Category: Thanksgiving

Thank You for My Life

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Discipleship, Prayer, ThanksgivingLeave a comment

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Click here for readings

Thank U for my life

Today, in Mercy, we celebrate the Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  This feast memorializes a story not present in Scripture. We know of it only from apocryphal writings, those considered of unsubstantiated origin. It tells of Mary’s dedication in the Temple at the age of three. Some versions say she remained there until the age of twelve, thus giving her life fully to God even from youth.

On the day of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, “we celebrate that dedication of herself which Mary made to God from her very childhood under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit who filled her with grace … .” (Liturgy of the Hours)

As we move deeper into the final weeks of Ordinary Time, our readings continue to offer us stories about what it will be like at the end of time.  Today’s Gospel about the talents reminds us that we each have been given particular gifts with which to build up God’s Creation. Like the watchful Master, God expects – and needs- us to use these gifts, and to increase their value by sharing them with our sisters and brothers. Sometimes we think we have no real gifts to give. But the witness of a simple, faithful, generous life is beyond price.

During this Thanksgiving week, we will want to spend some prayer time reflecting on the many gifts we have been given – by God and by those who love us. Calling on Mary, let us pray too about how we choose to  “pay it forward” in gratitude.

Music: We Have Gifts to Share – Susan Kay Wyatts

This is a childlike song, but the point is profound. For those with young children and Grands, you might like to share this song with them.

Living Gratefully

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Prayer, spirituality, ThanksgivingLeave a comment

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

 Click here for readings

Today, in Mercy, we witness the cure of the ten lepers.  You know, it would be startling enough to run into one leper on your daily walk, right?  But TEN! That must have been an astounding situation. And to see those sad, disfigured people restored to wholeness must have been nearly overwhelming for the entourage accompanying Jesus.

Can you imagine that the recipients of such a miracle wouldn’t have clung in gratitude to Jesus for the rest of their days??? But, wow, only one even bothered to say “Thank you”.

Lk 17_17 lepersJPG

What might have kept the other nine away, locked in their blind ingratitude?

Perhaps it’s not such a mystery if we allow ourselves to examine our own often ungrateful hearts. We don’t necessarily mean to be boorish in the face of God’s kindness and the generosity of others, but we suffer from …

  1. Distraction: our lives are filled with frenetic activity which causes our blessings to flit by us into dizzying forgetfulness
  2. Entitlement: we think we deserve or have earned those blessings
  3. Self-absorption: we are so wrapped up in ourselves that we don’t even notice that our whole life is a gift
  4. Laziness: we might say thanks if we get around to it. But we never get around to it.
  5. Unresolved anger: we’re mad that we even needed help
  6. Non-intentionality: we fail to live with intention and reflection, thus missing the opportunities for gratitude 
  7. Pride: we are too proud to acknowledge that we need anything
  8. Fear: we are afraid something will be required of us in return for the gift
  9. Spiritual blindness: we just don’t see the nurturing power of God and others in our life

It’s likely that our nine ungrateful lepers had these human frailties. But don’t be thinking about them, or your acquaintances who share their failings.  Let’s think about ourselves and how we want to be more grateful. The story is a powerful wake-up call to do better than the poor lepers did by living this prayer:

May I live humbly and gratefully today.

Music:  Hymn of Grateful Praise – Folliott S. Pierpoint

I Always Thank God for You

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, Hope, Love, Prayer, Thanksgiving2 Comments

Saturday, October 20, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/102018.cfm

Ephesians 1_18 Blessed be

Today, in Mercy, we read the magnificent Ephesians prayer, spoken by Paul over his beloved community — and over us.  The phrases are like sacred honey, each one to be individually savored and consumed.

  • I never cease giving thanks for you
  • May God give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation
  • May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened
  • May you know what is the hope that belongs to God’s call
  • … what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones
  • … and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe

Wow! What if we prayed for one another like that? What if we prayed for ourselves like that?

Sometimes we, and our companions on life’s journey, do require prayers for a specific need: recovery from illness, strength in a time of trial, courage in darkness.  

But we should pray for one another every day – a prayer that transcends specific needs – a prayer for wisdom, faith, understanding, and wild confidence in God’s loving  power in our lives.

Such a prayer, like Paul’s, helps create a web of spiritual resilience for our beloveds, around them and within them. This is the power of the Communion of Saints.

Let us pray like this for each other.

Music: Ephesians Hymn I, Suzanne Toolan, RSM

Everything Is A Gift

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Faith, Gospel, Thanksgiving2 Comments

Friday, October 12, 2018

              Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/101218.cfm

Today, in Mercy, we encounter readings that are probably not among anyone’s favorites. In the epistle, Paul is trying to demonstrate to the Galatians how blessed they are to have inherited the promise given to Abraham. 

In the Gospel, there is a lot of talk about evil spirits, divided kingdoms, and good old Beelzebub. It’s not really a day when you’ll say, “Gosh, those readings inspired me!”

Is it worth sticking with the daily readings in such a case?  I think so.

Ps111_grateful heart

There is always a string lying among these sacred words that we can tie to our own hearts. For me today, that string is wrapped around the Responsorial Psalm:

I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart.

Just as the Galatians have inherited God’s promise, so have we. Just as the Kingdom of God has come upon Jesus’ followers, it has come upon us. God’s fidelity remains with us through all the “demons” that might annoy or threaten us. God’s graciousness has already redeemed us for an eternal life beyond their reach.

So let’s have intentionally grateful hearts today. Everything – yes, everything – in our lives is a gift, if we but have the grace to unwrap it with humility, openness and gratitude.

Music: Give Thanks ~Don Moen

Our Breath within God’s Own

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Eternal Life, Faith, Holy Spirit, Mercy, spirituality, Thanksgiving3 Comments

Tuesday, September 4, 2018

          Readings:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/090418.cfm

Ps145_kindJPG

Today, in Mercy, we have an awesome first reading from Corinthians in which Paul assures us:

We have not received the spirit of the world
but the Spirit who is from God,
so that we may understand the things freely given us by God.

What joy to realize that God’s own Spirit dwells within us making us one with God, breath within Breath. We have that intimate comfort of knowing God as our dearest Friend, Confidant, and Lover.

Nothing in our lives falls outside God’s embrace and compassion. God’s kindness, graciousness and lavish mercy sustain and inspire us always to believe, to hope, and to love.

In thanksgiving, we pray today’s most fitting Psalm 145.

Music: The Lord Is Kind and Merciful – Jeanne Cotter; David Haas

All Good Gifts

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Discipleship, holiness, Thanksgiving1 Comment

Sunday, September 2, 2018

       Readings:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/090218.cfm

Today, in Mercy,  In our first reading, James writes elegantly to his community. He reminds them and us that all gifts originate in our changeless, loving God Who breathed us to life from his infinite and Lavish Mercy.

Jms1_17 gifts

Then James just so simply enjoins is:

  • So hear God’s Word of Love in your hearts
  • Be good by doing good for the afflicted

James says that doing this is “religion pure and undefined”.

In our Gospel, Jesus reinforces this truth. The Pharisees want to condemn Jesus and the disciples for breaking a ritual hand-washing rule. Jesus says those human rules are lip-worship. What God wants is a loving and sincere heart proven by loving and sincere deeds.

On this first Sunday in September, let us rejoice in the gifts God has given us- life, faith, the ability to love and hope. Let us reach out by prayer and service to those who might be blessed by our sharing. 

That reach can be so simple: a smile, a phone call, a small courtesy, a solitary prayer. Or it can be huge: a long-delayed forgiveness, a turning from unhealthy or unholy behaviors, a commitment to faith and service. We ask the Father of Lights to inspire us.

Music: Every Good Gift ~ One:A Worship Collective

Hungry?

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Eternal Life, Faith, Thanksgiving1 Comment

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Readings:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/072918.cfm

Today, in Mercy, our readings assure us that God cares about our hungry spirits and will satisfy them. 

Ps145 HungerJPG

Both the prophet Elisha and Jesus respond to the needs of the hungry crowds by the power of their faith. In each story, there is only a small amount of food to meet the overwhelming need of the people. But those small amounts, given selflessly and gratefully, renew themselves until all are satisfied.

Our spiritual hungers are deep, and much harder to fill than our physical ones. Sometimes, we don’t even know what we are longing for. Thus we may end up filling our emptiness with distractions and junk.

Today’s readings encourage us to turn our soul’s needs toward God. St. Augustine said this:

You have made us for yourself, O Lord,
and our hearts are restless (hungry)
until they rest in You.

Notice that in Jesus’s miracle of the loaves and fishes, there is one key action before the multiplication occurs.

Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks,
and distributed them to those who were reclining,
and also as much of the fish as they wanted. 

Let’s sift through even the small sustenance of our life for the things that we are grateful for. When we lift these up in thanksgiving, glimpsing the loving face of God, other graces will begin unexpectedly to multiply around and within us.

Music: O, My Soul Hungered – Corbin Allred

Blessed Be God

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Eternal Life, Faith, Prayer, Thanksgiving1 Comment

Sunday, July 15, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/071518.cfm

Today, in Mercy, our readings are filled with God’s glory and blessings. The magnificent passage from Ephesians is considered an example of the great Pauline Hymns. These are places in Paul’s writing where he breaks into lyrical songs of praise and thanksgiving, so overwhelmed is he by the goodness of God.

Eph1_17 hymn

Have you ever felt like that – just so grateful to God for the blessings of your life? So blessed to wake up in the morning, with the capacity to believe, to hope, and to love!

A practice I learned many years ago has helped me focus on this kind of prayerful gratitude. As soon as I realize I am awake in the morning (and sometimes that takes a while😀), I say this simple prayer:

Thank you, God, for my life.

On a special morning, I might pause and expand that prayer quite a bit. But every day, I start with at least that brief phrase.

Savor St. Paul’s eloquence in his hymn of praise today. Let your heart recognize God’s goodness and sing even a silent, personal Thank You.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens.
Ephesians 1:3

Music: Ephesians Hymn ~ Suzanne Toolan, RSM, who is Sister of Mercy at Mercy Center in Burlingame, CA. She has mentored many people in centering prayer in retreats and in prisons. She is prolific composer of liturgical music, including the iconic hymn, “I Am the Bread of Life”. Suzanne recently celebrated her 90th birthday.

The Fifth of July

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, justice, Thanksgiving9 Comments

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/070518.cfm

(May I digress today with a reflection I wrote a few years ago?)

The Fifth of July

Any fireworks in your neighborhood tonight?  Any parades outside your window? Probably not.  After all the speeches, sparklers and spectaculars, the “Next Day” dawns.  I wonder what it was like for Jefferson, Franklin and Adams on Jul7 5, 1776.  Did they wake up thinking, Declaration of Independence – signed.  Now, make it happen?

Angry Cartoon Colonial Man

When you get right down to it, most of our days are 5ths, 6ths, 7ths and 8ths of July.  They are the days after graduation when we need to get a job.  They are the days after the honeymoon when somebody needs to cook dinner and take out the trash.  They are the days after the promotion when the first deadline looms and a bunch of faces are looking to you for the plan.

If the 4th of July is Independence Day, the 5th is Dependability Day, a day to celebrate the people we can always count on.  They are there for the parades but they also stay around for the clean up afterward. They light the spark for the fireworks, but they have a hose nearby just in case. They put their “John Hancock” on the brave new dream, and they show up the next morning to design its daunting execution.

The 5th of July is a day to celebrate our own sense of responsibility or “Dependability” – to realize that most of us really do try to be good spouses, parents, employees, neighbors, sons, daughters and friends; that we do keep making the effort every day to be someone for others and not just for ourselves. It is a day to look around at the people in our lives and be grateful that most of them are trying to do the same thing.

Like Jefferson, Franklin and Adams, we all need to wake up the next day, consider the “dependabilities”in our lives, and put our shoulders to the task of making a better world. Each of our lives is its own small country where the future really depends on how we show up on our 5th of Julys. The fact that you get up every day and engage that challenge is cause for its own celebration.  So if you have a little sparkler left in your back yard, light it for yourself tonight – and for your spouse, your boss, your kids, your colleagues – who all showed up today to do the best they could on the 5th of July.

Music: To wake you up for this July 5th, the inimitable Andre Crouch – You Can Depend on Me, Lord

 

 

Blushing a Little

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Jesus, spirituality, Thanksgiving1 Comment

Saturday, April 28, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/042818.cfm

Today, in Mercy, Philip kind of puts his foot in his mouth. He tells Jesus, “Show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Oh, really? Is that all, Philip? It seems like that might be enough for just about anybody, don’t you think?

And Jesus sticks it to Philip a little, “Have I been so long with you and yet you do not know Me? The Father and I are one.”

We might hear Jesus’ question echo in our hearts. Has God been with us throughout our lives and we are still slow to recognize His Presence? Do we need to wake up like Philip in order to see the face of God in nature, in our loved ones, in the joys and sorrows of our life, in all Creation? Has God already shown us more than enough to help us love and believe in Him? Maybe, blushing a little like Philip, we just need to say, “Thank You!”