Category: spirituality

Short

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

Tuesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
November 19, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111924.cfm

Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, 
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature. 
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, 
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house.” 
And he came down quickly and received him with joy. 
Luke 19:2-6

Every scripture passage has a lesson for us. And even though I’m tall, not short, there is a lesson here for me. For you too!

We want to grow in our ability to find God in every circumstance of our lives. But, at times, we may be short on the faith, hope, or charity to do so. We may be short on living the works of mercy. Not to sound hip-hop, but we may be short on “Gratitude for the Beatitude”!

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We ask Jesus to discover us in whatever metaphorical tree we might be hiding, to come under our roof, and to live at the center of our lives.

Poetry: The Stature of Zacchaeus – Amos Russel Wells (1862-1933)

Zacchaeus struggled with the crowd;
A little man was he.
"Vermin!" he muttered half aloud,
"I'll make them honor me.
Ah, when the taxes next are due,
I'll tower as is meet;
This beggarly, ill-mannered crew
Shall cower at my feet."
Zacchaeus climbed the sycomore
(He was a little man),
And as he looked the rabble o'er
He chuckled at the plan.
"I get the thing I want," he said,
"And that is to be tall.
They think me short but by a head
I rise above them all."
"Zacchaeus, come! I dine with you,"
The famous Rabbi cried.
Zacchaeus tumbled into view
A giant in his pride.
He strutted mightily before
That silly, gaping throng;
You'd think him six feet high or more,
To see him stride along.
Zacchaeus listened to the Lord,
And as he listened, feared;
How was his life a thing abhorred
When that pure Life appeared!
Down to a dwarf he shrank away
In sorrow and in shame.
He owned his sins that very day,
And bore the heavy blame.
But as he rose before the crowd,
(A little man, alack!)
Confessed his guilt and cried aloud
And gave his plunder back,
I think he stood a giant then
As angels truly scan,
And no one ever thought again
He was a little man.

Music: Zacchaeus – Miriam Therese Winter, Medical Mission Sisters

See

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

Monday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
November 18, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111824.cfm

Jesus stopped and ordered that the blind man be brought to him;
and when he came near, Jesus asked him,
“What do you want me to do for you?”
He replied, “Lord, please let me see.”
Jesus told him, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.”
He immediately received his sight
and followed him, giving glory to God.
Luke 18:40-42

This Gospel story is filled with images and interactions that might speak to our souls.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We consider this:
What if Jesus asked you that question right now? “What do you want me to do for you?”

What would your request be? Would you be tempted to respond as if Jesus were a genie who deals in wishes not hopes?

Or would your answer grow from your deep faith as it does with this blind man? Upon his healing, heaven’s window was opened to him. The Gospel tellsus that “he followed” Jesus. His newfound vision was put fully at the service of God.

Poetry: Blind Trust – Irene Zimmerman

Bartimeus sat outside
the town of Jericho.
The more they told him where to go,
the louder he cried.

He had no pride --
when Jesus asked he simply stared:
"Lord, I want to see!" and waited
to be eyed.

Music: Heaven’s Window – Peter Kater

Tribulation

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

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
November 17, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111724.cfm

Jesus said to his disciples:
“In those days after that tribulation
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.

“And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’
with great power and glory,
and then he will send out the angels
and gather his elect from the four winds,
from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.
Mark 13:24-27

We’re coming to that time of year that I don’t really like too much. The eschatological readings used to close out the liturgical year are filled with astounding, awesome, and sometimes frightening images.

But I guess that’s the whole point. If you haven’t gotten the message throughout the entire year, this is a last-ditch effort to scare it into you!

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We offer the prayer of today’s Responsorial Psalm, confident that when the end time comes, we will be among those who rejoice.

Poetry: You are my inheritance, O Lord! - Psalm 16

Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.

You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.

Music: In Paradisum – interpreted by Michael Hoppé

In paradisum deducant te angeli; 
in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, 
et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem. 
Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, 
et cum Lazaro quondam paupere 
æternam habeas requiem.
May the angels lead you into paradise; 
may the martyrs receive you at your arrival 
and lead you to the holy city Jerusalem. 
May choirs of angels receive you 
and with Lazarus, once was poor, 
may you have eternal rest.

Stranger

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Charity, Community, Creation, Eternal Life, Faith, friendship, inclusivity, justice, spirituality1 Comment

Saturday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time
November 16, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111624.cfm

Beloved, you are faithful in all you do for the brothers and sisters,
especially for strangers;
they have testified to your love before the Church.
Please help them in a way worthy of God to continue their journey.
For they have set out for the sake of the Name
and are accepting nothing from the pagans.
Therefore, we ought to support such persons,
so that we may be co-workers in the truth.
3 John 5:8

Most of us have felt like strangers at some point in our lives. It’s not a nice feeling. You might have attended an event without a date or companion. You might have been the only woman in a group of men, or vice versa. You might have been the only Black person at a White funeral or the other way around. Didn’t we hope to find someone to connect to, someone who would offer us an open door?

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
As we think about Paul’s teaching, and our own experiences, let’s prayerfully consider our attitudes and actions regarding immigrants and refugees. Persons displaced by climate, politics, poverty, lawlessness, and a host of other causes deserve our help, as Paul describes. Let’s ask ourselves how we’re doing with that.

Poem: The Kindness of Strangers – Sally Van Dorn

Here I am with all my flaws
seeking form and shelter.

I blanche at the notion
of violence, but it’s coming

after us, closing in like a
superstition I can’t shake.

If I acquiesce to your harsh
future you must promise me

one thing. Where we go we will
find our youth again. Can you

see it there under the yellow linen
tablecloth? I’m depending on it.

Music: Wayfaring Stranger – published in 1858, author unknown

I'm just a poor wayfaring stranger
Traveling through this world below
There is no sickness, no toil, no danger
In that bright land to which I go
I'm going there to see my father
And all my loved ones who've gone on
I'm just going over Jordan
I'm just going over home
I know dark clouds will gather 'round me
I know my way is hard and steep
But beauteous fields arise before me
Where God's redeemed, their vigils keep
I'm going there to see my mother
She said she'd meet me when I come
So I'm just going over Jordan
I'm just going over home
I'm just going over Jordan
I'm just going over home

Love

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Charity, Conversion, Courage, Cross, Faith, Love, spirituality1 Comment

Friday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time
November 15, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111524.cfm

But now, Lady, I ask you,
not as though I were writing a new commandment
but the one we have had from the beginning:
let us love one another.
For this is love, that we walk according to his commandments;
this is the commandment, as you heard from the beginning,
in which you should walk.
2 John 4:5-6

The Motherhouse chapel is impressive, more like a cathedral than a chapel. I remember being led into it for the first time when, at 18 years old, I came for my initial interview. It took my breath away. You can imagine the intensity of my prayer as I knelt for the first time at the altar rail, realizing that my young, inscrutable choices were about to change my life irrevocably.

I looked up to the Gospel command emblazoned above the apse thinking, “That’s what this is all about. Let me begin.”

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
Perhaps, remembering a long-ago choice in your life, you will see how it has unfolded in love over the years. This is a good day to pray those memories and blessings with God.

Poetry: Slowly – Macrina Wiederkehr

Life unfolds
a petal at a time
slowly

The beauty of the process is crippled
when I try to hurry growth.
Life has its inner rhythm
which must be respected.
It cannot be rushed or hurried.

Like daylight stepping out of darkness,
like morning creeping out of night,
life unfolds slowly a petal at a time
like a flower opening to the sun,
slowly.

God’s call unfolds
a Word at a time
slowly.

A disciple is not made in a hurry.
Slowly I become like the One
to whom I am listening.

Life unfolds
a petal at a time
like you and I
becoming followers of Jesus,
discipled into a new way of living
deeply and slowly.

Be patient with life’s unfolding petals.
If you hurry the bud it withers.
If you hurry life it limps.
Each unfolding is a teaching
a movement of grace filled with silent pauses
breathtaking beauty
tears and heartaches.

Life unfolds
a petal at a time
deeply and slowly.

May it come to pass!

Music: The Faith – Leonard Cohen

Big Changes Coming

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Faith, Seasons, spirituality12 Comments

November 15, 2024

Dear Friends of Lavish Mercy,

Now that it is mid-November, it is time to let you know that big changes are coming to my blog beginning December 1, 2024.

For a decade, I have shared reflections on the daily scripture readings, first on Facebook alone, and then on my blog. This has taken us through the complete Liturgical Cycle twice for Sundays and three times for weekdays. The compilation of these reflections is readily available in the archives column of the Lavish Mercy blog.

But it is time for something new.

As of December 2024, my daily scripture reflections will cease. Instead, I will publish a weekly reflection, sometimes more. These are personal, seasonal faith essays written over the last thirty years for friends and colleagues. I have edited them for current times in the hope that they will be meaningful for you. A few of these were published in a book about ten years ago, and readers seemed to like them. I am hoping my Lavish Mercy readers will enjoy them too.

For those of you who might want an alternative Scripture-based reflection each day, I highly recommend the app “Pray As You Go”, introduced to me by Mary Kay Eichman, RSM. It is similar in structure to the pattern of Lavish Mercy to which you are accustomed, and I think my faithful readers would like it.

https://pray-as-you-go.org

I look forward to hearing what you think about my new approach. You can comment on the blog itself or e-mail me at renee.yann@gmail.com

Thanks so much for all your support over these ten years. Here’s to a new future for Lavish Mercy.
Renee Yann, RSM

Forgiveness

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Charity, Conversion, Discipleship, Eternal Life, Faith, Forgiveness, spirituality1 Comment

Thursday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time
November 14, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111424.cfm

Beloved:
I have experienced much joy and encouragement from your love,
because the hearts of the holy ones
have been refreshed by you, brother.
Therefore, although I have the full right in Christ
to order you to do what is proper,
I rather urge you out of love,
being as I am, Paul, an old man,
and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus.
I urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus,
whose father I have become in my imprisonment,
who was once useless to you but is now useful to both you and me.
Philemon 1:7-11

Did you ever have to intercede for a friend? Or if you were the friend, did anyone ever have to intercede for you? That’s what is happening in this passage.

Onesimus, the escaped slave of Philemon, had also been accused of petty theft. During his escape, he comes into Paul’s company, is converted, and befriends and assists Paul.

Paul pleads with Philemon to forgive and reconcile with Onesimus as a brother in Christ.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

We give thanks for those who have stood by us in times of testing, who knew our hearts better than others did, and who represented us in Christ.

Poetry: “Onesimus” by Tania Runyan

Since I stole your money, Philemon, and even more, myself, the body
that broke earth and stacked stones at daybreak while you slept,

you have every right to lash me till the whites of my intestines show,
brand FUG on my forehead, or throw me to the lions, who love especially

the taste of escaped slaves, our blood sweet with freedom’s fleeting breath.
But Paul, wild-eyed with Christ, has washed down his prison walls

with prayer. He knows you will take me back, not a slave, but a brother
delivering koinonia to your congregation in this present evil age, teaching

how to pray paralytics into motion and how to sleep in peace
when soldiers sharpen swords outside your windows. Paul calls me his son, no—

his very heart. I am no longer your body but will reside in yours,
pump forgiveness and prayer through your veins. I will make you

see Christ in every jangling harlot and rotting, leprous face.
I will make you a slave to God’s bidding.

Music: Return to the Heart – David Lanz

Cabrini

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Courage, Discipleship, Eternal Life, Faith, Gospel, spirituality3 Comments

Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin
November 13, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111324.cfm

But when the kindness and generous love
of God our savior appeared,
not because of any righteous deeds we had done
but because of his mercy,
he saved us through the bath of rebirth
and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
whom he richly poured out on us
through Jesus Christ our savior,
so that we might be justified by his grace
and become heirs in hope of eternal life.
Titus 3:4-7

The saint we honor today is an exemplar of the spiritual life Paul describes in his letter to Titus – centered in God’s mercy, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and unified with Jesus Christ and his Gospel.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, we take time to be with Frances Xavier Cabrini, and with any of our special saints who model for us the pathway to eternal life.

Research: The story of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini’s life is inspiring and astounding. To read a summary, click here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Xavier_Cabrini

Music: Va, Pensiero (from the film Cabrini) is an aria from the opera Nabucco written by Giuseppe Verdi in 1842. The aria is popularly known as “The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves”.

The opera recollects the period of Babylonian captivity after the destruction of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BC.

The libretto is by Temistocle Solera, inspired by Psalm 137. The opera with its powerful chorus established Verdi as a major composer in 19th-century Italy. The full incipit is “Va, pensiero, sull’ali dorate”, meaning “Go, thought, on wings of gold”. (Wikipedia)

Goes, thought, on golden wings
Va, pensiero, sull’ali dorate

It goes, it places you on the slopes, on the hills
Va, ti posa sui clivi, sui colli

Where they smell warm and soft
Ove olezzano tepide e molli

The sweet auras of the native soil
L’aure dolci del suolo natal
He greets the banks of the Jordan
Del Giordano le rive saluta

The towers of Sione collapsed
Di Sione le torri atterrate

Oh, my beautiful and lost homeland
Oh, mia patria sì bella e perduta

Oh, memory so dear and fatal
Oh, membranza sì cara e fatal
Golden harp of the fateful prophets
Arpa d’or dei fatidici vati

Why does it change from the willow tree you hang?
Perché muta dal salice pendi?

Rekindle the memories in your chest
Le memorie nel petto raccendi

It tells us about times gone by
Ci favella del tempo che fu
O similar of Sòlima to the fates
O simile di Sòlima ai fati

You draw a sound of raw lament
Traggi un suono di crudo lamento

O may the Lord inspire you with a concert
O t’ispiri il Signore un concento

May it infuse virtue into suffering
Che ne infonda al patire virtù
May it infuse virtue into suffering
Che ne infonda al patire virtù

May it infuse virtue into suffering
Che ne infonda al patire virtù

Virtue to suffering
Al patire virtù

All

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Courage, Discipleship, Eternal Life, Faith, spirituality2 Comments

Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr
November 12, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111224.cfm

When you have done all you have been commanded, say,
‘We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do.
Luke 17:10

Today’s Gospel tells us that we have to give God our “All” because God is the Source of that “All”.

Often, we hear about “giving our all” in relationship to the sports world – give it everything you’ve got, leave it all on the field, all or nothing, win or go home.

What if we had the same attitude toward our spiritual lives? Toward performing the Works of Mercy, living the Beatitudes, keeping the Greatest Commandment. What if we really gave God all!

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We need plenty of practice to achieve the kind of dedication that gives “All”. Let’s begin or renew our will and effort right now through prayer, reflection, and living Mercy in our world.

Prayer: Thomas Merton

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. 
I do not see the road ahead of me. 
I cannot know for certain where it will end. 
Nor do I really know myself, 
and the fact that I think that I am following your will 
does not mean that I am actually doing so. 
But I believe that the desire to please you 
does in fact please you. 
And I hope I have that desire 
in all that I am doing. 
I hope that I will never do anything 
apart from that desire. 
And I know that if I do this 
you will lead me by the right road, 
though I may know nothing about it. 
Therefore will I trust you always, 
though I may seem to be lost 
and in the shadow of death. 
I will not fear, 
for you are ever with me, 
and you will never leave me 
to face my perils alone.”

Music: I Surrender All – Judson W. Van DeVenter (1896)

A gentle interpretation of an traditional favorite.