Category: Eternal Life

Salted with Fire

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Eternal Life1 Comment

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/052418.cfm

Today, in Mercy, our readings are full of fire and brimstone. In the epistle, James takes on the tone and rhetoric of the Old Testament prophets, kind of scaring his listeners into better life choices.

In our Gospel, Jesus uses perhaps his harshest words to convince his listeners that choices for sin cripple and kill us – choices that damage the innocent, the poor, the weak, the ailing, the hungry, the marginalized in any way.

These readings tell us that to become holy, we must make holy choices. These are tough, sometimes stunning, choices that demand our attention, sacrifice and love. They are choices that will “cure” and preserve our spirits for eternal life, the way salt preserves food. They are ultimately those dichotomous life choices between self and others; between self and God.

Let us not misunderstand the Scriptures. There is nothing wrong with “self”. It is blessed and good. But self for self’s sake only is a road to isolation and spiritual death. Our selves are made to love God and others.

Music: Salt of the Earth ~ Wes King

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xtvELnqKcHo

We Are God’s Gifts

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Eternal Life, Jesus, Love, Prayer2 Comments

Thursday, May 17, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051718.cfm

Today, in Mercy, in John 17, we are folded into the prayer of Jesus as He talks to the Father about us. We are the humble, silent listeners to a Divine Conversation. Jesus prays that we may be part of His unity with the Father. He calls us His gifts and asks to keep us with Him in eternal life. He asks to live within us through the gift of the Father’s love. These are awesome prayers that may be too much for us to comprehend.

But picture this: a loving parent embracing a frightened or injured child. The parent looks up to heaven, asking God to keep this child safe; to never let them be lost; to fill them with love, joy and life. The praying parent promises to always protect and guide their cherished child like a precious gift and to hold them securely in times of trouble.

This is the way Jesus prays for us. Awesome, indeed!

John17_24

Music: He Will Hold Me Fast ~ Keith and Kristyn Getty

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.

Acts20_25

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.

jesus-good-shepherd-06

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)