Benedictine Sisters of FL

Holy Name Monastery
Founded 1889

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The Law of Life

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I’m sure you’ve heard it said there are three things that are best left out conversation at of family gatherings. You know them: Religion, sex, and politics.  But, unless your family has taken an oath of silence, we do talk about those things. We just do it really badly.  I think there may be one more topic we do not talk about.  Death.  Yes, we acknowledge death when it happens but for the most part we do not talk about death with any real depth or substance, and certainly not with any enthusiasm.  Most people try to deny it, ignore it or just avoid it.

The death of our loved ones is too real, too painful. Our own death is too scary. The relationships and parts of our lives that have died are too difficult. So, for the most part, we just avoid the topic of death. Besides it’s a downer in a culture that mostly wants to be happy, feel good, and avoid difficult realities.

In today’s reading Jesus brings up the topic of death in an indirect way.  You can almost see Jesus words when He says “I am troubled now.”  They are so visually clear.  He told his listeners: “If a seed is planted into the ground and it does not die, it remains a seed.  But if it dies, it produces many seeds and seedlings and those seeds and their seedlings produce much fruit.”

It all begins with the seed dying.   So, could it be that the key to life is death?  Could it be that the key to living is dying?  Could it be that dying is important to living? Think what happens when seeds are planted into the ground.

I came “this close” to being a biology major because in my early days in community someone thought it would be good if we had a member who could teach upper grades science.  [But I was saved by an educational career specialist who recognized that my talents – and bent – lay in another field and direction.]

If you’ve ever taught children in the lower grades, or you may remember yourself, putting a lima bean in a wet paper towel against the inside of a glass so you could see what would happen.  Recall how we put one of the containers with beans on a window sill and the other in a dark cabinet?   Then we noted our “observations” – our big new scientific word.  We witnessed what the teacher told us to be true.  Inside every seed is an embryo and every embryo has a root and a shoot; and inside that little embryo, (and this is the real a miracle), there is an “on” and “off” switch.  REALLY!  Every seed has a “on” and “off” switch; they really do!

There is also a thin coat around that seed which protects it from oxygen getting in prematurely.  When the dormant seed is planted into the ground, and allowed to mature naturally, at the right time, the switch goes “ON” and the seed takes in water, and it miraculously begins to expand –  the seed coat breaks and the seed begins to mature and produce sugar and protein. And then down goes the little roots and up grow the little shoots, and the shoots produce more seeds which produce more fruit.  And, that’s when the seed dies!

Jesus said this!   “Unless a seed dies, it remains a single seed; but if it dies, it produces many seeds and much fruit.”  This is the law of life that Jesus teaches us today.  It is in dying that we live.  In fact it is only by first dying that we will ever begin living.

When the cycle of nature is disrupted … when death does not produce new life, it is remains just a single seed … It might survive a while – but it never produces fruit.  If we refuse to die to self, we might survive, but we aren’t rally alive in the Spirit.  Resurrection is always hidden within death.  However, without death there can be no resurrection.

Lent is a good time to practices “little deaths” to self: giving up a self-serving idea, in good spirit changing an opinion, letting go of an ambition,  so that God might coax us (like the seedling) to follow the light in order stand erect and put down roots in the spirit of Benedict deep into  community life.

And when it is our time, when the water of God’s grace and the light of God’s love can penetrate our thick shells we will know, and be enabled to divest ourselves in favor of new life.  May we graciously lay down whatever the habit we have developed, or the challenge we’ve been stepping around for so long.  (In the image of the plant), allow those things to become fertilizer for the next seedlings God plants in our hearts.

Francis of Assisi knew all this well when he wrote in his famous Prayer for Peace; “It is in giving that we receive; it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress

 

First Reading  Jeremiah 31:31-34           Second Reading  Hebrews 5:7-9
Gospel  John 12:20-33
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First Sunday of Lent 2018

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In the liturgical cycle of readings, this Gospel from Mark was originally only 2 verses – later the church added 2 verses – but it is still the one of the shortest Sunday readings.  It tells us only that Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit immediately after his baptism to be tempted by the devil for 40 days.  Why do the evangelists make a point of 40 days?  You know that: it recalls the 40 years that the Israelites wandered in the desert.  And remember the prophet Elijah journeyed in a desert for 40 days and nights, making his way to Mt. Horeb.  Some say that 40 is simply a symbolic number.  Even if it is, Jesus chose to follow that symbolism as a lesson to us.  We set aside 40 days for our season of Lent, to travel through a wilderness of fasting, almsgiving, and prayer.

According to St. Benedict the purpose of Lent is to purify our way of life and to wash away negligences of the past, to make reparation for what we have done or failed to do.   He names five practices to help change our hearts

  • refuse to indulge in evil habits,
  • devote yourself to prayer,
  • holy reading,
  • compunction of heart and
  • self-denial.

We’ve heard the expression “practice makes perfect” so often that the full meaning may have lost its impact on us.  But consider the Olympic skater who has to forego serious practice for close to a year due to an injury.  Then only last month found out he would be in the Olympic competition.  In two rounds he fumbled, fell – he received a creditable score but did not do his personal best.  Until the third round, the fourth round … then he shone!

Each year at the beginning of Lent we may feel like that skater.  We’re not doing our personal best.  Lent gives us a “third round.”  As Benedict says in Chapter 49, during Lent we are called to be the kind of person we should be every day.  Lent gives us a jump-start of courage to pick up the practices that will support the values we profess to believe in.  The biggest temptation most of us have to face is to “give up” because we stumble, maybe fall – like that skater we may have to put a hand on the floor once in a while to balance ourselves.  The only way  to rise to the challenge of Easter is to persevere … in doing what we know is right, in being faithful to what we’ve promised God, in heeding that first word in the Rule – “listen” – and in loving others as God loves them, and us.

This evening at the close of prayer we will ask God’s blessing on our attempts to be what we were created to be.  We promise to pray for each other and ask God’s gift of strength and courage to persevere in our Lenten resolutions.

 

BLESSING RITE (for resolutions papers)

Aware that Lent is not merely a time of atoning for sins but a time of preparation.  We prepare throughout Lent to become at Easter what we were once baptized into: Christ’s own body.  We will practice habits which will break us open, let God in, and train us to love like Christ.

Therefore, our loving God, we come before you at this time in our lives to bring, praise – a plea – and a promise – that we will gently remind ourselves that (all) “Lent is a process of rending our hearts, filling the broken places with God’s love, and fearlessly loving as Christ loved.

We place before you, O God, our sincere promises to use your grace to become the people You call us to be.  Trusting in your all-powerful goodness, we dare to ask:

  • L) Give us renewed fervor to be faithful to our commitments. AMEN
  • L) Help us to be compassionate and supportive to one another.  AMEN
  • L) Bless our efforts to make a good Lent.  AMEN
  • L) And support us to be faithful to our Lenten resolutions.  AMEN
 ~by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress
Genesis 9:8-15         1 Peter 3:18-22         Mark 1:12-15
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Thoughts on Lent

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This year on February 14th our liturgical “stars” will be in a strange alignment!  Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday coincide!  No one set out to plan it that way but now it’s ours to figure out how to combine the spirit of “heart” day and the penitential spirit of the beginning of Lent.  On second thought, maybe it’s not so strange.  But it is curious.  Lent calls us to a change of heart and Valentine’s Day brings gifts of flowers, chocolate and little candy hearts with expressions of love printed on them.  I suspect that Mardi Gras festivities, too, will have generous servings of Valentine’s sentiments and Ash Wednesday will still have the aroma of Valentine’s chocolates.  Then, six weeks down the road, guess what?  Easter Sunday coincides with April’s Fools Day – and that’s no joke!  The coincidence of dates reminds of to be “fools for Christ.”

In the spirit of Ash Wednesday’s repeated refrain: “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return” let us ponder how we might turn from simply being creatures of “dust” to being creature of love.  If we pick up the Scriptures each day of Lent we will quickly realize that the Good Book is filled with expressions of love: God’s call to us is to be open and ready to change so that our love, and our loving ways, may increase.

We can’t prescribe for another HOW to go about being more loving … Oh, we may think we could if they’d let us.  But, loving comes from inside out.  It comes from God who IS love.  We can SHOW each other what love looks like.

Let us always meet each other with a smile, for a smile is the beginning of love. (Mother Teresa)

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress
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A New Term for an Old Reality

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Twice now this week we’ve heard Jesus command: “Be quiet.”  This morning it was “Quiet, be still!” in order to calm a storm.  Now here in this story from Mark it’s “Quiet, come out!”  to chase an unclean spirit and cure a young man besieged by demons that today might be labeled PSTD, Schizophrenia, Bipolar illness …

Demons are so disruptive.  The victims long for control over the evil spirit that seems to pull the strings, think the thoughts, speak the words and do the deeds.

In this story, apparently no one in town suspected that the young man had an evil spirit.  Otherwise, they would have been shunned him.  They wouldn’t have allowed him in their company, in the temple or anywhere near Jesus.

Well, I got this far in my reflection (Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress)– pondering the variety of demons our society struggles with today.  Then I got distracted and stymied – I felt like an evil spirit, some might call, writer’s block, was redirecting my thoughts, interfering with my schedule, trying to inflict me with laryngitis or lull me into a nap.

When lo and behold, Jesus said, “Quiet – here’s a reflection already written for you.  It was a blog piece from Stephen Okey professor from SLU who did a presentation for us (here at the monastery) on one of the most insidious demons that invades us most anywhere we turn.  In Stephan’s words:

Fake News and the Good News

Although the term “fake news” may be of relatively recent invention, Pope Francis argues that it begins already in the Garden of Eden.  In an insightful exegesis of Genesis 3, he describes the serpent as the first purveyor of fake news, who relies on “mimicry” and the “appearance of truth.”  The serpent is able to take something true, given in love (the command against eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil), and twist and discredit the claim through selective reframing and presentation.  The same problem continues today, as individuals, networks, and even governmental agencies create attractive and credible lies in order to generate traffic, generate revenue, and generate division.

Francis defines “fake news” as “the spreading of disinformation on line or in the traditional media.  It has to do with false information based on non-existent or distorted data meant to deceive and manipulate the reader.”  He calls for resistance to fake news, to recalling Christ as The Truth on which we can rely, and to learning to discern the true from the false in order to be free.  Pope Francis has three concrete suggestions for resisting fake news, along with one deeper exhortation.

First, avoid “homogeneous digital environments impervious to differing perspectives and opinions.”  Francis wants us out of our “echo chambers,” meeting with those whom we do not already encounter.  This goes beyond cultivating a diversity of sources for media; it means cultivating a diversity of relationships.  If one can avoid living in such a “bubble,” one should be less susceptible to stories that simply confirm one’s worst fears.

Second, slow down.  One of the dangers of fake news is its “spreading so fast that it is hard to stop.”  Journalists in particular are encouraged not to chase the breaking, sensational headlines, but rather the “underlying causes of conflicts” in pursuit of richer and deeper understanding.  This is not only journalists though: many of us would benefit from taking a moment to read an article or story before reposting, understanding it beyond its headline, and reflecting on whether or not it is credible.  Discernment of the truth takes time.

Third, communicate the truth in love.  Francis focuses much of this message on “the true” in contrast to fake news, but he connects it also to “the good.”  He encourages us to consider the fruits of our communication.  If we “provoke quarrels” or “foment division” rather than “promote informed and mature reflection,” then that communication falls short.  Put another way: the repetition of true facts is a necessary condition of communicating the truth, but not a sufficient one.

Finally, an exhortation: strategies are valuable, but they aren’t the whole story.  The three practices listed above must be part of a conversion of heart. If cultivating a diverse body of sources and relationships simply becomes pretty window dressing for the bubble one remains in, then it bears no good fruit.  It is similar to his claim in Laudato Si: if we rely simply on technological or strategic solutions to our problems, we mask the underlying moral problems that contribute to the throwaway culture (or to continue to promote fake news).

“Fake news” is a new term for an old reality.  There is a temptation to deceive, to deceive others, to deceive ourselves, and to deceptively accuse others of deception whenever we don’t want to hear the truth.  But we need to hear the truth, and we need to keep our eyes focused on the truth, because it is the truth that will set us free.

Stephen Okey | January 24, 2018

First Reading  Deuteronomy 18:15-20   Second Reading  1 Corinthians 7:32-35
Gospel Reading  Mark 1:21-28

 

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What Nets Entangle Us?

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Day after day it was the same thing; the same sea, the same nets, the same boat, the same back-breaking chores with the same guys.  Day after day it was wind, water, fish, sore muscles, tired bodies.  They’d grown up watching their father and their grandfather, maybe their great-grandfather and uncles do the same thing every day – .watching their future playing out before them.

Cast the net, pull it in.  Cast the net, pull it in.  If you were not casting the net, then you were sitting in the boat mending the nets or on the dock preparing the bait.  Maybe that’s where we get the expression: either fish or cut bait – but don’t just sit there and do nothing.

We may not fish for a living but we do know about preparing bait, mending and casting nets.  Some days it seems like nothing changes.  We get tempted not to expect anything to change.  This is the reality; it’s is just the way it is and the way it’s going to be.

But then we hear Jesus’ invitation: “Follow me!”  It’s an invitation to a new life.  It’s a knock a side of the head – an eye-opener.  When Jesus said, “I will make you fish for people,” he was describing the transformation of our own lives, not simply a promise of new vocations.

Jesus doesn’t work for AAA – he doesn’t offer us a map, an itinerary, or a destination, only an invitation.  Remember what I said last week: Always, Jesus offers an invitation AND a promise.

This invitation is to an inner journey, a journey into the deepest part of our being.  It’s not about planning and organizing, making lists, or packing camping gear or backpacks or suitcases.  It’s not a vacation invitation.  It’s not about gathering stuff, it’s about leaving things behind.  The Scripture says:  “Immediately upon hearing Jesus’ invitation they left their nets behind and followed him.”  Imagine the look of puzzlement on Zebedee’s face at finding himself alone in the boat.  They didn’t simply leave what they were doing; they left their father and the tools of their livelihood: their boat and their nets.

That’s the hard part for most of us.  We’re pretty good at accumulating things and clinging to relationships but maybe not so good at letting go.  More often than not our spiritual growth involves some kind of letting go.  We never get anywhere new as long as we’re unwilling to leave where we are.  We accept Jesus’ invitation to follow, not by packing up, but by letting go.

So, what are the nets that entangle us?  What are the little boats that contain our life?  What do we need to let go of and leave behind so that we might follow Jesus?

People who enjoy fishing are patient people.  They cast their line into the water then wait and wait for a fish to swim by and take the bait.  A plain hook alone does not interest most fish.  And, some fish are picky about what will tempt them.  There must be something on the hook that attracts the fish’s attention and whet’s their taste.

If you ask a person who likes to fish what is the best bait to use, they’re usually eager to tell you what works best to attract the attention of a fish.  What they use for bait often depends upon what type of fish they are trying to catch.  Sometimes it is the color of the lure on the line that attracts a fish.  Sometimes is it actual bait.  Sometimes it’s not food at all.  It can be a “fly,” a lure fashioned out of thread and small feathers to look like a real fly or another type of insect.

Jesus told his disciples that he would teach them how to “fish for people.”  He showed all of us that the way to do that is to have God’s love in our own lives, evident between us and to share it with others.

A variety of motives influence people to exchange their old lives for new ones.  What commitments convince Vocation Seekers that it’s worth leaving behind life as they know it?  Most of us know from our own and each other’s vocation stories, it’s the relationships we witness and experience within a community much more so than ministries that prompt new-comers to “test the waters.”

We, our community, can put all full energy into the production all kinds of “lures” and “bait” …retreats and workshops, attractive vocation materials, holy cards, videos, websites and other social media … but that’s only part of what Jesus meant when he promised to teach us how to fish for people.  And, remember if we’re fishing from our boat each one has to do her assigned task of mending the nets, casting the line or preparing bait … no slackers allowed.  And, all of us have to row in sync lest we tangle oars or go in perpetual circles.  Look to Jesus – how did He fish?  He taught, He gave witness, He invited, He did not disappoint, He was (and is) faithful to His word.

Knowing all that, what witness do we need to be constantly giving?  What do we need to leave behind (individually and communally) to convince an observer that our community is worth a further look?  What is the bait, the lure that will prompt more questions, extended visits, developing relationships and finally prompt the Seeker to have the daring to say “This is where I feel God is calling me; I’m willing to leave all behind for the sake of Jesus’ call, with these Sisters (whom I now call my own) here at Holy Name.”

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress

 

First Reading  Jonah 3:1-5,10   Second Reading  1 Corinthians 7:29-31
Gospel Mark 1:14-20
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What do you want?

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For a moment, imagine, if you will, that you are an aspiring athlete, artist, musician, writer, chef or whatever…    By a stroke of good fortune, you manage to secure as your mentor the person you consider to be tops in the field.  At once you begin to study under that person and hone your skills, soaking up everything you can learn from your champion.

One day after your lesson your mentor introduces you to a person she considers THE expert in the field.  In fact, she suggests that if you really want to perfect your skills this is the person under whom you should study; leave your classes with her and follow that other person lead.

In a sense, this is what is happening here in this Gospel text.  John the Baptist is a great prophet.  Jesus himself once called him the greatest prophet who ever lived.  Naturally, John has picked up a few disciples, people who are devoted to him as their spiritual leader.  But now John has recognized that somebody else has come along who is far greater then he will ever be.  In fact, when Jesus shows up, John realizes that he is now in the presence of One whose sandals he is not even worthy to untie.  He may be a prophet, but this man is the Lamb of God, the Son of the Most High, the very Savior of the world.

This is astonishing, really, for what preacher would point his disciple to another’s preacher’s ministry?  Here we see that John recognizes his calling and that he is fully in agreement with his purpose, which is not self-promotion. Instead, as John explains in the early part of his gospel: “He must increase, I must decrease.”  His following must grow; my purpose is to point you to His way.  He is the chosen one of GOD, I am not worthy to even unloosen his shoes.

If you’ve ever thought about it, (or think about it now) you may realize that one of life’s more challenging roles is to take the second place when once you’ve held first place.   School principals who step back into the classroom; heads of departments who now work the floor; a committee or commission chair who now is worker-bee; parents who cut the apron strings so their child can soar or, in a case close to home, a superior who rotates out of leadership.  S. Lynn Marie McKenzie writes about this dynamic in her article on “Servant Leadership” in the Fall Issue of BENEDICTINES.  (And it fits right in this week with the reading from the Rule, chapter 2, on the Qualities of the Prioress.)  Sister Lynn reminds the reader that “one does not begin monastic life as a prioress but begins as a member of the community, and one usually does not end monastic life as a prioress but as a member of the community.

When in community we prepare for election of prioress, we often speak of the “grace of office”.  A smooth transition into, out of various roles is reliant on the grace John the Baptist showed in commending his disciples to focus on Jesus and His way.  He prepared his friends, his disciples to move on from his teaching and instead to devote themselves to Jesus.  This is so typical of John.  It was the whole purpose of his life.  Even before he was born, God had determined that John’s life would be spent pointing people towards Jesus.  An angel told his dad before he was born: This child will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.  And he will go before the Lord, in spirit and power to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

So look at John!  In your mind’s eye, follow his finger to whom is pointing!  Hear what he’s saying!  In the story he’s standing with two of his friends when Jesus walks by.  He seizes the opportune moment.  He says to his friends, “Look, there goes the Lamb of God.  Here’s your chance.  What are you waiting for?  Go! Follow him!  He’s the one you’ve really been looking for.

All they know is what John has told them about Jesus – they don’t really yet know Jesus.  They don’t know where he is going or if he wants them to follow.  But follow they do – at a distance.  That’s what’s so noteworthy about what happens that day.  As these two men follow him at a distance, Jesus turns around.  He initiates the exchange.  He confronts them.  “What are you looking for?  What are you after?  I see you following me, what are you hoping to find?  What do you think I can do for you?”

So what if, right now, Jesus stopped in his tracks, faced you, and asked point blank, “What are you looking for?  I see you’ve been following me.  I know you’ve been checking me out.  Well, what do you want?  What do you think I can do for you?  What do you want me to give you?  Where do you think I am leading you?  Do you think I have all the answers?  Can I fix your life?  Or are you just curious?

Will your answer be the same as John’s followers: “Teacher, where are you staying?”  You know what Jesus answers, “Come and see.”  This is so typical Jesus – always an invitation is extended, a gracious and wide open invitation.  And, what’s more, the invitation always comes with a promise.  Seek and you will find.  Knock and the door will be opened.  Ask and you will receive.  Come to me if you are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest.  You who are thirsty come to me and drink.  Come to the feast for I have prepared a place for you at the table.  Always Jesus invites us: come and see!

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress

 

First Reading  1 Samuel 3:3b–10,19     Second Reading  1 Corinthians 6:13c–15a,17–20
Gospel   John 1:35–42
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