The Key of Knowledge

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

Memorial of Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues
Thursday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
October 19, 2023

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101923.cfm

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, “the Law” plays a central role in our readings.

At their best, laws are those commonly agreed-upon markers that guide the human community on its shared journey. Ideally conceived in the context of justice, every law will lead to a balance of well-being for all concerned.

It is in the human administration of law that we meet challenges. Such administration rests in the hands of “superiors” who are, like all of us, subject to prejudice, ignorance, domination, and arrogance. These individuals can regress to an interpretation of law that benefits only themselves and those they favor.

In our Gospel, Jesus vociferously condemns this corruption of the Law by the very people who have been entrusted with its integrity:

Woe to you, scholars of the law!
You have taken away the key of knowledge.
You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.

Luke 11:52

What is that “key of knowledge” Jesus refers to? I think it is this: that the Law is only peripheral. While it must be respected, it must also be transcended so that we live beyond it and into the Spirit Who generates it.

In our first reading, Paul makes an astounding statement that surely knocked the pharisaical legalists on their pins! Paul says that God’s righteousness is not found in the Law but solely in faith in Jesus Christ.

Now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law,
though testified to by the law and the prophets,
the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ
for all who believe.

Romans 3:21-22

This passage in Romans is critical to the Christian understanding of “righteousness”. No one can achieve righteousness apart from the grace of God which is given to us solely as gift and not reward for our actions. But it is also essential that a person create an inner receptivity to grace, a receptivity achieved through the personal exercise of faith, hope, and love – that is, by the works of mercy.

Since the early 16th century, various Christian denominations have been trying to split the hair of this argument which is dubbed “Sola Fide (faith alone)”. The argument asks, “Are we made right with God by faith alone, or by faith demonstrated in good works?”.

Paul and Jesus addressed the question fifteen hundred years before anybody even thought up the Sola Fide conundrum. They did so in direct and simple language so that their listeners could learn and feel confident in their faith life.

The debate around “sola fide” can devolve into theological hair-splitting, an exercise that seems almost like an intellectual game. Contrary to hair-splitting, our faith life is fostered by a theology deeply rooted in spirituality and evidenced in reverent, grateful, and charitable living. Laws can help us with that pursuit but they can’t accomplish it. Only an active, loving faith, responsive to God’s grace, can unlock that door.

Prose: Excerpt from Lumen Fidei (The Light of Faith), the first encyclical of Pope Francis (June 29, 2013)

(This passage and the encyclical as a whole are so beautiful that I hope you will take time to savor the words, even in small doses. I broke it up into small sections because that’s the way I best prayed with it.)

Since faith is a light, it draws us into itself, 
inviting us to explore ever more fully 
the horizon which it illumines, 
all the better to know the object of our love. 

Christian theology is born of this desire. 
Clearly, theology is impossible without faith; 
it is part of the very process of faith, 
which seeks an ever deeper understanding 
of God’s self-disclosure culminating in Christ. 

It follows that theology is more 
than simply an effort of human reason 
to analyze and understand, 
along the lines of the experimental sciences. 
God cannot be reduced to an object. 
He is a subject who makes himself known 
and perceived in an interpersonal relationship. 

Right faith orients reason to open itself 
to the light which comes from God, 
so that reason, guided by love of the truth, 
can come to a deeper knowledge of God. 

The great medieval theologians and teachers 
rightly held that theology, as a science of faith, 
is a participation in God’s own knowledge of himself. 
It is not just our discourse about God, 
but first and foremost the acceptance and the pursuit 
of a deeper understanding 
of the word which God speaks to us, 
the word which God speaks about himself, 
for he is an eternal dialogue of communion, 
and he allows us to enter into this dialogue. 

Theology thus demands the humility 
to be "touched" by God, 
admitting its own limitations before the mystery, 
while striving to investigate, 
with the discipline proper to reason, 
the inexhaustible riches of this mystery.

Music: Spirit Seeking Light and Beauty – Janet Erskine Stuart, RSCJ

Be Like Luke!

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Courage, Discipleship, Faith, Jesus, spirituality1 Comment

Feast of Saint Luke, evangelist
October 18, 2023

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101823.cfm

“The Tradition of the Orthodox Church says that
Luke was a painter who created icons of Mary.
Historian Theodorus Lector mentions St Luke drawing the Virgin;
Saint Andrew of Crete wrote about St Luke depicting both Mary and Christ;
Saint Simeon the Metaphrast, historian and the author of many biographies of saints,
mentioned one icon of the Virgin Mary holding Christ.
He said that it was painted by St Luke and is “honored even to this day.”
(from the Convent of St. Elizabeth website: https://obitel-minsk.org/history)

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, we pray with St. Luke, the elegant author who has painted a tender picture of God on human hearts. That picture has the beautiful face of Jesus Christ, Incarnate Mercy for all people.

God is portrayed throughout the Old and New Testaments as a warrior or a stern judge, but Luke, through his parables, presents God as a loving, anxious father who forgives his erring son before the boy can ask to be forgiven and lavishes love on him.

Joseph Blenkinsopp: Luke’s Jesus

Today’s first reading gives us some insight into Luke’s character and personal committment to the spread of the Gospel:

Beloved:
Demas, enamored of the present world,
deserted me and went to Thessalonica,
Crescens to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.
Luke is the only one with me.

2 Timothy 4:10

Apparently Luke, unlike Demas, was not “enamored of the present world”. Wow! What a packed description that is! Paul is obviously disappointed. It would appear that Demas, Crescens, and Titus decided to opt out of their contracts. Only Luke hung on with a rather gloomy-sounding Paul who is pining for his cloak and papyrus rolls.

I would imagine Paul was not an easy boss to work for. He was a firebrand – both when he fought against the Gospel and when he fought for it. No doubt he demanded the same intensity from those who directly assisted him. And the work itself was daunting. Luke recounts in the Acts of the Apostles the many trials that had to be met before any small success.

Some of the apostolic candidates just didn’t vibe with all of that. But Luke could work with Paul’s fire. And he could uncover the glorious story within the many challenging folds they navigated. What a blessing he must have been to the wildly dynamic and sometimes mercurial Paul!

Luke had incorporated into his own life Jesus’s ministerial call so clearly described in today’s Gospel:

Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;
and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter,
first say, ‘Peace to this household.’
If a peaceful person lives there,
your peace will rest on him;
but if not, it will return to you.

Luke 10:3-6

Like Paul, Luke never met Jesus in person. Both were born shortly after Jesus’s time on earth. But the two of them knew Christ intimately and carried that inspirited knowledge to their own world and to the ages.

Our picture of Jesus would be a lot blurrier without Luke. Nearly half of Luke’s content is not found in the other three Gospels.

Many stories, sayings, and images found only in Luke have become an indispensable part of Christian consciousness. The Prodigal Son, the Good Samaritan, the Rich Man and Lazarus, the Pharisee and the Publican, the encounter with the Risen One on the Road to Emmaus, the Magnificat, the angel’s song Peace on Earth are only in Luke, but it is difficult to imagine the Christian tradition without them.

Eugene Boring: Introduction to the New Testament: History, Literature, Theology

Perhaps you have a favorite among the exclusive stories cited above. This feast of St. Luke may be a good day to remember why that story is important to you and to thank Luke for its gift.

Poetry: Luke – Malcolm Guite

His gospel is itself a living creature
A ground and glory round the throne of God,
Where earth and heaven breathe through human nature
And One upon the throne sees it is good.
Luke is the living pillar of our healing,
A lowly ox, the servant of the four,
We turn his page to find his face revealing
The wonder, and the welcome of the poor.
He breathes good news to all who bear a burden
Good news to all who turn and try again,
The meek rejoice and prodigals find pardon,
A lost thief reaches paradise through pain
The voiceless find their voice in every word
And, with Our Lady, magnify Our Lord.

Music: Luke’s Gospel contains four special canticles connected to the Birth of Jesus:

  • The Magnificat (Luke 1:46-56)
  • The Benedictus (Luke 1: 67-79)
  • The Gloria in Excelsis (Luke 2:13-14)
  • The Nunc Dimittis ( Luke 2:29-32)

The Lie and The Truth

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Charity, Creation, Faith, Gospel, Jesus, spirituality, Truth1 Comment

Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr
Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
October 17, 2023

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101723.cfm

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, both Paul and Jesus speak forcefully against an endemic human fault: dishonesty.

Paul castigates “those who suppress the truth by their wickedness”:

The wrath of God is indeed being revealed from heaven
against every impiety and wickedness
of those who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
For what can be known about God is evident to them,
because God made it evident to them.
Ever since the creation of the world,
his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity
have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made.

Romans 1:18-20

These “truth suppressors” are guilty for one reason – they know better! God’s Truth is evident to them in Creation yet they deny and pervert it for the sake of their own selfish ends.

As a result, they have no excuse;
for although they knew God
they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks.
Instead, they became vain in their reasoning,
and their senseless minds were darkened.
While claiming to be wise, they became fools
and exchanged the glory of the immortal God
for the likeness of an image of mortal man
or of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes.

Romans 1:20-23

Jesus defines this untruth more clearly. He says that it presents itself in pretense – the external dissimulation which masquerades narcissistic motivations:

The Pharisee (who had invited Jesus to dinner) was amazed to see
that Jesus did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal.
The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees!
Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish,
inside you are filled with plunder and evil.
You fools!
Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?
But as to what is within, give alms,
and behold, everything will be clean for you.”

Luke 11:38-41

Jesus indicates that charity is the perfect “cleanser” for dirty cup interiors (and dingy moral codes). Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it? Well, maybe not so easy but certainly clear and simple.

Charity is rooted in the interior recognition that we are all children of our Creator and that we have a responsibility for one another’s welfare. Acting on that recognition is “almsgiving” which comes from the same Greek root, “eleemosyne“, as the word mercy.

Our world, like Paul’s, is challenged by the suppression of truth. Much of our visible culture is based on lies and pretense. Political hoodwinking, media non-objectivity, economic duplicity, and exploitive advertising conspire to convince us that:

  • we ourselves never are or have enough
  • anyone not “like us” is a threat to our insufficiency
  • foreigners are dangerous
  • power grants sovereignty
  • the poor are solely responsible for their poverty.

Jesus and Paul tell us that we must resist such lies, purify our hearts of their influence, and live a Gospel life of truth, charity, and mercy.

Prose: from the Catholic Encyclopedia:

I found this definition of almsgiving very thought-provoking because it indicates that “almsgiving or “mercy” is more than an act or actions. It is an attitude and lifestyle, a lens through which we consider all things in the light of the Gospel for the sake of the poor:

Any material favor done to assist the needy, and prompted by charity, is almsgiving. It is evident, then, that almsgiving implies much more than the transmission of some temporal commodity to the indigent. According to the creed of political economy, every material deed wrought by humans to benefit the needy is almsgiving. According to the creed of Christianity, almsgiving implies a material service rendered to the poor for Christ’s sake. Materially, there is scarcely any difference between these two views; formally, they are essentially different. This is why the inspired writer says: “Blessed is the one that considers the needy and the poor” (Psalm 40:2) — not the one that gives to the needy and the poor.

Music: The Prisoners’ Chorus – from Beethoven’s only opera Fidelio

Fidelio is inspired by a true story from the French Revolution. It centers on a woman, Leonore, whose husband Florestan has been unjustly imprisoned by his political rival – the villainous Don Pizarro. In the magnificent “Prisoners’ Chorus”, the prisoners sing powerfully about the gift and need for freedom.

Oh what joy, in the open air
Freely to breathe again!
Up here alone is life!
The dungeon is a grave.

FIRST PRISONER
We shall with all our faith
Trust in the help of God!
Hope whispers softly in my ears!
We shall be free, we shall find peace.

ALL THE OTHERS
Oh Heaven! Salvation! Happiness!
Oh Freedom! Will you be given us?

The Obedience of Faith

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Discipleship, Faith, Jesus, spirituality1 Comment

Monday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
October 16, 2023

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101623.cfm

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, we begin about a month of readings from Paul’s letter to the Romans. We will also continue with Luke’s Gospel all the way up to Advent.

In my 2019 reflections on these passages, to help me understand Romans, I used a book by Scott W. Hahn, Father Michael Scanlan Chair of Biblical Theology at Steubenville University. I decided to return to that opening reflection as we meet Romans again today.

In his introduction, Hahn says this:

Hahn_Romans

Today’s reading offered me these elements to ponder and pray with:

  • Paul calls himself a “slave” of Jesus Christ
  • He invokes his call as an Apostle
  • He sets himself in the company of the prophets
  • He appeals to Jews who revere David
  • but proclaims Christ, through his Resurrection, as Messiah beyond human lineage
  • He proclaims his mission to the Gentiles
  • to bring about “the obedience of faith”

I’ll be honest with you. I’ve read or heard this passage maybe fifty times in my lifetime, and it has meant little or nothing to me. At best, it has sounded like a formal introduction such as those we hear from government “whereas” type decrees.

But I took Dr. Hahn’s advice, studying the passage, and reading it slowly and prayerfully. Here’s what I received:

  • Paul’s Apostolic call, to which he willingly enslaved his heart, was to preach the Good News of our redemption in Jesus Christ – to preach it to Jews, Romans, Gentiles, and all people.
  • It is an awesome and incredible message that can be received only through the gift of faith.
  • It is a message rooted in the scripture stories we love, and where we look to find a reflection of our own stories.
  • Learning from these realities will help us come to a faith which expresses itself in action and gives glory to God in our own time.

Luke gives us one such story today. Jesus reminds the crowd of two familiar passages – that of Jonah and the “Queen of the South” (the Queen of Sheba, 1 Kings 10). He indicates that the people in these stories believed without a sign.

Jesus tells the people gathered around him  to learn from this. The crowd demands a sign, but Jesus says the sign is right in front of you – it is only your open heart that is lacking.

In his introduction, Paul prays for such open hearts in the Romans:

Rm1_grace_peace

Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.

By that same grace, may we receive faith’s blessing as well.

Poetry: Love Constraining to Obedience – William Cowper (1731-1800)
Cowper’s poem captures the interior transformation that occurs when our obedience is motivated by love rather than simply by duty.

No strength of nature can suffice 
To serve the Lord aright:
And what she has she misapplies, 
For want of clearer light.

How long beneath the Law I lay 
In bondage and distress;
I toiled the precept to obey, 
But toiled without success.

Then, to abstain from outward sin 
Was more than I could do;
Now, if I feel its power within, 
I feel I hate it too.

Then all my servile works were done 
A righteousness to raise;
Now, freely chosen in the Son, 
I freely choose His ways.

‘What shall I do,’ was then the word, 
‘That I may worthier grow?’
‘What shall I render to the Lord?’ 
Is my inquiry now.

To see the law by Christ fulfilled 
And hear His pardoning voice,
Changes a slave into a child, 
And duty into choice.

Music: Grace and Peace – Fernando Ortega

Practice Resurrection

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

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 15, 2023

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101523.cfm

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, we pray with radically liberating readings including Psalm 23, a familiar, comforting and beloved prayer.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.

Psalm 23: 1-3

The psalm comes between readings that assure us of a waiting and sumptuous banquet to which we gain entrance by both mercy and grace.  

Isaiah describes the feast in the future tense:

On that day it will be said:
“Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the LORD for whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!”

Isaiah 25:9

But Paul reminds us of the truth we often forget. The banquet is NOW!

My God will fully supply whatever you need,
in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:20

In our Gospel, Jesus invites his guests to that feast with both an immediacy and a demand. The celebration of abundance is open to all. But we must at least make the effort to don a wedding garment – that reverent, grateful attitude which gives glory to the Source of our abundance. 

The edge of the white choir mantle is visible below the veils.

In ancient times – when I first came to religious life 🙂 – we would add a special garment to our habit to celebrate a great feast. The white choir mantle was a symbol of our awareness of a particularly sacred moment.

Miraculously, it is that reverent awareness that opens our eyes to the plentitude in our midst. It releases us to the freedom of a hope already realized, but hidden from those whose hearts refuse to be dressed in grace.

You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

Psalm 23:5

Our readings invite us to live as not only invited but saved people, completely convinced of God’s eternal welcome and protection.

Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Psalm 23:6

What would the world be like if we lived out this conviction – that we already possess God’s gracious abundance? 

How might the reproaches of fear, competition,
domination, selfishness, and hoarding
be removed from our midst?

How might the rush of generosity, forgiveness, and mercy 
flow out of our confident hearts
to wash the earth in God’s restful waters?

Poem: Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front by Wendell Berry

Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.
And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.
When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.
So, friends, every day do something
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.
Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.
Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.
Listen to carrion – put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?
Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn’t go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.

Music: Abundant Life – written by Ruth Duck, sung by Marty Haugen

We cannot own the sunlit sky, 
the moon, the wild-flowers growing, 
For we are part of all that is 
within life’s river flowing.

With open hands receive and share 
the gifts of God’s creation, 
That all may have abundant life 
in every earthly nation.

When bodies shiver in the night 
and weary wait for morning,
When children have no bread but tears, 
and war horns sound their warning. 

God calls humanity to awake, 
to join in common labor,
That all may have abundant life, 
oneness with their neighbor.

God calls humanity to join as partners
in creating a future free 
from want or fear.
Life’s goodness celebrating, 

that new world beckons from afar,
Invites our shared endeavor 
that all might have abundant life 
and peace endure forever.

Valley of Decision

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Conversion, Discipleship, Eternal Life, Faith, Jesus, repentance, spirituality1 Comment

Saturday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
October 14, 2023

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101423.cfm

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, Joel launches into a cautionary poem replete with metaphors. His images are so effective that, even 3000 years later, many will be very familiar to us from the liturgy and even from modern culture.

Some of my readers may be of an age to remember the wonderful film “The Valley of Decision” starring two of the all-time greats, Greer Garson and Gregory Peck. The film’s title is plucked right out of Joel.

Apply the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe;
Come and tread,
for the wine press is full;
The vats overflow,
for great is their malice.
Crowd upon crowd
in the valley of decision;
For near is the day of the LORD
in the valley of decision.
Sun and moon are darkened,
and the stars withhold their brightness.
The LORD roars from Zion,
and from Jerusalem raises his voice;
The heavens and the earth quake,
but the LORD is a refuge to his people,
a stronghold to the children of Israel.

By using metaphors, the poet-prophet accomplishes an extensive lesson that, delivered in prose, would have exhausted his beleaguered audience.

Metaphors have a way
of holding the most truth
in the least space.

Orson Scott Card

Like all prophets, Joel employs current events to point to a deeper understanding. Many of the metaphors he uses throughout his prophecy have been employed in the liturgy, particularly during Lent. Joel’s message is a universal call to repentance germane to every generation, but particularly to that liturgical season.

Yet even now,’ declares the Lord,
‘return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
and rend your hearts and not your garments.

Joel 2: 12-13

In our Gospel. the core of Joel’s message is given direct and fuller voice in Jesus’ statement:

Blessed are those
who hear the Word of God
and observe it.

Luke 11:28

In our own lives – our own “valleys of decision”, this is the foolproof way we prepare for the Day of the Lord – hearing and observing the Word of God.

Music: Valley of Decision – Christafari

(When I read about Christafari, I am reminded that we can never underestimate or judge the many ways that people come to Christ.)

Christafari was founded in 1989 by Pastor Mark Mohr. Raised in a Christian family, during his teens Mohr strayed from his spiritual upbringing and turned to drugs and alcohol, going as far as growing and even dealing marijuana. After running away from home, living on the streets, and hitting rock-bottom, he had an undeniable encounter with God that drastically transformed his world. At 17, Mark re-committed his life to Christ and took what he now calls his “Freedom Step” out of addiction.

Christafari is comprised of men and women from various continents, countries, and cultures who are true missionaries at heart and share a love for reggae music and passion for following Jesus to the ends of the earth.

Run come and fall
People take heed to His call
Valley of decision
(Valley of decision)
This is no game
People have to die in His name
Valley of decision
(Valley of decision)
Darkness, it looms all around us
I find it hard to see
But I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know
Whether I should stay or whether I should flee
People all around me seem, they seem to be so sad
I hear them cry, I hear them ball
I see them back against the wall
I wish I could wipe away their tears
There’s a Holy
A Holy hill
Holy mount Zion
Holy, Holy mount Zion
Just know that He’s the Lord, Your God, yeah
In this valley of decision
Valley of decision
Even though I run through enough hills and valleys
I fear no evil, ’cause God is with me
Even though I run through enough hills and valleys
Thy rod and staff, they will comfort me
Even though I run through enough hills and valleys
I fear no evil, ’cause God is with me
Even though I run through enough hills and valleys
Thy rod and staff, they will comfort me
Run come and fall
People take heed to His call
Valley of decision
(Valley of decision)
This is no game
People have to die in His name
Valley of decision
(Valley of decision)
There’s a Holy
A Holy hill
Holy mount Zion
Holy, Holy mount Zion
Just know that He’s the Lord, Your God, yeah
In this valley of decision
Valley of decision
Even though I run through enough hills and valleys
I fear no evil, ’cause God is with me
Even though I run through enough hills and valleys
Thy rod and staff, they will comfort me
Even though I run through enough hills and valleys
I fear no evil, ’cause God is with me
Even though I run through enough hills and valleys
Thy rod and staff, they will comfort me
Jah great and dreadful day will soon come
Jah will pour out His mighty, mighty, mighty Spirit to all mankind
Through Him all creation, all creation was made
Those who call upon His name
(Call on His name and You will be saved)
There’s a Holy
A Holy hill
Holy mount Zion
Holy, Holy mount Zion
Just know that He’s the Lord, Your God, yeah
In this valley of decision
Valley of decision
Run come and fall
People take heed to His call
Valley of decision
(Valley of decision)
This is no game
People have to die in His name
Valley of decision
(Valley of decision)
Even though I run through enough hills and valleys
I fear no evil, ’cause God is with me
Even though I run through enough hills and valleys
Thy rod and staff, they will comfort me
Even though I run through enough hills and valleys
I fear no evil, ’cause God is with me
Even though I run through enough hills and valleys
Thy rod and staff, they will comfort me
Even though I run through enough hills and valleys
I fear no evil, ’cause God is with me
Even though I run through enough hills and valleys
Thy rod and staff, they will comfort me

Wake Up! Act Up!

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Community, Creation, Faith, healing, spirituality2 Comments

Friday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
October 13, 2023

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101323.cfm

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, – and tomorrow – we finish up our short journey with the minor prophets with two passages from Joel.

Joel the Prophet by Michelangelo
from the Sistine Chapel ceiling

Joel and his neighbors were living through a plague of locusts. The book begins with a stark warning to wake up and see the meaning of what is happening:

Listen to this, you elders!
Pay attention, all who dwell in the land!
Has anything like this ever happened in your lifetime,
or in the lifetime of your ancestors?…
What the cutter left
the swarming locust has devoured;
What the swarming locust left,
the hopper has devoured;
What the hopper left,
the consuming locust has devoured.
Wake up, you drunkards, and weep;
wail, all you wine drinkers,
Over the new wine,
taken away from your mouths.

Joel 1:1-5

Although Joel’s agricultural disaster is part of ancient history, like other seemingly remote scriptural passages, it bears a startlingly apropos message for us today.

Joel gave voice to a ravaged earth that could not speak for itself. In his writings, earth and its people are intimately connected – each affected by and bearing the consequences of the other’s suffering. The devastation of the wheat fields and vineyards has robbed the worshippers of their most important possession – the staples to offer in praise of God:

Gird yourselves and weep, O priests!
wail, O ministers of the altar!
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
O ministers of my God!
The house of your God is deprived
of offering and libation.
Proclaim a fast,
call an assembly;
Gather the elders,
all who dwell in the land,
Into the house of the LORD, your God,
and cry to the LORD!

Joel 1:13-14

As Joel pleaded with his people to recognize their implication in the earth’s annihilation, so Pope Francis pleads with us in Laudate Deum:

Eight years have passed since I published the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’, when I wanted to share with all of you, my brothers and sisters of our suffering planet, my heartfelt concerns about the care of our common home. Yet, with the passage of time, I have realized that our responses have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point. In addition to this possibility, it is indubitable that the impact of climate change will increasingly prejudice the lives and families of many persons. We will feel its effects in the areas of healthcare, sources of employment, access to resources, housing, forced migrations, etc. (2)
This is a global social issue and one intimately related to the dignity of human life.(3)

Pope Francis recognizes, as did the prophet Joel, that there are “deniers” – climate change deniers and deniers of the sins of complicity.

Joel warns that such sinful denial will bear consquences not only on his current generation but on their children:

Yes, it is near, a day of darkness and of gloom,
a day of clouds and somberness!
Like dawn spreading over the mountains,
a people numerous and mighty!
Their like has not been from of old,
nor will it be after them,
even to the years of distant generations.

Joel 2: 1-2

Pope Francis voices a similar warning:

Climate change is one of the principal challenges facing society and the global community. The effects of climate change are borne by the most vulnerable people, whether at home or around the world. In a few words, the Bishops assembled for the Synod for Amazonia said the same thing: “Attacks on nature have consequences for people’s lives”. And to express bluntly that this is no longer a secondary or ideological question, but a drama that harms us all, the African bishops stated that climate change makes manifest “a tragic and striking example of structural sin”. (3)

Many of us don’t want to read about climate change much less pray about it. A lot of us don’t have a clue how we can help reverse the cataclysmic tide. We may even be a “denier” ourselves! But if we are, we are in a very small minority:

Robust studies of climate change perceptions in Australia, the UK and America show that only very small numbers of people actually deny that climate change is happening. The figures range from between 5 to 8% of the population. However this small minority can be influential in casting doubt on the science, spreading misinformation and impeding progress on climate policies.

from the Australian Psychological Society

The other 92% to 95% of us must pray and act with the global community to respond effectively to the summons of Pope Francis:

I ask everyone to accompany this pilgrimage of reconciliation with the world that is our home and to help make it more beautiful, because that commitment has to do with our personal dignity and highest values. At the same time, I cannot deny that it is necessary to be honest and recognize that the most effective solutions will not come from individual efforts alone, but above all from major political decisions on the national and international level. (69)
Nonetheless, every little bit helps, and avoiding an increase of a tenth of a degree in the global temperature would already suffice to alleviate some suffering for many people. Yet what is important is something less quantitative: the need to realize that there are no lasting changes without cultural changes, without a maturing of lifestyles and convictions within societies, and there are no cultural changes without personal changes. (70)

Video: from the Vatican website introducing Laudate Deum

The Door is Actually Open…

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Eternal Life, Faith, Prayer, spiritualityLeave a comment

Thursday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
October 12, 2023

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101223.cfm

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, both our readings are replete with images regarding how we earn or access our heavenly reward.

Malachi presents us with the image of a record book wherein the names of the just are recorded:

Then they who fear the LORD spoke with one another,
and the LORD listened attentively;
And a record book was written before him
of those who fear the LORD and trust in his name.
And they shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts,
my own special possession, on the day I take action.
And I will have compassion on them,
as a man has compassion on his son who serves him.

Malachi 3: 16-17

It’s an image that has stuck with people throughout the centuries. Kind of reminds you of Santa Claus, doesn’t it – “making a list, checking it twice. Gonna find out who’s naughty and nice.” We’ve all seen depictions of St. Peter, at the “pearly gates”, checking that Book for someone who seems to have forgotten their reservation!

Such images illustrate our natural desire to understand the afterlife and its relationship to our moral choices. And guess what! Forget it! We are never going to comprehend or control that dynamic, because God isn’t Santa Claus, doesn’t have a little black book, and there are no gates in heaven.

In our Gospel today, Jesus tells us the only thing we can be sure of – that God is our Friend and desires to be one with us in the Holy Spirit.

If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask him?”

Luke 11:13

And Jesus says it’s not all that hard – just ask, seek, and knock. Of course, it matters what we are asking, seeking, and knocking FOR. It must be FOR deeper intimacy with God lived out in a grateful and generous life. This kind of holy relationship eradicates any need to manufacture worries about a record book or locked gates.

I tell you, ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Luke 11: 9-10

Poetry: You, Neighbor God – Rainer Maria Rilke

You, neighbor God, if sometimes in the night
I rouse you with loud knocking, I do so
only because I seldom hear you breathe
and know: you are alone.
And should you need a drink, no one is there
to reach it to you, groping in the dark.
Always I hearken. Give but a small sign.
I am quite near.
Between us there is but a narrow wall,
and by sheer chance; for it would take
merely a call from your lips or from mine
to break it down,
and that without a sound.
The wall is builded of your images.
They stand before you hiding you like names.
And when the light within me blazes high
that in my inmost soul I know you by,
the radiance is squandered on their frames.
And then my senses, which too soon grow lame,
exiled from you, must go their homeless ways.

Music: God Hears Our Prayers – Mandy Lining

I think this song is very beautiful in its simplicity. I hope you like it.

Prayer

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Discipleship, Faith, Gospel, Prayer, spirituality1 Comment

Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
October 11, 2023

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101123.cfm

Ollie praying

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray. His prayer is simple and direct, like talking to your best friend over a morning cup of coffee.

What about us? How do we pray?

Most of our first learned prayers are a lot like Jesus’s simple Our Father. We praise God, giving thanks, and asking for what we need.

Then we grow up and get sophisticated. We may begin to “say” or read prayers rather than use our own words. While such a practice can deepen our understanding of prayer, it places a layer between us and our conversation with God.

Sometimes others lead our prayer in the community of faith. This too can enrich us as we are inspired by a shared faith. But, sorry to say, at other times such prayer, indifferently led, can leave us empty and even frustrated. The whole process can be a little like trying to have a private conversation in an elevator full of noisy people.

Just as Jesus often went off in solitude to pray, this kind of prayer is our most intimate time with God – a time when God allows us to know God and ourselves in a deeper way. This sacred time alone with God may be spent in words, song, or the silence that speaks beyond words.

It is a time to be with the Beloved as we would be with our dearest, most faithful companion. We rest in the field of our experiences, letting them flow over God’s heart in tenderness. We listen with the ear of absolute trust to the secrets God tells us in the quiet.

When we become deeply accustomed to this type of intimate prayer, it transforms our self-understanding. Our every thought, word, and action is in the Presence of God. It is God Who hears our joys, sorrows, fears, and inspirations rising up in our hearts even before we hear them ourselves. It is God Who holds us at the center of our lives in communion with all Creation. It is God Who breathes grace into our human moments in acts of mercy, joy, charity, and justice.

Father, hallowed be your name,
your Kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test.

Luke 11:2-4

Poetry: Praying – Mary Oliver

It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few 
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch

a few words together and don’t try 
to make them elaborate, this isn’t 
a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which 
another voice may speak.

Our Father – Leontyne Price

Sibling Dilemma

On By Renee Yann, RSMIn Discipleship, Faith, Gospel, holiness, spirituality5 Comments

Tuesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
October 10, 2023

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101023.cfm

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, we pray with Martha and Mary. These sisters are the personification of the Benedictine motto: Ora et labora: Pray and work – the two essentials that we all struggle to balance in our lives.

They, with their brother Lazarus, are dear friends of Jesus. The scriptures show us that Jesus felt comfortable at their home, and that they loved to have him stay with them.

As all of us do with our closest friends, Jesus understood the lights and shadows of their personalities – and they of his. He knew that Martha was the organizer, the one who planned and worried about the incidentals. Mary was deeply spiritual, but maybe had her head in the clouds a bit when it came to getting things done. 

Perhaps these personality differences caused some tensions between the sisters, as they might between us and our family members or close friends. Sometimes these little, unnoticed frictions can suddenly become chasms between us and those we love. 

How and why does it happen?

Jesus gives us the answer in this Gospel passage. He hears Martha’s simmering frustration. He calms her, as one might a child – “Martha, Martha…”. We can hear his gentle tone. Jesus tells her that worry and anxiety are signs that we are not spiritually free. He tells her that Mary has focused on the important thing.

This may sound repetitious, but just think about it a while:

It is so important to know what is important. 

It is so freeing to agree on what matters with those closest to us. Talking with each other in openness, respect, and unconditional love is the only path to that freedom.

Maybe Martha and Mary slipped off that path a bit in this situation. But with Jesus’ help, they righted their relationship. 

That’s the best way for us to do it too. Let Jesus show us what is most important through sharing our faith, and even our prayer, with those closest to us. Let him show us where our self-interests, need for control, fears and anxieties are blocking us from love and freedom.

It is the same way that we, like Mary, can strengthen our relationship with God. It is not sufficient for our prayer to consist of incidentals — pretty words and empty practices. 

We must sit open-hearted at the feet of Jesus and let him love us, let him change us. Even in the midst of our responsibilities and duties, we must balance “the better part”.

Poetry: Bethany Decisions – Irene Zimmerman, OSF 

As Jesus taught the gathered brothers
and Martha boiled and baked their dinner,
Mary eavesdropped in the anteroom
between the great hall and the kitchen.
Her dying mother’s warning words
clanged clearly in her memory—
“Obey your sister. She has learned
the ways and duties of a woman.”

She’d learned her sister’s lessons well
and knew a woman’s place was not
to sit and listen and be taught.
But when she heard the voice of Jesus
call to her above the din
of Martha’s boiling pots and pans,
she made her choice decisively—
took off her apron and traditions,
and walked in.

Music: a charming little song by Peg Angell which leaves me with same practical question I always have when reading this passage: who actually did get the dinner ready?