Category: Discipleship

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)

Peter/Paul

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Discipleship, Faith, spirituality1 Comment

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles 
June 29, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062924-Day.cfm

I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation,
and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have competed well; I have finished the race;
I have kept the faith.
From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me,
which the Lord, the just judge,
will award to me on that day, and not only to me,
but to all who have longed for his appearance.
2 Timothy 4:6-8

Jesus said to his disciples, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
Matthew 16:15-18

We remember and celebrate these two great pillars of the Church. In some ways, the long passage of the years has turned each of them into figures bigger than life. Their memory is enthroned throughout the world in sculptures and cathedrals.

Our readings today remind us that they were simple people, like you and me – a fisherman and a tent maker. Their faith, while unshakeable, was tested beyond human strength. But by their believing, God’s strength became theirs.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We pray to have a simple, resolute faith like Peter and Paul. Like them, we will see God work miracles by the power of such faith.

Two Poems today.

St. Peter – Malcolm Guite
Impulsive master of misunderstanding
You comfort me with all your big mistakes;
Jumping the ship before you make the landing,
Placing the bet before you know the stakes.
I love the way you step out without knowing,
The way you sometimes speak before you think,
The way your broken faith is always growing,
The way he holds you even when you sink.
Born to a world that always tried to shame you,
Your shaky ego vulnerable to shame,
I love the way that Jesus chose to name you,
Before you knew how to deserve that name.
And in the end your Saviour let you prove
That each denial is undone by love.

Apostle – Malcolm Guite
An enemy whom God has made a friend,
A righteous man discounting righteousness,
Last to believe and first for God to send,
He found the fountain in the wilderness.
Thrown to the ground and raised at the same moment,
A prisoner who set his captors free,
A naked man with love his only garment,
A blinded man who helped the world to see,
A Jew who had been perfect in the law,
Blesses the flesh of every other race
And helps them see what the apostles saw;
The glory of the lord in Jesus’ face.
Strong in his weakness, joyful in his pains,
And bound by love, who freed him from his chains.

Music: Solve Jubente Deo – William Byrd (1607)

Loosen by God’s command, Peter, the chains of the earth:
thou who makest open the kingdom of heaven to the blessed, Alleluia.

Fruit

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Charity, Discipleship, Faith, Holy Spirit, justice, spirituality2 Comments

Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
June 26, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062624.cfm

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down
and thrown into the fire.
So by their fruits you will know them.
Matthew 7: 18-20

Jesus speaks these words to warn his followers about false prophets. These charlatans may be clothed in a gentle sheep’s skin, but inside they are voracious wolves consuming everything for their own gain. They are liars, thieves, cheats, and pretenders.

Yet many people trust and believe them. How can that be? Are we just too naive to see them for what they are? Maybe. But I think it’s more likely that we want to believe their lies because we think we will benefit from them. We excuse their cheating and veiled thievery because it hasn’t hurt us, just the “other guy”. We espouse their pretenses because we mistakenly believe they will advance us as well as the “wolves”.

Jesus knows we’re not stupid. He says there is one clear and sure-fired way to identify a false prophet. By their fruits you shall know them – and those “fruits” should be the fruits of the Holy Spirit. If, despite the rotten fruit they have produced, we follow them then we will end up in the fire just like they will.

An image today instead of a poem

Music: Ubi Caritas – Where Love and Charity Abide, There is God

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

Worry

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Creation, Discipleship, Faith, Gospel, Hope, Jesus, spirituality9 Comments

Saturday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
June 22, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://wordpress.com/post/lavishmercy.com/35531

Look at the birds in the sky;
they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns,
yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying
add a single moment to your life-span?
Matthew 6:26-27

What is “worrying” really? For me, it’s about trying to control things that are completely out of my control. Worrying is a futile practice in which I continue to engage despite all logic! What about you?

With his words today, Jesus wants to spare us from worrying. One of the simple examples he uses are the birds. Birds don’t worry. That doesn’t mean they give everything up and loaf in the trees expecting God to wait on them!

Birds are industrious – building nests, feeding and training offspring, migrating long distances when its time. In other words, birds do what they can, The rest is in God’s hands. That’s the lesson today!

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

We want to learn from nature what peace, acceptance and hope look like. Jesus tells us that there is a lot to learn there.
If you can, try to pray outside today. No books, no earbuds, no buddies to converse with. Just be quiet and learn.

Scripture: Matthew 6:28-30

Learn from the way the wild flowers grow.
They do not work or spin.
But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor
was clothed like one of them.
If God so clothes the grass of the field,
which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow,
will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?

Music: Consider the Lilies of the Field – The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square

Light

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Discipleship, holiness, Jesus, Scripture, spiritualityLeave a comment

Memorial of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious
June 21, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062124.cfm

Jesus said to his disciples:
“The lamp of the body is the eye.
If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light;
but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.
And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.”
Matthew 6:22-23

Jesus suggests that the movement from darkness to Light is continuous and dynamic. Picture yourself awakening without the intrusion of an alarm. We slowly open our eyes to the increasing light, remembering the world we left only a few hours earlier.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

We pray to open the eyes of our heart to the sacred Light Jesus describes. Jesus will go on to say in tomorrow’s Gospel that we find this Light by depending on and serving God.

Poetry: You Who Want Knowledge – Emily Dickinson

You who want
knowledge,
see the Oneness
within.

There you
will find
the clear mirror
already waiting.

Music: Gracious Light – Gregory Norbet

Rain

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Charity, Discipleship, Faith, Forgiveness, healing, inclusivity, justice, Mercy, spirituality4 Comments

Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
June 18, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061824.cfm

Love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of our Creator God,
Who makes the sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
Matthew 5:44-45

It must have been so hard to hear and accept Jesus’s words in his Sermon on the Mount. These listening disciples had been raised on the Deuteronomic principle “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”. What could ever make them turn that principle inside out to do just the opposite of what they had always thought? What would make us turn from this kind of “justice”? After all, it’s even-steven, isn’t it?

In Jesus Christ, there is no even-steven. The Mercy of God is given to all of us without limits. It rains from the heart of God over all Creation. Jesus showed us that there is no place in Mercy for quid pro quo justice. If a disciple wants to love like Jesus, this precept is foundational.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
Perhaps we are someplace where we can watch the rain today. If not we can remember how rain falls without distinction over everything within its embrace. So too does God’s Mercy fall on us moving us to be its agents in our world.

Enjoy the Peaceful Rain

Poetry: from The Merchant of Venice – William Shakespeare

The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
'T is mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown:
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice.

Music: Norwegian Rain – David Lanz

Reverence

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Creation, Discipleship, Faith, Forgiveness, Gospel, holiness, Jesus, Mercy, spirituality1 Comment

Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
June 17, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061724.cfm

Jesus said to them:
“Offer no resistance to one who is evil.
When someone strikes you on your right cheek,
turn the other one to them as well.
If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic,
hand them your cloak as well.
Should anyone press you into service for one mile,
go with theme for two miles.
Give to the one who asks of you,
and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.”

Although the word “reverence” is not specifically mentioned in our readings, it summarizes their core message.

Jezebel has no reverence for human life. She is a conspirator, thief, and murderer. Jezebel has no moral code and only one interest in life – herself.

Jesus calls his followers to be the antithesis of Jezebel. We are to so reverence life and truth that we become like Jesus. We are to be peaceful, non-violent, forgiving, and generous – even toward the “jezebels” of this world.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

Wow! No easy challenge, but nonetheless essential for discipleship! We ask Jesus to give us insight into any selfishness in our hearts, and the courage to live according to his mandate.

Prose: from Dorothy Day

“The greatest challenge of the day is:
how to bring about a revolution of the heart,
a revolution which has to start with each one of us?

When we begin to take the lowest place,
to wash the feet of others,
to love our brothers and sisters with that burning love,
that passion, which led to the Cross,
then we can truly say, ‘Now I have begun.'”

Music: Reverence by David Tolk

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