Benedictine Sisters of FL

Holy Name Monastery
Founded 1889

Blog

Second Sunday of Advent

by Leave a Comment

Over the next few days in our Advent journey the church invites us to consider John the Baptist’s relationship to Jesus.  John appears in the tradition of the great prophets of Israel, preaching repentance and reform.  In fact, the description of John found in this reading is reminiscent of the description of the prophet Elijah.  John words are not directed only to the Pharisees and Sadducees.  John’s message is a pointed call to repentance aimed in our direction: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

John makes very clear that his relationship to the Messiah is one of service and subservience: “The one who is coming after me is mightier than I.  I am not worthy to carry his sandals.”  The highlight of John’s ministry was the fantastic success he enjoyed way out in the wilderness.  This man does not care what people think.  And his style worked!  He certainly was no fashion plate, with his camel hair clothing, leather sandals and the cincture around his waist.  His diet was simple: locusts and wild honey.  This note must have been important to the evangelists, or it wouldn’t be included in their Gospels.  It is symbolic.  You can’t wear anything more simple in the way of clothing, or eat a more basic diet.  John’s ministry, and our inheritance, is one of very simple beginnings.

But what does it say to us?  What is God, the Divine architect, designing and constructing in our lives?  When our life’s valley is filled in and the road made smooth, the crooked straight, will we be ready to “see the Son of Man coming in a cloud?”  As we approach the off-ramp of life, will we be attuned to the divine whisper that is familiar from our daily Lectio?  Will we hear clearly the voice of the One crying out to us?  Will we stand erect and call to others: “Look! The salvation of our God is at hand?”

What will it take to raise our weariness to consciousness, and conscientious attention to those with whom we live?  What will it take to crack the ridged set in our ways?  How many hosing-downs does it take to quiet a hot temper or a sharp tongue?  How can we remove our spiritual cataracts so we can see the bigger picture?  What kind of corrective lens do we need to protect our eyes from worldliness?  What strength of binoculars will it take to zero in on the faulty behavior we what to eradicate?  What kind of safe-guards will we need to keep us on the straight and narrow?  Is our prayer life regular enough, strong enough, secure enough to protect us from inevitable temptation?

No matter how we might like to think that we’ve got it all together, sooner or later we all need to have a maintenance check-up and a little divine repair job.  When a hurtful word slips through our lips or cares and daily concerns erode our promised Lectio time; when we are battered by life’s challenges, God promises to strengthen the areas of weakness that plague us.  Our God promises to fix what’s broken in our lives.

Paul reminds us in the Second Reading: “Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction, that by endurance and by encouragement you may think in harmony with one another … that with one accord in one voice you may glorify God.”  John’s message prepared the way for Jesus in the first century.  We are called to be prophets in today’s world.  Each of us has a mission to communicate Christ’s message of hope, freedom, and peace; to help people fill in their valleys and make their rough paths more smooth.  “Prepare the  way of the Lord, make straight his paths: all shall see the salvation of our God!”

 

~by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

First Reading  Isaiah 11:1-10                        
Second Reading Romans 15:4-9  
Gospel Reading  Matthew 3:1-12
Continue Reading

First Sunday of Advent

by Leave a Comment

Advent is all about waiting.  But it’s not waiting for our turn because God’s line is busy.  Is it wonderful that we do not have to take turns – we don’t have to wait to be in touch!  Waiting is at the heart of Advent, active waiting.  Even when we don’t know that we are waiting, we’re waiting.  Even when we can’t find words to express what we are waiting for, we’re waiting.

For many people, Advent is an opportunity that is little understood, under-appreciated and commonly ignored.  Advent is about learning to wait.  It is about not having to know exactly what is coming tomorrow.  Advent teaches us the difference between expectation, anticipation and waiting; suspense, eagerness and “twiddling your thumbs to pass the time”.

We are waiting not just during Advent, but at all times for the advent of light; that ultimate light that is redemptive and terrifying at the same time.  It is redemptive because it puts an end to the darkness.  That is also why it is terrifying because the light reveals all that was hidden in the darkness.  For so long, actually for most of our lives, the darkness has been home.  We’ve become comfortable in our incompleteness.  Now to leave home is downright scary!  Change my ways of interacting with God and God’s people?  Whew!  Allow my rough edges to be smoothed?  That sounds irritating (no pun intended).  We are gifted with Advent time to do personal “Isaiah work” of filling in every valley; leveling every mountain so the hills will become a plain, and the rough country will be made smooth.  As the familiar banner asks:  If not now, when?

One of the ancient Advent prayers supplies us with a sentiment that Benedict echoes: “Give us grace that we may cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.”  Many Advent hymns express the same theme.  For example: “When the darkness closes in, courage fails and hopes grow dim, clear the shadows from our sight, set our troubled world aright, fill our eyes with radiant light.  Come Lord Jesus, come!”

The final line of this Sunday’s selection from Matthew’s Gospel reminds us: “You must be prepared for, at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”  That does not refer only to the hour of our death.  You may remember the valuable lesson an Abbot shared with his Rabbi friend: “The messiah is among the ranks of your community”.  We are challenged to be Messiah to each other, to treat each other with gentleness, respect, and courtesy for each one is the Messiah among us.

Our conversations can turn to stories and concerns focused outward, on the other rather than the self.  There is a rare sprinkling of “I” and “my” and “mine”.”  Attention is directed away from the self to shine our light on others.  We radiate the blessings of life, not the gloom of sadness, sickness, tiredness, or woe.  We become more fully human, full of compassion and full of consciousness.  Our community Advent practices help hone the attitude of prayerfulness, almsgiving and compassion.

So, we pray: “May the God of Israel increase our longing for Jesus our Savior and give each and all of us the strength to grow in love, that the dawn of Jesus’ coming may find us rejoicing in his presence and welcoming the light of Truth.”

 

~by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

First Reading  Isaiah 2:1-5                        
Second Reading Romans 13:11-14  
Gospel Reading  Matthew 24:37-44
Continue Reading

Christ the King

by Leave a Comment

This weekend we observe the Solemnity of Christ, the King.  The celebration was first proclaimed universally as a feast in 1925 by Pope Pius IX.  In 2015, the prescribed date was moved from October to the last Sunday in the church year and the commemoration was raised to a solemnity.  At that time Pope Francis added a phrase to the title of the day: “Christ the King, the living face of the Father’s mercy.”

As the liturgical year draws to a close, we consider how Jesus is more than just a king.  He is the King, the King of the Universe.  We celebrate a ruler who, in mercy, was willing to die for us to give us true freedom.  Jesus willingly exchanged the trappings of a king for a place among the poorest of the poor.  In place of a red carpet, he’d had a rude stable floor strewn with hay.  Later in his life, it was palm branches that lined the way beneath a donkey’s feet.  His crown was not one of gems but a crown of thorns.  His choice of transportation was usually on foot.  In speaking of his home, Jesus said: “Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

Some may wonder why we read a scene from the passion today.  How does that help us understand what Jesus’ kingship means?  We may always sense a vague uneasiness in calling Jesus “king” partly due to the changing attitudes toward kings throughout history.  Today, distrust of authority is rampant – accelerated by the rise in belief that the only authority is the individual self.  The idea of Christ as ruler, as king, is resisted by many who believe that such titles are borrowed from oppressive systems of government.  History proves that some kings have been oppressive.  But when we allow this type of thinking to overtake us, we miss the point that Christ’s kingship is one of humility and service.  In contrast to the oppression so prevalent in Jesus’ day, he saw his role as king as one of humble service.  He teaches us, his followers, to be servants as well. This is the behavior we must imitate.  Benedict teaches “Anticipate the needs of others and put them before our own; anticipating others’ in doing good works.”

This leads us to ponder: How is it that Jesus can be, at the same time, both Suffering Servant and King? That’s the very question that Jesus turns back on Pilate: “Do you ask this (are you a king?) on your own?  Or have others told you about me?”   It pushes us to question ourselves: Is Jesus my King?  Do I know him on my own, from my own experiences?  Or is my relationship with Jesus based on borrowed thoughts from books I’ve read; homilies and retreat talks? Do I sing with conviction the sentiments of the kingly hymns that spring to mind: “Come, Christians, Join to Sing”, “Rejoice, the Lord Is King”, “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name”, “Hail, Redeemer, King Divine”, “The King of Glory”, “At the Lamb’s High Feast, We Sing”?  And, let’s not overlook the triumphant echoing of a favorite Christmas carol: “Joy to the World! Let earth receive her king!”

At the other end of this week, we will be “jump-started” into the Season of Advent: an experience of an “ending” that is a “beginning” – a time of waiting for the One who will come.  The One who is promised to us is foretold in the Book of Revelation: “Behold, he is coming and everyone will see him; the Alpha and the Omega, the one who is and who was and who is to come.”   He is the one who is acclaimed in Paul’s letter to the Colossians: “He is before all things, and in him all things are held together; in him all the fullness is pleased to dwell!”

 

~by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

First Reading  2 Samuel 5:1-3               
Second Reading Colossians 1:12-20  
Gospel Reading  Luke 23:35-43

 

Continue Reading

Compassion of Christ

by Leave a Comment

This is one of several of Jesus’ clear “end of time” reminders.  “The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is, or there it is.’  Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  In this Gospel we have a warning and a promise. “This is your chance to tell the Good News. Do not worry about what to say for I will give you wise words.  None of your enemies will be able to prove that you are wrong. They will not be able to say that your words are false.”  These words of Jesus, quoted by Luke, remind me that when I am in a situation I can depend on Jesus’ promise: “I myself will give you wisdom, wise words, in speaking.”

Occasionally I find amusement by reading horoscope predictions at the end of the day.  It’s amusing to see if yours played out during the day that’s ending.  A few months back, my Scorpio sign read like a fortune cookie: “Worry is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do but gets you nowhere.”  Some days that “rocking chair” could work ruts in the carpet!

What kinds of things do we stew about?  Here’s the top-of-the-list items that researchers tell describes the typical worry patterns.

+  40% of our worries are things that will never happen

That’s a huge chunk that we can let go of that otherwise might keep us awake at night. 

+  30% of our worries are about the past

…which can’t be changed anyway so why not dump the gunny sack!   

+  12% are about criticism by others, mostly untrue – and many imaginary

So why do we so often assume that other people are going to spend their precious time thinking about “me”?

+ 10% are about health, which only gets worse with stress

Wouldn’t it be more helpful to use some relaxation techniques?  Find ways to loosen up and let our bodies work their own magic on the knots?

+  Only 8% are about real problems that CAN be solved

This is where we need to spend our energy and focus our prayer.  At the same time, be carefully aware to play “hands off” with trying to offer God the only right solution.  Our limited eyesight most likely will only see a rather self-serving solution.  “God-sight” knows the key to the best fix for all concerned. 

It’s a good time to draw on the sentiments of the Serenity Prayer:  God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, (here’s the key sentence) and the wisdom to know the difference.

Keep in mind that worry and fretting leave wiggle room to come between me and God.  Lying just below the surface may be the view that God has somehow lost control of the situation and we’ve lost trust in God’s omnipotent care for us.  A legitimate concern should draw us closer to God and cause us to rely on divine providential love for us.

By our Corporate Commitment we profess “to respond to the needs of the people of God with the compassion of Christ.”  But how can we do that if we have not learned to depend on the compassion of Christ?  Saying the words is one thing; living with a firm conviction that compassion begets compassion is altogether another matter.  Let us live by the motto:  Words move; example motivates.”   It is our lives, not our words, that make us credible. We pray, O God, may our lives, individually and collectively, be an example that motives all who meet us to be people of compassion.

 

~by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

Pray for our bishops who will be meeting in Washington D.C. November 14-17.  May they each be open, and responsive to, the voice of the Spirit.  May they travel in safety and peace.

 

 

First Reading  Malachi 8:19-20a               
Second Reading 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12  
Gospel Reading  Luke 21: 5-19

 

Continue Reading

Our God is a God of the Living, not the Dead

by Leave a Comment

In the 2nd reading for this 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Paul says to the Thessalonians: “Pray that the word of the Lord may speed forward and be glorified.”  Paul continues: “I am confident in the Lord that what we instruct you, you are doing and will continue to do as the Lord directs your hearts to the love of God and the endurance of Christ.”  This is a reminder that, yes, Jesus is depending upon us to be His hands and heart, acting on His behalf in our world.

Since last week a lot has happened in less than one chapter in the Gospel according to Luke. Jesus’ actions have made the religious leaders so angry “they wanted to lay hands on him right then but were afraid of the people.”  Why fear the people? Because the common people are absolutely spellbound by Jesus’ teachings. To top it off, Jesus had dared to eat with the sinner Zacchaeus.

This kind of behavior forced the religious leaders to wait until they could manipulate public opinion in their favor. Today, (in this Gospel) they try to trick Jesus in a very mean way with a question about what happens after we die.  If Jesus gives a yes OR no answer, then they could make fun of him and try to convince the people that they shouldn’t listen to Jesus. But Jesus knows they are up to no good and He does not fall for their trick. Instead of talking about what happens after we die, Jesus talks about God as the God of the living, not of the dead.

Technically our reading ends with verse 38. Why it ends there is anybody’s guess. We really need to hear verse 40 to appreciate the impact of Jesus’ words.  “Some of the scribes answered: ‘Teacher, you have spoken well.’  And, they no longer dared to ask him any more questions.” (Luke 20: 39-40)

If ever there was a group of people who were invested in the so-called “Gotcha” kind of questions, the religious authorities of Jesus’ day were that kind.  It’s little different today.  Sometimes certain politicians (usually the ones who are losing popularity points and don’t do well in interviews or debates) say that the reason they had such a shaky performance was that they were being set up all along with “Gotcha” questions designed to make them look stupid.  Whether or not that’s necessarily true is something one can determine by replaying the questions and their answers. But sometimes it does turn out to be true and you can tell just by carefully watching the interviewee’s evasive look or cast down eyes as well as the reporter’s smug look into the camera.  He/she didn’t really want an answer.  It was just a childish ploy to get under someone’s skin and gain a headline and Tik Tok followers.  It’s not an uncommon trick.

In this case in the Gospel, some thought it would be fun to publicly humiliate Jesus.  But Jesus turned the tables on his listeners. Now I don’t believe Jesus is telling us not to ask any questions.  But we do need to refrain from asking Sadducee-like questions. Those are trick questions; ones we already know the answer to. Or they might be questions for which we really do want the answer, but we only ask indirectly by pretending it’s someone else who wants an answer. You know how we do it:  Sister “Some-One-Else” was wondering if …  Or they might be hinting at a need or a desire instead of asking outright in the hope that the right person will overhear us, will catch on and come to our rescue.  Jesus is reminding us to ask open, honest questions and truly listen deep down for the Voice of the Spirit who often speaks to us through the lips of another.

If we drill deeply into this story in Luke, we’ll discover that the Sadducees were actually impressed by Jesus.  Maybe it was a flash-back to 20 years earlier when the 12-year-old Jesus amazed the people in the temple with his knowledge. Today Jesus is congratulated for his logic and use of Scripture to answer their tricky question.

In this week ahead, when we visit the cemetery and pray for our deceased Sisters, we will have the opportunity to focus on Jesus’ lesson about resurrection of the dead.  We will call to mind, by name, our 51 deceased community members and pray for all who are buried in that sacred space.  May all those who have gone before us on their journey of faith rest in eternal peace!

~by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

On Monday, November 7th our Sisters will gather at the cemetery located on Saint Leo University campus to honor the memory of their 51 deceased members.  Friends of the community are welcome to join them for the Prayer Service and laying of flowers on the graves. 

 

 

First Reading  2 Maccabees 7:2; 9-14            
Second Reading Thessalonians 2:16-3:5   
Gospel Reading  Luke 20:27-28

 

Continue Reading

Same Job; Different Destiny

by Leave a Comment

Have you ever been to a parade, a concert or a sports event where all that was visible in the direction of the stage was a sea of hats and banners and maybe some bald heads?  Well, today’s story is about such a situation.  A man went to a parade but being short he couldn’t see the main attraction.  He’d heard it was a man who had become quite famous for performing miracles. This man, Jesus was his name, was passing through Jericho, the town where Zacchaeus lived.  And, Zacchaeus REALLY wanted to see Jesus!  But he was small of stature, and he didn’t have a step stool or a periscope.  Quite a contrast with the story in this morning’s (Saturday) Gospel about people who were assuming to take the honorable places at table.

Zacchaeus ran on ahead of Jesus and the moving crowd to a spot where he climbed a sycamore tree so he could get a good view.  Now, I’ve read that the city codes did not allow the planting of sycamore trees within the city limits. They had to be planted at least 75 feet outside the city walls. So, Zacchaeus had to run past everyone in town to climb up that tree.  Jesus arrives under the tree, makes eye contact with Zacchaeus and communicates to him how glad he was to see Zacchaeus.  Jesus knew everything there was to know about Zacchaeus and his fraudulent tax collection practices.  Yet, He loved him and had compassion on him “briers and all.”  What a picture of grace!  That’s how it is for us, too.  Jesus knows everything there is to know about us, but He still loves each of us.

The other day I came across my notes on this Gospel from 2010.  We would have been deep into the planning process for the big move to this monastery building.  My jottings based on Margaret Wheatley’s book TURNING TO ONE ANOTHER continue to speak to us today in this post-pandemic season.  I wrote: “I see our community, climbing a tree to get a glimpse of Jesus and a vision for our future.  We know change won’t happen overnight, but we also know that the future is germinating in the NOW.”

Wheatley reminds us: “There is no power greater than a community discovering what it cares about.  Ask what is possible, not what’s wrong?  Be intrigued by differences.  Expect to be surprised.  Treasure curiosity more than certainty. Invite everybody who cares, to work on what’s possible.  Stay together. Know that creative solutions come from new connections. Remember, you don’t fear people whose story you know. Trust, that meaningful conversations can change the world.”

Isn’t that the message Jesus had for Zacchaeus? “Come down quickly for today I must stay at your house.”

“Come down quickly!”  How many times does Jesus have to tell us just that?  Come down off your high horse; come down from your stubborn opinions; come down from your unreasonable expectations, come down from your self-elevation above your confreres.  How comforting, reassuring is Jesus reason for asking us to come down: “So I might stay at your house tonight.”

We must come down out of our “trees” of isolation, aloneness, self-satisfaction.  And, while we are together at table with Jesus, let’s practice Wheatley’s advice: “Rely on human goodness.  Stay together. Talk to people you know and those you don’t know and those you never talk to. Be brave enough to start of conversation that matters.  Assume that many others share your dreams.” (Adapted from Wheatley)

An interesting part of the Zacchaeus story is that, as far as we know, Zacchaeus did not change jobs after his encounter with Jesus. He did not join the entourage that traveled with Jesus.  He was a tax collector before he met Jesus, and it seems he continued collecting taxes after he met Christ. His job was the same, but his destiny was different.

The text says Zacchaeus was “seeking” Jesus.  But if I read the story right, Jesus really was seeking Zacchaeus.  He came to seek and save all the lost.  Zacchaeus tried to climb up to God, but he didn’t get past the lowest branches.   While other folks look up for Jesus, Zacchaeus climbed up in order to lo down.  In this instance, it was Jesus who looked up.  Jesus beckoned Zacchaeus to come down and invited Himself to dinner. Jesus invites Himself here, to each of us, today and every day with the same the message He spoke to Zacchaeus: “Come down; salvation has come to your house.  I want to dine with you this night. Looking up Jesus said: Come down quickly for today I must stay at your house.”

 

~by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

Listen to the ditty on You Tube of the children’s hymn: “Zacchaeus Was a Wee Little Man” –  Be forewarned: it may leave you humming and toe-tapping the rest of the day …

Have an enjoyable Halloween, pleasant All Saints’ Day and pleasant memories as you recall family who have gone before you in faith on All Souls’ day.

 You are invited,  if you have not already done so, to send us the names of deceased relatives and friends to be remember throughout November …  those lists are placed in a basket before our altar throughout the month.

  May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace!

 

 

First Reading  Wisdom 11:22—12:2            
Second Reading 2 Thessalonians 1:11—2:2   
Gospel Reading  Luke 19:1-10

 

Continue Reading