Benedictine Sisters of FL

Holy Name Monastery
Founded 1889

Community

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Come to me – and I will give you rest

My yoke is easy and my burden is light

 

Have you ever owned a woolen turtle-neck sweater?  And you’re wearing it for the first time? You discover that when you turn your head it scratches your neck?  Wear it too long and you may develop itchy red welts.  There’s nothing you can do. The day is just beginning, you have an important meeting, and you don’t have a change of clothes with you.  You soon realize if you sit perfectly still you get some relief.  For you see, it’s only when we wrestle with a “yoke” that it chaffs your necks.

Or, have you ever tried to run a three-legged race strapped to someone whose pace and rhythm just does not match yours?  Until you do match strides you wind up rolling on the ground and struggling more than once to get up.

And, what about that Angelus bell.  Until you give up total control and let the bell help you establish the rhythm …  well, you know what happens.  At least, over here the chain does not come tumbling down in a heap at your feet.  In our former monastery the pull-chain was encased in a pipe that ran from the bell two stories above the person ringing the bell.  If she pulled too hard, to her chagrin the nasty chair landed in a pile at her feet.

Too often our first impulse is to complain about all I don’t have.  The burden of ungratefulness, like that snarled Angelus bell, will only weigh heavy on my heart. Wonder of wonders how quickly it lifts when I consider all that I DO have at hand that will serve my purpose.

When I focus on what irks me about situations or people and forget all the gifts the flow into my life – the chaffing of the rope to the gunny sack I’ve loaded on my back will choke me.

Sometimes we struggle with the devil and temptation.  Maybe more times it a struggle with God that’s taking place within.  When we ease up and take God’s view, the tussle eases.

When you’re new in a group, office staff or in a community and you discover they’re not as perfect as you had imagined, they crumble from their pedestals.  When we give up the battle to make them into my image and look for the pleasantries and similarities to be found, the burden of integration becomes lighter.

Remember during in COVID time, what were the dilemma’s – the “yokes” that we tied around on our own necks?  You could slip into magical thinking in La-La Land.   Convince ourselves it was all a hoax. Act like it was everyone else’s responsibility to keep me safe from harm.   Tell ourselves the rules are for those “others,” not me.  Listen to every source of information I can muster and be scared to breathe? Or, strike a balance of precautions and trust that I can live with – that to the best of my ability keeps me safe and protects others especially those closest to me.  Remember, the yoke “chaffs” until we give up the control we don’t really have anyway.

Jesus saw examples of this everywhere he went.  We marvel at Jesus’ powers of observation!  How many times must he have gazed out on a field watching pair of yoked oxen dragging along a heavy cart or trudging to keep pace with a farmer sowing the next crop.  He saw the tussle and the back and forth between the pair, only hurting themselves with the push and pull of the yoke until a smooth rhythm was set.

Remember: Jesus said: “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Learn from me – “I am meek and humble of heart.”  As my love for God and my acceptance of the realities of life deepen, we join Jesus in giving “thanks and praise to God the Father” for being so free with the graces given to us; for revealing the divine presence to us.

It behooves us to listen attentively to His words.  To hear His invitation, ‘Come to me’ is always an open invitation, especially at times like now, when we and our country, the church and the world really need the peace, rest, protection of God’s love.  We ask Jesus to come into our hearts and fill our lives with gifts that only God can give us.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

 

 

 

First Reading:   Zachariah 9:9-10         Second Reading:  Romans 8:9, 11-13
Gospel:   Matthew 11:25-30
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Summer Feast day for Saint Benedict

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How many books written in the sixth century are still in print today? How many of those are in active, everyday use by tens of thousands around the world today — not only monks and nuns, but oblates and other lay people? The answer is one: The Rule of St. Benedict — what the author, whose feast day we celebrate this Thursday, called “this little rule that we have written for beginners.”

At the heart of his Rule lie the four guiding principles which are the foundation of daily life for the Benedictine Sisters of Florida. These four — community, prayer, service, and hospitality — can light the way to a deeper daily spirituality for anyone.

Community

Benedict understood that community, like family and friends, can be messy. Rooted in scripture, the Rule offers a cure: “No one is to pursue what is judged better for self, but instead what is judged better for someone else. To their companions, they show the true love of sisters or brothers…” How would your own world be transformed if this became the way of life for you and those around you?

Prayer

Benedict’s guidance for prayer might surprise you. “God regards our purity of heart and tears…not our many words. Prayer therefore should be short and pure…” Prayer, Sister Joan Chittister writes, “is meant to call us back to a consciousness of God here and now.” How would your day be transformed if it were laced throughout with short, simple prayer that opened your eyes to the Divine in your daily life?

Service

We often view work, especially work that benefits someone else, as a burden, something we have to do but would rather avoid. Instead, Benedict reminds us that work is a privilege and serving others is an honor — something that has been true since the day Jesus picked up carpenter’s tools, then laid them down to heal, to feed, and to save the lost. “…live by the labor of your hands, as our ancestors and the apostles did…” says Benedict. How would your workdays be transformed if you saw each as a gift from God and an opportunity to serve others in Jesus’ name?

Hospitality

Possibly the most challenging 11 words in the Rule are these: “All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ.” How would you welcome Christ if He came to your door today? How would our neighborhoods and towns, states and nations be transformed if each of us welcomed everyone everywhere as Christ?

As you can see, St. Benedict wrote something that is as practical today as ever. Our prayer for you, today and always, is that you find yourself in a loving community, that you infuse your days with prayer, that you cultivate a heart for happy service, and that you welcome even the most unlikely person as Christ. When you do, you will find more contentment than you can imagine.

 

 

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History tells the rest of the story: We’re Still Here.

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This incident found in John’s Gospel reminds us that not everyone took to Jesus positively, even those who seemed to be quite close to him.  Some of the people – not unlike today, were murmurers and grumblers – folks not too keen on what they were hearing. Following Jesus was going to be no picnic (despite the way he’d fed the five thousand people).   The idea of total commitment was a disturbing concept.

We hear it in that sad and haunting verse: “From that time many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him.”  Obviously hurt by this defection, Jesus turns to Peter and the others who are closest to him and asks them if they’ll be taking off too: “Will you too go away?”   Peter, with his usual style, spoke on behalf of all Jesus’ loyal followers: “Master, to whom would we go? You alone have the words of eternal life.” For Peter, at this time, it’s unquestionable: If Jesus said it, it must be true.  If you’ve looked ahead to the First Reading, you’re aware the church reminds us that Jesus’ experience of rejection was not unique.  1500 years earlier, Joshua, disciple of Moses, gives voice to a similar tribulation.  He addresses all the people: “If it does not please you to serve the Lord, decide today whom you will serve.”  The people answer in the same vein as Peter: “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord.”

One of my brother’s favorite books was: “This Tremendous Lover” by the Irish Trappist monk-priest Eugene Boylan. In 2002, I sent him a replacement copy for the one he’d given away.  At his death four years later, it was returned to me.  I had inscribed on the fly page: Bill, I hope this is as inspirational as you remember.  Boylan writes in his book: “Our Lord  was not looking for an enthusiastic public reception.  His miracles were not a ploy to grasp temporal power. The wonder of his public life is not the marvelous works He actually did, but the many and more wonderful works which He could have done and did not.  All He did and said and allowed to happen to him was part of God’s Grand Plan.”

What Jesus has to say is so important that he does not consider changing his message to please the people.  In fact, we can accurately say that a “Jesus” who doesn’t offend isn’t the real Jesus.

Our hearts go out to Jesus and to those who stuck with him.  If you have ever had anyone walk out on you, you can empathize with Jesus.  I recall the mixed feelings I had, when in the late 60s and early 70s we had five  deaths in one year.  It was not customary for those of us who were away for studies to come home for funerals, so there was a void for farewell until we got to visit the cemetery.  Then what some writers refer to as the “exodus”” began to happen and several of our peers felt the call to leave community. Some gave us a chance to say good-bye; others quite literally disappeared in the night.  These were good people. Some were rising leaders in community.  What did they know that I did not?  My feelings were not like the betrayal that Jesus suffered – but confusion and loneliness.    Were the shrinking numbers the handwriting on the wall and was I too blind to read it?

What does Jesus do when his ranks shrink?  Does he cajole the people, “Oh, I’m sorry that what I said was so hard to take.  Maybe we can compromise?”  Not at all!  Jesus does not let human opinion sway his proclamation of divine truth.  “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life”.  History tells the rest of our story: We’re still here!   God spoke long ago, through the mouth of Ezekiel: (36:23-28) “You shall live in the land I gave you long ago; you shall be my people, and I will be your God.”

If our ears are open to the voice of the Spirit, we hear daily Jesus’ quizzing us: “Who do people say I am?”  He asks us, as he does all his friends, about our personal conviction: “Who do you say I am?”  The question also comes to us as a community.  Are we swayed by “public conviction,” forming the community we think the public wants us to be?  Or are we formed by personal and communally discerned convictions that raise peoples’ hope and help to lead the world where it needs to go now?

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

Have a good week …  pray for enjoyment and safety for all who (next weekend) will be celebrating Labor Day holiday!

 

 

 

First Reading:   Joshua 24:1-2a. 15-17, 18b         Second Reading:  Ephesians 5:21-32
Gospel:   John 6:60-69
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St. Benedict Feast Day

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Summer Feast day for Saint Benedict

How many books written in the sixth century are still in print today? How many of those are in active, everyday use by tens of thousands around the world today — not only monks and nuns, but oblates and other lay people? The answer is one: The Rule of St. Benedict — what the author, whose feast day we celebrate this Thursday, called “this little rule that we have written for beginners.”

At the heart of his Rule lie the four guiding principles which are the foundation of daily life for the Benedictine Sisters of Florida. These four — community, prayer, service, and hospitality — can light the way to a deeper daily spirituality for anyone.

Community

Benedict understood that community, like family and friends, can be messy. Rooted in scripture, the Rule offers a cure: “No one is to pursue what is judged better for self, but instead what is judged better for someone else. To their companions, they show the true love of sisters or brothers…” How would your own world be transformed if this became the way of life for you and those around you?

Prayer

Benedict’s guidance for prayer might surprise you. “God regards our purity of heart and tears…not our many words. Prayer therefore should be short and pure…” Prayer, Sister Joan Chittister writes, “is meant to call us back to a consciousness of God here and now.” How would your day be transformed if it were laced throughout with short, simple prayer that opened your eyes to the Divine in your daily life?

Service

We often view work, especially work that benefits someone else, as a burden, something we have to do but would rather avoid. Instead, Benedict reminds us that work is a privilege and serving others is an honor — something that has been true since the day Jesus picked up carpenter’s tools, then laid them down to heal, to feed, and to save the lost. “…live by the labor of your hands, as our ancestors and the apostles did…” says Benedict. How would your workdays be transformed if you saw each as a gift from God and an opportunity to serve others in Jesus’ name?

Hospitality

Possibly the most challenging 11 words in the Rule are these: “All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ.” How would you welcome Christ if He came to your door today? How would our neighborhoods and towns, states and nations be transformed if each of us welcomed everyone everywhere as Christ?

As you can see, St. Benedict wrote something that is as practical today as ever. Our prayer for you, today and always, is that you find yourself in a loving community, that you infuse your days with prayer, that you cultivate a heart for happy service, and that you welcome even the most unlikely person as Christ. When you do, you will find more contentment than you can imagine.

 

 

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“I Will Teach You How to Fish for People”

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A variety of motives influence people to exchange their old lives for new ones. What convinces a “seeker” 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 than our ministries that prompt newcomers to “test the waters.”

We, (individually and as a community), can put our 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.  But, keep in mind that vocation – to any and every state in life – is GIFT!   And, remember fishing from our boat requires that 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.

So, what kind of 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?  It’s an exceptional challenge in these pandemic times.  But the phone calls and email messages; the ZOOM Oblate Meetings, the videos on our website, the personal letters, the eblasts from our Advancement Staff keep our readers coming back.  In current lingo, the “soft touches” are ways to seal the friendships and supportive interest that last a life time.  What is the bait, the lure that will prompt more questions, extended visits, developing relationships and finally prompt someone to dare to say, “This is where I feel God is calling me; I’m willing to follow His lead, to leave all behind for the sake of Jesus’ call, with these Sisters (whom I now call my own) here at Holy Name Monastery.”

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

Have a good week…   Be good Fishers for Christ…   God Bless

 

 

First Reading:   Jonah 3:1-5,10         Second Reading:  1 Corinthians 7:29-31
Gospel:   Mark 1:14-20

 

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New Year 2024

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“I Hope You Dance”

 

“The shepherds made known the message that had been told them about this child.  All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them.”  (Luke 2:17)

Those shepherds accepted the challenge of allowing God’s glory to be seen in their lives.  That same challenge is ours!  And when we manage to perceive God’s working in our lives, amazing things can happen! People behold the divine glory present and working in and through us. That’s why we dare to commit “ourselves and our resources to respond to the needs of our times with the very compassion of Christ.”  We respond not simply with Christ-like compassion, but with the very compassion of Jesus, our new-born savior and Lord of our lives.

I perceive that’s our challenge at this point in our history as individuals, and as a community.  On the cusp of one year, and the dawning of a new one, we have come to a greater acceptance of the reality of what Joan Chittister describes in her book THE WAY WE WERE: (Joan says) “Only one thing I know for sure.  I know we have to do more with less.  (I know) We are getting older.  And, we are getting smaller.  Most of all, I know we have to do it together.”  Think about it: (I am not the first to says this) the miracle of the Red Sea was not that the waters parted.  The miracle was that the first Jews dared to step into the open chasm. And others followed their lead.  And, miracle of miracles, they came out on the other side.

Recently I got a new purse.  That meant emptying the old one, digging to the bottom where I found a crumpled scrap of paper.  I smoothed it out as best I could.  What I read scribbled there must have been important the day in the past when I first wrote it.  And it seems to me it’s a good directive as we contemplate the days ahead in our unfolding future: “Look to the past.  Look to the future.  And, then do the dance in the middle.”  And I’ll add:  don’t be afraid to be the first one on the dance floor.  But neither do you have to be the first one – just don’t be a wall-flower. Heed the words of the Dan Schutte’s hymn: “Join in the dance of the earth’s jubilation! This is the feast of the love of God.”   Join the dance, be it a two-step or a three-step waltz, the twist, the Bunny Hop, a line dance, a square dance or a reel; a gentle swaying of the body or drumming one’s fingertips. Do not fear, others will eventually join in.  Remember, we’re together in the rhythm of the dance of community life.  We’re the ones who give expression to the music of creation that we call Community.

Dance to the rhythm of communal prayer and meal times. Dance to the call for extra service when substitutes are requested or extraordinary tasks need doing.  Dance to the silent beckoning of objects you spy out of place – return them to their usual home.  Don’t ignore the nudge of a soiled surface and dusty corners.  There’s a reason why God let you see their longing for a cleaner’s touch.  Dance lightly when a person’s distracted or has a blank look, a pinched brow, or seems to be waiting for a smile or a “hello” or “want to talk?”  Bend low with a ballet dancer’s grace as you offer gesture of gratitude.  And, when you feel like you’re dancing as fast as you can but the whole world is spinning beneath you, it is. In the words of Albert Einstein: “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” 

Singer-Song writer Lee Ann Womack put words on my wish for you, for each, and all of us.  I paraphrase her life-affirming message that invites us to step out and embrace life, in her uplifting song, “I Hope You Dance.”

“I hope you never lose your sense of wonder but always keep that hunger.
May you never take one single breath for granted.

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean.

Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance;
And when you get the choice to sit it out, or dance? I hope you dance.

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance,
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Livin’ might mean takin’ chances but they’re worth takin’. 

Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you’ll dance.”

Please, “when you have the choice

to sit it out or dance, I hope you’ll dance.”

 

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

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