Category: Eternal Life

The Empty Chair

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn dying, Eternal Life, Faith, Jesus1 Comment

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Readings:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051518.cfm

Today, in Mercy, both Paul and Jesus give a farewell discourse.  They are both saying goodbye to their friends and disciples as their ministry draws to a close. 

Such conversations are charged with emotion – love, hope, gratitude, sadness and loss interplay with one another in a poignant turmoil.  

We may have known such times when moving on from a job or neighborhood;  leaving school or work to begin something new. We may have held the hand of a loved one as they prepared for death, assuring each other of our love and thanks. Whatever the cause, there will be empty chairs in our lives where once there were beloved friends and family.  Even happy times such as weddings and distant job opportunities can hold the nugget of loss for us and those we love

We can learn from Jesus and Paul in today’s readings how to say goodbye.  A faithful, committed presence to our lives, our responsibilities, and our loved ones will sustain us when time or circumstance calls for change – even the ultimate change of dying.

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Music: How to Say Goodbye – Michael W. Smith

Break the Chains, Lord!

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Eternal Life, Faith1 Comment

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/050818.cfm

Today, in Mercy, the reading from Acts gives us high drama drawn from real-life events. Paul and Silas, singing hymns and praying after their torture, are sprung from prison chains by God’s power in the form of an earthquake. It’s movie material!

But how does it apply to our lives? Are there chains holding us back from the fullness of our spiritual life? Unredeemed sorrows, cherished vengeances, life-sapping addictions, self-absorbed agendas – so many poor choices can block us from freedom and amazement in God! Let’s pray today for our own little earthquakes. Let’s acknowledge the chains and pray for them to break even if it shakes our world up a bit!

Acts 16_26 Chains

Brothers Forever

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Eternal Life, Faith, Love2 Comments

Thursday, May 3, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/050318.cfm

Today, in Mercy, we celebrate the feast of the Apostles Philip and James. One might wonder why they are paired, as it might seem more likely to join Philip with his friend Nathaniel, and James with his brother Jude. Instead, what connects Philip and James is that their relics were brought to Rome and buried on the same day – May 3. After having worked and given their whole lives to God, these brothers in Christ were destined to be side by side until eternity. Being buried beside our beloveds is a theme throughout biblical and other cultures. Consider the beautiful story of Ruth and Naomi to which today’s song refers. To be so buried suggests that we have found a union of heart in life which endures through death. It is a union based in a shared Love of God. May we be so blessed.

The relics of Philip and James are buried here in Rome under St. Peter’s Basilica.

This tender song reminds us that love endures beyond death.

How’s Your Vine-Connection?

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Eternal Life, Faith, Jesus, spiritualityLeave a comment

Sunday, April 29, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/042918.cfm

Today, in Mercy, Jesus enjoins us to remain in Him. It is a word choice that indicates that we already are in Christ, and have only to “hang in there”, so to speak. We can picture Jesus sitting in the Judean countryside, talking with his followers, as He fingers a wild green vine growing on the hillside. Such a vine can endure the severities of temperature, weather and time. But we might also picture Jesus breaking off a tendril of the vine and casting it into the dry dirt. His listeners see the lesson. No words necessary. Apart from God, our spirit cannot thrive. Let’s check our “vine-connection” today to nurture it where necessary.

Be Clothed in Humility

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Church, dying, Eternal Life, Faith, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Readings: 1 Peter 5:5-14; Psalm 89; Mark 16:15-20

Today, in Mercy, on this feast of St. Mark, we listen to Peter instruct the young Church in the way of Christlike leadership. Deep humility, born from a reverence for the mystery of the cross, empowers us to be true witnesses of the faith and to draw others into Christ’s love. As a student of Peter, Mark learned a first-hand account of Christ’s life, steeped in the mystery of life, death and Resurrection. Mark later shared that account with us in the gift of his Gospel.

The Healing Gate

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Eternal Life, Faith, HopeLeave a comment

Monday, April 23, 2018:

Readings: Acts 11:1-18; Psalm 42; John 10:1-10

Today, in Mercy, Jesus assures us that He is the way to eternal blessing and joy. Surely, at sometime in each of our lives, we have felt trapped behind an obstacle that kept us from our hope or need. These walls may be figurative, like fear, anger or sloth. Or they may be material, like those faced by refugees and immigrants. Jesus promises us that He is with us in all of our isolations, separations, and alienations. He promises that, through Him, there is always an open door to grace, hope, courage, and salvation. What wall do we need God’s help with today – in our personal life and in the world?

A Day To Bask in Grace

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Eternal Life, Faith, Love, Uncategorized1 Comment

Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 22, 2018

Readings: Acts 4:8-12, Psalm 118, 1 John 3:1-2, John 10:11-18

Today, in Mercy, as we celebrate Earth Day, we are blessed with the most beautiful readings! Acts reminds us that it is in the Name of Jesus Christ that post-Resurrection grace fills the world. 1 John tells us that we are God’s children even now, and that we can’t imagine the fullness of life that grants us. In John’s Gospel, Jesus gathers us in his arms as a shepherd tenderly gathers his sheep. It is a day to gratefully bask in the infinite love God has bestowed upon us. Go out quietly with the Earth today, if you can and be blessed, dear friends.

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The Gift Already Given

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Eternal Life, Love, spirituality2 Comments

Wednesday, April 18, 2018:

Readings: Acts 8:1-8; Ps. 66:1-6; John 6:25-40

Today, in Mercy, Jesus talks about hunger. But He doesn’t mean the longing for steak, or bread, or chocolate. Jesus is talking about that profound hunger to really live, to deeply love and be loved, to make a difference with our lives. These hungers can be satisfied only in that invisible, mysterious place where the soul is inextricably tied to God. This is the place of eternal life where, from the moment God breathed life into us, we were marked forever as God’s own. We can get so mixed up about our emptiness! We try to fill it with money, fame, material goods, sex and power. While the only Gift that can ever fill it has already been given! (For your quiet reflection, Boccherini”s Cello Concerto in D major, G. 479 – II. Adagio, by famed late cellist Mstoslav Rostropovich)

Be Bread!

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Eternal Life, Faith, justice3 Comments

Friday, April 13, 2018: Today, in Mercy, Jesus multiplies the loaves and fishes. This is the only miracle, other than the Resurrection, that is recorded in all four Gospels.

Jesus teaches us, in the story of the loaves and fishes, that the ordinary bread of our lives is the stuff of miracles. What makes the difference between Stroehmann’s and the Supernatural is FAITH! When we really believe we are marked for eternal life, our whole perspective changes. It takes courage to believe, but if we can, multitudes will be nourished by our faith! You know what I’m saying. Hasn’t the faith of your ancestors nourished you and all the generations in between? Hasn’t the witness of the saints, both canonized and known only to us, anchored our souls through many a storm? Be holy bread for your world, dear friends! ( Lovely song from Joe Wise for your prayer.)

Is My Faith Strong Enough?

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Eternal Life, Faith5 Comments

Thursday, April 12, 2016: Today, in Mercy, we hear an amazing promise in John’s Gospel. We who believe have already been given the gift of eternal life.

At the same time, the words are scary. Is my faith strong enough? What about when I doubt or question God? Faith is not about surety. It is about the choice to trust and live in a way that gives witness to that trust. Do not fear your doubts and questions. God is big enough for all of them. Give them to God and as the poet Rilke says:

“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue.”