Category: Faith

Come Down into God’s Arms

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Discipleship, Eternal Life, Faith, Jesus, repentance, spirituality1 Comment

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

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Today in Mercy, the author of Revelation says some pretty tough stuff in the name of God!

To the Church at Sardis:
You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

To the Church at Laodicea:
Because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold,
I will spit you out of my mouth.

As most of us know from experience, it’s never really easy to accept negative feedback.  But, couched in gentle, encouraging tones, it can be accepted and acted on. John of Patmos, author of Revelation, missed that lesson in coaching techniques! 

How effective his words were with the under-performing churches is a matter left to history.

zaccheus

But in our Gospel, Jesus’s inclusive, forgiving words to Zaccheus proved very effective.  Jesus doesn’t even address any shortcomings (not to make a pun) in Zaccheus.

He just says, “Come down from your tree.  I’m coming to your house for dinner.” In other words, I’m coming into your life — now what’s your response?

Zaccheus is radically changed by Jesus’s lavish mercy. He responds,

“Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over.”

Today, we pray to have a simple, trusting faith. Sometimes, like Zaccheus, we get ourselves “up a tree”, all twisted and stretching to find God in our lives. And all the time, God has been walking straight down the path of our heart, smiling at our efforts, planning to stay with us tonight, tomorrow and forever.

Music: Zaccheus – Medical Mission Sisters

Oh, That First Love!

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Discipleship, Eternal Life, Faith, holiness, spirituality1 Comment

Monday, November 19, 2018

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Today, in Mercy, we earnestly begin the Book of Revelation. These twelve days of passages will close out the liturgical year before Advent.

Rev 2_4 first love

This book, also commonly known as the Apocalypse, is one of the most controversial in the Bible. Scholars disagree as to its author, its meaning, its literary genre and even its place in the biblical canon.

Wherever we might fall in this spectrum of interpretations, the book still can inspire us to prayer and reflection.

In today’s passage, the author addresses the first of seven churches to whom he will write – the church at Ephesus. He praises them and says that God is pleased with their work, their endurance and their fidelity. That must have made them feel pretty good, right?

But then, the heart-breaking line:

Yet I hold this against you:
you have lost the love you had at first.

We might easily find ourselves in this passage. We’re trying hard to be faithful Christians. But, depending on where we are in our lives, have we lost that first fervor?

The continual grind of work, ministry, family and community responsibility can dim that first fire. Maybe the fresh flower has been choked in the daily weeds. Just the accumulation of years may obscure it.

Today, let’s try to remember that first love which turned our hearts to God and to God’s work in the world. Let’s ask our generous God, Who longs for our love, to renew our passion and energy for the Divine Adventure.

Music: Power of Your Love – Hillsongs

In Those (Scary) Days…

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Courage, Eternal Life, FaithLeave a comment

Sunday, November 18, 2018

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Today, in Mercy, our readings offer a taste of “pre-Advent agita”.  You know what I mean. 

Mk 13_29

In the next few weeks:

  • the sun will be darkened,
  • and the moon will not give its light,
  • and the stars will be falling from the sky,
  • and the powers in the heavens will be shaken

The phrase, “In those days” becomes prelude to some scary stuff! What’s going on here?

Well, the Church Year – symbolic of the total Christian life – is coming to an end. With its closing, we are constantly reminded that this might be our last chance to get our act together before we are judged.

I always disliked these apocalyptic readings. As a child, I was frightened by them. As an adult, they don’t easily convey the kind of God Who has loved me into my maturity. But they do reveal the God of fidelity who stays with us through it all to the end.

One line from today’s reading that captures the heart? 

When you see these things happening,
know that He is near, at the gates.

There are still a lot of closed gates in my heart – places I have not yet given over fully to God. You? Same?

This reading challenges us to go to the gate, unlock it, and let our whole heart meet God who is waiting there for us, despite any fears we may harbor – even of the end-time.

Music: Heaven’s Gate – instrumental to pray with as we unlock our gates.

Peel the Onion

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, Eternal Life, Faith, Jesus, spirituality1 Comment

Thursday, November 15, 2018

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Today, in Mercy, Jesus tells us a secret:

“The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed,
and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’
For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.”

And it remains a bit of a secret, even after He tells it, because it is often very hard to discern the “Kingdom among us”. There is nothing more invisible than something hiding in plain sight.

Lk17_21JPG

Through prayer, we discover that it is about our eyes – not visibility. It is about the power of grace within us to see beyond appearances. We need a soul that can “peel the onion” of experience to find the face of God resident within all things.

  • With that kind of eyes, you don’t just have a business meeting today.
    You have an opportunity to build God’s Kingdom through respect, encouragement and mutuality.
  • You don’t just pass a person begging on the corner.
    You walk near Christ himself accompanying a broken spirit.
  • You don’t just encounter the hurts and challenges of your life.
    You are invited by God into a living faith that finds his will in all things.
  • You don’t live in the world with just other creatures.
    You meet and honor the Divine Presence in every living thing.

Indeed, the Kingdom of God is right here among us.

May we see it!
May we treasure it!
May we reveal it!

Music:  Let Your Kingdom Come – Tommy Walker

 

Increase Our Faith

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Church, Community, Faith2 Comments

Monday, November 12, 2019

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Lk17_5

Today, in Mercy,  we commemorate the Feast of St. Josaphat, not one of your common household saints. I actually never heard the name used, except for the expression “Jumpin’ Josaphat” (commonly invoked by Robin in the Batman series, in case you require documentation. 😀)

But Josaphat was quite a Saint. A deeply devout and holy monk, he lived in 16th century Lithuania, then part of the Polish Kingdom. At that time, the political variabilities of Europe were firmly intertwined with the bureaucracy of the Church, both Roman and Orthodox. This led to civic power struggles masquerading as religious conflicts.

Through the Union of Brest, the bishops who lived within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth voted to unite with Rome. Many people were not happy with this decision – to the point of riots and mob violence. Josaphat worked tirelessly to realize this union and ultimately paid with his life at the hands of such a mob.

Even today we find, within the Church, divisions driven by politics and power clashes. Often expressed as the desire for ritual purity and historical rectitude, they cloak the fear and inability to grow in grace and mutuality.

We see these kinds of struggles in the factions trying to undermine Pope Francis. We can recognize them by their criticism without charity, their pronouncements without dialogue, and their own controlling hierarchies.

In our first reading, Paul writes to Titus who shepherds the nascent Church in Crete. Paul instructs him on the best ways to build a worshipping community without these infighting flaws.

In our Gospel, Jesus instructs the disciples on sin, repentance and forgiveness — all of which we encounter within the struggling community of faith. Hearing him, the  disciples immediately realize what it is they most need to engage the challenges before them:

Lord, increase our faith!

Let us join their prayer today for unity and love in the Christian Churches.

Music:  Increase Our Faith – David Haas

The Sweet Scent of God

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Faith, Hope, Jesus, spirituality3 Comments

Thursday, November 8, 2018

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Lk15_5 lost lamb

Today, in Mercy, we meet the Shepherd bringing the lost lamb home.  Haven’t we all, at sometime in our lives, been carried on those sacred shoulders?

Whether by our own prayers, or the prayers of those who love us, have we not been rescued from sorrow, foolishness, isolation or fear?

This beautiful Gospel assures us of the one thing we most deeply need – we are cherished, irrevocably, by God.

This morning, if we need to ride those shoulders, let us trust ourselves to them in prayer. 

If, by grace, we are already home, let us pray for those feeling most lost or abandoned – those most beset by a hostile world. May our merciful action help lift them to peace and the sweet scent of God so close beside them.

Music: I Will Carry You – Sean Clive

I will carry you when you are weak.
I will carry you when you can’t speak.
I will carry you when you can’t pray.
I will carry you each night and day.

I will carry you when times are hard.
I will carry you both near & far.
I’ll be there with you whenever you fall.
I will carry you through it all.

My arms are wider than the sky,
softer than a little child,
stronger than the raging,
calming like a gentle breeze.
Trust in me to hold on tight because 

I will carry you when you can’t stand.
I’ll be there for you to hold your hand.
And I will show you that you’re never alone.
I will carry you and bring you back home.

Not pain, not fear, not death, no nothing at all
can separate you from my love.
My arms and hands will hold you close.
Just reach out and take them in your own.
Trust in me to hold on tight.
I will carry you.

Wholehearted

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Discipleship, Eternal Life, Faith, Love, spirituality, Truth1 Comment

Sunday, November 4, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/110418.cfm

Today, in Mercy, both Deuteronomy and Mark proclaim the call to love God wholeheartedly.

woleheartedJPG

In Mark, it is one of the scribes who initiates this proclamation by asking Jesus which is the first – most important – of the commandments. Unlike many of Jesus’ encounters with the scribes and Pharisees, this one does not seem hostile. The man, as one might expect of an expert in the Law, wants to know if Jesus continues the priorities of the Torah. 

He is pleased with Jesus’ answer. And Jesus is pleased with him. We can almost see Christ’s smile at the scribe’s sincere and lived response. 

This man sees through the Pharisaical confusions which have been heaped upon this most important law. He understands that love of God and neighbor mean infinitely more than burnt offerings and public sacrifices.

How do we reach this wholehearted love in our complex lives? We’re not busy with burnt offerings, but we are distracted by so many forces that lay claim to our attention and devotion. 

We love many worthy and unworthy things in our lives. We often confuse real love with one of its masquerading forms – “loves” that are self-serving rather than other-serving.

Today’s Alleluia verse is an answer to our, “How?”.

Whoever loves me
will keep my word, says the Lord;
and my father will love him
and we will come to him.

Real love is proved by action. It’s that simple. What do my actions say about where my heart is? Let me just flip back through my last 24 hours to see if God would have smiled at my choices, words, and actions. And let me change what I need to change for tomorrow.

Music: V’Ahavta- Marty Goetz

V’Ahavta is part of the Shema Yisrael (שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל)- a prayer that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services.

Seesaws

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

Saturday, November 3, 2018

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Lk14_11 seesaw

Today, in Mercy, Jesus gives us one of the many “seesaw“ choices of the Gospel:

  • with Me or against Me
  • sheep or goats
  • God or money 
  • being first or last
  • being humble or exalted

These phrases are both hard and kind. They’re hard because they leave us no middle ground. It’s either-or, not both-and. I don’t know about you but I like both-and. I like to have my cake and eat it too. But it doesn’t work, does it?

The phrases are kind because, if we trust them, they make our choices clear.

Today’s Gospel tells us the secret to true spiritual greatness – humility. In worldly terms, that’s a contradiction. Just observe the pompous, dishonest posturing of some of our politicians to see how the world rejects humility as a path to greatness!

But Jesus turns the world upside-down. In Christ’s world, the seesaws go backward. They dip to power by service; to love by sacrifice; to wealth by compassion. They are rides in contradiction to the world.

Our spiritual life is the constant challenge of balancing these seesaws toward God and God’s beloved poor, wounded, and marginalized. That’s how Jesus rode them. That’s how He’s asking us to do it.

Music: Humble – Audrey Assad

In Prayer, Memory, and Light

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, dying, Eternal Life, Faith, Mercy, Prayer2 Comments

Friday, November 2, 2018

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Today, in Mercy, we remember the beloved Holy Souls who have gone before us. They are never far from us. Some of us may visit cemeteries today. Some will place a list of names upon the altar. But all of us will whisper their names: grandparents, parents, spouses, children, brothers, sisters and beloved friends — meeting each name in a sacred memory.

Romans6_8 All Souls

May those memories, whatever they contain, be transformed by our loving prayers. May whatever grief remains in us be blessed by the grace of faith and thanksgiving. And may the Holy Ones we honor today brighten us with some of their overwhelming Eternal Light in God.

Music: Lux Aeterna- Eternal Light – Michael Hoppé

Lux aeterna
Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine,
cum sanctis tuis in aeternum,
quia pius es.

Requiem aeternam
dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.

May light eternal shine upon them, O Lord,
with Your saints forever,
for You are Mercy.

Eternal rest
give to them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.

May Their Memories Be A Blessing

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, dying, Eternal Life, Faith, justice, Mercy, suffering3 Comments

Thursday, November 1, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/110118.cfm

Today, in Mercy, on this Solemnity of All Saints, let us pray especially for our recent saints and martyrs – victims of hate, violence and irresponsible policy. Let us know them to be now in the arms of Love, a Love Whom we beg to heal us who remain, impelling us to true justice and mercy.

All Saints_namesJPG

As we pray, let us reflect on the following hymn for the Holy Innocents, resolving to protect sacred life in ALL its manifold ages and expressions.

1.Salvete, flores Martyrum,
In lucis ipso lumine
Quos sevus ensis messuit,
Ceu turbo nascentes rosas.

2.Vos prima Christi victima,
Grex immolatorum tener,
Aram sub ipsam simplices
Palma et coronis luditis.

3.Qui natus es de Virgine
Jesu, tibi sit gloria,
Cum Patre, cumque Spiritu,
In sempiterna secula.

1. Flowers of martyrdom, all hail!
Smitten by the tyrant foe
On life’s threshold – as the gale
Strews the roses ere they blow.

2. First to bleed for God, sweet lambs!
 In innocence you died!
Rising with your wreath and palms
At the very altar-side!

3. Honor, glory, virtue, merit,
Be to Thee, O Living God,
With Creator, and the Spirit
While eternal ages run. – Amen.

Music: Salvete, Flores Martyrum -Tomás Luis de Victoria · Lluis Vich