, Eternal Life, Faith, Gospel, Hope, Jesus, Love, Psalms, spirituality1 Comment

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 16, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061624.cfm

The just one shall flourish like the palm tree,
like a cedar of Lebanon shall they grow.
They that are planted in the house of the LORD
shall flourish in the courts of our God.
Psalm 92:13-14

This verse from Psalm 92 ties together all our readings for today.

In the passage from Exodus, God takes a tiny twig, protects and nourishes it, and it flourishes. The analogy describes God’s relationship with Israel and with us. We are called to flourish in the Kingdom of God.

In Corinthians, Paul expresses the conviction that we will receive our recompense according to how we flourish in response to God’s grace.

And in our Gospel, Jesus teaches that our faith – God’s gift to us – is the small seed that flourishes into eternal life, the fullness of life in God.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

We realize that each of these flourishings begins with a tiny hope – a twig, a courageous aspiration, a mustard seed.

Such is life. It is the small but consistent acts of faith, hope, and love that eventually yield abundant harvest. – embracing us with all Creation in God’s complete Love.

Poetry: Mustard Seed – Meister Eckhart

I.

In the Beginning
High above understanding
Is ever the Word.
O rich treasure,
There the Beginning always bore the Beginning.
O Father’s Breast,
From thy delight
The Word ever flows!
Yet the bosom
Retains the Word, truly.

II.

From the two as one source,
The fire of love.
The bond of both,
Known to both,
Flows the All-Sweet Spirit
Co-equal,
Undivided
The Three are One.
Do you understand why? No.
It best understands itself.

III.

The bond of three
Causes deep fear.
Of this circle
There is no understanding.
Here is a depth without ground.
Check and mate
To time, forms, place!
The wondrous circle
Is the Principle,
Its point never moves.

IV.

The mountain of this point
Ascend without activity.
O intellect!
The road leads you
Into a marvelous desert,
So broad, so wide,
It stretches out immeasurably.
The desert has,
Neither time nor place,
Its mode of being is singular.

V.

The good desert
No foot disturbs it,
Created being
Never enters there:
It is, and no one knows why.

It is here, it is there,
It is far, it is near,
It is deep, it is high,
It is in such a way
That it is neither this nor that.

VI.

It is light, it is clear,
It is totally dark,
It is unnamed,
It is unknown,
Free of beginning or end.
It stands still,
Pure, unclothed.
Who knows its dwelling?
Let him come forth
And tells us what sort it is.

VII.

Become like a child,
Become deaf, become blind.
Your own something
Must become nothing;
Drive away all something, all nothing!
Leave place, leave time,
Avoid even image!
Go without a way
On the narrow path,
Then you will find the desert’s track.

VIII.

O my soul,
Go out, let God in!
Sink all my something
In God’s nothing.
Sink in the bottomless flood!
If I flee from You,
You come to me.
If I lose myself,
Then I find You,
O Goodness above being!

Music: The Ride of the Valkyries – Richard Wagner

I love to listen to this masterpiece when I imagine God opening heaven to all Creation at the end of time.

Mantle

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Courage, Discipleship, Faith, spirituality3 Comments

Saturday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
June 15, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061524.cfm

Elijah set out, and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat,
as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen;
he was following the twelfth.
Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him.
Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said,
“Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,
and I will follow you.”
1 Kings 19:19-20

Elijah delivers God’s call by placing his mantle across Elisha’s shoulders. The mantle is a symbol of prophetic power, authority, and duty. Elisha welcomes God’s call and the gifts and responsibilities it holds. This story offers us themes of vocation, mentorship, and spiritual eagerness to profess and practice God’s love in the world.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

Each of us continually receives God’s call to grow in holiness. This is our vocation, the mantle of invitation to live our lives for and with God. We may choose our call in marriage, religious profession, ordination, or the single life.

Like Elisha, we could be minding our own business in a “field” somewhere when the awareness of God’s call falls over us in a mantle of grace. This call will repeat itself in new ways throughout the course of our lives. Again like Elisha, we pray to be spiritually open and eager to respond.

Poetry: Vocation – William E. Stafford

This dream the world is having about itself
includes a trace on the plains of the Oregon trail,
a groove in the grass my father showed us all
one day while meadowlarks were trying to tell
something better about to happen.
I dreamed the trace to the mountains, over the hills,
and there a girl who belonged wherever she was.
But then my mother called us back to the car:
she was afraid; she always blamed the place,
the time, anything my father planned.
Now both of my parents, the long line through the plain,
the meadowlarks, the sky, the world's whole dream
remain, and I hear him say while I stand between the two,
helpless, both of them part of me:
"Your job is to find what the world is trying to be."

Music: The Call – Vaughn Williams

Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life:
Such a Way, as gives us breath:
Such a Truth, as ends all strife:
Such a Life, as killeth death

Come, My Light, my Feast, my Strength:
Such a Light, as shows a feast:
Such a Feast, as mends in length:
Such a Strength, as makes his guest

Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart:
Such a Joy, as none can move:
Such a Love, as none can part:
Such a Heart, as joys in love

Whisper

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Courage, Discipleship, Faith, Hope, spirituality6 Comments

Friday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
June 14, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061424.cfm

A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains
and crushing rocks before the LORD—
but the LORD was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake—
but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake there was fire—
but the LORD was not in the fire.
After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.
When he heard this,
Elijah hid his face in his cloak
and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.
A Voice said to him, “Why are you here, Elijah?”.
1 Kings 19:11-13

Elijah has been a fiery prophet, credibly demonstrating the call to believe in one God. But despite magnificent Divine demonstrations, the people have not been faithful. In today’s reading, the great Elijah goes to the mountain depressed and defeated. God tries to speak to Elijah in further stunning revelations, but Elijah can face only the whisper of God’s Will.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

This passage may lead us to consider the quiet, whispering influence of God in our lives. To do only that would neglect salient points in these verses. At this point in his life, Elijah feels that he has failed in his life’s mission. Israel has failed in fidelity to the Abrahamic covenant. The situation is a mess, God is fed up, and the time for judgment has come.

  • Do we ever feel that way about our world, our Church, even our own lives?
  • Do we ever wonder if what we have tried to be and do in life really matters?
  • Have we gotten so focused on our frustrations and fears that we miss the magnificent display of God’s love and hope for us?

If so, perhaps we can at least, like Elijah, open our hearts to the Divine Whisper ever-present to us. If we have drifted from wholehearted faith, how is God drawing us back with Gentle Presence?

Poetry: i thank you, God – e.e.cummings

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes
(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday;this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)
how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any—lifted from the no
of all nothing—human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

Music: Courage of the Wind – David Lanz

Lampstand

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Courage, Discipleship, Eternal Life, Faith, Gospel, Jesus, spirituality3 Comments

Memorial of Saint Barnabas, Apostle
June 11, 2024

Today’s Readiings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061124.cfm

You are the light of the world.
A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket;
it is set on a lampstand,
where it gives light to all in the house.
Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your heavenly Father.
Matthew 5:14-16

Jesus tells us to let our light shine before others. Is this an invitation to show off or be prideful? Definitely not. It is a call to shine with “beatitudenal goodness” that gives glory to God.

We can take Jesus’s words as an invitation to spiritual transparency. We should, by our actions and choices, proclaim that we live in faith, hope, charity, and gratitude. The important part of the lampstand is the flame that it lifts up. So too with us – the important part of our faith is the witness it gives to the Gospel.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

We pray for the simplicity and integrity of soul that allows God to shine through us.

Poetry: Let Your Light Shine – Marianne Williamson

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be 
brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. 
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking 
so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest 
the glory of God that is within us.
It is not just in some of us, it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, 
we unconsciously give other people 
permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, 
our presence automatically liberates others.

Music: We Are the Light of the World – Jean A. Greif

Stir

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Courage, Discipleship, Faith, Gospel, spirituality4 Comments

Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr
June 5, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060524.cfm

For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame
the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.
For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice
but rather of power and love and self-control.
So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,
nor of me, a prisoner for his sake;
but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel
with the strength that comes from God.
2 Timothy 1: 6-8

Paul has a deep affection and hope for Timothy. He sees the light of faith burning brightly in him. He encourages Timothy to not take his faith for granted but to ignite it fully by his unwavering commitment to live and preach the Gospel.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

We thank God for the gift of our faith, for those who have encouraged its growth, and we ask for courage to stir up that gift by the witness of our lives.

Poetry: As Kingfishers Catch Fire – Gerard Manley Hopkins

As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell's
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves — goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying Whát I dó is me: for that I came.

I say móre: the just man justices;
Keeps grace: thát keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is —
Chríst — for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men's faces.Poetry:

Music: Fan into Flame – John Michael Talbot

I remind you now to fan into flame
The gift that God has bestowed
When my hands were laid upon you,
The gift of the Spirit of God.

The gift that God has given to us,
Is no cowardly spirit at all.
But one that is strong and loving and wise –
The gift of the Spirit of God.

So you, my son, you must be strong,
In the grace which is yours in Christ.
The teaching you have heard through me,
Hand onto the trustworthy ones.

The Spirit, God has given to us
Is no cowardly spirit at all.

But one that is strong and loving and wise –
The gift of the Spirit of God,
The gift of the Spirit of God.

See

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Courage, Eternal Life, Faith, healing, Hope, Jesus, spirituality2 Comments

Thursday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
May 30, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/053024.cfm

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,
Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,
sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say,
“Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” 
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

Bartimaeus threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.”
Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.”

Bartimaeus wants to be healed. He wants to see. But Jesus tells him that he is not healed by his desire, or his begging, or his good fortune in running into Jesus. Bartimaeus is healed by his faith because that faith draws forth from Jesus the Divine Power which transforms.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

We can be blind in many ways.

  • Often we can’t see what’s right in front of us.
  • We can’t see why others may think differently from us
  • We can’t see the underlying reasons for our circumstances.
  • We can’t see the path to wholeness that may be obvious to others.
  • We can’t see the suffering world around us
  • We can’t see the invisible support that others give us, perhaps over our lifetime.
  • We can’t see the abiding presence of God in our lives

Like Bartimaeus may we call out to Jesus in faith so that he will be moved to help us SEE all that may bring us closer to the Divine Heart.

Poetry: Bartimaeus – John Newton

John Newton was an English Anglican clergyman, abolitionist, and hymn writer. He is best known as the author of the hymn “Amazing Grace,” one of the most beloved and widely sung hymns in the English language. Newton’s life was marked by a dramatic conversion experience, after which he abandoned his career in the slave trade and became an outspoken advocate for the abolition of slavery.

Mercy, O thou Son of David!
Thus blind Bartimaeus prayed;
Others by thy word are saved,
Now to me afford thine aid:
Many for his crying chid him,
But he called the louder still;
Till the gracious Saviour bid him
Come, and ask me what you will.
Money was not what he wanted,
Though by begging used to live;
But he asked, and Jesus granted
Alms, which none but he could give:
Lord remove this grievous blindness,
Let my eyes behold the day;
Strait he saw, and won by kindness,
Followed Jesus in the way.
O! methinks I hear him praising,
Publishing to all around;
Friends, is not my case amazing?
What a Saviour I have found:
O! that all the blind but knew him,
And would be advised by me!
Surely, would they hasten to him,
He would cause them all to see.

Music: The God Who Sees – Rachel Barrentine