Shake

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Courage, Discipleship, Faith, Hope, spirituality1 Comment

Memorial of Saint Benedict, abbot
July 11, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071124.cfm

Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it,
and stay there until you leave.
As you enter a house, wish it peace.
If the house is worthy,
let your peace come upon it;
if not, let your peace return to you.
Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—
go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet.
Matthew 10: 11-14

Jesus gives his disciples a lesson on how to deal with disappointment and frustration as they spread the Gospel. Not every heart is going to be open to them. Jesus wants them to give their mission a heartfelt try. But if it meets a wall, they should not bang their head against it. Just turn around, let it go, and shake off their concern. Let it be like so much “dust in the wind”.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

All disciples of Jesus, all who sincerely live and preach the Gospel, are going to meet frustration at many points in their lives. We live in a world that is often diametrically opposed to the Beatitudes, the Magnificat, the Our Father. We live with people who cover classroom walls with the Ten Commandments while breaking every one of them in personal practice.

It can be frustrating, but Jesus says not to get caught in that frustration. Rather, he teaches, shake it off and move on to more receptive ground.

Jesus was serious about this and, in another passage, used some harsh words to make his point:

Do not give what is holy to the dogs;
nor cast your pearls before swine,
lest they trample them under their feet,
and turn and tear you in pieces.
Matthew 7:6-7

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

Over the course of our lives, we will find ourselves somewhere in these passages – disciples or frustraters, pearl- givers or swine! Wherever we stand, God’s grace awaits us.

Poetry: Shake Thyself from the Dust – Mary Hoyt Loveland

Shake thyself from the dust, faint heart;
Loose thyself from bands that bind.
Thou art not Assyria’s thrall;
Captive, rise and freedom find!

Captive, this is Love’s own realm!
Lo! the very hills rejoice
That oppression is cast down;
Yea, the streams lift up their voice.

Yea, each dewy blossom glows,
Freed from error’s withering blight.
Loosed from tyranny and fear,
Captive, turn ye to the light!

Turn ye to the light, and see
That no evil can dismay,
Gathering clouds of bitterness,
Hiding harmony from day.

Turn ye to the light, faint one;
In the truth is freedom won!

Music: Dust in the Wind – by Kansas

At Hand

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Eternal Life, Faith, Gospel, Jesus, Mercy, spirituality4 Comments

Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
July 10, 2024

Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,
“Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation:
‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
Matthew 10: 5-7

In this passage, Jesus is concerned with those who were offered faith in One God but have lost touch with it — “lost sheep of the house of Israel”. He wants these lost believers to be given the message, “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

While the message conveys a sense of urgency (Hurry up and get your act together), it also offers a calming security. When something is “at hand”, we can touch it. We can hold on to it for balance. We can feel support and accompaniment as we we hold hands with a Loving Presence.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We may hear Jesus’s words either as a warning or an invitation to intimacy. Love is at hand for us, even if our faith has become distracted and our direction “lost”. We are invited to reach out to the God Who waits for us.

Poetry:

“The Beloved is with you in the midst of your seeking!
God holds your hand wherever you wander.

Rumi

Music: Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand – Jennie Bain Wilson (1857) Sung here by Lynda Randle

Time is filled with swift transition,
Naught of earth unmoved can stand,
Build your hopes on things eternal,
Hold to God’s unchanging hand.

Refrain:
Hold to God’s unchanging hand,
Hold to God’s unchanging hand;
Build your hopes on things eternal,
Hold to God’s unchanging hand.


Trust in Him who will not leave you,
Whatsoever years may bring,
If by earthly friends forsaken
Still more closely to Him cling.

When your journey is completed,
If to God you have been true,
Fair and bright the home in glory
Your enraptured soul will view.

Splancha

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Faith, Forgiveness, healing, Jesus, Love, Mercy, spirituality2 Comments

Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
July 9, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070924.cfm

Jesus went around to all the towns and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness.
At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them
because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Matthew 9:32-38

Have you ever felt your heart constrict or your belly drop in the face of deep sadness or shock? If so, you have felt “splancha”, the Greek word for that profound compassion that wells up from our innards for the sake of a suffering person.

Matthew tells us that Jesus felt “splancha” for the crowds because they were troubled and abandoned. They had lost their way to God and had no one to help them find it. Thus he reaches out to heal and teach them about God’s Lavish Mercy.

Today, in that same Lavish Mercy:
By the grace of God may we,
and all who are in need of grace,
be healed of trouble and abandonment
to find our way to God
through the Mercy of Jesus.

Poetry: Mercy by John F. Dean

Unholy we sang this morning, and prayed
as if we were not broken, crooked
the Christ-figure hung, splayed
on bloodied beams above us;
devious God, dweller in shadows,
mercy on us;
immortal, cross-shattered Christ—
your gentling grace down upon us.

Music: Merciful God – The Gettys and Stuart Townend

Espouse

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Faith, Forgiveness, Love, Mercy, spiritualityLeave a comment

Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
July 8, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070824.cfm

I will espouse you to me forever:
I will espouse you in right and in justice,
in love and in mercy;
I will espouse you in fidelity,
and you shall know the LORD.
Hosea 2:21-22

The prophet Hosea is a consummate poet. He uses the metaphor of espousal to convey the profound and merciful love of God for the people. Hosea contemplates his own life and his experience of marital infidelity to more deeply understand the relationship between a forgiving God and a false-hearted people. The language is beautiful, powerful, at times unsettling. It is intended to turn Israel’s heart – and ours – fully toward God’s love in repentance and fidelity.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy

God is the Lover and Spouse of our souls, of the whole Church, and of all Creation. In trust and openness, let us give ourselves to that Divine Mercy in every aspect of our lives.

Poetry: Hosea and Gomer by John Piper

This beautiful poem helps us more deeply understand the Book of Hosea.

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/hosea-and-gomer

Music: Hosea – Gregory Norbet

When a Beloved Tree Falls

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, Creation, dying, Faith, Love, Mercy, spirituality11 Comments

July 6, 2024

Last week, a great tree was felled at the edge of our Motherhouse lawn. Having stood for decades near the Guardian Angel, it had shaded many generations on their way to Mercy: students, staff, visitors, and the Sisters themselves on their many ins and outs to this common home.

The whole community which gathers here daily felt a pang at the hewing, knowing that we had shared the very breath of this tree for so long. Its leafy embrace offered us a place to cool in the present, a way to remember the beauty of the past, and a security about the future. Seeing it disassembled by necessity gave a bittersweet pain. But there was a peace in knowing that our tree had come to completion with honor and dignity.

We drew so much from the presence of that tree, but perhaps we can draw even more from its absence. The lines of Gregory Norbet’s hymn “Hosea” come to mind:

Trees do bend, though straight and tall.
So must we to others’ call
Long have I waited for your coming home to me,
And living deeply our new life.

Our tree, even in its retreat, still speaks to us – a truth becoming profoundly evident these days as we mourn the passing of our sister and friend Marie Ann Ellmer. She stood straight and tall among us, but another call came precipitously in the early morning last week.

When a beloved dies, one with whom we drew the same breath and hope, part of us dies. Whether a great tree or a magnanimous soul, they take something with them of the life we shared. When we mourn them, it is that which is taken that we pine for. But as we fold their lives under Love’s eternal blanket, it is that which they have left us that gives joyful peace.

That glorious tree and dear Marie Ann seem to be one now in the solemn aura that follows death. Both, in rare beauty, brought others to the precious gift of Mercy. Both remain treasured in its Everlasting Power. And both have given back to Creation the blessed graces that made them shine among us.

Thorn

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Cross, Discipleship, holiness, spirituality, sufferingLeave a comment

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 7, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070724.cfm

That I, Paul, might not become too elated,
because of the abundance of the revelations,
a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan,
to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.
Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me,
but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is made perfect in weakness.”
2 Corinthians 13:6-9

Two millennia of believers have speculated about Paul’s “thorn”. Was it a bad hip, sciatica, or maybe eczema? And why didn’t he just come right out and tell us what it was?

Such useless speculation may make us miss the point of this powerful passage. Paul was immensely graced by God to the point that he could easily have become proud. Although he begged for the “thorn” to leave him, he received it as a gift. That gift allowed Paul to give not only his strengths to God’s service, but also his weaknesses.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

Do you have a little “thorn” somewhere that bothers and distracts you from full trust in God? Maybe an inability to forgive, an excessive need for control, an uncharitable judgment, a fear of change, an intolerance toward certain personalities, a fascination with personal achievements?

God invites us to transform these “thorns” into blessings by giving them to the Divine Energy Who calls us to love fiercely like Paul did.

Quote:

“The thorn from the bush
one has planted,
nourished and pruned
pricks more deeply
and draws more blood.”

Maya Angelou

Music: A Thorn Tree – from Trinity UMC in Montpelier, VT

I came upon this lovely rendition by accident, and I thought it was beautiful in its simplicity.

Fresh

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Eternal Life, Faith, Gospel, Jesus, spirituality1 Comment

Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
July 6, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070624.cfm

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said,
“Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast.
No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth,
for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse.
People do not put new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined.
Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Matthew 9:14-17

Jesus tells the Baptist’s questioning disciples that his is a new world. The confines of the Old Law will no longer contain the new grace of the Paschal Mystery and the Gospel.

Old wineskins become brittle with overuse. The analogy is applicable to many realities in life. Often, as time passes, we pay less attention to some important things or people. We may take them for granted, over-depend on their effectiveness, fail to effectively communicate, surrender to that famous “contemptuous familiarity”.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
Immobilizing constriction can affect our faith too. Jesus encourages us to keep faith “fresh” by prayer, communal reflection, and practice. Neither our personal nor our communal faith is static. Grace offers us the invitation to become ever deeper in our understanding of God. The current Synodal process within the Catholic Church is a wonderful example of openness to fresh, new “wineskins” for our faith.

Poetry: Wine Skins – Evelyn McNulta

This is a simple poem with devout sentiments, but what struck me most about it is where I found it – in a public newspaper, The Atlanta Chronicle.
The poem reminded me of a poet some of my older local readers might remember – James Metcalfe. His “Daily Poem Portraits” were published in The Philadelphia Evening Bulletin during the 1950s. They were a great favorite of my Dad.

My hands are uplifted in homage to Him,
They're not empty.
They hold loosely those sins that cause separation
of His spirit and mine.

Dear Father, take them and fill me with new wine.
The wine skins of my life are brittle and hard,
They can't hold your new wine because they are marred.
Please replace them with supple new skins

That can be distended again and again.
These wine skins are vessels that hold Your concerns,
Help me remember the things I have learned.
The more I am emptied of selfish desires,

The more You can cleanse me with Your cleansing fire.
You'll burn away malice, ill-temper and greed,
And open my eyes to Your people in need.
You'll put unforgiveness also in Your fire,

And fill my heart with the burning desire
To worship, to honor, to praise Your dear name.
Your new wine remakes hearts, they're never the same.
Take mine, Holy Father, change what you will,

I'm nothing without You, I need You to fill
Each crevice, and corner and nook of my heart.
There's much to be changed, I'm asking, please start.

Music: Fall Afresh on Me

Follow

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Courage, Discipleship, Gospel, Jesus, spirituality4 Comments

Friday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
July 5, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070524.cfm

Our Gospel today recounts the call of Matthew to be Jesus’ disciple. The master artist Caravaggio has beautifully captured that “Who me?” moment. We see the summoning hand of Jesus out of the shadows on the right. Matthew and his companion are flushed with Light. Matthew, on the left, points to his chest in the implied question, “Are you talking to me?”.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
Yes, God is talking to me. Do I see God’s Presence, perhaps out of the shadowy circumstances of my life? Do I listen? What do I hear? Do I follow?.

Matthew stood right up and followed. What can we learn from him?

Poetry: The Calling of St. Matthew – James Lasdun

The Calling of the Apostle Matthew

Music: The Summons – John Bell and Graham Maule

Patriot

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn spirituality13 Comments

July 4, 2024

Several years ago, on the Fourth of July, I planned to meet elderly friends for dinner and had arrived early to await them in the restaurant parking lot. As Carlos and his wife arrived, they headed for the last open handicapped space, only to be cut out by another car. Carlos went on to find a space at the back of the lot as I observed the other couple emerge from their souped-up muscle car, sporting a decal which read ”It’s America, Stupid. Speak English!”. The driver was a muscular guy in cut-offs and tank top, head wrapped in an American flag kerchief. Laughing at their parking prowess, the two threw a handicapped placard on the dashboard and ran into the restaurant.

Meanwhile, Cuban-born Carlos, a WW II vet, awarded a Purple Heart and a Silver Star, struggled from a distance in his wheelchair. At twenty-two years of age, Carlos’ legs were shattered as he saved his platoon by throwing his body on a live grenade. As a price for their lives, he had spent the rest of his life confined to a wheelchair.

Carlos and his wife died years ago. But over the years, I have often reflected on that indelible parking lot scene. For me, it is the perfect parable of the difference between true and false patriotism.

Amidst the fireworks, barbecues and baseball games of the Fourth, a subtle truth runs like a quiet, life-giving stream: we are profoundly blessed to be Americans. Most of us know and believe that, but sometimes, a few distort it or take it for granted. This star-spangled time each summer invites us to look more closely at the gift of our citizenship.

  1. Do we vote?
  2. Do we diligently study candidates’ philosophies and voting records?
  3. Do we disregard party and personality in the interest of ethical, world-conscious leadership?
  4. Do we consistently study issues and express beliefs to elected officials?

When I listen to some political talk shows, it scares me. Some of these pundits have badly confused patriotism with nationalism. Patriotism is always fed by unbiased truth, mutuality and respect. At its heart is freedom — for everyone. Nationalism breeds states like Nazi Germany in the past century and North Korea in our own. It is fed by unexamined fears, conspiracy falsehoods, control and abuse. At its heart is domination – over everyone.

We live in a wonderful country where most citizens understand the huge difference between patriotic devotion and nationalistic arrogance. Our young men and women are willing to fight and die for that difference. Our brightest leaders have given their lives for it. We must never cheapen these sacrifices by espousing the false “Americanism” of isolation, exclusion, domination or conceit.



Let’s turn off the exploitive and manipulative cable channels. Let’s listen to our own hearts where the essence of freedom beats like a minuteman’s drum – where truth was breathed into us long before we even knew we were Americans.

Courage

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Courage, Faith, spirituality4 Comments

Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
July 4, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070424.cfm

… people brought to Jesus a paralytic lying on a stretcher.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
“Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.”

This passage describes a situation found in just a few of Jesus’s miracles. The miracle occurs because of the intervention of others, not the one in need. When Jesus sees the faith of those who carried this young man, his Infinite Mercy was moved.

It seems that perhaps the afflicted person had lost hope. It was his friends who hoped – his friends who carried him. What a gift it is to have friends who will stand by you in life’s sometimes crippling circumstances. What a blessing to have companions who see your salvation when you have lost the vision!

Acting on the faith of these steadfast friends, Jesus tells the paralytic to reach down into his soul and recover the courage that will make him whole.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We pray to be faithful friends like the ones described in this passage. We pray in gratitude for those who are such friends to us.

Thought:

There is nothing on earth
more to be prized
than true friendship.

St. Thomas Aquinas

Music: I Will Carry You – Sean Clive