Category: Gospel

Apples and Oranges

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Courage, Faith, Gospel, holiness, spirituality2 Comments

Monday, September 10, 2018

       Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/091018.cfm

Today, in Mercy, our Gospel finds the Pharisees once again confronting Jesus with a dilemma.  It is the Sabbath, a day when any kind of “work” is prohibited. Yet, a man with a withered hand approaches Jesus needing to be cured. Should Jesus do this work?

Lk6_9 law or mercy

It is the classic, Pharisaical confrontation: appearing to weigh two equal responses which in reality are incomparable – like apples and oranges. They are similar only on the surface. Their essences are quite distinct.

Jesus’ continuing debate with the Pharisees always swirls around the balance between law and spirit. The Pharisees have idolized the Law, allowing it to swallow the Spirit. Under their intransigent interpretation, the poor crippled man in today’s Gospel would have lost the chance for healing.

We call quandaries like this being “between a rock and a hard place”. The ancient Greeks called  it “between Scylla and Charybdis” – an adjacent huge rock and whirlpool which threatened to swallow their ships passing through. The image powerfully captures the angst accompanying  these dilemmas.

We navigate such hazards throughout our lives, facing choices which are often unclear and confusing. Our alternatives sail the wide range between “law” and “spirit”, between what seems advantageous and what seems right, between what is comfortable and what is spiritually challenging, between what is “legal” and what is just and merciful.

How do we choose according to the pattern of Christ? How do we choose forgiveness, mercy, inclusive love, peace and charity in a world that screams “Choose selfishly. You deserve it!”

Through prayer, scriptural reflection, and merciful service, our spirits absorb that Sacred Pattern of Christ. It is in the shape of the Cross. It will guide us between our Scylla and Charybdis.

Today’s song is simple, almost childlike – but that simplicity is often just what we need in the face of a dilemma.
Music: I Choose You – Libby Allen Songs

Be Opened!

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Eternal Life, Faith, Gospel, Prayer4 Comments

Sunday, September 9, 2018

       Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/090918.cfm

Today, in Mercy, we pray in the power of the Gospel:

mk7_14 ephphatha

(Pray each phrase slowly.
Let the silence between each
find the closed places deep within.)

Ephphatha!  Be opened:
  • All minds to God’s omnipresence
  • All hearts to God’s infinite love
  • All spirits to God’s tender proposals
  • All eyes to God’s eternal vision 
  • All ears to God’s cry in the poor
  • All mouths to speak God’s Word in justice
  • All plans to the rhythm of God’s freedom
  • All dreams to God’s dream for all.
  • Be opened – especially in me today. 🙏 Amen!

Music: Open My Eyes, Lord – Jesse Manibusan

Bust Out Those Talents!

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

Saturday, September 1, 2018

        Readings:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/090118.cfm

Mt25_18 talent

Today, in Mercy, Paul encourages us to consider our calling to discipleship. He makes it clear that we are humble recipients of God’s generosity. We owe everything that we are, and every gift that we have, to God.

In the Gospel, Jesus tells us that we must use these gifts for the building up of God’s Presence in all Creation. The parable condemns the one who buries his talent rather than shares and increases it.

True humility can free us of these obstacles. Recognizing that it is “due to God’s grace that we are in Christ Jesus”, we shift our focus from self-concern to concern for God’s Creation. We invest our talents in the works of Mercy so that the God’s riches flourish in us and in those whom we love and serve. This is the community of faith to which we are called to be vigorous contributors of our talents, no matter how humble they may seem to us.

Enjoy this lovely instrumental selection as you consider the many gifts God has given you.

Music: Due Tramonti (Two Sunsets) ~ Ludovico Einaudi

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XbfgtORQwf8&list=OLAK5uy_nq5l_VkouC6HKSSrx5Akv1qH7J_FmDqjg&index=4

Fear or Faith?

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Church, Community, Courage, Faith, Gospel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Prayer, Truth2 Comments

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

       Readings:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/082818.cfm

Mt 23_24 camael gnat

Today, in Mercy, Paul talks seriously with the community at Thessalonika. Some early Christians expected the final coming of Christ to happen imminently. They had become upset, and somewhat obsessed, with concerns and rumors about “the end times”. Reactions range from fear to panic to denial.

Paul basically tells the community to settle down – “Hold fast to the traditions that you were taught.” In other words, focus on the core teachings of your faith – love, service, and grateful, joyful worship – not on the imagined fears of some unenlightened shouters.

We see such misdirection manifested in fundamentalism, scrupulosity, exaggerated devotional practices, cultic behaviors, even superstitions – the kinds of attitudes Jesus condemns in today’s Gospel.  These conditions cause us to become judgmental, elitist and superficial. They distract us from attention to the heart of our faith – mutual love, unselfish service, merciful justice, Christlike inclusivity.

Even as I write this reflection, we have a Church — like Thessolonia — fraught with turmoil.  Many call it unprecedented, although any student of Church History knows it is not. Still. it is a time when we who love the Catholic faith must pray for light, courage and fidelity. Let us pray too for Pope Francis that he may rely on the Holy Spirit to help him act courageously and definitively, as Paul did, to right the Beloved Community.

As for each of us, the fullness of God needs a large soul – not one shrunken by its own pettiness, fears, and self-righteousness. As St. Augustine prayed:

Narrow is the mansion of my soul;
enlarge Thou it,
that Thou mayest enter in.

Music: A Heart Like Yours ~ CeCe Winans

Receive the Word

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

Friday, August 17, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/081718.cfm

Today, in Mercy, our readings focus on the covenant between God and God’s People. 

1 Thess2 Word

Ezekiel recounts the infidelity of Israel which is met with the infinite fidelity of God. In our Gospel, Jesus parries with the Pharisees as they test him with questions about fidelity in marriage. Both readings reference “the word” which comes to us carrying truth and revelation. Today’s Alleluia Verse directs us to receive the Word of God with openness.

How will the Word of God come to us today? Will it be a single message, mysteriously hidden somewhere in the voluminous activities and distractions of the day?

No, instead it will be hidden in plain sight in ALL those activities and distractions. The Word of God is the abiding presence of Love which sustains our lives at every moment. It is the language that only a faithful heart can hear, a language throbbing in all Creation. We learn this language by silence, prayer and loving service of others.

May we be open to receive the Word of God as it comes to us, clothed in the lights and shadows of this day.

Music: Your Word ~ Hillsong Worship

I’m Hungry!!

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

Sunday, August 5, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/080518.cfm

“Don’t we have anything decent to eat around here?” “There’s nothing to eat in this house !”  

How many times do parents hear these complaints from their growing teenagers! The problem? They’re not looking for the apples, or eggs, or yogurt, or avocados which actually are in the fridge. They’re looking for junk!

Bread of Life

Today’s first reading reflects a similar situation with the Jews in the desert. They are hungry, but not for the spiritual food Yahweh is offering them. They complain continuously. So God relents, feeding them manna and quail. But God is clear. He says, “I have done this so that you may know I am the Lord, your God.”

In the Gospel, Jesus admonishes his listeners, “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life.” Jesus doesn’t mean we should stop eating. He knows that we need food and other things in order to live. What He wants us to understand is that these things have only secondary importance to the food for our soul, a sustenance which we often relegate to inferior status, to “when we have time”.

In his advice to the Ephesians, Paul says that to live without spiritual awareness is “to live in the futility of our minds”. It’s a powerful phrase, generating an image of us running around in our heads after all sorts of vain worries and goals — junk.

At our essence, we are hungry for the Bread of Life. Nothing else will fill that emptiness.

Music: Bread of Life ~ Bernadette Farrell 

Bread of life, hope of the world,
Jesus Christ, our brother:
feed us now, give us life,
lead us to one another.

As we proclaim your death,
as we recall your life,
we remember your promise
to return again.

Bread of life, hope of the world,
Jesus Christ, our brother:
feed us now, give us life,
lead us to one another.

The bread we break and share
was scattered once as grain:
just as now it is gathered,
make your people one.

Bread of life, hope of the world,
Jesus Christ, our brother:
feed us now, give us life,
lead us to one another.

We eat this living bread,
we drink this saving cup:
sign of hope in our broken world,
source of lasting love.

Hold us in unity,
in love for all to see;
that the world may believe in you,
God of all who live.

You are the bread of peace,
you are the wine of joy,
broken now for your people,
poured in endless love.

Can You Drink the Cup?

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Courage, Discipleship, Eternal Life, Faith, Gospel, Jesus, Uncategorized4 Comments

July 25, 2018 – Feast of St. James, Apostle

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/072518.cfm

Today, in Mercy, we learn a lesson in humble leadership, thanks to “Mrs. Zebedee”. Our Gospel recounts the story of the mother of James and John interceding for her sons with Jesus. Like many overprotective mothers, she intervenes in their adult lives. She wants to make sure they get the best deal for their investment with Jesus.

Mt20_22 cup

Unfortunately, “Mrs. Zebedee” has missed the whole point of Christian discipleship. Her boys have decided to follow a man who says things like this:

  • The last shall be first and the first, last.
  • Unless you lay down your life, you cannot follow me.
  • Whoever takes the lowly position of a child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

The seats at Christ’s right and left, which she requests for her sons, will bring them only the rewards of humility and sacrificial service.

Jesus is gentle with “Mrs. Zebedee”. He understands how hard it is for any of us to comprehend the hidden glory of a deeply Christian life. We are surrounded by a world that screams the opposite to us:

  • Me first!
  • Stand your ground!
  • Good guys finish last!

So Jesus turns to James and John. One can imagine the bemused look on his face. He knows the hearts of these two men. He knows they have already given themselves to him. So he asks them for a confession of faith, “Can you drink the cup that I will drink?”

Their humble, faith-filled answer no doubt stuns their mother. She is left in wonder at the holy men her fishermen sons have become. Perhaps it is the beginning of her own deep conversion to Christ.

As we pray with this passage on the feast of St. James the Apostle, where do find ourselves in this scene? How immediate, sincere, and complete is our response to Jesus’ question: “Can you drink the cup….?”

Music: Can You Drink the Cup? ( Be patient. The song has a slightly delayed start😀)

Can You Drink The Cup?

Lyrics by Pamela Martin, Music by Craig Courtney
Copyright 2001, Beckenhorst Press, Inc.

Can you dring the cup,
embrace it in your hands?
Can you look inside
and face what it demands?

In the wine you see
reflections of your soul.
No one else can drink
this cup that you must hold.

Can you drink the cup?
Then you must lift it high
though this cup of joy
holds pain and sacrifice.

When you lift your cup,
raise it unafraid.
Lift it up, this cup
of life, and celebrate.

Can you drink the cup
until there is no more?
When the wine is gone,
Christ Himself will pour.

Though you drink it all
the cup is never dry,
God keeps filling it
with everlasting life.

God’s Gentleness

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Eternal Life, Faith, Gospel, Jesus, Prayer, spirituality4 Comments

Saturday, July 21, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/072118.cfm

Today, in Mercy, Matthew describes Jesus as He begins to experience a mortal resistance to his message. Jesus slowly realizes that some listening to him are full of hate, fear, and deception. His response reflects the counsel he himself offered earlier in his ministry: offer the evil one no resistance.

Is42_3 and Mt Reed

Jesus does not respond to evil or sin. He confronts it. He stands firm against it. But Jesus does not stoop to argument, violence, or any other form of engagement which would legitimize evil. He will not step into the trap evil always sets for its prey. When we fight evil with evil’s own weapons, we have already lost.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus simply walks away. We can feel his sadness. His offer of eternal love and grace has fallen on recalcitrant hearts. He sees that these hearts are lost to God.

Instead, Jesus gathers around him the humble and wounded, the ones whose hearts have been softened by suffering and shadows. He gently comforts them, heals them, and leads them to a new Light. They are the bruised reeds which he does not break. They are like smoldering wicks which he tenderly rekindles with his Word.

Let us place our own bruises and flickering lights in his presence today. Let us gather the world’s hurts and darknesses in our prayer. We give ourselves to the gentle love of Jesus.

I remember this morning a beloved prayer of my youth. Some of you may remember too: The Prayer before the Crucifix 

Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus,
While before Thy face I humbly kneel
And with burning soul, pray and beseech Thee,
To fix deep in my heart,
Lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity,
True contrition for my sins
And a firm purpose of amendment.
While I contemplate with great love and tender pity,
Thy five most precious wounds,
Pondering over them within me,
And calling to mind the words that David,
Thy prophet, said of Thee , my Jesus,
“They have pierced My hands and feet,
They have numbered all my bones.”

Music: My Heart Longs for a Touch
(To hear music, tap the center of the picture below.)

From the Depths of Woe

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Faith, Gospel, Jesus, Mercy, repentance2 Comments

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/071718.cfm

Today, in Mercy, we read one of the saddest Gospel passages, the woes to Chorazain, Bethsaida and Capernaum.  These little villages were precious to Jesus, like little children to a loving teacher. Jesus had preached and performed amazing miracles in these towns. Still they had not demonstrated that basic change of heart which proclaims, “I believe”. They had not become places of mercy, justice and mutual love.

Woe Mt11_20_24JPG

Notice that Jesus does not deliver these woes to individuals. He doesn’t say, “Harry, you messed up!” or “Gert, you better get it together”. What Jesus is talking about here is corporate guilt, that kind of hard-hearted sinfulness that affects whole institutions, clubs, societies, cities, nations. 

This kind of sin manifests itself in a dehumanization of people, and a blindness to mercy and love. In Jesus’ day, such sin had infected the Pharisees, Sadducees, Romans, and probably a host of smaller religious, political and social networks.

In our day, we might recognize it in our churches, governments, or social associations. Its dead giveaway is the act of marking any person as “other”: not white like us, not men like us, not American like us, not Gentiles like us, not straight like us, smart, rich, educated and privileged like us — not fully human like us.

Corporate sin confuses justice with law, power with control, importance with success, wealth with possession, strength with domination. It is the kind of sin wherein a weaker group must suffer in order for the stronger group to thrive. We see its effects in war, economic suppression, racism and nationalism, misogyny and homophobia, and in the devastation of the Earth.

To the degree that we espouse and benefit from such corporate sin – or to the degree that we remain silent in its presence – woe to us as well.

Music: De Profundis – Gregorian Chant

From the depths of woe I cry to You,
Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication: 

If You, O Lord, mark iniquities,
Lord, who can stand?
But with You is forgiveness,
that You may be revered. 

I trust in the Lord;
my soul trusts in His word.
My soul waits for the Lord
more than sentinels wait for the dawn. 

More than sentinels wait for the dawn,
let Israel wait for the Lord.
For with the Lord is kindness,
and with Him is plenteous redemption;
And He will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.