Who’s First?

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, dying, Eternal Life, spirituality3 Comments

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/082118.cfm

first Last

Today, in Mercy, our readings are full of “either – or” talk, opposing categories that render us either blessed or damned:

  • rich or poor
  • death or life
  • first or last

The distance between these contrasts appears to be measured in possessions and power:

  • Ezekiel pronounces God’s Word to the Prince of Tyre: “ … your heart has grown haughty from your riches…”
  • The responsorial from Deuteronomy cautions: “It is I – not you- Who give life and deal death.”
  • And the Gospel advises, “Anyone who has given up (possessions) for My sake … will inherit eternal life.”

For centuries, Christians have struggled with these concepts. It is counterintuitive to want to divest of one’s “riches”. Yet Jesus is telling us that it is almost impossible not to be coöpted by our possessions – not to have our spirits so distracted by their acquisition and retention that they displace God as the center of our lives. Jesus says is like a camel trying to pass through a needle’s eye.

Ezekiel suggests that to believe we possess anything is an illusion. Everything can be taken from us in an instant. Jesus says the illusion will be flipped in the Kingdom of Heaven where the “first”and “last” will switch places.

These are radical concepts that each Christian must absorb into her own life through prayer and service in order to find grace for her own circumstances. Life is not “either/or” for most of us. There is a lot of grey where we constantly weigh what God would want of us.

Through prayer and service, we can invite God to patiently change our perception of where true riches lie. The degree of change will determine whether we possess our “riches”, or they possess us.

Music: Only Jesus – Casting Crowns

Follower of Christ

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Discipleship, Eternal Life, Faith, holiness, Jesus, spirituality3 Comments

Monday, August 20, 2018 – Memorial of St. Bernard

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/082018.cfm

st Bernard

Today, in Mercy, our Gospel tells us the story of a rich young man with a good and holy heart. He asked Jesus what he needed to do, beyond keeping the commandments, to become perfect in God’s sight. 

Jesus tells him to sell what he has, give the proceeds to the poor, and follow Him. Apparently, this is too much for the man to accept and he goes away sad.

On the other hand, we have St. Bernard of Clairvaux whose feast we celebrate today. Bernard, too, had been a wealthy young man. Hearing Christ’s call to leave everything behind and follow Him, Bernard entered the Cistercian monastery. 

He desired only to live a deeply contemplative life, but his many intellectual and spiritual gifts brought him significant roles in the broader life of the Church. Doctor of the Church, Abbot, Advisor of Popes, Reformer of Religious Life – any of these titles fit Bernard today. 

But perhaps the title he would treasure most is the one he first pursued: Follower of Christ.

We do not need to be a monk or a nun to follow Jesus. We simply need to know where our true treasure lies, and to give everything for it.

Music: Follow Me – Casting Crowns

Taste and See!

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Eternal Life, Faith, holiness, Prayer, spirituality3 Comments

Sunday, August 19, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/081918.cfm

Ps34_Honey

Today, in Mercy, in the beautiful first reading from Proverbs, Wisdom builds her house and invites us to turn in to her welcoming door. Picture a lovely cottage, set in a varied garden. You are coming off a long road through the darkness. But Light shines from Wisdom’s doorway, carrying the invitation for refreshment and rest.

But there is a caveat before you partake:

Let whoever is simple turn in here …
she says,
Come, eat of my food,
and drink of the wine I have mixed!
Forsake foolishness that you may live;advance in the way of understanding.

Are we simple enough to become wise? Do we have a heart sincere enough to trust that there is an Infinity beyond our understanding Who loves and invites us from the depth of It’s Mystery?

In our Gospel, Jesus clarifies that He is the door by which we enter into the fullness of Wisdom. When we meet Him in Eucharist, in the deepest simplicity of faith, we pass through the door to Eternal Wisdom – to the sweet, infinite simplicity of God.

Today’s Responsorial Psalm offers us a refrain to thread through our prayer today:

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

This is Wisdom’s invitation offered to us in each experience of our day. May we be simple enough to hear it.

Music: Psalm 34 ~ The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir 

A Clean Heart

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Eternal Life, Mercy, Prayer, repentance2 Comments

Saturday, August 18, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/081818.cfm

Ps51_clean heart

Today, in Mercy, God tells Ezekiel that each person will be judged according to her/his own ways – not according to the deeds of our parents, family or friends.

In the Gospel, Jesus blesses the innocent children and says that those in the Kingdom of Heaven must be like them.

Most of us are a long way from innocence. We have our agendas, our politics, our status, our possessions, our grudges, our prejudices that often come between us and a spiritually pure heart.

If we want to be different, today’s Psalm 51 allows us to lay it all on the heart of Jesus.   Create in me a clean heart, O Lord.

(I hope you enjoy this gentle rendering of the psalm in Hebrew.)

Music: Choneni Elohim, from Psalm 51 (Be Gracious to me O G-d) ~ Christine Jackman

Receive the Word

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Faith, Gospel, spirituality2 Comments

Friday, August 17, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/081718.cfm

Today, in Mercy, our readings focus on the covenant between God and God’s People. 

1 Thess2 Word

Ezekiel recounts the infidelity of Israel which is met with the infinite fidelity of God. In our Gospel, Jesus parries with the Pharisees as they test him with questions about fidelity in marriage. Both readings reference “the word” which comes to us carrying truth and revelation. Today’s Alleluia Verse directs us to receive the Word of God with openness.

How will the Word of God come to us today? Will it be a single message, mysteriously hidden somewhere in the voluminous activities and distractions of the day?

No, instead it will be hidden in plain sight in ALL those activities and distractions. The Word of God is the abiding presence of Love which sustains our lives at every moment. It is the language that only a faithful heart can hear, a language throbbing in all Creation. We learn this language by silence, prayer and loving service of others.

May we be open to receive the Word of God as it comes to us, clothed in the lights and shadows of this day.

Music: Your Word ~ Hillsong Worship

Is God Angry?

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Church, Faith, Mercy, repentance, suffering3 Comments

Thursday, August 16, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/081618.cfm

Mt 18_34 Angry

Today, in Mercy, our readings leave us wondering, “Can God get angry?” It’s hard for us, who think of God as Lavish Mercy, to imagine that God would be irrevocably angry with us.

Today’s readings are examples of the ways in which both the Hebrew prophets and Jesus tried to describe the Indescribable God in words we might understand. Sometimes in scripture we find an angry God, an impatient God, a frustrated God, a vengeful God- even a bullying God. All these stories make God seem very human. But God is not like us, just as many other scripture passages assure us.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8-9

What we do know for certain is that God is Love, because only Love could have breathed forth Creation. All the other descriptions are our imaginative struggles to comprehend how God might react to our human situation.

Today, as the news describes the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report on over 300 abusive priests, I cannot imagine how God is not heartbroken and angry. Can there be a greater sacrilege than the savaging of innocence by those proclaiming to sanctify it?

Let us pray for Mercy today for victims and survivors, that they may find some healing in the telling of their tragedies and the affirmation of their courage. 

Let us pray for ourselves, a broken Church, where an idolatrous “priesthood” has killed the image of Christ it was thought to represent, where the façade of trust lies dissolved in the tears of children, and the hope of transformation is elusive.

Let our spirits weep with the God of Love, and ask for Mercy to show us the way back to the pure heart of our faith.

Music: Mercy ~ Matthew Redman

I Will Carry You

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Discipleship, Faith, Jesus, Mercy, Prayer7 Comments

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Memorial of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/081418.cfm

Today, in Mercy, Jesus tells us that he wants none of us to be lost. He wants that so much that he would leave the whole flock just to find us. That’s how precious we are to God.

Mt 18_14lamb

We’ve all felt lost to God at times – maybe through sorrow, depression, doubt, anger, distraction, self-absorption, laziness or a thousand other kinds of paralyses and sins.

We hear people – maybe ourselves – say, “I just can’t pray” or “I don’t have time to pray” or, “I’m too angry with God to pray.” Or, probably the most common excuse, “I’ll pray just as soon as I get everything else done.” Of course, we never get everything else done!

I think that sometimes we stray from God because we are afraid:

  • that our faith is not strong enough to receive God’s answer
  • that we are not good enough for God to love us
  • that we cannot measure up to honest relationship with the God of Truth

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us to get past our excuses and fears. He says, “Get up here on my shoulders and let me carry you. I already know all about your excuses and fears – and I love you beyond them. Let’s go home to God’s heart.”

Music: I Will Carry You ~ Sean Clive

The Scripture of Our Lives

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

Monday, August 13, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/081318.cfm

Ez1 boing

Today, in Mercy,  in our first reading, Ezekiel signals that something really important has happened. He does this by means of a prophetic word formula – repeated and patterned phrases found throughout the Bible. 

One pattern that we’re accustomed to is, “Amen, Amen, I say to you..” Jesus used it to say, “Listen up! Important info to follow!”

Another pattern is the specific setting of time and place to mark an event as pivotal. One such beloved phrase: “It came to pass in those days, that Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.

Ezekiel’s formulaic phrase is a marker in his spiritual life: 

On the fifth day of the fourth month of the fifth year,
that is, of King Jehoiachin’s exile,
The word of the LORD came to the priest Ezekiel…

If we look back over our own lives, we will remember moments when God clearly entered our experience. We may not have realized it until long after. We may be surprised to remember a point in time as the opportunity God took to embrace us. But through reflective prayer, we begin to see that God is with us, even in our darkest moments, bringing the revelation of God’s infinite Love and Mercy.

What if we filled in the blanks in Ezekiel’s formula with our own life markers? What if we thanked God for each of them, dark or light – asking for the grace to understand their revelation?

Each of our lives is its own scripture, telling the story of God’s love and presence. Spend time with yours today.

Music: God of All My Days ~ Casting Crowns

Live in Love

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Church, Community, Eternal Life, spirituality2 Comments

Sunday, August 12, 2018

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/081218.cfm

Eph 5_1 live in love

Today, in Mercy, our readings capture the essence of life in God through Christ.

The first reading from Kings tells how Elijah, after eating the food God had provided him, was able to endure the long journey to God’s mountain.

In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus makes clear that no one makes that journey into the heart of God unless God calls us. But Jesus says that the invitation is given to all who believe. He says that, just as with Elijah, the Father gives us food – Jesus himself – the bread of life.

The second reading from Ephesians says that we have already “been sealed for the day of redemption through the Holy Spirit.” Paul says that, given this amazing gift, we have only one job:

So be imitators of God, as beloved children,
and live in love,
as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us
as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.

We are so accustomed to hearing these astounding passages that we may miss how astounding they really are. But Macrina Wiederkehr says:

When Jesus’ words begin to sound naive to our 21st century minds, let us look through the words, in between the words, underneath for a deeper truth.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, the great Jesuit mystical theologian, upon reading these passages,saw the mystery of the Body of Christ. He saw our call to be the heart of Christ in the world. He saw Christ’s promise to become one with us in Eucharist. He saw that, through this Infinite Love played out in our ordinary lives, God continues to redeem Creation.

In each soul,
God loves and partly saves the whole world
which that soul sums up
in an incommunicable and particular way.
~ The Divine Milieu ~

Music: Quintessence – Spencer Brewer

May this lovely instrumental piece help take us to a deeply prayerful place as we contemplate God’s gift in Jesus.

Ever Complain to God?

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Faith, Hope, spirituality, suffering3 Comments

Saturday, August 11, 2018

Memorial of St. Clare

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/081118.cfm

Hab 2_2 write

Today, in Mercy, we have a rare appearance from the prophet Habakkuk, whose contribution to the Hebrew Scriptures is brief — three short chapters. The first two chapters are known as the First and Second Complaint of Habakkuk.

In his first complaint, Habakkuk is upset with the way the world is going. You know what he feels like. He saw the political infrastructure rife with corruption, enemies attacking the heart of Jewish religion, and economic deadlock. Habakkuk asks God to explain why this is happening.

God says that Habakkuk has to have faith, that ultimately God will work things out.

That doesn’t float with Habakkuk, so he complains again. He basically tells God that, as the all-Powerful One, God should be able to do better.

Have you ever talked to God like that in your prayer – just so frustrated with your life or the world situation that you pour it all out in one massive complaint?

The fullness of Habakkuk’s faith evolved over time, because God abided with him, telling Habakkuk to be patient:

Write down the vision
Clearly upon the tablets,
so that one can read it readily.
For the vision still has its time,
presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint;
If it delays, wait for it,
it will surely come, it will not be late.
The rash man has no integrity;
but the just man, because of his faith, shall live.

This passage is a good incentive to maintain a spiritual journal.  When we go back over past challenges, we are often amazed to see how God did, indeed, abide with us — just as God did with Habakkuk.

Ready for some haunting beautiful Gaelic? (English lyrics below.)

Music: Bi Thusa Mo Shuile (Be Thou My Vision)
( Be Thou My Vision is a traditional hymn from Ireland. The words are based on a Middle Irish poem often attributed to the sixth-century Irish Christian poet Dallán Forgaill. The best-known English version was translated by Eleanor Hull and published in 1912. Since 1919 it has been commonly sung to the Irish folk tune “Slane”.)

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art