Category: Faith

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.

Wish

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Faith, Forgiveness, Gospel, healing, spirituality1 Comment

Memorial of Saint Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr
June 28, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062824.cfm

When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.
And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said,
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
“Of course I will do it. Be made clean.”
Matthew 8:1-3

This leper, this beautiful soul, trusts that Jesus’s wish is the same as his own. He wants to be clean, to be free of all that may tarnish a life as one passes through the years. And Jesus does share the leper’s wish. He transforms that “wish” into a “will” — “of course, I will do it!”.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
As we look over our lives, perhaps we too carry a few unhealed pockmarks or scars. These may be past grudges, unforgivenesses, or harbored hurts. They may be a current resistance of heart, an indifference to need, an unexamined selfishness.

Like the leper, we may long to be free of any canker that we have carried too long. Jesus wills that for us too. Believing in, learning from, and imitating him is the path to healing.

Poetry: The Leper – John Newton (1725-1807)

Oft as the leper's case I read,
My own described I feel;
Sin is a leprosy indeed,
Which none but Christ can heal.
Awhile I would have passed for well,
And strove my spots to hide;
Till it broke out incurable,
Too plain to be denied.
Then from the saints I sought to flee,
And dreaded to be seen;
I thought they all would point at me,
And cry, Unclean, unclean!
What anguish did my soul endure,
Till hope and patience ceased?
The more I strove myself to cure,
The more the plague increased.
While thus I lay distressed, I saw
The Savior passing by;
To him, though filled with shame and awe,
I raised my mournful cry.
Lord, thou canst heal me if thou wilt,
For thou canst all things do;
O cleanse my leprous soul from guilt,
My filthy heart renew!
He heard, and with a gracious look,
Pronounced the healing word;
I will, be clean - and while he spoke
I felt my health restored.
Come lepers, seize the present hour,
The Saviour's grace to prove;
He can relieve, for he is pow'r,
He will, for he is love.

Video: Jesus Heals the Leper – from The Chosen

Rock

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

Thursday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
June 27, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062724.cfm

Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
Matthew 7:24-25

When the storm comes, who doesn’t want their house to be built on rock – steady, constant, imperturbable ROCK! But take a good look at the picture above. How hard do you think it was for the builders to:

  • penetrate that rock for a new foundation
  • transport and maintain building materials on to that precipice

Jesus recognizes that such commitment is not easy, but the rewards are incomparable. He teaches the people that empty proclamations will not sustain a spiritual life. Such stability is achieved only by committed “building” – by opening ourselves to God’s word and acting on it.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

We pray for the courage and vision to sincerely engage God’s word by our actions for mercy and justice.

Poetry: Psalm 18 – interpreted by Christine Robinson

I open my heart to you, O God
for you are my strength, my fortress,
the rock on whom I build my life.
I have been lost in my fears and my angers
caught up in falseness, fearful, and furious
I cried to you in my anguish.
You have brought me to an open space.
You saved me because you took delight in me.

I try to be good, to be just, to be generous
to walk in your ways.
I fail, but you are my lamp.
You make my darkness bright
With your help, I continue to scale the walls
and break down the barriers that fragment me.
I would be whole, and happy, and wise
and know your love
Always.

Music: O Lord, My Rock and My Redeemer – Prayers of the Saints Alive

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

Gate

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Charity, Community, Conversion, Faith, spirituality2 Comments

Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
June 25, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062524.cfm

“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the Law and the Prophets.“Enter through the narrow gate;
for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction,
and those who enter through it are many.
How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.
And those who find it are few.”
Matthew 7:12-14

Jesus says that the gate is narrow which leads to life. It’s a warning that makes me want to sit up and pay attention to my life! Just what is it that I should take from Jesus’s words?

I think Jesus is telling us that our lives are occupied with a lot more unimportant stuff than important stuff. What is it that really matters each day in my thoughts, actions, relationships, plans?

Jesus says that the measure of what matters is this:
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

I want to be respected, noticed, cared for, appreciated and loved. That’s what I hope others “do unto me”. When I pray over my day at night, have I treated others this way? Have I found the narrow gate Jesus is describing?

Prose: from How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie

You want the approval of those with whom you come in contact.
You want recognition of your true worth.
You want a feeling that you are important in your little world.
You don’t want to listen to cheap, insincere flattery,
but you do crave sincere appreciation.
You want your friends and associates to be,
as Charles Schwab put it,
“hearty in their approbation and lavish in their praise.”
All of us want that.
So let’s obey the Golden Rule, and give unto others
what we would have others give unto us.
How? When? Where?
The answer is: All the time, everywhere.”

Music: Do Right to Me, Baby (Do Unto Others) – Bob Dylan

Don’t wanna judge nobody, don’t wanna be judged
Don’t wanna touch nobody, don’t wanna be touched
Don’t wanna hurt nobody, don’t wanna be hurt
Don’t wanna treat nobody like they was dirt
But if you do right to me, baby
I’ll do right to you too
Got to do unto others like you’d have them
Like you’d have them do unto you
Don’t wanna shoot nobody, don’t wanna be shot
Don’t wanna buy nobody, don’t wanna be bought
Don’t wanna bury nobody, don’t wanna be buried
Don’t wanna marry nobody if they’re already married
But if you do right to me, baby
I’ll do right to you too
Got to do unto others like you’d have them
Like you’d have them do unto you
Don’t wanna burn nobody, don’t wanna be burned
Don’t wanna learn from nobody what I gotta unlearn
Don’t wanna cheat nobody but don’t wanna be cheated
Don’t wanna defeat nobody if they’ve already been defeated
But if you do right to me, baby
I’ll do right to you too
Got to do unto others like you’d have them
Like you’d have them do unto you
Don’t wanna wink at nobody, I don’t wanna be winked at
Don’t wanna be used by nobody for a doormat
Don’t wanna confuse nobody, don’t wanna be confused
Don’t wanna amuse nobody and don’t wanna be amused
But if you do right to me, baby
I’ll do right to you too
Got to do unto others like you’d have them
Say, like you’d have them do unto you
Don’t wanna betray nobody, don’t wanna be betrayed
Don’t wanna play with nobody, don’t wanna be waylaid
Don’t wanna miss nobody, don’t wanna be missed
Don’t put my faith in nobody, not even a scientist
But if you do right to me, baby
I’ll do right to you too
You got to do unto others like you’d have them
Like you’d have them do unto you

Herald

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Faith, Gospel, Jesus, spirituality2 Comments

Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
June 24, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062424.cfm

From this David’s descendants God, according to the promise,
has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.
John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance
to all the people of Israel;
and as John was completing his course, he would say,
‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he.
Behold, one is coming after me;
I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.’
Acts 13:23-25

John the Baptist was a striking figure written across the pages of scripture. His astonishing lifestyle, his passionate preaching, and his resolute moral witness established him as a giant in human history.

Surely he could have personally profited from his extraordinary gifts and ability to inspire discipleship in his listeners. But instead, this was the Baptist’s message:

Listen people, you ain’t seen nothing yet!

Behold, One is coming after me;
I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

We ask to be humble, selfless heralds for Christ in our world. May the Gospel impel us to live in such a way that our very being announces God’s Lavish Mercy for the world.

Poetry: John the Baptist – Philip C. Kolin

Out of the wilderness came this prophet of fire
and repentance, his voice a flame igniting
souls out of darkness to witness the Messiah.
Wherever he went bonfires reddened the night air.

He wore a tunic of camel hair, and a rope
cincture binding unruly flesh from
appetite; he lived on locusts and burr-
nested cones. When he entered the Jordan

it flowed east, away from the sin-crusted west.
Each wave was engraved with grace as he plunged
sinners heavy with the world’s woes under
only to lift them up toward the light.
But not the Pharisees. Stones would rise sooner.

When he announced Christ passing by,
the birds of the air carried each honeyed syllable
to every open heart and sin-ridden soul.

Music: Ut queant laxis – Latin Hymn to John the Baptist

1. Ut queant laxis resonáre fibris
Mira gestórum fámuli tuórum,
Solve pollúti lábii reátum, Sancte Joánnes.
2. Núntius celso véniens Olýmpo
Te patri magnum fore nascitúrum,
Nomen, et vitae sériem geréndae
Ordinae promit.
3. Ille promíssi dúbius supérni,
Pérdidit promptae módulos loquélae: 
Sed reformásti genitus perémptae 
Organa vocis. 
4. Ventris obstrúso récubans cubíli 
Sénseras Regem thálamo manéntem:
Hinc parens nati méritis utérque Abdita pandit. 
5. Sit decus Patri, genitaéque Proli
et tibi, compare utriúsque virtus, 
Spíritus semper, Deus unus, omni 
Témporis aevo. 
Amen.

  1. O for your spirit, holy John, to chasten
    Lips sin-polluted, fettered tongues to loosen;
    So by your children might your deeds of wonder
    Meetly be chanted.
  2. Lo! a swift herald, from the skies descending,
    Bears to your father promise of your greatness;
    How he shall name you, what your future story,
    Duly revealing.
  3. Scarcely believing message so transcendent,
    Him for a season power of speech forsaketh,
    Till, at your wondrous birth, again returneth,
    Voice to the voiceless.
  4. You, in your mother’s womb all darkly cradled,
    Knew your great Monarch, biding in His chamber,
    Whence the two parents, through their offspring’s merits,
    Mysteries uttered.
  5. Praise to the Father, to the Son begotten,
    And to the Spirit, equal power possessing,
    One God whose glory, through the lapse of ages,
    Ever resounding. Amen.

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

Forgive

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Charity, Community, Courage, Faith, Forgiveness, Gospel, Jesus, spirituality2 Comments

Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
June 20, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062024.cfm

Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.’

“If you forgive others their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.

In these verses, Jesus utters another dangerous prayer: forgive us, God, as we forgive others.

Uh oh! I don’t know about you, but I think we can be pretty bad at forgiveness. It’s so much easier to remember a wrong done to us, to excuse ourselves of any responsibility for it, to fester in its hurt, to calculate a concomitant revenge, to demonize and ostracize the offender.

Jesus says, “Hey, is that the way you want God to forgive you?”

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We examine Jesus’s words in the Our Father to find the secret to forgiveness.

  • We are all the children of One God, equally and completely loved.
  • God wills holiness and joy for every one of us.
  • God will always grant forgiveness to the ready heart.
  • We live for the hope of heaven, and the circumstances of this world pale in its Light.
  • Still, in our daily circumstances, we need to be fed by the Spirit in order to find the courage and desire to forgive as God does.

Poetry: Enemies – Wendell Berry

If you are not to become a monster,
you must care what they think.
If you care what they think,
how will you not hate them,
and so become a monster
of the opposite kind? From where then
is love to come—love for your enemy
that is the way of liberty?
From forgiveness. Forgiven, they go
free of you, and you of them;
they are to you as sunlight
on a green branch. You must not
think of them again, except
as monsters like yourself,
pitiable because unforgiving.

Music: Forgiveness – Matthew West

Secret

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Faith, Gospel, holiness, Jesus, Love, Prayer, spirituality2 Comments

Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
June 19, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061924.cfm

But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret.

But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door,
and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to others to be fasting,
except to your Father who is hidden.
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.
Matthew 6:3-4;6;17-18

In these verses, Jesus tells us that our relationship with God – through almsgiving, prayer, and fasting – is private, personal, and intimate. When we commune with God through these actions, it is secret – a love shared between you and the Divine Beloved.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

Let’s think about our acts of generosity, prayer, and spiritual discipline as gifts given to God, even though they are offered through our service to others. Living a grateful life, we are delighted by God’s gifts to us given from an Infinite Love. May we respond by our humble efforts to delight God in return.

Poetry: from St. Teresa of Avila

Christ has no body on earth but yours. 
Yours are the eyes with which 
he looks compassionately on this world. 
Yours are the feet with which 
he walks to do good. 
Yours are the hands with which 
he blesses all the world. 
Christ has no body now on earth
but yours!

Music: God Has No Body Now But Yours – David Ogden based on Teresa of Avila