Benedictine Sisters of FL

Holy Name Monastery
Founded 1889

Benedict

Because you were faithful in small matters…

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Because you were faithful in small matters…

come, share your Master’s joy.

Like the Master in this Gospel, St. Benedict teaches us “journey lessons.”  We sense a journey motif from the opening words of Benedict’s Rule when he bids us: “Listen! The labor of obedience will bring you back (“coming back” requires a journey, doesn’t it?)  “Let us get up then (he says) at long last, for the Scriptures rouse us when they say: “It is high time for us to arise from sleep… (come from the land of your dreams) …run while you have the light… go out to seek workers in the multitude of the people …”.  Listen to Benedict: “moving on in your journey of faith, (and life in the monastery) “You will say, ‘Here I am Lord’.”   Then he tells us how to prepare for our journey: “Clothed with faith and the performance of good works, let us set out on this way, with the Gospel for our guide…. Be just in all your dealings, speak the truth from the heart and do not practice deceit or listen to slander.”

By the time Benedict wrote Chapter 67 one can tell he’s had some experience with monks who journeyed far from the home monastery.  We know that Benedict, in his youth, had escaped “big city life.”  So, he wanted to protect his monks from the evils and temptations of the prevailing society.  Those at home are to remember the absent ones in prayer for their confrere’s safety and protection from temptation.

I have to smile when I read what Benedict cautions next.  He certainly knew human nature: “No one should presume to relate what was seen or heard outside the monastery.”  Benedict didn’t want stories of the world to creep in and cause dissension or dissatisfaction to rankle or upset his community.  We need to be on guard that we balance charitable interest in each other versus the drive to know every intimate detail about what was seen or heard on the other’s journey.

Benedict is solicitous of his monks sent on a journey that they appear neither embarrassingly shabby nor be clad in “rich folks” clothing.  He charges the superior with checking that hemlines are a decent length and the members’ clothing be suited to the weather.   And, it’s obvious that times were different when Benedict walked the earth.  He makes provision that the members be LOANED underwear from the wardrobe that is to be laundered and returned after the trip.

In line with his admonition to pray always, Benedict reminds his monks when they are on a journey to keep an eye on the sun and listen for the bells from neighboring abbeys announcing prayer times. Benedict reminds them though at a distance too far to join the community, they should “observe the prescribed hours” as best they can.  Thus, probably began the custom of the Angelus.

The Rule closes with this journey-question: “Are you hastening toward your heavenly home?  Then keep this little rule … as you set out for loftier summits of the teaching and virtues we’ve mentioned.”  Benedict, in his own unique way, shares Paul’s message to the Philippians: “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”   Benedict adds this promise: “Under God’s protection” (together) we will reach our heavenly home.”  That’s the same promise Jesus makes to his trustworthy followers: Because “You were faithful in small matters … come, share your Master’s joy.”

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

Have a pleasant Thanksgiving… give thanks for all that has been and open your heart to all that will be…give another a reason to rejoice on this day.

 

First Reading:   Proverbs 31         Second Reading:  1 Thessalonians 5:1-6
Gospel:   Matthew 25:14-30
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It isn’t over, til it’s over!

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The dynamic in this Gospel is an ages-old story.  It happens in families, between friends, in the work force and in monastic community.  The situation Jesus poses is rather straight-forward.  Two sons are given the same task by their father: one asserts his objection, right up-front but in the end obeys his father’s wish.  The second son signifies obedience in his words but his actions betray his words.

The question that Jesus poses is direct: Which son did what the father wanted?  Jesus could ask us the same question.  Do our words reflect our obedience to God?  God desires a full conversion of heart –  that our actions (and our words as well) will give evidence of our love for God.  The older brother had no intention of working and had the honesty to say so.  He was in the wrong, but he was honest.  The younger brother was the opposite.  He said the expedient thing knowing what his father wanted to hear but he had no integrity.

For Benedict obedience is central.  As postulants when we officially knocked on the door and asked to be received as a candidate we were greeted with the question: “What do you seek?”  We declared that we’d come to the monastery to hear and seek God.  To do that you have to be willing to listen and then obey God’s voice as heard in personal prayer, in the voice of the superior and in interactions with each other.  Benedict asks that our obedience be open, honest, prompt and positive, (even if it is painful) and given without murmuring.

We would do well to recall both this gospel story, and Benedict’s words about obeying with alacrity, when we are asked to do a favor for one of our sisters or a co-worker.  We know that for Benedict, murmuring was an abomination, anathema, a curse in community and any sign of grumbling was to be censured.

In one of her first commentaries on the Rule, Joan Chittister suggests: Say to the member who signs up for a task but then complains, “Please don’t sign up.  Kindly give the community the gift of not murmuring about it.  The rest of the community will get the work done.  Please just stay home and keep a smile on your face.  Don’t do the work and then poison the environment of the house with murmuring.”

Oh, you may think: it’s easy for you to talk about obedience.  You’re the prioress, who do you have to obey?  Bear in mind that the leader, any leader, may have some authority with her position, but the power lies in the hands and will of the membership.  Obedience in monastic life is mutual.  It springs from the bloom of mutual respect.  Without both, there is no community.  There is just a group of women living under the same roof.  Thankfully for all of us, in life, growth is always possible.  It’s not how we start that matters, it’s how we finish!  “It isn’t over, til it’s over!”

 

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

Have a pleasant week!  Happy feast of your Guardian Angel and the Feast of the Holy Rosary!

 

 

 

Readings: Ezekiel 18:25-28    Philippians 2:1-Be like
Gospel:   Matthew 21:28-32
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Go Into My Vineyard

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“Go into my vineyard and I will give you what is just.”

 

It strikes me that this Gospel must be a source of reassurance to those that some describe as “late-in-life or delayed vocations”.    When the 5 o’clock whistle blew the persons in the parable figured they’d been overlooked AGAIN.  “I don’t I look strong enough?  What will I say to my wife and children?”  The parable describes these hopefuls as “standing around.” But if you have ever seen day-laborers gathered, hopefully waiting for a grove owner’s bus, you’ve seen people weary and discouraged before the day begins.   They sit on a bench or crouched on their haunches.  Some perk up when the bus pulls in. Hope rises, then falls, as the boss chooses a handful of workers for that day.  Experience warns the overlooked once again that there’s no room for them on the bus.

But they don’t completely give up. They live in hope.  They wait well into the day.  Until 5 o’clock, the parable says.  Staring into space, once again picturing their children with hunger in their eyes.  But wait!  Maybe (just maybe) they could pick up a few hours work before dark.  Their ears pricked up when they hear the voice of the landowner, the Master, speaking to them: “Why are you still here?  You, too, go into my vineyard.”  They labor until the whistle blows marking the end of the day in the fields.

Those who came late have worked only a small ratio of the day compared to those who were on the first bus. What a surprise when they discreetly peeked into their pay envelopes.  They’d been thinking, “This owner’s usually generous.  Wonder how much I got? Will it put supper on the table?  Whoa!  Look again.  It’s not possible that’s a full day’s wages.”   But it is!

The whole Gospel story harkens back to a line in the First Reading from the Prophet Isaiah: (God speaks) “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways.  The Master continues emphasizing how far apart God’s thoughts are from ours. “As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts.”  With that consideration in mind, (that God’s thoughts are a far cry from our earth-bound thoughts) make the jump to the last line in the Gospel parable: “Am I not free to do as I wish with my own riches?  Are you envious because I am generous?”  Has God ever had to asked you that question: Are you envious because I am generous?

We shouldn’t be found sitting idly on the bench we call life.  Or worse, grumbling over “poor me”.  Nor can we stand around idle waiting to be hired.  The Rule of Benedict offers us a good personal check list:

Benedict exhorts us: Honor all persons with respect.   Accommodate a diversity of personality styles.  Do not hold your Sisters hostage with any form of tyranny or tardiness nor weigh down the group with grumbling.  No favoritism will be awarded due to rank or status, between rich and poor.  Any favoritism should be afforded to the weak and the sick.  Follow what you consider better for others.   Respect all equally!

In regard to respect for individual pathways to holiness, Benedict says in RB 73: there is always more you can do. Those who can do more, should do so.  “As observant and obedient monk, we blush for shame at being so slothful, so unobservant, so negligent.  Are you hastening toward your heavenly home?   Then, with Christ’s help, keep this little rule.  After that, you can set out for the loftier summits of teaching and the virtues, and under God’s protection you will reach them.”

Can you hear the landowner asking you: “Why are you standing here idle all day?  Go into my vineyard and I will give you what is just.”

 

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

Welcome to Fall 2023…  cooler weather and

beautiful change of season

 

 

 

 

Readings:  Isaiah 55:6-9    Philippians 1:20-24, 27a
Gospel:   Matthew 20:1-16a

 

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Listen

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I offer you two wee stories.  The first, a familiar story, one of many versions that can be found on the Internet.

Once upon a time was a man that prayed quietly, “God, speak to me.”  And a meadowlark sang.  But the man did not hear its song.  So, the man spoke aloud: “God, speak to me!”  And thunder rolled across the sky.  But the man wasn’t listening.

The man looked around and said, “God, let me see you.”  And the stars shone brightly in the night sky.  But the man noticed it not.  He shouted, “God, show me a miracle.”  And a babe was born.  But the man was unaware.

So, the man cried out in despair, “Touch me, God, and let me know that you are here!”  Whereupon God reached down and touched the man.  But the man brushed the butterfly off his shoulder and walked away.

The situation in the second story may have a familiar ring.  It could take place in any setting where two people live together.  But for sake of this story, we’ll say it’s a wife and husband team.  Each had been having difficulty communicating with the other.  And, each had concluded that it was the other who was hard of hearing.

So, one evening the wife sat in a chair on the far side of the room.  Her husband’s back was turned to her so he could not see her.  The room was very quiet; no TV was playing.  She whispered, “Can you hear me?”  There was no response.

Scooting a just a little closer, she asked again, “Can you hear me now?”  Still no reply.  Quietly she edged closer and whispered the same words, but still no answer.

Finally, she moved right in behind his chair and said, “Can you hear me now?”  To her surprise and chagrin, he responded with irritation in his voice, “For the fourth time, yes!”

And Jesus said: Whoever has ears to hear, ought to hear.

So, pondering both of these stories, we might ask:

+   When God speaks, do we make sure we don’t miss some part of the message because it is not packaged the way we expected?

+  Is the problem that God is not speaking?  Or, that we are not listening?

+  Or, is the third step where we fail?  Are we listening and hearing but, then, we fail to act on what we hear?

We are all familiar with Benedict’s opening word to us in his Rule.  It’s the same word that Jesus speaks in this Gospel: Listen.  According to a footnote in my Bible, the phrase “Let they who have ears, let them hear” (or a similar expression) appears approximately 14 times in Scripture.  I find this interesting because the number 14 is considered to be a symbol of salvation and deliverance.  For instance, the 14th day of the 1st Hebrew month is Passover, the celebration of the deliverance from death of the firstborn of the Children of Israel.  The angel passed by all the homes where the doorposts had been painted with blood.

That first word in Benedict’s Rule: LISTEN is the key to what he says in the last two chapters of the Rule.  If only that instruction, LISTEN, were heeded, what an impact it could make on our own happiness and it would foster peace between peoples.  Isn’t attentive listening the master key that opens our hearts for good zeal?  Deep, sensitive listening is the undergirding to mutual obedience.  The attentive listener can anticipate another’s needs; pick up on feelings, be aware that she’s pushed another’s “buttons” and recognize the need to change the course of the interaction.  To truly listen requires attentive spirit.  Celeste Headlee in her TED talk says [Celeste Headlee 10 ways to have a better conversation] “If your mouth is open, you’re not listening.  If you want to pontificate, write a blog.  Listen to people and be prepared to be amazed; everyone is an expert at something!”

Jesus and Benedict each offer us a challenging but attainable ideal.  When the monastic falls short of the ideal, we are expected to humbly ask forgiveness both from God and from our Sisters-in-Christ to whom we freely pledge to “form bonds of mutual love and respect and to call forth the best in one another.” (Community Philosophy statement 2018)

 

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

First Reading:   Isaiah 55: 10-11         Second Reading:  Romans 8:18-23 13: 1-9
Gospel:   Matthew 13:1-23
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He Knows Us Each By Name

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Pastor and author Tony Campolo loved to tell the story of a particular census taker who went to the home of a rather poor family in the mountains of West Virginia to collect information.  When he asked the mother how many dependents she had, she began, “Well, there is Rosie, and the twins Billy and Betsy, there’s Susie, Harry, and Jeffrey.  There’s Johnny, and Harvey, and our dog, Willie.”  “No, ma’am, that’s not necessary. I only need the humans.”  “Ah,” she said.  “Well, there is Rosie, and the twins Billy and Betsy, and Susie”…At this the exasperated man said, “No, ma’am, you don’t seem to understand.  I don’t need their names; I just need the numbers.”  To which the confused woman threw up her arms and spoke slowly and plainly: “Sir, YOU don’t understand.  I don’t know their numbers.  I only know them by name.”

The two brief parables we have in this Gospel reveal Jesus as our unique means to salvation.  Jesus is our Good Shepherd.  He is the “sheep gate,” the gateway to eternal life; the selfless, caring “shepherd” who provides protection and life itself.  And, He knows us each by name!  Although there may be several flocks sharing the same sheepfold, when a shepherd walks up to the gate and calls out names, each one of the sheep will instantly recognize the voice of their own shepherd.  When Jesus calls His sheep will instinctively follow.  They will ignore the voice of every other  shepherd other than their own.  We will hear many voices competing for attention, but there is a special note to the voice of Jesus that demands our immediate and full attention.

Hopefully we are like that because daily we make time and space in our lives to stay in touch with our Good Shepherd.  Experience has taught us how to spot what is in harmony with the teachings of our Shepherd and what contradicts it.  We won’t be led astray by the voice of riffraff, half-truths, or so-called sugarcoated false miracle-solutions to problems that can only be addressed with honest assessment of root causes, genuine compassion, and “across the aisle” collaboration.

In his latest book (Coenobium) the Cistercian monk, Michael Casey, writes this: “Each of us is called to hear what the Spirit has to say to the churches, and to us.  We who live in community have the advantage of not only having personal designated times for prayer and lectio – anyone can set a self-made schedule.  We’ve also made a free commitment to each other to gather as a community and to do personal lectio to enrich and enhance our personal and our communal prayer.”  Participation in the Liturgy of the Hours begins (in Casey’s words) “when one sets aside whatever he or she is doing, puts the computer (tablet or TV) to sleep” and stands up ready to move, thus, creating a receptive space for whatever the coming liturgy will offer.  Casey continues, “arriving late or out of breath can be a sign of willful disorganization, passive aggression, or spiritual upheaval.”  [But, remember also what Benedict says in RB 43: “Better late than never!”]  Lectio divina and Liturgy of the Hours are not intended simply as an exercise to give monastics something to do to keep them out of mischief.  The primary purpose is to reconnect the pipeline to the spiritual world to sustain the person to live a life according to God.  Our Shepherd assures us that He knows every single sheep by name!  He’ll never come to the threshold and call out: “Hey you!”  And, we will each recognize His voice.  He has promised: “I know my sheep and my sheep know me!”

A man in Australia was arrested and charged with stealing a sheep.  But he claimed emphatically that it was one of his own that had been missing for many days.  When the case went to court, the judge was puzzled, not knowing how to decide the matter.  At last, he asked that the sheep be brought into the courtroom.  Then he ordered the plaintiff to step outside and call the animal.  The sheep made no response except to raise its head and look frightened.  The judge then instructed the defendant to go to the courtyard and call the sheep.  When the accused man began to make his distinctive call, the sheep bounded toward the door.  It was obvious that he recognized the familiar voice of his master.  “His sheep knows him,” said the judge.  “Case dismissed!”

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

First Reading:  Acts 2:14, 36-41         Second Reading:  1 Peter 2:20-25
Gospel:   John 10:1-10
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Feast Day of St. Scholastica

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The Feast of Scholastica, the founder of Benedictine life for women, is observed on February 10.

Benedict had a sister, Scholastica, who also dedicated her life to the pursuit of God. She too founded monasteries and became an abbatial figure. The only story we have of Scholastica is told when Benedict was already an abbot of renown. The incident demonstrates clearly that the brother and sister were emotionally close, and, both of them, a spiritual influence on the other till the time of her death.

During one of their annual visits, Scholastica, inspired by the depth of their conversation, asked Benedict to remain overnight in the place where they were meeting in order to continue their talk and reflection on spiritual things. Benedict wouldn’t even think of it. It was getting dark; it was time to get back to the monastery; it was time to get on with the regular routine of the spiritual life.

Unable to persuade him with words, Scholastica put her head down on the table in deep prayer. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a great storm brought flash floods and Benedict realized that he could not possibly return to the monastery that night. And the Dialogues say, “he complained bitterly.”

He said, “God forgive you, sister! What have you done?”

Scholastica answered simply, “I asked you for a favor and you refused. I asked my God and I got it.”

This story is a vein worth mining for a lifetime:

It tells us that law is never greater than love.

It tells us to be intent on pursuing the values of life, not simply its rules.

It tells us that discipline is necessary in the spiritual life but that religious discipline is not enough, that depth is a process and that depth costs.

It tells us that God lurks in strange places. And waits for us. And puts in our paths just what we need in order to become what we are meant to be.

It reminds us that a woman has as much power in the eyes of God as any man and that we must recognize women, too, as spiritual guides.

God fractured Benedict’s rigidity in favor of a greater vision. Has your rigidity been fractured yet?

—from Radical Christian Life, by Joan Chittister (Liturgical Press)

 

 

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