Category: Hope

Come Home to Faith, Hope, and Love

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Charity, Faith, Hope, Lent, Love, spirituality2 Comments

March 8, 2026
Third Sunday of Lent

The theological virtues are faith, hope, and love (charity).
These are considered supernatural gifts from God
that cannot be earned through human effort alone,
but are received at Baptism
and help guide a person’s moral life
by directing them toward God.

In our readings during this third week of Lent, we travel the distances between despair and hope, hard-heartedness and repentance, law and mercy. We enter the experience of Hosea as he longs for the return of grace, of the courageous woman at the well, of Peter as he matures in faith, of the Pharisee and tax collector at prayer. Again and again, we are offered the threads of repentance, mercy, and hope that knit us into God’s heart and eternal imagination for us.

During Philadelphia’s harsh winter, Joe lived on a steam grate in center city. George had met him there while volunteering with a homeless outreach program. Joe, articulate and engaging, was easy to befriend. Nevertheless, he was afraid to come in to the shelter.

One morning, on his way to a downtown meeting, George stopped to pick up coffee. He decided it would be nice to take a cup to Joe on his way. Sitting down on Joe’s grate, George offered him the steaming coffee. “Oh, thanks anyway, but I only drink tea,” Joe said. George burst out laughing at his noble mistake. “You didn’t think homeless people had choices, did you?” Joe countered. George, a good-hearted, generous man, learned a lesson that day about the human dignity often hidden under accretions of poverty, neglect and disenfranchisement.

Jesus made no such mistake when he met the woman at the well. Instead, he peeled through her accretions by respectful engagement and questioning. The woman, heartened by him, responded wholeheartedly.

This week, God invites us to strip away any pretense or fear keeping us from coming home to Mercy. The readings remind us to hear, observe, and teach the Divine Law. They encourage us to soften our hearts for God’s voice.

God knows our brokenness and hard-heartedness. Yet, God invites us to repent and to believe that we are not far from the kingdom. This week is a good time to seek God’s feedback on our lives by a sincere examination of conscience and a fearless request for healing. It is a perfect time to come home to Love.

Music: Hosea – Gregory Norbet

Suggested Scripture: Romans 5:1-8

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Joel’s Invitation

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Eternal Life, Faith, Forgiveness, Hope, Lent, spirituality5 Comments

Ash Wednesday
February 18, 2026

Contrition is an act of the will, not just an emotion,
involving grief for past sins and a desire to regain God’s friendship.
There are two types:
perfect contrition, motivated by a love for God, and
imperfect contrition, motivated by a fear of punishment or hatred of sin.

“Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
Rend your heart and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God Who is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love, Who relents from overwhelming us.

Joel 2:12-13

“Even now…” – two of the most powerful words in scripture. Picture yourself saying them to a long-lost friend, or that friend to you. Even now – after all these years, after all you took for granted, after all your ingratitude, forgetfulness, pretense, indifference. Even now, I love and forgive you.

With the touch of sacred ashes, God reiterates that assurance to us … Even now, God waits and wants to restore us to wholeness, as in this story where you might even find yourself.

She had arranged to visit with an old college friend. They had been separated too long by the distancing choices that life often demands. She wanted to reconnect to that rare experience of shared transparency found just once or twice in a lifetime – the gift of a real friend.

They sat on a porch overlooking a gentle pond. The day was bright, the coffee hot, the chairs comfortable. But the magic was gone. Only half her friend had arrived for the cherished conversation. The other half – joy, adventure and the excess of youthful hope – had been lost. Somewhere in the intervening years, her friend had suffered a wound she did not share. This one afternoon would be too short a time to give that wound a name.

The ministry of healing requires time, whether it is to our own soul or to another’s that we bring the sweet ointment of restoration. It requires the quiet listening of a loving spirit. It requires the honest naming of wounds and the ardent desire to be made new.

As we begin our Lenten experience, God is waiting to receive us. God already knows the wounds we will bring to the conversation, already sees where our heart’s light has dimmed. God holds our half-heartedness next to his own heart and yearns to heal us.

Can we hear God’s unique invitation to us in this Lenten season? Can we confidently expose to the Divine gaze the depth of our need for grace and transformation? Can we journey with Christ, through his passion and death, to the wholeness we are called to?

Music: Parce Domine – 6th-century Latin antiphony sung here by A Capella Catholic Choir

Suggested Reading: Joel 2:12-17

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For Your Reflection:

  • What feelings or reactions do I have after reading this reflection?
  • Do my feelings or reactions remind me of any passage or event in scripture, especially in the life of Christ? 
  • What actions might I take today because of my response to these readings?

The Invitation – It is almost time!

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Advent, Eternal Life, Hope, spirituality2 Comments

Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 21, 2025

Have you ever been told not to get your hopes too high? The kind admonisher is trying to protect you. But you, like all human beings, still hope for everything, no matter the odds!

What would it be like if someone told us instead, “Hope for everything! The fulfillment of your hope is guaranteed!”

This is the jubilant assurance carried to us by the Word of God in the fourth week of Advent.
• Luke tells us that God has indeed remembered his promise of mercy.
• The eloquent Song of Songs guarantees us that the winter is past; that the rains are over and gone.
• The psalmist encourages us to lift up our heads and see. Our salvation is near at hand.

After our prayerful Advent, we now stand at the threshold of the sacred, transforming Nativity. As we lift our eyes to behold this glorious God, what shall we see – a miracle, a change in the world around us?

Marianne Williamson, spiritual teacher and author, says this: “A miracle is just a shift in perception from fear to love.” The transformative change is within us, not around us.

As we open our hearts for the coming of Jesus, might we be surprised to see that nothing, yet everything is changed? Will we see Him now in the beggar we bypassed just a month ago? Will we sit gratefully beside Him now in the church where we had ignored our neighbors? Will we recognize Him fully now in an aging parent, a distressed spouse, a demanding child? Will we meet him now in our own peaceful silence where before we had obliterated him in a flurry of distractions?

“Behold your God!” is clearly an invitation to bask – awestruck – in Christ, the fulfillment of our hope. It is also a profound invitation to free ourselves of any graceless complacency which hides the ever-incarnate God from our daily sight.

Music: O Come – The Porter’s Gate

[Verse 1]
For those who walk in darkness
The sun is rising… rising, rising
The shadow dies
Our anguish flies
From dawn on high
Oh, Lord Jesus, come!

Oh, come!
Oh, come!

[Verse 2]
The yoke upon our shoulders
Is finally breaking… breaking, breaking
Our burdens gone
In that bright dawn
When He has come
Oh, Lord Jesus, come!

Oh, come!
Oh, come!
Oh, come!

[Verse 3]
The Son to us is given
And we are waiting… waiting, waiting
Emmanuel
Oh Wonderful!
Your peace to tell
Oh, Lord Jesus, come!

For Your Reflection

  • What feelings or reactions do I have after reading this reflection?
  • Do my feelings or reactions remind me of any passage or event in scripture, especially in the life of Christ? 
  • What actions might I take today because of my response to these readings?

Suggested Scripture:

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Extraordinary Days

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Advent, Hope, joy, Love, Mercy, Prayer, spirituality1 Comment

November 20, 2025

As we draw close to the Holy Season that will close our year, let’s welcome each final day as an extraordinary gift, grateful for the faith, hope, and love that sustain our lives.

Music: “Your Love” from “Once Upon A Time in the West” ” – by Ennio Morricone – performed by Hauser

For Your Reflection:

  • What feelings or reactions do I have after reading this reflection?
  • Do my feelings or reactions remind me of any passage or event in scripture, especially in the life of Christ? 
  • What actions might I take today because of my response to these readings?

Suggested Reading: Lamentations 3:22-23

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Fresh Ground Pepper

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Creation, Eternal Life, Faith, Hope, joy, Mercy, Seasons, spiritualityLeave a comment

September 1, 2025

September has barely poked its nose through the door, but already we see signs of Autumn. A slight gold shimmers on the trees. Geese gather in noisy expectation. Early morning sheds its night veil in slower layers of magenta and blue. There have even been a few sweet nights when we can open the windows wide and sleep in the suggestively crisp air. All the signs are there — it is a new season – “The Season of Freshness”.

“Fresh” is a powerful word. Who can resist the crisply-aproned waiter suggesting, “Fresh ground pepper?” Who can ignore the aroma of fresh baked bread? Some of us even remember with appreciation the scent of linens fresh from our mother’s clothesline.

Let this beautiful season remind us that each day the Creator shakes out a fresh beginning for every one of us. With every radiant morning, the slate is clear with mercy. The opportunity to re-create the world awaits us. Our lives, our work, our relationships are the fresh bread of God’s hope for us. Within them, we are invited to reveal the powerful grace which runs just under the visibility of the ordinary. It whispers to us, “You are Beloved, and I want your life to be a fountain of joy.”

September is for fresh beginnings: a sparkling season, an unmarked semester, a turning of the garden, a clean page. It is nature’s way of saying forgiveness is possible, life is resilient, hope is eternal. Imagine September as the white-aproned waiter inviting you to freshness. At the Creator’s table, the tablecloth is clean and the sacred menu is forgiveness, hope, mercy and renewed beginnings. Don’t miss this opportunity to assess what needs refreshment in your life. Feast on September’s graces! They can be life-changing!

Music: September Song – Alexis Ffrench

For Your Reflection

  • What feelings or reactions do I have after reading this reflection?
  • Do my feelings or reactions remind me of any passage or event in scripture, especially in the life of Christ? 
  • What actions might I take today because of my response to these readings?

Suggested Scripture: Psalm 92

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A Gold and A Silver Voice

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Hope, joy, Scripture, spirituality7 Comments

July 27, 2025

Silver and Gold from the movie “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”

In the Spring of 2009, the “Voice of Philadelphia” passed away. Harry Kalas, long-time sports announcer for the Phillies and a commentator for NFL films, died suddenly just before the baseball game. Besides having a golden mellifluous voice, Harry was a good man. The outpouring of love and respect for him was huge.

At the same time, but on a much lighter note, Susan Boyle, a matronly, unassuming woman from a small Scottish village, blew the world away with her soul-stirring singing voice, debuted on Britain’s version of “American Idol”. Her voice is not just good – it is molten silver against the cold darkness. It is a rich and powerful contradiction to the whining nasality of so many willowy stars. It is a victorious testimony to the truism that you can’t tell a book by its cover.

I remember that these events left me thinking about the gift of our voices. This gift, like many others, is one we tend to take for granted. It is only when a voice we love is silenced that we truly appreciate how we had loved to hear it.

Six or seven years after my mother died, my brother Jim and I were playing some old videos of his kids, looking for clips for a graduation tribute. Unexpectedly, my mother appeared in one of the videos, talking to the children in her gentle, grandmotherly tones. Jim and I hadn’t heard that precious voice since Mom had died. We were stunned to tears with the sweet memory and the poignant loss.

The human voice is one of the clearest expressions of God’s Power. It can lift people into the light of hope and reassurance, or it can push them to the edge of despair. It can set someone on the path to self-worth, or it can crush them under the weight of a hasty, intolerant word. It can carve someone a way out of loneliness, or it can imprison them in their own exaggerated sense of difference. The voice can bless or it can curse.

We are powerful people who are sometimes wrapped in a paralysis of unawareness. Often, we don’t realize the power of our words or the force of our silence. Such powers demand and deserve our attention. Our words may never be repeated in tribute like Harry’s and Susan’s have been. But our words can rest forever in the recesses of someone’s heart. Someday — when they draw up that memory, the way my brother and I did — let them be holding silver and gold.

Music: Two songs for your enjoyment, certainly of different musical merit, but both very moving. Enjoy!

For Your Reflection

  • What feelings or reactions do I have after reading this reflection?
  • Do my feelings or reactions remind me of any passage or event in scripture, especially in the life of Christ? 
  • What actions might I take today because of my response to these readings?

Suggested Scripture: Ephesians 5:19-20

Scripture

Life’s Slide

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Eternal Life, Hope, joy, spirituality3 Comments

July 20, 2025

The old Hancock playground was a city kid’s oasis in a macadam desert.

When it opened in the 1950s, we flocked to it like thirsty birds. It allowed us to fly in new ways: long-chained swings that soared to eight feet at a strong clip; sturdy monkey bars that invited real acrobatic skills; a big, well-oiled roundabout and – best of all, a shiny metal sliding board.

The wonder of that equipment was that it responded to each child’s challenge and skill. A little boy could swing gently; a big girl could pump those long chains until they thrummed like yo-yo strings.

But the sliding board offered the most subtle and sometimes sinister challenges. Was it really a 10-foot climb to the top, or was I just that little? And did that shiny metal, on a hot July day, actually fry my skin?

On that steaming giant, there was never “fast enough”. We invented all kinds of formulae to increase slide speed: head first, legs up, jack-knifed. Some of us even carried a pocketful of mom’s waxed paper, polishing the incline to a cutthroat slipperiness. It was pure joy at its dumbest best and it was only God’s kindness that we didn’t kill ourselves!

As we live our lives, part of us never leaves the playground. At times, we are still a little child, barely moving on the swing. At times, we are the convoluted acrobat, struggling to complete the challenge. Sometimes, our lives whirl at a dizzying pace. And sometimes we get burned and bruised in our attempts.

Life of course, as the years pass, demands wiser approaches to its “ playground”. It’s called “maturity”. As I age, I find myself more cautious in both good and not-so-good ways. Certainly, I won’t be doing any sliding boards if I can help it. But what about the adventure of new thinking, new relationships, new generosities that build my community belonging?

What about the neglected reconciliations, forgivenesses, and repented procrastinations that will free my spirit for unexpected joy?

As I drove past the refurbished, plasticized Hancock today, that hot metal slide shone like a star in my memory. And I decided to put some waxed paper in my pocket– just as a reminder to still take a measure of abandoned fun on life’s slide.

Music: The Slide – The Rhythm Rockets

A Golden Oldie from the 50-60s to get the spirit moving today!

I got a dance that I’m doin’ today
It’s called The Slide
I saw ’em dancin’ in the down the road hideaway
This dance The Slide
It makes you hop, jump, feel okay
If you dance The Slide

Mm-mm-mm, slide, baby slide
Oh-oh-oh, I mean The Slide

The music picks you up and puts you low down
Makes you hop, jump, shake around
You don’t need to play big and bright
Better to do it in the cool of the night

Mm-mm-mm, slide, baby slide
Oh-oh-oh, I mean The Slide

There’s the guitar takin’ speed
Gives you some idea what you’re doin’ to me
The drum will follow and make that sound
Make you hop, shake and rock around

Mm-mm-mm, slide, baby slide
Oh-oh-oh, I mean The Slide

The music picks you up and puts you low down
Makes you hop, jump, shake around
You don’t need to play big and bright
Better to do it in the cool of the night

Mm-mm-mm, slide, baby slide
Oh-oh-oh, I mean The Slide

Mm-mm-mm, slide, baby slide
Oh-oh-oh, I mean The Slide

For Your Reflection

Although this is a somewhat lighthearted reflection, I hope it will touch something life-giving in your heart. It’s so important to retain our capacity to think “young”, to be childlike in our hope, to enjoy life without prejudice or fear, to “slide” with spiritual trust when a great opportunity presents itself!

  • What feelings or reactions do I have after reading this reflection?
  • Do my feelings or reactions remind me of any passage or event in scripture, especially in the life of Christ? 
  • What actions might I take today because of my response to these readings?

Suggested Scripture: Mark 10:13-16

Scripture

The Amoroso Man

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn dying, holiness, Hope, spirituality7 Comments

July 13, 2025

Italian Summer – Brian Crain

On the way to to the library today, I passed an Amoroso truck. We native Philadelphians are very serious about our sandwich rolls – and very biased. We think they’re the best in the world. For those of you outside Philadelphia, Amoroso is a local baking company famous for delicious Italian rolls. Every morning, their crisp white trucks with the red and green detailing can be seen delivering rolls all over our hungry city.

Many years ago, when I worked in an inner city ER, an Amoroso driver was brought in by fire rescue. The man had suffered a heart attack in the stifling July heat. Despite intense efforts by staff, he could not be revived.

My responsibility, after praying with him and for him, was to determine his identity and to inform his family of his death. There were only a few things in the chest pocket of his shirt, which lay ripped and tossed on the ER floor. There was a thin, well-used prayer book and an even thinner wallet with a couple of dollars, a lottery ticket, and a picture of his grandchildren. My eyes filled with tears as I laid these few items out on my desk. Here was a simple, good man’s life – faith, family, hope and responsibility. He carried what was most important to him close to his heart.

Passing the Amoroso truck today, on a warm July morning nearly forty years later, made me ask myself, “What do I keep close to my heart?”

It’s a good question, both literally and symbolically. In the space next to my heart do I have the things that most matter – faith, love, generosity, and joy. Or is there only a vacuum there, made empty by the common killers of our culture: cynicism, self-absorption, materialism, indifference, and competitiveness?

Life is short. Live it for what matters. And if you’re lucky, share an Amoroso roll to bless your journey.

Music: Simple Gifts

For Your Reflection:

  • What feelings or reactions do I have after reading this reflection?
  • Do my feelings or reactions remind me of any passage or event in scripture, especially in the life of Christ? 
  • What actions might I take today because of my response to these readings?

Suggested Scripture: Proverbs 13:19-22

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Summer Nights

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Eternal Life, Faith, healing, Hope, joy, spirituality2 Comments

June 15, 2025

Summer Nights – Tom Barabas

A perfect summer night is a treasure, isn’t it? … the kind you remember from when you were a kid:
• cool enough to play for hours without sweat and exhaustion…
• the long light lingering until almost nine o’clock…
• the jingle of the ice cream truck tantalizing in the distance….

It would have been fine with me if those nights had lasted forever. But like childhood, such summer nights do not last.

The challenge is this: can we retain the spirit of those nights in the heat or chill that follows In the long seasons of our adult responsibilities and choices, can we invoke our free and joyful inner child?

I remember one June Saturday a few years ago. I sat concentrating by my open window as a warm breeze drifted in. The street outside bustled with the sounds of the busy inner city. Inside, my mind bustled with all the work I had to accomplish in the short weekend.

Suddenly, like gentle bells amid the noise, children’s laughter threaded into my seriousness. Their roller skates softly clacked across the hard concrete of my sidewalk and my awareness. I thought to myself, “When was the last time you experienced pure, childlike joy and freedom? — AND what are you going to do about it?”

There are a few tender summer nights left in 2025. Turn the TV off and go out to your patio or front step. Play with your children. Listen for the ice cream truck. Sit on the porch with someone you enjoy and just talk. Or sit alone in the grateful stillness with our Creator Whose best gift to us is joyful freedom – Whose own playful heart created the zebra, the giraffe, the flamingo, the Blue-footed Booby … and, yes, even us 🙂

We know all too well that we were created to work. Let’s remind ourselves that we were also created to play with the simplicity and sincerity of our remembered childhood.

Music: Like a Child

For Your Reflection:

  • What feelings or reactions do I have after reading this reflection?
  • Do my feelings or reactions remind me of any passage or event in scripture, especially in the life of Christ? 
  • What actions might I take today because of my response to these readings?

Suggested Scripture: Psalm 131

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Kept Covenant

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn dying, Eternal Life, Faith, healing, Hope, spirituality3 Comments

April 6, 2025

The Rose

The golden morning had broken bright and warm through the hospital windows. With its breaking, the attending physician and chaplain had received a page. Dorothy had taken an unexpected turn. She was struggling both to live and to die. 

As they attended and comforted her, Dorothy managed to whisper ” … wait for Henry.” Henry, her husband of fifty-eight years, had arrived promptly at 7:00 AM daily for all the weeks of Dorothy’s hospitalization. Glancing at her watch, the chaplain saw that it was just 6:50 AM. 

When, after ten eternal minutes, Henry appeared at the door, he carried a small bouquet of yellow roses from their beloved garden. Quickly apprehending the changed situation, he laid the roses aside and hurried to hold Dorothy for the last few minutes of her life. In the loving, covenanted presence Dorothy had waited for, she finally embraced a peaceful death.

It had not been easy for Dorothy to die nor, from then on, had it been easy for Henry to live. Still, through many bereavement visits, the chaplain watched their long, honest love arise to heal Henry. Through prayer and the benediction of memories, Henry realized that their love, like the roses still blooming in their garden, was both fragile and eternal.

In this week’s readings, God again calls us to such a love. As God brought Lazarus, Suzanna, and Shadrack out of darkness and death, so God promises to bring us. “I will keep my covenant with you,” God says. “Whoever keeps my word will never die.” Accompanying Jesus, as he nears Jerusalem, let us trust and cherish these promises in our own darknesses and bereavements.

Music: Lazarus, Come Forth – The Bishops

Heartbroken, tears falling
Martha found Jesus
She questioned why Lazarus had died.
When she had thus spoken, her doubts were then silenced.
He walked toward the body and cried.

Lazarus, come forth.
Awake like the morning.
Arise with new hope, a new life is born.
Lazarus, come forth.
From death now awaken.
For Jesus has spoken.
Death’s chains have been broken.
Lazarus, come forth.

The tomb now was empty.
Martha stopped crying.
Her brother now stood by her side.
The Pharisee’s wondered about what had happened.
How could one now live who had died?

The reason this story gives hope to so many
Is although we know we must die.
Our bodies won’t stay there
In cold and dark silence.
We’ll hear Jesus cry from on high.

Children come forth
Awake like the morning.
Arise with new hope, a new life is born.
Children come forth.
From death now awaken.
For Jesus has spoken.
Death’s chains have been broken.
Children come forth.

For Jesus has spoken.
Death’s chains have been broken.
My Children come forth.
Children come forth.
Children, come forth.

For Your Reflection

  • What feelings or reactions do I have after reading this reflection?
  • Do my feelings or reactions remind me of any passage or event in scripture, especially in the life of Christ? 
  • What actions might I take today because of my response to these readings?

Suggested Scripture: John 11:17-44

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