Category: Faith

The Illusion of Time

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

Friday, September 28, 2018

                      Readings:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/092818.cfm

Today, in Mercy, we read about time, that elusive framework that binds our days.  We are so conscious of time, still it defies all our efforts to define or control it. It lumbers when we want it to skip. It flies when we long for it to tarry. Once it has passed, we wonder where it went. We find the long, vibrant years compressed to a distant, gossamer memory.

Eces3_1 time

Time can create in us a sense of urgency, a deadline for us to make a mark on its surface. But Ecclesiastes counsels us to be patient, telling us there is a time for everything – a segment in our life story for us to plumb each emotion. 

As we read through his antiphonal list of life’s realities, we are conscious of the ones we would rather eliminate – the down side of experience. But the scribe suggests that even life’s shadowed side serves to hone us for eternity. 

Faith allows us to stand in balanced trust on the crossbeam of our shifting lives. Hope causes us to expect light out of every darkness. Love convinces us that our timeless God abides with us beyond time’s testing.

In our Gospel, Jesus is conscious that he is coming to the end of his time. As many of us do when we are feeling unsure of ourselves, Jesus asks his disciples what people are saying about him. They respond in glowing accolades – Elijah, the Baptist returned from the dead, the Christ, Son of God. But Jesus knows it is not a time for accolades. He rebukes them with a somber forecast of darkening times.

Even Jesus, Son of the Eternal God, experienced time’s shifting waves. Praying the Gospel daily, living with Jesus through his highs and lows, is the steady fulcrum in our own uneven seas.

Music: In His Time ~ CRC Worship

What Is, Is.

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Courage, Discipleship, dying, Faith, joy, spirituality3 Comments

Thursday, September 27, 2018

          Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/092718.cfm

Today, in Mercy, we meet the first of a few readings from Ecclesiastes, written by an author who calls himself Qoheleth – Teacher. The book contains many loved and oft-repeated phrases that we might recognize:

  • There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven
  • He has made everything beautiful in its time.

And today’s kick-off thought:

  • Vanity of vanities ….  All is vanity.

Reading Ecclesiastes places us in the presence of a writer who is a realist at best, and a cynic at worst. Parts of the book can be downright depressing; other parts, elegant in their spare beauty.

We can finish a passage like today’s and hear echoes around us of Star Trek’s Borg mantra: 

Resistance is futile. 

Qoheleth says as much:

What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.

The phrase carries at least a little tinge of hopelessness. But I think a lot depends on the way we read it.

Realizing that “things are the way they are” can give us a sense of stability and trust. It can release us from struggling needlessly against realities that will not be moved. It can encourage us to find within these “immovables” the hidden path to a new grace. It can remind us that others have endured; so can we.

What is is

One of our Wisdom Sisters taught us that by naming and accepting our reality, we can move from fighting it into growing from it. She always said, “What is, is” – implying “now deal with it”.

It sounds spartan, but it actually can be very freeing. We can’t change so many things – the weather, the tides, the hearts of others. The years will pass, friendships blossom and fade. We will get old, if we are blessed with that gift. We’ll lose our jump shot and probably some of our hair – maybe a few others things too.🤗

But God will always love us, abide with us and cherish us for eternity.

Music: In Every Age – Janét Sullivan Whitaker

In God’s Hand

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

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

          Readings:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/092518.cfm

Today, in Mercy, our readings instruct us on what it means to really belong to God – heart and soul.

Proverbs tosses out a series of minstrel-like two-liners that could easily be overlooked for their beauty and depth. For example, the first couplet says: 

Like a stream is the king’s heart
in the hand of the LORD;
wherever it pleases him, he directs it.

Would we all not desire that kind of heart, where our thoughts and choices are so directed by God’s power and grace – held and guided into freedom by God’s loving hand? How confident, peaceful and joyful our lives would be!

Psalm 199 discern

Today’s Psalm 119 is a passionate prayer to be guided through an entangling world by our deep loyalty to God’s own truth, learned by meditating day and night on God’s goodness.

Our Gospel, in an often misinterpreted incident, shows us how Jesus considers his true disciples as close to him as his own mother and family.

So today, to deepen our own closeness to God, let us practice making our ordinary life into a constant prayer – allowing it to flow, like water, through God’s tender, guiding hand. 

We can do this by gratefully noticing God’s Presence in nature, in our companions, in the opportunities for kindness, honesty and service  that come to us today. 

Or, sadly, our experiences today might cause us to notice God’s absence in these places. This offers us an incentive to invite, beg and pester God to transform the desert places in our lives and world.

Whichever approach we take, it will open up a constant conversation with God about our life as we experience it at each moment. We begin to listen better to the Word of God revealing itself in our daily life. We begin to live more consciously in God’s Presence… in God’s dear family.

God’s Law is already written deep in the fabric of our lives. We pray for discernment to discover that guiding grace by opening our hearts to God’s Presence in our every experience.

Music: I Belong to You ~ Hillsong

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WV6_nPD2sG4

Stick With It!

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

Saturday, September 22, 2018

       Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/092218.cfm

Lk8_15 persevere

Today, in Mercy,  both Paul and Jesus teach their followers by using images they would be familiar with – seed, wheat, planting, and waiting for harvest.

Even those of us far removed from such images may have planted a few things at some time.  Picture a kindergartner pushing a seed into a paper cup filled with dirt.  She watches everyday for the green shoot, impatient for its appearance.

Paul’s community seems infected with the same kind of impatience regarding the end of time and their being raised to new life.

Paul makes me laugh with his own impatience at their constant questions. He responds to their nagging like this:

You fool!
What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies.
And what you sow is not the body that is to be
but a bare kernel of wheat, perhaps, or of some other kind.

Jesus is a lot gentler when he teaches about the Sower and the Seed. At the end of the parable, Jesus gives his followers the key to achieving the full harvest of grace. Perseverance! 

It is the same tool any farmer must employ in the fields. It is the same strategy we must use as we sow good works through our lives. The harvest is slow coming, but Jesus promises it is worth the investment and the waiting.

Music: When You Believe~ sung by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey

A Faith that Delights God

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Creation, Faith, holiness, spiritualityLeave a comment

Monday, September 17, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/091718.cfm

Today, in Mercy, Jesus, in amazement, praises the faith of the centurion. What was it about this man’s faith that could astound even God?  How would my faith make Jesus feel?

faith

We are taught that faith is a gift. We can’t earn it or acquire it on our own. We can though – once we have been given it – exercise it, polish it, cherish it and share it in order to make it stronger.

What is faith exactly?

Well, first off, we get faith mixed up with a lot of things that it is not. 

Faith is not the same as religion or religious denomination. Faith transcends Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism or Islam. These are the only frameworks in which we sometimes practice our faith.

 Faith isn’t devotions, or prayers, or the formulas we pull out when we are in trouble. It is not the Prayer to St. Anthony when we can’t find our car keys. It is not the novena we say to receive a special favor. These are only practices which allow us to express our faith in human terms.

And most importantly, faith is not an ideology by which we exceptionalize and elevate ourselves, suggesting that others are less because of their choice of religious practice.

If we take a clue from today’s Gospel, we could describe faith like this:

  • It is the unshakable understanding that all Creation belongs to God, including every aspect of my life.
  • It is the trust that God wills our good in all things. 
  • It is the sure confidence that God abides with us in all circumstances.
  • It is the giving of my heart to this abiding God in a relationship of mutual love.
  • It is a life that bespeaks these confidences.

The centurion must have had this kind of faith and it delighted Jesus. Let’s pray for a faith that can do that for God!

Music: Be Still – David Kauffman

She Stood by Jesus

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Discipleship, dying, Eternal Life, Faith, Jesus, Mary, suffering3 Comments

Saturday, September 15, 2018

     Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/091518.cfm

Today, in Mercy, we pray with Our Mother of Sorrows.

sorrows

Mary’s greatest sorrows came, not from circumstances she bore personally, but from her anguish at the sufferings of Jesus. Like so many mothers, fathers, spouses, children and friends, Mary suffered because she loved.

It is so hard to watch someone we love endure pain. We feel helpless, lost and perhaps angry. We may be tempted to turn away from our beloved’s pain because it empties us as well as them.

This is the beauty and power of Mary’s love: it did not turn. Mary’s devotion accompanied Jesus – even through crucifixion and death – for the sake of our salvation.

Today’s liturgy offers us the powerful sequence “Stabat Mater”.

Stabat Mater Dolorosa is considered one of the seven greatest Latin hymns of all time. It is based upon the prophecy of Simeon that a sword was to pierce the heart of His mother, Mary (Lk 2:35). The hymn originated in the 13th century during the peak of Franciscan devotion to the crucified Jesus and has been attributed to Pope Innocent III (d. 1216), St. Bonaventure, or more commonly, Jacopone da Todi (1230-1306), who is considered by most to be the real author.

The hymn is often associated with the Stations of the Cross. In 1727 it was prescribed as a Sequence for the Mass of the Seven Sorrows of Mary (September 15) where it is still used today. (preces-latinae.org)

Music: Stabat Mater Dolorosa – Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736)
This is a glorious rendition. If you have time, you might listen to it on a rainy afternoon or evening as you pray.

For English translation, click here.

This is the Mind of Jesus

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Discipleship, Eternal Life, Faith, Jesus2 Comments

Friday, September 14, 2018

     Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/091418.cfm

Today, in Mercy, on this Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, our readings include the sublime Philippians Canticle.

Phil2_6 Cross

To me, this is the most beautiful passage in the Bible – so beautiful that nothing else needs to be said about it.

As we read it lovingly and prayerfully today, may we take all the suffering of the world to Christ’s outstretched arms – even our own small or large heartaches and longings.

Music: Philippians Canticle ~ John Michael Talbot

And if there be therefore any consolation
And if there be therefore any comfort in his love
And if there be therefore any fellowship in spirit
If any tender mercies and compassion

We will fulfill His joy
And we will be like-minded
We will fulfill His joy
We can dwell in one accord
And nothing will be done
Through striving or vainglory
We will esteem all others better than ourselves

This is the mind of Jesus
This is the mind of Our Lord
And if we follow Him
Then we must be like-minded
In all humility
We will offer up our love

Though in the form of God
He required no reputation
Though in the form of God
He required nothing but to serve
And in the form of God
He required only to be human
And worthy to receive
Required only to give

Faith Fat-Heads?

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Eternal Life, Faith, holiness, spirituality3 Comments

Thursday, September 13, 2018

       Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/091318.cfm

1 Cor8_Pride

Today, in Mercy, Paul puts forth a somewhat elaborate argument about what it means to know Christ. Paul’s style is strung with the “if – then” rational of classic Greek debate. Reading this passage might leave us thinking it’s just about dietary customs. But it’s not. It’s about us.

The core of the reading teaches us that the more we grow in the knowledge and love of Christ, the gentler and more merciful we must be with others. We must always lead others to Christ by patience and example rather than by force, criticism or shaming.

Paul says there’s a good reason for that. He says we’re never as smart or holy as we think we are. Any pride or self-righteousness in our practice of faith are sure indications of this deficit. These attitudes lead us to judgment rather than mercy.

In plain terms, Paul is saying that nobody likes or learns from a fat-head or know-it-all. Our faith will inspire only when it humbly reflects the all-knowing, all-merciful God Who loves us even in the inevitable weakness of our humanity.

The music today is a lovely old hymn sung by Harry Dench. Dench, an Australian, sang with the The Moonee Ponds Songsters Of The Salvation Army. 

I love many of these robust, open-hearted hymns of yesteryear. In their poetry, they often capture a simple reverence we sometimes lose in today’s music. I hope you might enjoy this one today. It’s good if you read the words first ( And beside, how often do you get to read the word “thither”!

It passeth knowledge, that dear love of Thine,
My Jesus, Savior!—yet this soul of mine
Would of that love, in all its depth and length,
Its height and breadth, and everlasting strength
Know more and more.

It passeth telling, that dear love of Thine,
My Jesus, Savior!—yet these lips of mine
Would fain proclaim to sinners far and near
A love which can remove all guilty fear,
And love beget.

It passeth praises, that dear love of Thine,
My Jesus, Savior!—yet this heart of mine
Would sing a love so rich, so full, so free,
Which brought an undone sinner such as me
Right home to God.

Oh, fill me, Jesus, Savior, with Thy love;
Lead, lead me to the living fount above!
Thither may I in simple faith draw nigh,
And never to another fountain fly,
But unto Thee.

And when my Jesus face to face I see,
When at His lofty throne I bow the knee,
Then of His love, in all its breadth and length,
Its height and depth, its everlasting strength,
My soul shall sing.

Music: It Passeth Knowledge – Harry Dench of The Salvation Army

Does God Have Favorites?

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Faith, justice, Mercy, spirituality, suffering2 Comments

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

       Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/091218.cfm

Lk6_beatitudesJPG

Today, in Mercy, our readings might lead us to wonder, “Does God have favorites?”

I think Luke’s Gospel today says, “Well, yes, kinda’!”

This passage from Luke is a parallel to Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. Matthew includes the familiar Eight Beatitudes, delivered in spiritual tones which allow most of us find ourselves somewhere among them. Matthew talks about the “poor in spirit”, the meek, mourning and merciful. At least once in our lives, we probably fall into one of Matthew’s “blessed” categories. Doing so let’s us think we might be among God’s favorites or blessed ones — at least sometimes, right?

But hold up, here comes Luke with a whole different take on blessedness. Luke says just the plain poor, hungry, weeping and hated are blessed. Luke’s sanctifying suffering is material, not just spiritual. Luke suggests that the destitute, bereft and ostracized are clearly God’s favorites.

What does that say to us? I don’t know about you, but I’m not real anxious to join Luke’s blessed group. I don’t like the feeling of poor, hungry, weeping and hated! On the other hand, I do want to be one of God’s favorites, don’t you?

What I think we can do is this: 

  • to love the poor and materially broken as God loves them
  • to do all we can to bring them comfort and healing, mercy and justice 
  • to learn from them what it is like to stand before God with nothing between us but longing and hope
  • to look at our own materially abundant life with a critical eye and discerning heart
  • to see any darkness we endure in the light of God’s illuminating promise
  • to be grateful, humble, and open to the transforming graces God might offer us even in suffering

Music: Blessings ~ Laura Story

Never Forget

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Courage, Faith, Hope, Love3 Comments

Tuesday, September 11, 2018
A Day of Remembrance 

Jer20_11 Sept11

Today, in Mercy, almost anyone who has come of age remembers where we were this day seventeen years ago. We remember the horrifying scenes, the crushing sadness, the swelling anger, the hardening resolve.

Over these years, we have remembered again and again the innocent lives lost and hearts shattered. 

We have remembered, with a never-to-be-reclaimed nostalgia, a world of unguarded and comfortable safety.

Understandably, the memories have left many of us smaller, harder and meaner.

A question for our reflection today might be this. How do we remember inflicted pain in a way that makes us:

  • determined not vengeful
  • wise not judgmental
  • resilient not fearful
  • united not isolated 

We must do this because to do otherwise is to be consumed by the hatred that our enemy has heaped on us. And that would allow evil its victory.

So, on this solemn day, let us never forget. 

But let us remember with reverence, hope, faith, and love – and the unquenchable strength these engender. Let us remember with a grace that ennobles our loss, letting it empower rather than weaken us.

Music: In a Peaceful Valley (The Dance of Innocents)
~ Peter Kater & Nawang Khechog

Pray with this beautiful music and allow it to bless, heal, and release the sacred power of your memories.