Benedictine Sisters of FL

Holy Name Monastery
Founded 1889

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Founder’s Day – 136 years and counting

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136th Founding Anniversary

Each year on February 28th we mark one more year celebrating the accumulation of years that the Benedictine Sisters of Florida have lived the words of the reading from Paul’s Letter to the Colossians (Chapter 3).  “As God’s chosen ones, clothe yourselves with compassion and kindness, humility, meekness and patience.  Bear with one another, let peace rule your hearts, live in harmony, teach and admonish one another in wisdom, and never forget to be thankful for what God has done for you.”
We are grateful for all that God has done for us throughout these 136 years since our Founding Sisters ventured forth from Pittsburgh, PA. to Pasco County Florida.  I ponder changes that have drifted “under the bridges” in those years.  Some came quickly to mind: opening and withdrawing from schools – all still a credit to our transition skills as they continue in some form to serve the founding purpose.  Some changes were welcome and settled in easily; some sat uneasy on the Sisters shoulders as they, responded to “the call of our times”.  This included changes in attire, changes from Latin to English, all the changes after Vatican II, and the cycle of the rise and fall of hemlines.
Then I got really curious and went on-line, typed in “year in review” from the 1890, taking big steps through the 20th and 21st centuries in clusters of approximately ten years.
In the first decade after the Sisters first day on the job in Florida (1890) The U.S. Congress designated Yosemite a National Park; Grover Cleveland won the U.S. presidential election, becoming the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms; Thomas A. Edison finished building his first motion picture studio; a decline in the New York stock market triggered the Panic of 1893 and first  Monday of September was designated a legal holiday; and Klondike Gold Rush began in Alaska.
1900 – 1920s the Oreo cookie was first introduced, SOS was accepted as the universal distress signal, the first crossword puzzle was published, traffic lights were introduced; World War I began; there was an influenza epidemic and prohibition began.
Women were granted the right to vote; the lie detector was invented; The Reader’s Digest was published; Talking Movies were invented; the first Olympic Winter Games were held; flapper dresses came into style; bubble gum hit the market; penicillin was discovered and the car radio was invented.
In the 1930s the Empire State Building was completed; the US officially got a National Anthem; air-conditioning was invented, the Loch Ness monster was first spotted; the Golden Gate Bridge opened; the helicopter was invented; the first commercial flight flew over the Atlantic and World War II began.
In the 40s our Sisters were busy handing over the administration of parish schools in New Orleans, Olfen, Texas and Slidell, Louisiana.  This freed them to open new parish schools in Florida and to continue staffing summer catechetical programs in parishes where there were no Catholic schools.  In their spare time the Sisters, continued attending night and summer degree courses.  In the world around them, they may not have noticed that nylon stockings hit the market, the jeep was invented, T-shirts, ballpoint pens, computers, Polaroid cameras, the microwave oven, the bikini was introduced.
In the 1950s the first credit card was introduced, the Korean War began, color TV and car seat belts were introduced, and the polio vaccine was created.  The first McDonald’s opened, Velcro and TV remote controls were introduced.  Hula hoops and Lego toys were introduced and The Sound of Music opened on Broadway.
In the 1960s, the Peace Corps was founded, we had the Cuban Missile Crisis, the first Catholic president was elected and subsequently assassinated, the Beatles became popular, the Star Trek TV series aired, the first heart transplant was performed, and Neil Armstrong walked on the moon.
In the 1970s, computer floppy disks, pocket calculators and VCRs were introduced.
Moving quickly through the 80s and 90s, the Rubik’s cube became popular, the first woman was appointed to the US Supreme Court, personal computers were introduced, the first American woman rode a space shuttle and we witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall.
These are only a few of the highlights that I picked out… there were many, many more historic events.  When we get our “seasoned” members talking about memories of the “good ole days” they may tell us about learning to drive on a tractor, how much cars have changed … and don’t forget to ask them why Mother Rose Marie bought PJs, rather than nightgowns, for all the sisters after experiencing a hotel evacuation order one night in New Orleans.  What a sight they must have been to the onlookers below: 5 women scantily clad in white nightgowns scampering down the fire escape.  The next morning Mother Rose Marie bought every Sister a pair of PJs for when they traveled.  (Reminds us of Benedict’s admonition to supply each member going on a journey with clean underwear!)
From 1929 – 1959 the sisters operated St. Benedict’s Prep school for boys.  Holy Name Academy provided day and boarding programs for girls from the first days in 1889 until 1964.  Shifting gears, we built new dormitories and a cafeteria to provide services to Saint Leo College students.  In 2014 we made the courageous decision to “begin again” the great adventure of the Benedictine Sisters of Florida – build a new house across the highway.
In our 136 years in Florida our community members have lived with 13 religious superiors.  Now, that alone is endurance!  And, they have had multiple careers.  To name a few: classroom teacher, principal, mission superior, CCD teacher and coordinator, teacher and “mom” at Good Counsel Camp; procurator, worker in various aspects of our guest ministries, archivist and keeper of artifacts and the chronologies.  They’ve been Hospice volunteers, provided service in health care, laundry and kitchen staff, seamstress and coif maker; choir director and sacristan; artist, calligrapher, musician, and champion crafter.  For any I’ve overlooked, rest assured that God got it in the Good Book.
But how, you may ask, in God’s great world, did I get here from there?  In the Gospel recently we heard Peter say to Jesus: “Lord, we have put aside everything to follow you.”   Many years of vowed commitment sit right here in this chapel.  In the midst of an ever-changing church and world.  We offer an example of flexibility, perseverance and stability. Faithfulness to lectio and community exercises shows us that they know where their life in God is sustained.  Their interest in everyday happenings shows their love of learning.  Their many friends within and outside the community clearly pays tribute to our Sisters’ sense of Benedictine hospitality.  If you listen keenly, you hear some other stories that could be told, like the Ajaxed apples, the chief of the oddballs and the day, when we first began wearing “regular” clothes, when one Sister paraded before us to show off her outfit.  She was all ready to go out for a Jai- Alai game with a full-length slip hanging below her shirt out over her new slacks!
In conclusion, Sisters, heed Scripture: continue to “do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, thanking God through him.”
Please join us in prayer as we celebrate our 136th anniversary of the day Benedictine Sisters from PA arrived in San Antonio (Pasco County) FL … now located in St. Leo, FL – Florida’s first incorporated township.
Thank YOU for being in our “Fan Club”
God bless
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Give to everyone that asks.

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We live in a society that seems to have forgotten much of this Gospel message.  Children come to believe there is a trophy for every event in life.   They have forgotten – if they ever knew – the thrill of running for the sheer joy of feeling the wind on their faces, a hug from a parent – a loving squeeze without words that conveys, “I am so proud of you!”

All-too-quickly many lose (and sadly never rediscover) the warm, fuzzy feelings of self-satisfaction that was once a natural reaction to success  – that gleeful, almost smug smile the first time they stood alone, took their first step… when for the first time, to the consternation of the adults, they opened a child-proof container, hammered the first nail into mom’s precious table or exhibited their wonderful drawing with indelible pen on the living room wall…no one could be prouder of an achievement!

School children vie with each other to make donations to a collective cause.   Why?  Because they are learning the virtue of mercy?   Or because they get a “free dress” day at school?

Jesus tells us: Give to everyone who asks; treat others as you’d like to be treated; don’t take back what you gave as gift; give God the credit due for the generous urges you feel toward others and the charitable thoughts that squelch the unkind words that try to spring thoughtlessly past our lips.

Jesus advises us: Give your cloak AND your tunic – not just your warm coat (since you have another at home) but also the shirt off your back.  Today Jesus might challenge us – Why is your closet stuffed with blouses you haven’t worn since before you lost weight – or gained it?  It is quite unlikely you’ll never wear them again.  But what about that DAYSTAR customer, or that lady from the Sunrise women’s shelter who is going for a job interview?  Your blouse would fit her perfectly and add an ounce of confidence to her self-esteem.

Jesus reminds us, when we invite company for a meal not to wait for a return dinner date.  Don’t ask: whose turn is it to pick up the tab this time? He says to lend freely without expectation of repayment.  And when you respond generously to the impulse to do good – what caused that desire to arise?   Be slow to assume it is due to anything you have done.  Remember Jesus says “even sinners lend to their own kind.”  Give, and gifts will be given to you – in good measure, tamped down, packed tight, so your vessel can hold every tiny possible grain of blessing – full to overflowing – spilling over into your life and influencing all around you.

But there is a condition – if you are stingy, stinginess will be yours.  But, If you give without measure, generosity will be yours.  So how will you measure your kindness – by the teaspoon, tablespoon or a cupful?  By the minute, by the hour it might take you?  You know that you have 24 hours in a day.  That’s a 168 hours each week, (true not all are waking hours). That’s time in excess of 8,000 hours a year!  How flexible will you be with these God-given hours?  Will you respond to an imposition on your time – Now?  Tomorrow?  Next week?  Or with a prayer that the request will be forgotten?  Or will you give with open hands and heart – freely, without measure?  Jesus promises us: “the measure with which you measure, it will in turn be measured out to you.”

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

 

 

First Reading:   1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23         Second Reading:  1 Corinthians 15:45-49
Gospel:   Luke 6:27-38
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Help Us Rebuild Our Aquaponics Greenhouse!

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Dear Friends,

As of February 6, 2025 we have gratefully received $9,819 from you our donors. Our plan as previously written in our winter Tide newsletter was only a rebuild of the greenhouse structure and hydroponic portion.

That was four months ago when we felt the loss more intensely. In October, we saw evidence of tornado activity with twisted materials. The storm did NO damage to the fish tanks, nor to the three filtration components and system operation, even though pipes, air and electrical conduits were broken. In contrast, in 2017 Hurricane Irma as a powerful category 4 that did no harm but blew right over the round roof without so much as a tear in any plastic.

Taking all this into consideration, we re-evaluated and will again bring tilapia into the aquaponic system. We hope to begin again very soon—next month?  To all who have supported us during these past 10 years, we gratefully accept any contributions you are able to make so we can again sustain ourselves and customers with nutritious food.

The description and cost estimate from Aquasol International of items, materials and labor  for the rebuild is as follows:

Description                                                               Materials              Labor

1 Remove damaged GH structure                                                           $1,250

2  Repair end walls                                                       $1,000                $1,000

3  Install new GH bows, purlins                                  $13,000                $5,000

4  Install new greenhouse hip strut                                  $500                   $750

5  Install side curtains                                                   $1,500                 $1,000

6  Install double layer poly film  w/blower                     $1,200                $1,000

7 Install aluminet shade cloth                                         $850                  $500

8 Repair broken and or damaged air/water lines            $250                  $500

Sub-Total                $18,300             $11,000           $29,300

9  Install evaporative cooling panels                                $5,000               $2,500     (optional)

10 Install evap cooling exhaust fans                                 $3,200                 $750    (optional)

11 Automatic Fish Feeders                                                 $400                  $250    (optional)

Sub-Total                     $8,600               $3,500           $12,100

                                                                Total                   $26,900             $14,500          $41,400

Items 9-10 — evaporative cooling panels are mounted on an end wall; thermostat regulated and circulate air from exhaust fans to allow lettuce and vegetables to grow during the summer. In past years, lettuce grew from October until April.

Item 11– automatic fish feeders can be installed if wanted at a future time.

Kindly make checks payable to Benedictine Sisters of FL   for:      Aquaponics greenhouse rebuild

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Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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What Luke shares with us in this Gospel is a good example of how Jesus models the saying: actions speak louder than words.

If you will picture this with me –  Put yourself in the scene.

It’s midmorning.  Jesus is meditatively strolling at the water’s edge.   I suspect He may have been virtually unaware that people were beginning to trail him.  The crowd is swelling.  This causes Jesus to edge closer to the advancing waves of the changing tide.  The eagerness of the crowd is palpable in the air – just to hear a word from Jesus.   He turns to face the crowd, putting his back to the water.  The scene causes him to draw a breath and take a step backward.  Now the waters are lapping above his ankles.  He spies a couple fishing boats; one belonging to his friend Simon.  He presumes permission to step in.   And what does He do?   Remember last week’s lesson?  HE SITS TO TEACH.   As the crowd is settling down, He looks around at the empty boats and thinks “What a pity!  The fish are right there.  But they didn’t take a nibble.  Let’s fix that.”

Now, these boatmen have spent all night fishing without success.  They are tired, discouraged, disheartened.  And so far their morning has been spent prudently cleaning their nets lest the debris they did manage to trawl would rot and get too smelly to attract any fish tomorrow.

We don’t know what Jesus taught from the boat that morning; Luke did not have any first-hand experience to share. What we do know is what Luke heard from those who were there.  He tells us that Jesus surprised Simon and his buddies telling them to “put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”  Can’t you just hear Simon draw a vexed breath?  He’s professional fisherman; learned the trade from his father and grandfather. “Come on, Jesus.  We’ve worked all night but have caught nothing.”  You know the feeling.  How often have you said (or at least thought) we’ve tried that before?  But Peter pauses.  Maybe makes eye contact with Jesus.  Mmmm.  “Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.”

That’s the operative sentiment.  “If you say so, I will let down the nets.”   The boats was suddenly, miraculously full of fish so that they begin to sink.  And this after a long night of frustration – not a single fish to show for their efforts.  Amazement struck them.  Peter, (and maybe the others, we don’t know,) fell to his knees and begged Jesus, “Get away from me – I am a sinful man!”

Ah, sweet Jesus!  We know what Jesus said.  He’s said it to us more than once.  “Do not be afraid.”  As he counsels Peter He uses a word that in Greek means: “to catch alive.”  He’s caught Peter alive with yearning.  Ripe for his new vocation, a new mission that He’s about to offer. “From now on you will be catching people.”  We turn now to the words from Isaiah in the First Reading: “God touched my mouth [in Peter’s case in today’s Gospel – “touched your nets, your labor.”  God, the Lord, continues: “See, now that this has touched you, your wickedness is removed.”  Then God asks – invites, challenges – “Whom shall I send?  Who will go?”

With Peter – and so many, many others who’ve followed through the years, we answer: “Here I am, send me!”  We add the words of Psalm 138: “When I called, you answered.  You built up strength with in me.  Your right hand saved me.  You will complete what You have done for me.  Your kindness endures forever.”

“When the fisherman brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.”  Your life, the life of each of us, tells the rest of the story.  But it leaves us with a question.  “How can we catch people?  What waters do we have to wade out into?  What are the nets we can lower?”  One thing we know for certain.  We know we want to keep Jesus on our side of the boat.  Seems to me this is pretty much the question Pope Francis and our Bishop Parkes is dangling as a challenge to us.  What bait will we put on the hook?  Or what kind of net will we lower?  How will we live out our Benedictine charism of prayer, hospitality and stability in community?

An answer lies in today’s Gospel: live it – be it – do it … that’s the bait.  Now, invite others to “lower their nets” and let’s break bread together.”

 ~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

Happy Feast Day to us – and Benedictines world-wide! 

On February 10th we celebrate the feast of St. Scholastica, twin sister to St. Benedict.

 

First Reading:   Isaiah 6:1-2, 3-8         Second Reading:  1 Corinthians 15:3-8, 11
Gospel:   Luke 5:1-11
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Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

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When the Liturgy Committee chose the prayer intention for this particular week, we opted to highlight in a particular way our Oblates, especially tomorrow on our quarterly Oblate Sunday.   However, given our community’s historical contribution to Catholic education, it seems important that we not overlook the fact that it is also national Catholic Schools Week with its theme: “United in Faith and Community.”  And, what a happy coincidence it is that it blends with the Gospel story of Jesus’ first teaching assignment.  As Jesus stands in the synagogue to read from the scroll handed to him  the words of the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.  I have been anointed to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed and to proclaim a year of acceptable to the Lord.” Then, “Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down.”

But Jesus did not simply sit down, fold his hands and meditate. That morning in the synagogue He follow the protocol: one stands to read the scriptures and sits to teach.   In many places in Scripture you will read that Jesus did just that: He sat to teach the people.  Remember in the boat they pulled out from the shoreline? On the hillside where he delivered the Beatitudes?  And at table with his disciples for their last meal together?  This practice of “stand to read”, “sit to teach” is a great model for teachers. It exemplifies the saying; a teacher should be a guide at the side not a sage on the stage.  Jesus sat, gazed at the people and in all humility made an astonishing statement, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”  

What did this message mean to the people in the synagogue? What does it mean to us today? It meant that day what it means today: that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the anointed one sent by God to redeem his people. He came then, and He continues to come every day to set us free. Why do we continue to try to solve our problems by ourselves instead of turning to God?

As we look ahead to 2025 we might consider how we can make the focus of Jesus’ ministry which included bringing glad tidings to the poor, liberty to captives, sight to the blind, healing to the sick, freedom to the oppressed, and proclaiming a year that is worthy, acceptable to the Lord, a reality.

This gospel challenges us to stretch out our hands in practical solidarity to those who are visibly disadvantaged – to be concerned not only with saving people’s souls but also with saving their bodies, their health, their housing and their jobs.   So, we ask ourselves: Who are the blind, the poor, the captive, the oppressed?   Look close to home, then to our neighborhood and to those who depend on us in unsuspecting ways?

We can’t cure every problem, but we can do something. Each one of us, individually and as a community, can question: How can we think globally and act locally?  We can decide how to nourish our minds and feed our spirits by choosing what to read and to watch, what to reflect on.  And, we can protect our minds and spirits by not reading or watching what does not uplift us and make a positive impact on our lives and on those we engage in conversation.  Like Scholastica and Benedict on that memorable night, we want to spend time in “holy conversation.”  What can we do for each other, one on one?  How can our lives, our presence, our way of life, bring relief and aid to the local community?  How can we ensure that the year ahead will, in truth and fact, be a “year acceptable to the Lord?”

Sometimes we forget how precious and powerful the Word of God is.  A powerful example is in this true story.  In 1964 the Romanian government released religious and political prisoners. Among them was one who had spent nearly three of his fourteen years in prison in solitary confinement. After his release, he wrote a book entitled In God’s Underground in which he describes how one day a new prisoner was brought in. The upper part of his body was in a plaster cast. When the guards withdrew, he slipped out a small, tattered book that was secretly hidden between his skin and the plaster cast. None of the other prisoners had seen a book for years. They asked him what the book was. It was the Gospel of John.  The author of the story writes that he took the book in his hand and no life-saving drug could have been more precious to him. From that day the tattered little book went from hand to hand, many learned it by heart and each day they would discuss it among themselves. That reminds us that all too easily we can forget (or dilute) the importance of the Word of God in our lives.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

 

 

First Reading:   Nehemiah 8:2-4a,5-6,8-10         Second Reading:  1 Corinthians 12:12-30
Gospel:   Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21
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2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

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The readings for this weekend, combined with the civic occasions we observe, present a challenge.  What to emphasize?  Today (Saturday) opened the annual Week of Prayer for Church Unity.  It has a history of over 100 years of prayer for the fulfillment of Jesus’ prayer at the Last Supper “that all may be one.”   We will continue our practice, when on Wednesday we welcome the Mayor of the Town of Saint Leo, Assistant Pastor of the Rock Church of Brooksville (and his congregation) HO will join us for a Unity prayer service based on this year’s theme “Do You Believe?”

Today and tomorrow the world is watching, with multitudes sending up a stream of prayers for the successful implementation of the Peace Pact for Israel and Gaza: the release of prisoners and relief convoys allowed into war-torn areas.  And, for the peaceful transfer of power in our country.

We pray:  Prince of peace, we cry out for Your divine intervention in Israel and the surrounding regions.  We earnestly petition You to bestow tranquility upon our land. May prosperity flourish, (but not at the cost of the poor and vulnerable).  May Your unwavering peace reign over the hearts of all people.

Now, switch your focus.   On Monday the workday-week begins with the rare coinciding of a Presidential Inauguration Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day national holiday.  The two events aren’t expected to coincide again until January 2053.

Now, if that does offer us enough to pray about, let’s turn to the three readings in our liturgy.  They are, I believe, an example of a woven piece of God’s mysterious message-giving.  It creates a colorful piece with threads that weave the way from Isaiah, through Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, into the Gospel of John, laced with verses from the Responsorial Psalm 96.

From Isaiah (in the first reading) we hear: “I will not be silent; I will not be quiet.” (Mmm – didn’t Martin Luther King echo that same message?)  Now slip in a line from the Responsorial Psalm: “Announce God’s salvation day by day.” (sentiments of Unity Week and Peace Agreement). This leads us right into a touching Gospel story of a son’s response to an implied request of His mom.  Mary could not resist the impulse, the urge to encourage her Son to come to the rescue of the wedding couple’s embarrassment.  She’d raised this man/child.  She knew he’d take her hint.  Turning toward the wine-servers, she says simply: “Do what he tells you.”  And they did just that.

A question to ponder: Who could have observed that quiet exchange?  Scriptural Scholars tell us it was the beloved John, the only one of Christ’s original disciples who lived into old age and was the only one not martyred for the faith.  He can tell that story from an old man’s perspective laced with the wisdom and vision that is a gift of the elderly.  We know so well that stories are a gift given by older members to the newer ones.  The elders are the torch bears; the younger are the keepers of the torch.  It is they who are responsible for coaxing the sparks to keep the embers glowing, breathing new life into our legacy.  Stories of the “good ole days may get old but consider what we’d miss if John and the other evangelists had kept secret their experiences with Jesus.

In today’s world, much like the days of early Christianity, people are facing crises of migration, prejudice, hunger for food, companionship, health care services, violence and indifference. How can we show “unusual kindness” exemplified in Mary’s keen insight and Jesus’ quick response to her tip: “Do what He tells you.”   As Benedict advises us: “Show reverent love.  Be the first to pursue what you judge better for someone else.”  You know: Pass-it-on-Kindnesses” or “Pay it Forward” favors.  Kindness that is a witness to God’s loving providence for all people. When we invite people to “come and see” they are looking for more than a tour of our monastery building and a list of volunteer ministries. Our spirit of hospitality will have a ripple effect (positive or negative) that makes visible (or not) Jesus’ love in today’s world. We pray that we and all peoples of diverse backgrounds, cultures and religions, are enlightened to accept each other with open hands and hearts and that world peace will prevail in our lifetime.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

 

First Reading:   Isaiah 62:1-5         Second Reading:  1 Corinthians 12:4-11
Gospel:   John 2:1-11
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