Benedictine Sisters of FL

Holy Name Monastery
Founded 1889

Benedict

Lord, where are you going?

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Here (in this Gospel) we see Jesus troubled with the knowledge of who is about to betray him.  It is more troubling when you realize that Jesus truly did know who would betray him.  We may say: “I know what she’s thinking; I know why she did that.”  But, we don’t really – we’re second-guessing or assigning a motive based on our own behavior.”  Yet still knowing full well Judas’ heart and what would happen when they stepped into the garden after supper – watch what Jesus does.  He announces the imminent betrayal, and then proceeds to feed the betrayer:  “When he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot.”  With the flavor of the morsel still in his mouth, Judas leaves to do his dirty work.  The narrator adds, “… and it was night” – the deed is done under the cover of darkness.  In this dark moment Jesus says: “Now is the Son of Man glorified.”  He speaks of being glorified and focuses on preparing his disciples for what is to come.

Not included in the text for tomorrow, but in John’s Gospel, the conversation continues, with Peter asking, “Lord, where are you going?”  Jesus responds, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward”.  Peter argues, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now?  I will lay down my life for you.”  But Jesus knows before the sun comes up, that Peter – one of his closest companions – will deny him three times.  Yet his parting words to his disciples focus not on blame for their failures.  He assures them that although he will no longer be physically present with them, they will not be alone.  He reminds them of their need for community.  “Love one another,” He counsels, “as I have loved you.”

Seems to me this is what Benedict means in RB 72 …  “Show pure love to each other…. don’t pursue self-interests… rather seek to anticipate what is better for someone else …. supporting each other with the greatest patience.”

Jesus demonstrates the kind of love he preaches.  He shows no partiality.  He does the same for the one who laid his head on Jesus breast as he does for the disciples who will fail him miserably.  Jesus washes and feeds Judas who will betray him, Peter who will deny him, and all the rest who will fail to stand by him in his hour of greatest need.  The love that Jesus demonstrates is not based on any earned merit or reciprocity.  He asks only that we freely love others in the same way He loves us.

It could not be any clearer!  Jesus to telling us it’s not by our knowledge of the church law, liturgical rites, the catechism, or even by our sense of morality, our ministerial service, attendance at funerals or obeying driver safety rules; not by my formation experience, nor by how I was brought up; it doesn’t depend on how neat or clean we keep our personal spaces, our table manners,  or whether we practice an exercise routine.  Simply put: (as the hymn says) “They’ll know we are Christians by our love.”  We won’t be tested, evaluated or judge by any measure other than this: Have our actions and interactions been loving – has our manner of living exuded love… at all times: not just when there are guests, or we are sporting a Benedictine Sisters logo shirt, or we think others are watching or that we may be overheard.

It comes down to a choice.  Like Judas, we’ve seen the evidence – we’ve witnessed Jesus’ miracles in the Scriptures and in our own life-time.  Along with other Christ-followers we’ve read and pondered and puzzled over Jesus radical teachings.  We’ve been there in spirit with the Marys who sat at the feet of Jesus absorbing his words.  We’ve stumbled and been raised up by the same Lord whose teaching we chose to ignore, disregard or just never delved into to.  We’ve followed others’ lead when we knew full well the ugliness of gossip, tittle-tattle and unacceptable language or jokes.  We forgot Jesus and our guardian angels were in the same room with us … and heard and saw it all.  We may have snubbed the prompting of the Spirit.  But, that still small voice will keep pestering us until we pay heed.  [Persistence must be one of the Spirit’s major virtues…]

As Benedict says in the Prologue, “The labor of obedience will bring you back to God from whom you have drifted.”  Ever noticed how a stick thrown into a body of water seems to flounder until it is grabbed by the drift forcing it in a particular direction.  It just can’t continue for very long going in circles or struggling against the current.  That’s you and me …  searching for a direction …  striving to give up self-will …  awed by all we’ve witnessed of God’s goodness.  Now, roused from sleep and equipped with good zeal and a determination to prefer nothing whatever to Christ, we are ready – we’re perked up and prepared to heed Benedict’s first word:  LISTEN!

At Noon Prayer earlier this week God spoke to us from long before Jesus walked this earth – long before he endured disappointment and betrayal and death.  To this day God promises:  “I will never take back my love; my faithfulness will not fail.  I will never break my covenant or go back on my promise.”

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress

 

5th Sunday of Easter (May 19, 2019)
First Reading Acts 14: 21-27 Second Reading   Revelation 21:1-5a
Gospel John 13: 31-33a, 34-15
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The Prodigal Son

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This Gospel says that while away the prodigal “came to himself.”   Developmental psychologists say that some young people need to reject their conventional faith (e.g. of their family) in order to come to their own faith.

Put another way, at least some may need to go to “a distant land” in order to “come to themselves.”  Note that the second son who stayed home also had his rebellion from conventional faith as he talks back to his Father, refusing to go to the feast.

Rather than having failed, parents of prodigals or rebels may have succeeded – in giving their young person the confidence to leave home to spread their wings and find their own faith.  You’ve probably heard the saying: “If you love something set it free, if it returns it was meant to be, if it continues to fly let it soar, and have faith that God has something better in store.”  And another one: “Sometimes, you just have to take the leap, and build your wings on the way down.”

The gospel suggests that the Prodigal Parent is on the look-out for their wandering child, scanning the horizon, hoping against hope for their return.   Upon sighting their child, the parent’s heart is “filled with compassion” and rushes out to welcome the one for whom they have yearned and prayed.   “Prodigals” of all ages need to know that we are hoping for their return and that they will always be welcome home – with open arms.

Our Gospel shows us the difference between “coming home” and a “home-coming.”  The son approached in fear and trepidation; the parent flung aside any resentment and ill-will.  The child was coming home to he knew-not-what kind of a reception.  The parent threw a spontaneous homecoming party.

The Parent welcomed and embraced the Prodigal before an apology crossed his lips.  What a picture of unconditional love!  Our diocesan motto “Live the Gospel Courageously” includes the theme of welcome to all, Saints and Sinner alike.

It doesn’t matter if prodigals don’t return to our particular expression of faith within God’s family.  We hear the expressions “fallen away Catholic” or “lapsed Catholic.”  We remain hopeful that they will make their way home to God.  The path may not be ours.  We pray that the good values that were instilled and modeled for them over the years – will sustain their journey, whatever road they take.  And, we pray that we remember: true “forgiveness” is present long before the embrace of a homecoming.

The waiting father, the renegade son and the “look at how good I have been” son … all knew peace at the end of the day.  The father seems to have completely forgotten his agitation, worry and concern as peace overwhelms him at the return of his younger son.  That wayward son must have been so very relieved at the response of his father that peaceful gratitude must have washed over him.  I suspect that the older brother forgot to sweep at his own front door – yes?   What peace must have invaded his attitude as his father – and younger brother – assured this embarrassed, humbled fellow of their never-ending love.

We believe Benedict when he says that seeking peace is the way to heaven – heaven in the after-life and a little bit of heaven here on earth.  In the Prologue to Benedict’s Rule we find the admonition: “If you wish to have true and eternal life, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit; turn from evil and do good; seek PEACE and pursue it.”  Another translation says, “seek peace and go after it.”  That conjures up quite an image…  dashing out of the chapel, into the dining room, down the halls, out the door, into the neighborhoods, climbing God’s holy mountain pursuing PEACE – never abandoning charity nor giving a false peace, peacefully performing whatever duties are entrusted to us, ensuring we have made peace before sundown.

Let us renew our commitment to make PEACE more than a concept that we talk about … let us make a daily pledge to be people of peace, to be a peaceful people.   Make each day an echo of what Paul tells us in the second reading: “the old things have passed away; behold new things have come….  We have been reconciled through Christ and (this is the punch line) WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN A MINISTRY OF RECONCILATION.”

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress

 

4th Sunday in Lent (March 31, 2019)
Joshua 5:9a; 10-12      2 Corinthians 5:17-21     Luke 15:1-3; 11-32

 

 

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Are You a Stumbling Block?

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Last week we heard Jesus chastise his disciples for their arguing about who was the greatest in the group.  Today they take offense because they perceive a stranger’s action as a direct threat to their exclusive calling by Jesus.  Their attitude is clear: “you have no right; He gave us that job.”   They guard what they feel is their gift and they’re not about to share it.   Envy and jealousy raises its ugly head.

It seems we are witnessing how Jesus deals with this ages-old human condition.  We saw it first in the story of Cain and Abel.  In our own lives we may have been victim or culprit of it with our siblings or classmates.  St. Benedict guards against inroads of it in describing the Qualities of the Abbot, in the Tools of Good Works and the Steps of Humility; the distribution of labor and his directives about property and gifts.  The psalmist even applies the trait to God, and St. Paul says he experiences “a godly jealousy.”  We sing of it in our hymnody: “Our God is a jealous God.” And, here in this Gospel we hear the disciples grousing (Benedict called it “murmuring”) “How come they’re trying to use the gift you gave to us?”

So far they’ve missed the point of Jesus teaching about true discipleship.  That it’s how we relate to each other especially our interactions with the little ones and the least ones.  Jesus has shown by example that true disciples are to “forbid not the little ones to approach” and warned that true followers are not to “cause little ones to stumble.”

He’s been saying that who is included in the Kingdom is not within our authority, it’s not even within our concern!  Who is included in the Kingdom belongs alone to God.  Jesus makes it quite clear: whoever is not against us, is for us.  I think that’s why I struggle, and I know it really rankles with some, when an announcement is made at Mass about who can and cannot receive communion.

In this instance, Jesus in fact, immediately turns the tables on the disciples.  He warns them that they are the ones in danger of doing harm.  It’s as though Jesus says, “The problem is not those folks, guys.  Don’t worry about them — they are not the problem.  Rather, look at yourselves.  How are you getting in the way of the gospel?  Are you a stumbling block?”

We get a clear message that finger-pointing will not get us far with Jesus.   While the disciples are eager to bring judgment on the outsider who is acting in Jesus’ name, Jesus himself wants the disciples to pay attention instead to their own behavior.  Jesus couldn’t be more clear with his vivid example: a dire image of drowning to get his point across.  Better to drown (be thrown into the sea with a millstone around one’s neck) than do harm to “these little ones.”

He warns us that scrupulosity about others behavior or a judgement about their motivation can distract us so that we do harm and cause others to stumble.  Sometimes, even our best intentions to reprove others can have unintended consequences.  Jesus turns the focus back to our own behaviors, the ways we speak and reflect an image of Gospel living.  How authentic is it?

This gospel challenges us as individuals, and as community, to a self-examination.  What are the stumbling-blocks, the mind-fields we scatter before others that often unwittingly impedes the spread of the Good News?

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress
First Reading Numbers 11:25-29           Second Reading James 5:1-6
Gospel Mark 9:38-43,45,47-48
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Stay the Course

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Luke and Matthew relate the same story heard in this gospel from Mark.  With Luke, you realize, it was hearsay …  he was not there to give an eye-witness account.  It’s interesting to see the minor, but specific differences in the three accounts.  For example, where Mark says, “take no money,” Matthew specifies, “take no silver, gold or copper coins.”  He was covering all the bases, not just the currency in current use.  He notes other details that let you know he was there and must have been a high sensate on the Myers-Briggs scale.  He begins the story with Jesus reminding the disciple-missionaries: “You received without paying, so now give without being paid.”  Where Mark says, “whatever house you enter,” Matthew is more aggressive: “Look for someone to welcome you.”  And, if when you wish them peace and it is not returned, “take back your greeting.”  Both Luke and Matthew, in the list of what not to take on their journey, quote Jesus saying: “take no beggar’s bag.”  They were to live dependent on the hospitality of the community, just as Jesus depended on others to provide for his needs.  Remember what he told one of his potential followers – “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”  Jesus expected his disciples to “eat what is served, be satisfied with the bedding provided, follow their schedule, and don’t try to go it alone.”  Remind you of Benedict’s norms?

But, that’s enough about what NOT to take on your life’s journey.  Let’s look at what Jesus says is appropriate for our journey in order to carry on the mission of Jesus.

The first thing Jesus recommends that we travel two by two – life is not a solo venture.  He is reminding us not to try to go it alone.  We need a good support system as we experience life’s ups and downs.  Sharing the good times is as important as it is to share the not so great times.  Benedict recommends the same when, in the first chapter of the Rule, he describes the kinds of monks:  “First, there are the cenobites, those who belong to a (community) a monastery.”  Jesus sent the twelve in pairs not only for safety but for companionship, encouragement and help.

Remember that God is always with us, so we are never really alone.  But Jesus acknowledges that just as he is a member of the trinity, so we humans, social creatures made in God’s likeness draw life from companionship.

Jesus recommends sandals for our feet and a tunic, but not a second one.  Jesus asks us not to carry so much.  Take off that extra tunic – the worries that we carry can bring us down.  Stuffing them in our gunny sacks does nothing to change the situation – just adds wrinkles to our brow and sours our spirit.  Do what Jesus says: “shake the dust off your feet” and don’t look back and wonder what might have been, or might you have done.

Jesus asks us to carry and use a walking stick, so we can keep moving when we encounter ruts and pebbles in the road or to hold us up when we became worn out, tired and weary.  Maybe we even wander off the edge of the road until we hear the sound from the rumble strips.  A good walking stick helps us stay upright and get past mistakes which could hinder our spiritual growth and practice of conversio.  And, beyond that, it’s a fact that in order to do what we say in our Corporate Commitment (that is) “to meet the hungers of the people of God with the compassion of Christ” we must first be compassionate with ourselves.

Today Jesus sends us out again, with authority over unclean spirits … over the rancor, the violence, the rudeness, the degrading language and actions, the insensitivity …  the list can go on and on …  we can conquer the darkness with a refusal to lower our behavior, language and standards.  We can “shake that dust from our feet” and support actions on behalf of justice and peace because we are traveling “two by two,” with the sturdy walking stick of community and prayer, and wearing the sandals of our vows.  Like the disciples, we heed Jesus’ admonition to stay put in the house where they took us in, we can anoint others with inclusivity and peace.  Pray God we stay the course…

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress
First Reading    Amos 7:12-15                      Second Reading  Ephesians 1:3-14 
Gospel Mark 6:7-13
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Holy Family

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This weekend the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family and, on Sunday evening, the Vigil of Feast of the Mother of God.  So, what does that mean for us as monastics?  We came from a family, we still have families and together we live in an intentional family.  Our life together as family is guided by the simple, yet profound, guidelines designed by St. Benedict.  He was a man of great wisdom, compassion and common sense.  We know that after some time of living in various settings with his original Rule, he added advice based on his observation of the interactions between those who chose monastic life.  Imagine having to warn his men not to sleep with knives, to wear clean underwear on a trip, for the learned to help those who could not read.  His prudence shines through when, in so many words, he says: this is what works for us now – if the schedule of psalmody, the horarium and other daily living details don’t fit your need, change it.

It is the spirit of the Rule that has survived because Benedict, even in his youth, had a deep understanding of human psychology.  A study of his early life lets us know he spent much time with his grandparents who lived a few miles from his home.  Walking along the ridge to their summer home he passed the huts and caves of hermits.  Before he was sent to Rome to pursue academics, he spent hours conversing with these solitary men … maybe women, too.  He absorbed the wisdom and practical advice from the older generations.  This is evident in the Rule –  he tempered discipline with compassion and he saw the spiritual quest as a joyful pursuit of God within the structures of ordinary life.  It is this joyous delight in everyday spirituality that kept his Rule for Monastics alive for over 1500 years.  His simple principles of living together under God’s love have been applied beyond monasteries to family life and especially Benedictine Oblates.

If we know only the first word of the Rule “LISTEN” what an impact it could make on our own happiness and create peace between peoples.  It’s interesting that Benedict uses the word LISTEN and not hear.  I don’t know about you, but it is only when I hear a noise in the night that I strain to listen for the next sound.  To truly listen to another requires perception, knowledge of human nature, biting the tongue before speaking and an open-hands approach in conversation.  To listen requires an attentive spirit … not a scramble to respond with advice, a witty or chiding remark or a one-upmanship story.  When we truly listen to another we can identify their feelings, let it resonant within and know that very often all the person wants is a listening heart that signals authentic caring.

Benedict’s Rule offers us a high ideal and when we breach the ideal we need to be humble enough to ask forgiveness both from God and from each other.  His down-to-earth advice survives because of its inner dynamic.  He wasn’t writing for honors students but for, as one author calls us “a motley crew”.  Benedict expected his followers to work hard, study hard and pray hard as they travel along a life-long path of falling down and getting up in a community where each member is valued and loved unconditionally.

From that first word in his Rule – “LISTEN” … to his advice to begin every good work with prayer … to keeping a lamp burning at night … to don’t loiter outside chapel if you are late … it is evident that Benedict saw God at work within the ordinary events of communal living – in the joys and sorrows of our everyday lives.

Tomorrow will be the eve of one year, and the dawning of a new one.  We recall with fond memory those who were with us last year and this year celebrated Christmas in the intimacy of heaven – we pray for those who in the coming year will, as the saying goes, enter into glory.

At the close of 2017, I invite you to take count of all the ways you have seen God’s glory –  when did THE WORD appear in your life, pierce your heart?  As the days go by, keep LISTENING to God speaking to your own heart, and to your comrades’ hungers and longings.  It may sound trite to say this, but we do have two ears and one tongue …  Maybe God intended us to listen twice as often as we use our words.  If we do this we are less likely toot our own horns or miss the other’s silent cue for a little attention.  When we cultivate silence and sincere listening we won’t step on others feelings, speak harshly or stir the pot by murmuring or spreading slander or spewing unpleasantness into the air we breathe.  Our current world is filled to overflowing with sound, with words, factual and fake. In many instances we do well to ask ourselves if a word is really called for or might silence serve the better part?    Remember the instruction you learned at your mother’s knee: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”    In the end, our discernment is “what will most likely spread peace?”

As we step out into 2018, a whole new universe of grace lies open before us.  May the gift of faith enable us to see the invisible, believe the incredible and graciously receive the impossible … for with God, all things are possible.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress
First Reading  Genesis 15:1-6; 21:1-3       Second Reading  Colossians 3:12-21)
Gospel  Luke 2:22-40

 

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What Is Your Journey Question?

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In last week’s Gospel, Jesus emphasized that there is no way to predict His final coming to each individual.  He reminded us that we must remain vigilant and ready to receive our God and Savior at any time.  Now, in the weekend’s Gospel Jesus talks about the same concept this time using economic metaphors.  As he describes it, before the master leaves on a journey, he entrusts to his servants with various “allowances.”  He discerns the amount of the gift according to each servant’s ability.  But, you know the story.  Upon his return, he finds that the first and second servants have doubled their money, and, thus, both recipients are rewarded.  The third servant, however, afraid that he would lose his allowance, only conserved what he received.  He risked nothing; he did not even deposit the money in a bank to earn interest.  This servant is chastised, his money taken back and instead given to the servant who brought the greatest return.

We can’t be reminded too often that our gifts, or talents, are given to us for the service of others.  If we fail to use these gifts, God’s judgment on us will be severe.  On the other hand, if we make use of these gifts in service to others we will be rewarded and entrusted with even more responsibilities.  Sadly, some people deliberately fail at a job or chore they don’t like so they won’t get asked to do it again.

What about us and our talents?  Do we let dislike of a job, or the threat of failure, or someone else’s critical eye hold us back from exercising a God-given talent?  Or a more mundane question: We get an earthly allowance each month – do we bury it or use it for the good of others so it keeps moving forward, good upon good…

Benedict teaches us several lessons about “journeys.”  He speaks most directly to, and about, those who go on the journey … He doesn’t pass out money to those left to tend the vineyard, but he certainly leaves them a legacy.

Beginning with the opening words of his Rule one can sense a journey motif.  Benedict bids us: “Listen! The labor of obedience will bring you back (“coming back” requires a journey, doesn’t it?)  You’ll come to him from whom you have drifted…”  “Let us get up then (he says) at long last, (journey from the land of our dreams) for the Scriptures rouse us when they say: “It is high time for us to arise from sleep… run (speed along on your journey) while you have the light… go out (leave the familiar territory you call home) 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.”  And, 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.”

Beyond the Prologue of the Rule, Benedict offers guidance for our conduct on the voyage of life.  After giving us an overview of what we will need in our toolkit, Benedict hastens us on our journey when he tells us: RUN on the path of God’s commandments, never swerving.”

By the time Benedict wrote chapter 67 one can tell he’s had some experience with monks who journeyed afar from the home monastery.  We know that Benedict, in his youth, has escaped “big city life.”  So he wanted to protect his monks from the evils and temptations of the prevailing society.  Notice he does not say … those who go on a journey.  Rather, those who are sent on a journey.  Those at home are to remember the absent ones in prayer … which means the gathered community may have “counted” noses” but not for the sake of taking roll but to pray for their confreres 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.”  Sounds to me like he’s witnessed some cases where “curiosity killed the cat.”  Benedict didn’t want stories of the world to creep in and cause dissension or dissatisfaction with the home experience to rankle or upset his community.  Times haven’t changed much over the passing years, we still need to on guard that we balance chartable interest in each other versus the drive to know every intimate detail about what was seen or heard by the other.

Benedict is solicitous of his monks on a journey that they not appear embarrassingly shabby.  He makes provision that they be LOANED underwear (that’s right with their long tunics their everyday wear might not have included underwear).

In line with the admonition to pray always, Benedict reminds his monks on a journey to keep an eye on the sun … listen for the bells from neighboring abbeys announcing prayer times.  … so, (Benedict reminds them) though at a distance too far to join the community they might “observe the prescribed hours” as best they can.  Thus, probably began the custom of the Angelus … the dialogue between Angel Gabriel and Mother Mary, a modified version of Sext (or Noon Prayer) that could be memorized so as not to neglect their “measure of service.”

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.” Then Benedict echoes his message first heard in the Prologue with this promise: “under God’s protection” (together) we “will reach” our heavenly home … this is the self-same promise Jesus extends to us in the Gospel: Because “You were faithful in small matters … come, share your Master’s joy.”

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress
Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time   Sunday, November 19, 2017
First Reading  Selected verses Proverbs31   Second Reading  1 Thessalonians 5:1-6
Gospel Reading  Matthew 25:14-30
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