Category: Cross

T-Shirt Revelation

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Church, Cross, Faith, Jesus, Prayer, spirituality, suffering5 Comments

October 7, 2026
Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

When one of my beloved nieces visited this summer, she wore a T-shirt that both delighted and surprised me.

Why was I surprised? Well, for one thing, I hadn’t expected Mary to appear to me on a T-shirt! A grotto in Lourdes? A hill in Fatima? A chapel in Ireland? OK! But not a T-shirt!

Secondly, all my baptized-Catholic, Millennial niblings have drifted to Methodism or other Christian sects where I had assumed Mary occupied a quieter space than she does in the Catholic imagination.

Pondering this as I prayed this morning, I first dealt with my regret that the Catholic Church has been unable to captivate these young folks. So many reasons suggested themselves, all of them rooted in an institutional failure to establish relationships at critical points in their spiritual lives. But with mixed emotions, I felt ultimately grateful that each had sought another faith home, even if in a different tradition. Faith is sometimes inherited in surprising ways.

Continuing my prayer, I reached for the Rosary that rests beside my armchair. When Dad died decades ago, I took it from his special drawer in our old dining room credenza. The mahogany beads, worn and glistening with the balm of his fingers, embody the reasons my Catholic faith remains committed despite some of the same institutional failures.

I treasure what was passed on to me by generations of Irish-Catholic ancestors, and the memory of how their resolute faith sustained them through the tests of life and history. Much of that sustenance came through praying the rosary in times of testing, learning from Mary and Jesus a fully grace-filled response to life.

There is nothing we will meet in life without a mirror in the rosary. Though divine and saintly, Jesus and Mary lived fully human lives just like ours. They faced the same joys and trials, though dressed in the differing dimensions of their era. The rosary is a place where our humanity meets theirs, drawing the inspiration for faithful perseverance and spiritual deepening.

In the rosary, we encounter birth, death, fear, loss, wonder, suffering, hope, and love. Aren’t these the mysteries of our lives, just as they were for Mary? She didn’t escape them with some holy magic that made them disappear. She lived through them with a steadfast faith, trusting that God engages us in just such mysteries.

Coincidentally, that T-shirt-wearing niece happened to be born on October 7th, feast of the Holy Rosary. Happenstance? I think not. More likely, the invitation to pray for her  – and all my precious nibs – that, indeed, Mary may always be their Homegirl!

Music: Tota Pulchra Es, Maria – a 4th-century chant sung here by Andrea Lena

V. Tota pulchra es, Maria.
R. Tota pulchra es, Maria. 		V. Thou art all fair, O Mary.
R. Thou art all fair, O Mary. 
V. Et macula originalis non est in te.
R. Et macula originalis non est in te. 		V. And the original stain is not in thee.
R. And the original stain is not in thee. 
V. Tu gloria Ierusalem.
R. Tu laetitia Israel. 		V. Thou art the glory of Jerusalem.
R. Thou, the joy of Israel. 
V. Tu honorificentia populi nostri.
R. Tu advocata peccatorum. 		V. Thou art the honor of our people.
R. Thou art the advocate of sinners. 
V. O Maria.
R. O Maria. 		V. O Mary.
R. O Mary. 
V. Virgo prudentissima.
R. Mater clementissima. 		V. Virgin most prudent.
R. Mother most tender. 
V. Ora pro nobis.
R. Intercede pro nobis ad Dominum Iesum Christum. 		V. Pray for us,
R. Intercede for us with Jesus Christ our Lord . 
V. In conceptione tua, Immaculata fuisti.
R. Ora pro nobis Patrem cuius Filium peperisti. 		V. In thy conception, Holy Virgin, thou wast immaculate.
R. Pray for us to the Father, Whose Son thou didst bring forth. 
V. Domina, protege orationem meam.
R. Et clamor meus ad te veniat. 		V. O Lady! aid my prayer,
R. And let my cry come unto thee. 

Suggested Reading: Luke 1: 26-38

Click for Readings

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?

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Courage, Cross, Discipleship, Eternal Life, Faith, Hope, Love, spirituality1 Comment

September 14, 2026

I think we get too used to things, sometimes – in my case, the phrase “Holy Cross”.

Holy Cross Parish was my first mission assignment as a 21-year-old enthusiastic, clueless teacher. For me, the constantly repeated phrase became bleached of any religious meaning, indicating instead a geographic area, a football team, or a Saturday night dance for teens, blithely described in semi-illiterate phrases such as:

Joe: Where ya’ from?  
Pete: Holy Cross up on Springfield Ave.

Joe: Who do ya’ play for? 
Pete: Holy Cross. We won the championship!

Joe: Whata’ ya’ doing Saturday night? 
Pete: Holy Cross. They got a good dance sometimes.

I never once, at that time, considered the true meaning of the sacred name under which I lived. That amazes me now when I think about it, sixty years later. What a blessing I missed! What an invitation I overlooked! To contemplate the mystery of the Holy Cross while I lived within its mantle! But I think I was just too young and, as I mentioned above, clueless!

God has been patient with me though, accompanying me over the next sixty years to a deeper understanding of the precious gift of the Holy Cross as it reveals its mystery in my life. You, too, are surely aware of this slow revelation in your own experience.

We all know this: life brings crosses to every human being. No one lives without experiencing suffering in some or many forms. It is inherent in our human nature as we stretch for heavenly perfection from the bonds of earthly encumbrance.

God knows this too. And so we have been given the gift of Jesus Christ and the mystery of his Cross to steady us as this truth reveals its gift over the unrelenting course of our days.

Whatever pain our crosses bring us, be it physical, emotional, or spiritual, that pain exposes our heart to the grace of transformation.

The Holy Cross of Christ assures us that our personal cross is not simply an unavoidable suffering. It is our unique pathway into God’s heart and the absolute nature of Divine Love.

We will be tempted to think that loss, failure, incapacity, suffering, even death are terminals where life ends or fails. Rather, by the empty cross of the resurrected Christ, we are convinced that these experiences, when received in faith and open to grace, are the portals to Divine Life.

Our crosses test the strength of our faith, the endurance of our hope, and the depth of our love. The Holy Cross is God’s answer to that test.

Music: Vexilla Regis – Hymn to the Holy Cross

Suggested Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11

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?