Here’s That Cup, Again!

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Courage, Discipleship, Faith, Jesus, Lent6 Comments

Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent

March 11, 2020

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Today, in Mercy, we learn a lesson in humble leadership, thanks once againto “Mrs. Zebedee”.

Mk 10_38 cup

Our Gospel recounts the story of the mother of James and John interceding for her sons with Jesus. Like many overprotective mothers, she intervenes even into their adult lives. She wants to make sure they get the best deal for their investment with Jesus.

Listen, I understand and love her! I would be the same way with my kids if I had any. I often say it’s best I had none because “Overprotective Me” would have had to shadow them to school, dances, playgrounds etc. until they were about 35 years old!

But the point of this Gospel story isn’t Mrs. Zebedee’s overprotectiveness.  It has little to do with Mrs. Zebedee at all.

The point is that “Mrs. Zebedee” (like many of us) has missed the whole POINT. The Gospel story is about US and the integrity of our choice to live a life in the pattern of Jesus.

Christ’s disciples 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 Mrs. Zebedee requests for her sons, will bring them rewards only through humility and sacrificial service.

Here’s the way a 14th century artist imagined the Zebedee family. (Dad looks happy!)

sons of zebedee
Mary Salome and Zebedee with their Sons James the Greater and John the Evangelist (c.1511) by Hans von Kulmbach, Saint Louis Art Museum

 

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 (and to us). One can imagine the bemused look on Christ’s face. He knows the hearts of his disciples. 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?”

veronese-le-christ-rencontrant-la-femme-et-les-fils-de-zebedee_-_grenoble
The meeting of Christ with Zebedee’s wife and sons by Paolo Veronese

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

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

Music: To Be a Servant – David Haas

Refrain:
For I have come not to be served but to serve;
To give my life.
If you wish to be the first you must seek
To be a servant, to be a servant.

1. Can you drink the cup that I must drink;
Are you willing?
Can you be baptized like I have been baptized?
Are you able? Are you able?

2. For to sit at my right hand or at my left,
Is not for me to give.
But for those for whom it has been prepared,
It will be given. It will be given.

A Cheat and a Gift

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn FaithLeave a comment

Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent

March 10, 2020

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soup

(I will be honest with you, dear readers – as I always am.  (So sorry, my Guam and Australia friends that I am so late.) The morning got away from me.  Ever had that happen? This is a re-run because Daylight Saving Time made me get up too late, and I had to make the most delicious soup ever before I wrote a reflection. You see, I live in a hungry community whom I love!

Recipe below as a means to ask your forgiveness. 🙂

But first:

Scarlett

Today, in Mercy, our readings are a study in contrasts
between sinfulness and righteousness.
Isaiah says even the forlorn sinners of Sodom and Gomorrah
could be saved if they live humbly
and do justice to the downtrodden.
Jesus says that the sin-blind Pharisees
can only be saved
by becoming servants of the needy.
The message is clear
that the path to holiness
is the humble service of our neighbor.
May we hear and respond.

Perhaps, responding to these readings,  we would like to give nourishing “soup” – material or spiritual – to our neighbor today. Let me know if you make it, or something similar.  Or have some great suggestions!

Music: Lovely video: White As Snow Maranatha Singers

Recipe

Prelude:
You have leftover mashed potatoes and a few extra sausages, ham or bacon. Hmm? What to do?

1.Make Your Own Broth

Toss a roughly chopped onion, 3 celery stalks, 3 carrots, a couple of cloves of garlic and a meat bone or chicken breast into a pot. I use celery leaves, unchewable asparagus stems and the like.  You won’t actually be eating these.  It’s just to get the nutrients and flavor.

I added a few pork bones today that  I had in the freezer. (Good to roast them first at 350 for 30 minutes if you have time.) You can use some ham or bacon or beef. Add favorite seasonings like salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, parsley, bay leaf, and marjoram. Go gently with the add-ins.  You can’t take OUT but you can always ADD. Cover with water. Bring to a boil. Then simmer for about 30 minutes. Pour through a strainer to keep liquid. Let cool. Remove surface fat. (It will rise if you place pot by cool window, or in fridge for a while.  I bought a fat separator and it works well too, but COOL first or your plastic separator will melt!)

      2. The Soup

Roughly clear your stock pot.  (Don’t worry about leaving some of the original spices there.) Add 2-3 tablespoon olive oil. Add chopped onion, celery, carrots, and garlic to pot. Depends on your taste. I use 2 big onions, 4 carrots, 4 celery, 2 garlic gloves. If I have a nice half cabbage, I gladly shower it in.  You’d be surprised how sweet it is! Gently brown as you consider God’s gentleness to you throughout your lifetime. If you want to live dangerously and deliciously, (and don’t have acid reflux), add 1/2 stick butter.

When veggies are transparent, coat with about two tablespoons of cornstarch – the way God sends unexpected grace over you. Stir until the white cornstarch disappears in the veggies. Add your beautiful broth while humming a hymn – preferably Amazing Grace or I Love Rock and Roll Music.  If you don’t have enough of your own broth, add some chicken stock. Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Sit down and have a glass of wine.

    3. The Left-over Potatoes , Et Cetera

Mix the potatoes like this:  1 cup taters to a half cup flour. Add an egg, good salt and pepper. Combine.  Form balls a little smaller than golf balls.

Great to have some sautéed and drained sausage balls, shredded chicken, or bacon or ham.

Once soup is simmering nicely, drop in your extras – potatoes, sausage balls, etc.. Add a can of rinsed beans or a couple handfuls of little pasta things if you want some heft. Let cook gently for 15 or 20 minutes.

Honey, you’re gonna’ love it!  Let me know!

 

A Plea for Mercy

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Faith, Forgiveness, Gospel, Jesus, Lent, Mercy, Prayer, repentanceLeave a comment

Monday of the Second Week in Lent

March 9, 2020

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bruggemann

Today, in Mercy, our reading from Daniel gives us one of the Great Prayers of the Old Testament (according to Walter Brueggemann’s like-named book.)

The Book of Daniel and chapter nine in particular, have been the subjects of extensive biblical exegesis. Chapter nine in considered one of the Messianic Prophecies, Old Testament markers pointing to Christ. So there is much we could study about today’s first reading.

 

But how might we pray with it?

Naming the sins of all the People, Daniel’s great prayer is a plea for mercy:

Lord, great and awesome God,
you who keep your merciful covenant
toward those who love you
and observe your commandments! …
… yours, O Lord, our God,
are compassion and forgiveness!

Three themes, so strikingly germane to Lent, arise from Daniel’s prayer:

Repentance
Forgiveness
Transformation

Our Responsorial Psalm picks up this plea to Mercy for Mercy:

Remember not against us the iniquities of the past;
may your compassion quickly come to us,
for we are brought very low.
R.    Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
Help us, O God our savior,
because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name’s sake.

The questions for each of us as we pray today —

Is there someplace in my life
longing for such mercy and healing?
Where can my spirit grow
from repentance, forgiveness, and transformation?

be Mercy

In our Gospel Jesus tells us how to open our hearts to this merciful healing.

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.”

There it is in black and white. Whether or not the advice changes my heart is up to me!

Music: Kyrie Eleison (Lord, have mercy) Beethoven- Missa Solemnis

Daylight Saving Time

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn FaithLeave a comment

Let Daylight Saving Time Bless You

doorway
It was the house we had grown up in and its now empty corners echoed a thousand joys. My brother and I stood on its threshold, ready for the final time to close the door behind us. Mom had died eight months before, following Dad to a home we believed in. Now the house had been sold, emptied, cleaned and blessed. It was time to move on.

That moment on the threshold
is a still-shot in the memory
of those long-ago days.
Such a moment is the tight-wire
between memory and promise;
the border between regret and gratitude.
It is the passageway
between fear and trust.
It is the line we draw
between loneliness and independence.

Such a moment is like the soft, grey stillness
just before dawn
when everything is possible
but nothing is yet real.
It is an exquisite time
when life invites us to become
all and more than we had ever been.

These early weeks of daylight savings time are like that threshold.  They give us a second chance, beyond winter, to pause at the shadowed lintel and to enter the power of pre-dawn.

dawn

Early mornings which, in the past few weeks, had been brightening now plunge back into shadows.

This is a grace-filled liminal time where we might recall all the many doorways we have crossed on the journey to who we are.

It is a time we might reflect on the invitations offered at each crossing and who we have become because of our yeses and our nos.

It is a time to wait for new light, but still to bless the rich darkness that holds the deep roots of our life.

It is a time to realize that we lift our foot for the next step purely on the music of all that has been given to us.

DST

Let’s not take this annual transition for granted.  It has so much to offer us as we pass mysteriously through time.

Some lovely accompanying music: Somewhere in Time

 

It’s Your Turn!

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Courage, Discipleship, Faith1 Comment

Second Sunday of Lent

March 8, 2020

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Today, in Mercy, as I prayed with these readings, I heard the words “It’s your turn.”

In our passage from Genesis, it’s the message God gives Abram:

Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk
and from your father’s house
to a land that I will show you.

In other words, I have reached from my Infinite Perfection to call you into a covenant of love. Now, it’s your turn to leave your comfort zone and go find my hope for you and for my people.

In Timothy’s letter, the call comes in this form:

Bear your share of hardship for the gospel
with the strength that comes from God.

Again Timothy tells us that Christ carried the cross so that we could have eternal life. It’s our turn now to bear any cross all the way to the empty tomb.

And in our Gospel, the just transfigured Jesus calls his beloved disciples to a new courage:

“Rise, and do not be afraid.”

In other words.. things are going to get really tough. You have just seen a Glorious Light that will take you through the darkness. It’s your turn to walk beside me on the coming journey.

Folded in each of these messages is the implication that, although challenges may come, a stronger commitment to God and God’s hope is being opened before each listener — before us.

its ur turnJPG

Scripture records the long, ensuing story of Abram’s response. We know, too, how Timothy’s early Christian community turned persecution into indomitable witness. And the commitment of Peter, James, and John built the foundation of our faith.

Every morning when God wakes us up, the Holy Voice shining in the morning light whispers, “It’s your turn. Today will be part of your journey into my Heart. How will you respond to the many calls being offered you?”

Let this “Transfiguration Moment” give us brave, loving, and insightful hearts! Let us walk the path Christ would walk, especially as we deepen into the lovely blessings of Lent.

Music:  Transfiguration – Carey Landry

We behold the splendor of God
shining on the face of Jesus.
We behold the splendor of God
shining on the face of the Son.

And oh, how his beauty transforms us,
the wonder of presence abiding.
Transparent hearts give reflection
of Tabor’s light within, of Tabor’s light within.

Jesus, Lord of Glory, Jesus, Beloved Son,
oh, how good to be with you;
how good to share your light;
how good to share your light.

We behold the splendor of God
shining on the face of Jesus.
We behold the splendor of God
shining on the face of the Son.

And oh, how his beauty transforms us,
the wonder of presence abiding.
Transparent hearts give reflection of
Tabor’s light within, of Tabor’s light within.

Jesus, Lord of Glory,
Jesus, Beloved Son,
oh, how good to be with you;
how good to share your light;
how good to share your light.

Be Careful of Love

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Discipleship, Eternal Life, Faith, Gospel, Jesus, Lent, Love, MercyLeave a comment

Saturday of the First Week of Lent

March 7, 2020

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Moses spoke to the people, saying:
“This day the LORD, your God,
commands you to observe these statutes and decrees.
Be careful, then,
to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.

Today, in Mercy, Moses tells us this:

Be careful, then …

Be careful of what? Does he mean be careful like,”Don’t fall down the steps!”. Or does he mean be careful like, “Hold tenderly to love in your life.”?

In this passage from Deuteronomy, Moses goes on to say one of my favorite biblical phrases:

… today the LORD is making this agreement with you:
you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he promised you…

Since the 17th century, the word “peculiar” has taken on the meaning of “odd” or “unusual”.  But the original sense comes from the Latin peculiaris meaning “of private property”

Moses is reminding us that we belong to God and God to us in a covenant similar to, but far exceeding, the mutuality of a marriage.

So we should “be careful”, full of care, in appreciation for this infinite love.

 

chick

In our Gospel, Jesus tells us how to take this exquisite care of our precious relationship with God:

But I say to you, love your enemies,
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for God makes the sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
… Be compassionate as your Heavenly Father is compassionate.

So, let’s be careful of love today when we find this precious God in our sisters and brothers and in all God’s Creation. Let us be compassionate.

Music:  Compassion Hymn – The Gettys 

Beyond Measure

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Eternal Life, Faith, holiness, Lent, Love, Prayer, spirituality1 Comment

Friday of the First Week of Lent

March 6, 2020

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ps130 iniquities

Today, in Mercy, our readings could confuse us with their threads of legalistic logic. We see several examples of “if-then” admonitions that can make us picture God as an accountant measuring every choice we make.

  • If the wicked man turns, … then he shall surely live
  • If the virtuous man turns, … then none of his good deeds shall be remembered.
  • If you, O Lord, Mark iniquities … then who can stand.
  • If you go to the altar unreconciled … then leave and be reconciled.

measure

Sometimes, we can get obsessive about the “if-then” aspects of religion. And IF we do, THEN we probably miss the whole point. Because folded in today’s “if-then” seesaws is the truth of these passages: that the Lord does NOT sit miserly in Heaven to mark our iniquities.

The Lord measures the righteousness of love.

“Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.—Jeremiah 9:23-24

Today’s Responsorial Psalm offers us a beautiful prayer for this morning as we pray in the embrace of God’s Lavish Mercy:

I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
My soul waits for the LORD
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.

Let’s wait for the Lord today to see where God’s Grace invites us to the righteousness of Love.

Music: Everlasting Love – Mark Hendrickson & Family (Lyrics below)

Chorus
With an everlasting love
I love you I love you
With an everlasting love
a love that’ll never end
a love that’ll never end
I love you.

Till the stars lose their way
In the heavens up above
And the oceans all run dry
Till the clouds in the sky
Keep the rain all to themselves
Even longer I’ll love you
This I promise I’ll love you
My word I give it’s true
I love you

Till the morning sun ceases to arise
And the moon forgets to shine
Until heaven’s blue is erased from the sky
Even longer I’ll love you
This I promise I’ll love you
My word I give it’s true
I love you

The Problem with Prayer

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Courage, Faith, Gospel, Hope, Jesus, PrayerLeave a comment

Thursday of the First Week in Lent

March 5, 2020

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Today, in Mercy, our readings could be so reassuring about the power of our prayer, except …..

How often have you prayed
for something that you didn’t get?

 

Jean-François_Portaels_-_Esther
Queen Esther – By Jean-François Portaels

In our reading from the Book of Esther, Esther certainly puts everything she has into her prayer for deliverance:

She lay prostrate upon the ground, together with her handmaids,
from morning until evening, and said:
“God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, blessed are you.
Help me, who am alone and have no help but you,
for I am taking my life in my hand.

The passage, in isolation from the rest of the Book, might lead us to conclude that Esther’s prayer is simply about her asking for, and receiving, what she wants from God. It’s about much more.

Esther, like Christ, is in a position to save her people. She must risk her life to do so. She is praying for the courage to do God’s will, to look past her own comfort and become an agent of grace in her circumstances.

Now that’s some kind of prayer!

Prayer can be like looking in a mirror. All we see reflected back is our own need and desire. We don’t pray honestly and openly enough to let God open a door in the mirror – a door into God’s own will and hope for us.

Mt7_7 doorJPG

That’s the door Jesus is talking about in today’s Gospel.

What we ASK is not just for something we want, but rather to know God’s heart.

What we SEEK is not our own satisfaction, but the grace to embrace God’s mysterious energy in our lives no matter how it comes to us.

What we KNOCK for and desire to be opened to us is deeper love and fuller relationship with our loving God.

Sometimes, the problem with prayer is that we think it’s like asking our rich uncle for a permanent loan. It’s only when we comprehend that prayer is a relationship that the RECEIVE, FIND, and OPENED parts become real for us.

Music: Prayer Is the Key to Heaven – Alan Brewster

( Uncharacteristically, I went old-time revival with this one — but I think the song has something to say. I hope you enjoy it, dear Friends. And for something more classically beautiful, see Handel’s piece below.)

Sinfonia from”Esther”  – George Frideric Handel

A Second Chance

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

Wednesday of the First Week in Lent

March 4, 2020

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Jonah3_1another chance

Today, in Mercy, one line from our readings hit me like a lightening bolt:

The word of the LORD
came to Jonah
a second time.

Yes, it’s the truth! God will keep coming back again and again to encourage us to hear his true message for our lives.

Our Gospel gives us a hint about how resistant we sometimes are to this deep listening:

This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
except the sign of Jonah.

 

What is the sign of Jonah anyway?

res and life

To put it simply, it is the witness of the Resurrection – that overarching event that changed everything for believers. For just as Jonah was able to return from certain death in the whale’s belly, so Christ conquered death and rose to new life, promising us the same power.

This is the central, life-changing belief for Christians. It should make a difference in how we live.

By our Lenten repentance, we can be like Jonah, grasping the second chance God always gives us to respond to our life circumstances with faith, hope, and love.

I would bet there is something in your life right now that is calling you to such a response. Someplace in your life, you may be caught in a bit of a “whale’s belly 🐳” about some issue, am I right?

God makes us ask ourselves questions most often when He intends to resolve them. He gives us needs that He alone can satisfy, and awakens capacities that He means to fulfill. Any perplexity is liable to be a spiritual gestation, leading to a new birth and a mystical regeneration.” ― Thomas Merton, The Sign of Jonas

Today’s readings remind us that we already have the glorious sign of the Resurrection to inspire us to leap from that dark “belly” into God’s hope for us!

Music:  a fun song “In the Belly of  Whale” – The Newsboys

The Word Will Not Be Void

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Courage, Discipleship, Faith, spirituality, Thanksgiving2 Comments

Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

March 3, 2020

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Today, in Mercy, as I pray with today’s readings, I ask myself two questions:

      • “What has God’s Word accomplished in me?”
      • “What does God’s Word yet want to accomplish in me?”

If you’re like me, you’re always thinking about what you haven’t done, still must do, wish you had done. 

STOP

Let’s STOP and praise our gracious God for the good accomplished through our lives. I know every one of you reading this blog is an amazingly good person. God has already done beautiful things through you. Thank God. Give God the glory.

Lyrics:

How can I say thanks
For the things You have done for me?
Things so undeserved,
Yet You gave to prove Your love for me;
The voices of a million angels
Could not express my gratitude.
All that I am and ever hope to be,
I owe it all to Thee.

To God be the glory,
To God be the glory,
To God be the glory
For the things He has done.

With His blood He has saved me,
With His power He has raised me;
To God be the glory
For the things He has done.

Just let me live my life,
Let it pleasing, Lord to Thee,
And if I gain any praise,
Let it go to Calvary.

And then ask to go on, to open up your heart, to see God’s next desire for your precious life.

waterfal

For my young readers, give your dynamism to God’s imagination for you. There are great and holy things around every corner! Trust! Ride the grace-filled wave! Do not be afraid! Be a waterfall for God’s Word.

 

wellJPGFor some of us, as we get older, we do not have the physical energy to DO all that we once did. But oh, my dears, we can now BE more wonderful for God because of the long accumulation of his generous grace. Be a Well for God’s Word! Sink into grace! Do not be afraid!

 

For thus says the LORD:
Just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
And do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
Giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
So shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
It shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.

How amazing that promise is! Trust it! Let the Word transform you every day of your life.

Let’s consciously pray for one another today as today’s Gospel encourages us:

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

Music:  So Will I – Hillsong