Category: Mercy

Immaculate Heart of Mary

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Faith, Mary, Mercy2 Comments

Saturday, June 9, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/060918.cfm

Today, in Mercy, we celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  

Concepts of Mary, and her role in Salvation History, abound in theology and culture.  

madonna-della-seggiola-artwork-photo-1Madonna della Seggiola ~ Raphael

 

While many of these images introduce us to a particular understanding of Mary, some can also limit her to deficient descriptions as sweet, passive, limited in her role as young mother and wife.

immaculate heart

The hope is that Christians today will look beyond any limited definition to find the Mary who voices a strong, faithful witness to Christ and to his Gospel for the poor and disenfranchised – a Mary whose life offers inspiration for the challenges we face in our own lives.

The Annunciation by Henry Ossawa Tanner 1896

The Annunciation ~ Henry Ossawa Tanner

 

Dr. Elizabeth Johnson, a Sister of St. Joseph, is distinguished Professor Emerita at Fordham University. In her ground-breaking book on Mary, Truly Our Sister, she says:

“Remembering Mary as a friend of God and prophet in the communion of saints, a woman who is truly sister to our strivings, allows the power of her life to play in the religious consciousness of the church, encouraging ever-deeper relationship with the living God in whom our spirits rejoice, and allying us with God’s redemptive designs for the hungry, the lowly, and all those who suffer, including in an unforgettable way women with their children in situations of poverty, prejudice, and violence.”

Today, in our prayer, let’s invite ourselves to an ever deeper understanding and relationship with Mary who, with her Immaculate Heart, is nevertheless truly our sister.

windsock visitation

Windsock Visitation ~ Michael O’Neil McGrath, OSFS

Music:  Behold ( A modern Magnificat) ~ David Kauffmann ( Lyrics Below)

Behold, Behold
The mighty one has done great things for me
Behold, Behold
The mighty one has done great things for me
And Holy is your name
And Holy is your name

My soul exalts you
Behold my Lord whose mercy lies on me
My soul magnifies the Lord
My spirit rejoices in my savior
He looks at me with kindness
As with holy eyes of blindness
and all will call me blessed
Refrain

My soul exalts you
Behold my Lord whose mercy lies on me
Compassion inhabits those who fear him
He has done great deeds with is arms
Scattered the proud. Rulers are brought down,
and he has lifted the humble
Refrain

My soul exalts you
Behold my Lord whose mercy lies on me
He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent away the selfish empty handed
He has sent his servant, in remembrance of his mercy
and he has kept his promise
Refrain

My soul exalts you
Behold my Lord whose mercy lies on me
Whose mercy lies on me.

Sacred Heart of Jesus

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Jesus, Love, Mercy, Prayer2 Comments

Friday, June 8, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/060818.cfm

heart

Today, in Mercy, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.  We are blessed with several powerful and profound readings, including the final moments on Calvary.

The second reading offers an example of Paul’s magnificent benedictions and doxologies. As he prays for the Ephesians, so he prays for us. These prayers are exalted, yet simple. They thrill the soul who prays them. They place us, in awe and thanksgiving, fully in the divinely generous, Sweet Heart of Christ.

Let yourself be there, allowing God to love and bless you, as you pray these words:

For this reason I kneel before the Father,

from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,

that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory

to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self,

and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;

that you, rooted and grounded in love,

may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones

what is the breadth and length and height and depth,

and to know the love of Christ which surpasses all knowledge,

so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Music: Two offerings today.  The first captures Ephesians Prayer.  The second harkens back to my childhood — and maybe to yours. (I couldn’t resist the lovely nostalgia!)

Dwelling Place ~ St. Louis Jesuits

Sweet Heart of Jesus ~ James Kilbane

Ransomed

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Faith, Jesus, justice, Mercy1 Comment

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/053018.cfm

1 Pet1_18 ransomed

Today, in Mercy, Peter tells us that we have been ransomed at an infinite price – the blood of Jesus. And what have we been ransomed from? The early Christians were quite familiar with slavery, some having been enslaved themselves. Peter shows them that their souls too may be enslaved.

In any form, slavery is a restriction or loss of freedom. It may be physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual or intellectual. It is that place where our Truth is constricted by the negativity of another force.

Peter tells us that we have been freed “so that our faith and hope are in God” and not in anything that can chain our souls. He tells us that we have been born anew so that we can love one another intensely from a pure heart.

Today, let’s pray for those, even ourselves, enslaved in any way – through illness, addiction, stereo-typing, racism, domination, poverty or ignorance; for those who are trafficked, for immigrants cruelly separated from family, for the unjustly or inhumanely imprisoned, for those forced from their homeland by war and violence.

Let us pray for conversion and forgiveness for any role we may have played, however unwittingly, in sustaining these social evils.

Music: Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves from Verdi’s opera Nabucco. Inspired by Psalm 137, this mournful melody recalls the enslavement of Jews during the Babylonian Captivity.

Let Your “Yes” Be “Yes!”

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, Mercy, Truth1 Comment

Friday, May 25, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/052518.cfm

Today, in Mercy, we once again are faced with “tough talk” readings. James is simply that kind of preacher. And, in the Gospel, Jesus takes on the gnarly topic of adultery. So it’s not going to be sweet inspiration today!

What both readings have in common is the quintessential call to integrity at the core of committed Christian life. Our word, given in compassion and mercy, should be our bond. Our loving care for ourselves and all Creation should be trustworthy and persevering. For a person of faith, “fake news” and “alternative facts” are simply code for the deceitful avoidance of our duty to love one another.

We should not allow deceit, indifference, pretense or abuse to ever adulterate our efforts to love. Respect for ourselves and for other human beings requires that we say “Yes” and “No” honestly. Our reverence for God demands that we offer the same loving veracity to God.

The covenant of marriage, or of religious profession, places this obligation in a particularly bright light. When we give ourselves in commitment to another, and receive their commitment in return, we imitate the Blessed Trinity who exist in the unity of selfless, creative love. This “Yes”or “I do” is tied to our very identity as a person capable of living in the mutuality of love as God does.

James and Jesus tell us today to take every care to treasure and protect such precious commitments by the deep integrity of our hearts.

Holy Trinity Icon by Andrej Rublëv, an Eastern Orthodox monk, considered to be one of the greatest medieval Russian painters of Orthodox icons and frescos.

Music: Russian Orthodox Chant ~ Srtensky Monastery Choir

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VyREJRz8wNI

Mary, Mother of the Church

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Mary, Mercy, Prayer2 Comments

Monday, May 21, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/052118.cfm

Today, in Mercy, we celebrate the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. It is a day to honor Mary for giving life to Jesus for the sake of all humanity. It is day to beg her intercession for a world so desperately in need of Christ’s continued revelation.

Mary is the door through which Heaven visited earth to heal it from sinful fragmentation. May she continue to carry her beautiful grace to broken hearts and even to the twisted souls who broke them. Through her, may we all find healing.

Mary, Mother of Mercy, intercede for all Creation that we may embrace the love your Son taught us.

( Friends, I began my annual retreat on Pentecost evening. All of you, dear followers, will be very much in my prayers. Please pray for me too. ❤️)

Music: Ave Maria ~ Michael Hoppè

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SLoaDz1af0M

Not A Piece of Cake

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, Faith, Mercy, Uncategorized1 Comment

Saturday, May 5, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/050518.cfm

Today, in Mercy, we listen first to the great Apostle Paul’s experience of trying to do the work of God as He sails through the Mediterranean world. He is frustrated in trying to take the Word into Asia. Even the Holy Spirit holds him back. In the Gospel, Jesus tells it straight: You will be persecuted just like I was. This living the Gospel thing is not a piece of cake! That is why it is so important that we help, rather than block one another. Most people are trying to do the best they can. If they make a mistake, let’s give them a helping hand rather than a condemning tongue. It’s easy to bury somebody, but it takes a real Christian to give them new life. (PS: Got a pick for the Kentucky Derby? I’m going for “My Boy Jack”.)

John15_16

As I Have Loved You

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, Jesus, Love, Mercy, Uncategorized1 Comment

Friday, May 4, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/050418.cfm

Today, in Mercy, Jesus speaks his most loving words to his disciples. We can see them gathered around Jesus in the candlelit room. They are both dreading and longing for these precious words, both a confirmation of love and declaration of departure. But the words give them courage and they feel resolve rising in their hearts to be all that Jesus hopes them to be.

These same words follow us down through the ages, comforting and strengthening us to be all that Jesus dreams for us.

(Photo of Motherhouse of the Sisters of Mercy in Merion, PA, USA.  Note highlighted motto at top of photo. It has comforted and impelled many a Mercy heart. The magnificent song from Bob Dufford, SJ captures all of Jesus’ Last Discourse in John’s Gospel. PS: For those of you who know Sister Kate, she is one of the Sisters kneeling in adoration.)

Merion chapel shaded

The Road to Conversion

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, Conversion, justice, Mercy1 Comment

Friday, April 20, 2018:

Readings: Acts 9:1-20, Psalm 117:1-2; John 6:52-59

Today, in Mercy, we ride with Paul on the road to Damascus. His soul is struck by grace and he realizes his sinfulness – that he has failed to see the presence of God in all people. He turns from his persecution to actually become a Christian himself. Conversion!

One wonders what that same road might look like today – the countryside and its people devastated by the continuing Syrian War. War would be impossible if we truly could see the face of God in one another. Let’s pray today for a conversion of hearts in leaders, in all those who profit from war, and in ourselves. Let’s pray especially for the people devastated by war and the exercise of irresponsible power.

Let the Leaves Fall

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn dying, Faith, Hope, Mercy, spirituality3 Comments

Tuesday, April 17, 2018: Today, in Mercy, we again pray with Stephen, who echoes the forgiving voice of Jesus as he gives up his life. How could Stephen, how could Jesus, forgive their murderers? In their dying, how could they turn their spirits toward God in love and hope? Jesus and Steven had already given their lives completely to God – throughout all their joyful and sorrowful seasons. When the time came for the leaves to finally fall, their spirits were convinced that God’s life in them would abide.

We face many small deaths in our lives before our final hour. As we learn to let the leaves fall into God’s renewing love and Mercy, we grow more like Jesus. We are filled with the power of God’s freedom and Light. ( The song is not my favorite genre, but it is very powerful, I think.)

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Breath and Heartbeat of God!

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Faith, Love, Mercy, Uncategorized3 Comments

Saturday, April 14, 2018: Today, in Mercy, Jesus walks across the stormy water to meet his frightened disciples. They are afraid of the wind, the night and the wonder of Jesus. As human beings, we harbor many fears even if we pretend to be very brave. We may be afraid of failure, loneliness, responsibility, insignificance, aging, dying or a thousand other things. Essentially, what we most fear is that we might be unloved or unlovable. Jesus comes to us through the night of any fear to prove that we are irrevocably loved. Even in darkness, we are the precious breath and heartbeat of God!

“Who would I be, and what power would be expressed in my life,
if I were not dominated by fear.” ~Paula D’Arcy~

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