Category: Discipleship

Faithfulness

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Discipleship, Scripture, Service, spirituality, VirtueLeave a comment

May 14, 2026
Feast of St. Matthias

Faithfulness, a Fruit of the Holy Spirit,
strengthens us to be loyal to God and God’s promises.
Faithfulness is demonstrated by loyalty to friends,
duties performed, promises kept, commitments fulfilled,
contracts completed, vows observed, and being true to one’s word.

Today is the feast of St. Matthias, of whom we know very little except this:

Peter said, “Therefore, it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
Acts 1:21-26

Thus, a central theme when considering Matthias is that of choice – who chooses, what they choose, and the outcome of that choice?

MATTHIAS

Matthias’s own choice seems central here. He chose Jesus from the very beginning and stayed faithful to that choice. He continued his discipleship even though Jesus did not elevate him to apostle. How might Matthias’s humble faithfulness inspire us when our efforts seem unrecognized or unappreciated?

JESUS

What about Jesus’s choices, silently referenced by this passage from Acts? Did Jesus make a poor choice when he picked Judas over Matthias? How might Jesus have dealt with his disappointment in Judas?  Within our own lives, how do we incorporate failed choices into our spiritual understanding? 

JOSEPH BARSABBAS

Then there’s the bit actor here, Joseph called Barsabbas? Joseph was likely an unassuming man. Rather than call him by his given name, people called him “Barsabbas” – a reference to his perhaps more important father. Maybe Joseph was still young and hadn’t established recognition for his commitment. What was it like for him to be nominated, but not elected? When the lot fell against him, how did it affect his understanding of God’s call?

APOSTLES

Finally, let’s look at the Apostles and their choices. They responded to Peter’s call for action.  They prayed. Then their decision-making seems to have been vested in the casting of lots, a rather popular method in biblical times. ( See Proverbs 16:33, Leviticus 16:8, Joshua 18:10, Matthew 27:35, 1 Chronicles 24:5, Jonah 1:7, Leviticus 16:8.)

YOU AND ME

Tossing the dice may be an easier way, but how well have I learned the process of discernment? To what degree do I participate in the synodal dialogue initiated by Pope Francis and continued by Pope Leo to create a renewed dynamic for the Gospel mission?

That’s what the Apostles were trying to do – recharge the Gospel Mission. Just as they sought the guidance of the Holy Spirit in their choice of Matthias, we do the same today, albeit through a different method, but hopefully with the same faith.

Poem: Fear of Being Chosen – Sister Natalia, member of Christ the Bridegroom Byzantine Catholic Monastery

O Matthias, what did you think,
what did you feel,
when you were beckoned forward?
Did your heart race at the idea
of joining ranks with those eleven?
Eleven different types of broken,
all seeking to be whole.
Did you fear the possibility
of secret brokenness revealed?
And did you also feel
the thrill of sure adventure,
after having seen the ups and downs
of the men whose eyes were now on you?
You’d seen their pain, their dying,
and in your heart felt a pull.
One thing you must have known,
known without a doubt
being witness to the resurrection
would mean a life of miracles.
And when you heard your name called out,
and reality sunk in,
did you feel that joyful pain of knowing
that all now know that you are His?
Did your thoughts bounce back and forth
between death and resurrection?
And did you steal one more glance
at Joseph Barsabbas
and wonder, “Why not him?”

For Your Reflection as you pray with the scripture passage beginning the 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?

Music: I Will Choose Christ – Tom Booth

Love Afire

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Church, Creation, Discipleship, Faith, holiness, Love, Prayer, spirituality1 Comment

Feast of St. Catherine of Siena
April 29, 2026

Today, we celebrate the feast of the great St. Catherine of Siena, Doctor of the Church. Her title means that, by her life and writings, her spiritual wisdom has substantially influenced Catholic theology and doctrine.

Billions of people have been baptized as Catholics, but only thirty-eight of them have been given this title. Of those thirty-eight, only four are women. Catherine’s sisters with this status are Teresa of Ávila, Thérèse of Lisieux, and Hildegard of Bingen. Many of us know their stories and have read some of their writing. Of them, the one least familiar to me is Catherine. So, I set out to learn more about her.

Like her three companions, Catherine was a woman of extremes – extreme intelligence, behaviors, choices, and declarations. She had twenty-five siblings, which should have made her mother a saint, in my opinion! When she was just twelve years old, Catherine dedicated her virginity to God, and at sixteen, became a Dominican lay sister. She spent three teenage years in seclusion in her own home, followed stringent dietary customs, and experienced spiritual ecstasy.

These extremes, and historical distance, might make her seem quite different from us, maybe even a little eccentric. But to learn from her, we must meet her on her own terms and in her own time, not within the frame of our modern perspectives.

Like any young person, as Catherine grew into the faith, she absorbed the customs of her culture. The Church was the dominant force in medieval daily life, serving as the spiritual, political, and communal master. Early in Catherine’s development, she was influenced by 14th century Church practices such as protracted solitude, strict fasting, and intense meditation.

Catherine of Siena
by Francesco Vanni – 1566

But as Catherine matured, she emerged from these extremes with a profound relationship with God and God’s Creation. She had developed an exquisite sensitivity to the needs of her society’s poor and outcast, in whom she saw Christ. Her confident relationship with God and deep love of the Church allowed her to speak truth to power, shaping both the theological enlightenment of her times and the historical evolution of the papacy.

Catherine of Siena, negotiating with Pope Gregory XI on behalf of the Florentines
by Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale

So, I ask myself what Catherine can say to me from the distance of six hundred years and some outdated spiritual practices! Here’s what I came up with:
• To grow close to God, we must give sincere attention to our spiritual life, using the best guides available to us, and prioritizing it beyond all other considerations.
• Deep spiritual growth aligns us with Truth, and calls us to action on behalf of God’s People, especially the poor and marginalized.
• Prayer is a divine gift and should be the constant conversation of our lives. For that to happen, we must deepen our understanding of prayer and commit ourselves to its practice.

After my reflections, I feel I know Catherine a little bit better. I hope I have encouraged you to get to know her too.

Music: Set the World on Fire – Britt Nicole

This song gives a modern interpretation of Catherine of Siena’s famous quote: “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire“. 

Suggested Scripture: Romans 12:1-2

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?

Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Discipleship, Eastertide, Faith, spiritualityLeave a comment

April 25, 2026

Living the Gospel

These reflections during Eastertide 2026 are reblogs from 2023.

Our readings for that year were the same as this year’s, and some of the thoughts might be worth rethinking. I hope my long-timers enjoy them a second time, and that my new-timers appreciate a trip back in time. I thank all of you for journeying with me on Lavish Mercy.

Fall in Love Again

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Creation, Discipleship, Eastertide, Faith, Gospel, Jesus, spiritualityLeave a comment

Easter Sunday
April 5, 2026

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In God’s great mercy, we have been given new birth into a living hope through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade.

1 Peter 1:3-4

They woke up one morning beside each other as they had for fifteen years. The scent of last night’s acrid argument lingered in the corners of the room. After a few moments, he turned to her and said, “We need to learn how to love each other again. Can we try?”

Over the course of long-term relationships, the parties change. Phil and Judy wanted to remain committed to their marriage, but they found themselves strangled by years of unpruned misunderstandings. All heart commitments meet similar challenges. All dreams fray a little on their way to fulfillment.

We have followed Jesus through Holy Week on such a road. Passover Sunday filled his spirit with the fresh scent of palms and possibilities. But as the week waned, the Father led Jesus in a daunting direction. He asked his Son to give the ultimate price for love.

Our lives too will teach us this: every ride on a palm-strewn road meets a fork toward Gethsemane. There is no true love without sacrifice. But the road does not end at the foot of the cross. Loving sacrifice lifts us to see this morning’s Easter sunrise. The life that had lain hidden in darkness now rises triumphant in our hearts. Today, we are offered the grace to live this mystery on our own journeys. Amazingly, Easter invites us to fall in love again with God and to begin our lives anew

Music: Love Is Come Again (Now the Green Blade Riseth)

Suggested Reading: John 20:1-9

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?

Awesome Expectations

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Courage, Cross, Discipleship, Faith, Jesus, spirituality, sufferingLeave a comment

Holy Saturday
April 4, 2026

We expect things, don’t we? Things as simple as rain. Things as complex as babies. We expect to wake up tomorrow, to have a safe drive home from work, to complete the to-do lists stuffed in our pockets. We expect life. We even expect death. We expect much of the in-between.

But it is the things we don’t expect that profoundly change our lives. These things shatter our routine and make a passageway for extraordinary grace. You have had such moments. During them, you were like the ancient Jews standing at the fracture of the Red Sea. Your soul was in a battle between fear and awe.

These moments came to you in various disguises: tragedy, surprise, celebration, disappointment, betrayal, or forgiveness. From the vantage point of time, you may be able to see how these moments freed you, redeemed you. Or, now within such a moment, you may still be struggling to discover its Divine Potential.

The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb by Hans Holbein (c. 1522)

We are not unlike the disciples experiencing the Passover of Jesus’s life. They, even He, may not have expected the Thursday of Transubstantiation – the giving of his body into the eternal bread and wine. They did not expect the cleavage of their sacred world by an unholy crucifixion. They did not expect a dislodged stone to yield a golden resurrection.

All that they did not expect we now call “Easter” – a rebirth in the steadfast assurance that God’s life ever triumphs. May we all be broken and blessed by this astounding and unexpected grace!

Spend some time today considering your hopes. Look for the things yet hidden behind the stone of expectation. Are they worthy of the awesome soul God gave you, and the immense invitation within the Paschal Mystery? Are we looking into an empty tomb, expecting new life? Or, on this hollow and hallow Saturday, are we quietly listening for whatever unexpected grace Easter will offer us?

Music: Exsultet – setting by Ryan Clouse

(And yes, I was annoyed by what I thought was a misspelling of “Exultet”. However, I did some research and this is an acceptable, though archaic, version of the word. There is an unfortunate ad near rhe end. Hit “skip” in lower right to view end of video. It’s worth it.

Suggested Scripture: Isaiah 53:1-12

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?

The Gentle Face of God

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Creation, Discipleship, Faith, Gospel, Lent, spiritualityLeave a comment

Feast of St. Joseph
March 19, 2026

Filial Piety is the virtue of deep respect and tenderness
for one’s parents, elders, mentors, and ancestors

How Jesus must have loved Joseph – this man so holy that he gave his whole life over to the nurturing of God!

But Joseph’s choice was not easy.

The choice was confusing.

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

Matthew 1:18-19

The choice took courage.

When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

Matthew 2:13

The choice took patience.

After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days, they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

Luke 2:43-48

The choice took humility.

After the above incident in the Temple, we do not hear of Joseph again. We can assume that for the remaining decade before Jesus’s public ministry, he worked side by side with Joseph to sustain their little family. In the Divine Plan, it appears that Joseph’s role is humbly and silently concluded by a quiet death in Nazareth before Jesus turns thirty.

Most of all, the choice took immense and sustained faith.

Joseph’s faith sustained his life, protected and companioned Mary, taught and nurtured the Son of God. That was one extraordinary faith! Yet, in many ways, it is a faith we ordinary believers are also all called to:

  • to hear God’s call
  • to step into salvation history with trust and courage
  • to do what needs to be done without braggadocio
  • to end in quiet grace, acknowledging that it all belonged to God

Music: Hymn to St. Joseph

Christum Dei Filium qui putari
dignatus est filius Joseph:
Venite adoremus.
O come, let us adore Christ the Son of God,
Who deigned to be
thought to be the son of Joseph!
Blessed be the eyes that have seen what thou hast seen,
Blessed be the ears that have heard what thou hast heard.
Blessed be the arms that have held thy Creator.
Blessed be the hands that have labored for the Word.
Blessed is thy Heart all aflame with ardent love,
Chosen and Beloved by the Holy Trinity.
Blessed be thy Virgin spouse entrusted unto thee.
Bless all, dear Joseph, who love and honor thee.

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?

I Am the Truth …

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Courage, Cross, Discipleship, Eternal Life, Faith, Lent, spirituality, TruthLeave a comment

Fourth Sunday of Lent
March 15, 2026

Veracity is the virtue of being truthful in all things.

Recently, I heard our culture referred to as “The Post-Truth Age”. I found that statement to be both accurate and frightening. In a world completely entangled in lies, veracity is a lonely virtue. Jesus knew that. As he nears Jerusalem, it becomes increasingly apparent that those who live by the Lie will seek to exterminate him. But, in Jesus, Truth is eternal. Through his Resurrection, we are welcomed into that infinite Veracity.

Throughout this week, the Word of God is leading us – out of darkness, out of blindness, out of fear, out of all that inhibits the eternal life of grace within us. Time is drawing close to Calvary, when our faith will be tested. Jesus wants us to remember the miracles and words of this week so that our faith will not be shaken by the days to come.

Like Antonia, in the story below, Jesus wants us to find the Truth that supersedes circumstances. It is a Truth that rests in full and honest relationship with him.

“End stage melanoma,” the doctor pronounced, after Antonia requested complete honesty.

It seemed unfair to those who knew her: an ebony spot, unnoticed on her back, soon would bleed its ink across her death certificate. For Antonia, though, the irony lay not in her diagnosis, but in the thought that so few people really knew her or would care.

An unmarried, retired teacher, Antonia was an only child. With only distant cousins, she had made the parish her family. She was a daily communicant, a generous contributor, and a respected neighbor. Antonia knew this. But, for decades, she had still gone home each night to a lonely house and a solitary life.

How surprised she was when, during her final weeks in hospice, visitors came in waves to comfort her. Students spoke of her steady influence; neighbors of her charity. Colleagues remembered her patience. When one visitor lamented Antonia’s situation, she stopped him, mid-sentence. “I have never been happier,” she said. “I had no idea so many people loved me.”

Life’s circumstances can conspire to convince us that we are unimportant, unloved, even useless. Sometimes, these perceptions are self-imposed. At other times, they are pressed on us by hostile forces, as they were on Jesus at the end of his life. But Jesus assures us in this week’s readings: “The one who believes in me will never die.” He touches the blind man with light and the royal official’s son with resurrection. Jesus calls us to trust that we are infinitely loved. Believing it, we have the strength – even the joy- to go with him to Calvary.

Music: Jerusalem, My Destiny – Rory Cooney

Suggested Reading: Ephesians 5:8-14

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?

Trinity in Session

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Courage, Discipleship, Faith, spiritualityLeave a comment

January 11. 2026
The Baptism of the Lord

The theological virtues are the supernatural gifts of
faith, hope, and love
that are directly infused by God into the human soul
to enable a person to live in relationship with the Holy Trinity.

The Baptism Of Jesus
by Jeff Haynie
For purchase, see:
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/the-baptism-of-jesus-jeff-haynie.html

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, our Gospel invites us to the banks of the Jordan River. We sit in the midst of a crowd filled with avid believers and curious doubters. The Baptist passionately preaches on the muddy shore. Some listen intently. Some fiddle with their picnic baskets because they aren’t ready to hear. (They don’t have cell phones to fiddle with.)

Where are you, and what are you doing when the under-breath murmurs begin to rise in surprised chatter? Who is this man exuding mysterious power even as he quietly emerges from the bank’s far side – and why is he here?

Simply this:
Jesus came from Galilee
to John at the Jordan
to be baptized by him.

But Omnipotence reveals Itself in this simple act: Creator, Redeemer, and Spirit present in Divine Voice, Sacred Wing, Grace-drenched Redeemer.

After Jesus was baptized,
he came up from the water and behold,
the heavens were opened for him,
and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove
and coming upon him.
And a voice came from the heavens, saying,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Matthew 3:16-17

As you experience this miraculous revelation, are you still looking into your picnic basket? Or have you been changed right down to your roots?

Music: Behold the Lamb of God from Handel’s Messiah

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:

Readings for the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus

The Holy Lists

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Church, Conversion, Discipleship, holiness, spirituality, Virtue3 Comments

January 1, 2026

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, please bless and guide us throughout 2026.

As we welcome the new year, I welcome each of you to Lavish Mercy 2026. As I did in 2025, I will offer a reflection about once a week, sometimes more often.


For 2026, I have chosen a theme that I nicknamed “The Holy Lists”. My Catholic friends who, like me, are of a “certain age” will remember the Baltimore Catechism. Though currently updated in language and attitude, that dear old 1945 version contained a mountain of incomprehensible truth condensed into manageable steps. Even though it provided scarce moral latitude, the book left me many unforgettable checklists that still influence my broader reflections and choices. They provided a roadmap for VIRTUE which could use a huge comeback in our morally tumultuous culture.

Who can forget the famous milk bottle by which one measured the level of their adolescent depravity?
Or the theological study questions with which even Thomas Aquinas might have struggled? e.g. (actual samples):

  1. Julius, an irreligious High School boy, claims we are forced to do all the things we do; he says that we are not free. Is this true? What is the reason for your answer?
  2. Leander wonders how it was possible for the prophets to describe the details of Our
    Lord’s passion and death many centuries before they took place.
    Can you explain this to Leander?

I deeply appreciate the wonderful religious instruction I received in the 1950s and 60s. But I think that even for Julius and Leander, some of those powerful lessons may have failed the leap into the 21st century.

So for 2026, I’d like to refresh some of those listed items by connecting them to the day’s reflection or readings. In a cultural and political climate so often disconnected from a moral compass, these virtues can serve a corrective purpose. They are valuable and, when offered in the modern vernacular, may inspire personal and cultural transformation.

Believe me, this is not an attempt to return to pre-Vatican II strictures. I am definitely an “aggiornamento” gal! Rather, I hope to provide an incentive to reclaim the quiescent markers of our faith – a faith that might be captured in a single virtue, or lost in a single fault. And I also think it might be fun!

St. Gregory of Nyssa inspires me with this statement:

The goal of a virtuous life
is to become like God.

Let’s give some time in 2026 to the pursuit of that virtuous life we all committed to at our Confirmation! God knows our world needs it!

See if you remember any of these once-memorized signposts :
• Gifts of the Holy Spirit
• Fruits of the Holy Spirit
• Cardinal Virtues
• Theological Virtues
• Moral Virtues
• Capital Virtues and their nemeses, the Deadly Sins
• Beatitudes
• Mysteries of the Rosary

And now, let’s begin…..

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.