Benedictine Sisters of FL

Holy Name Monastery
Founded 1889

Community

Trinity Sunday

by Leave a Comment

This past week we returned to Ordinary Time.  However, the mood reverted quickly this weekend with the solemnity of the Holy Trinity and reappears next Sunday with the celebration of Corpus Christi – the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ.

The Gospel just proclaimed comes near the end of Jesus’ discourse at the Last Supper and is an example of the implicit teaching on the Trinity.  Jesus tells his disciples that the Spirit will declare what the Spirit hears from Jesus.  Elsewhere Jesus says, “The Father and I are one.”  If Jesus and the Father are one and the Spirit speaks what Jesus says, it follows that the three must be one.  Further evidence found in Scripture regarding the doctrine of the Trinity is found in the other readings for the feast.  But, if one expects today’s readings to give a clear presentation of the doctrine of the Trinity – they will be disappointed.

Remember the old saying “Two is company, three’s a crowd?” The Trinity shows us that three is community, three is love at its best; three is not a crowd.  When Love becomes complete is  Trinity.  Each one of us becomes fully human only when we are in relationship with God and in relationship with others.  I am truly Christian insofar as I live in a relationship of love with God and other people.

The important question for us today is: What does this doctrine of the Trinity tell us about the kind of God we worship and what does this say about the kind of people we should be?   With our three-fold vows, we are reminded of our commitment to a balance of prayer, labor and leisure.  We pray many times a day, in various ways, the familiar words of one of the first prayers many of us learned: the “Glory Be” in honor of, and thanksgiving for, the revelation of the Trinity:  Glory be to the Father…..

~by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

1st Reading: Proverbs 8:22-31          2nd Reading: Romans 5:1-5
Gospel : John 16:12-15
Continue Reading

Come After Jesus

by Leave a Comment

“Jesus called and they immediately left their boats and parents and followed him.”

Matt. 4:22 adapted

The late Speaker of the House “Tip” O’Neill loved to relate a valuable lesson he’d learned early in his career. During his first political campaign, one of O’Neill’s neighbors told him: I am going to vote for you tomorrow, even though you didn’t ask me to! O’Neill was surprised and said: Why, Mrs. O’Brien, I have lived across from you for eighteen years, I cut your grass in the summer, I shoveled your walk in the winter; I didn’t think I had to ask for your vote! Mrs. O’Brien replied: Oh, Tommy, let me tell you something … people like to be asked!

My mother spoke with great admiration about the Benedictine Sisters who were her teachers in elementary school. I asked her once why she didn’t become a Sister – she replied “None of them asked me – so I figured I was not worthy.” Of course, I would not be here telling you this story if she’d been asked and said YES.

A vital faith community, one that “courageously lives the Gospel message” will always be inviting followers to come share our joy as followers of Jesus. Visitors are welcome in our churches. We are happy when a newcomer “pops in” but we need to take the first step in also inviting people to “come and see.” Or, how about inviting prayer partners to connect with us in the heart of Christ. A direct “ask” may encourage a vocation to church ministry as a priest or Sister. Or a person may be coaxed out of their loneliness to join a parish committee.

Promise God and yourself that the next time God presents you with the opportunity you will courageously invite someone to join you in a church service or a volunteer ministry or an activity that extends Jesus’ compassion for the poor and needy of our human family. Start simple. Start where you have energy and interest. Make a phone call, text, or write a letter to an overlooked relative or friend. Donate to that organization you’ve had on your “to do” list. “Smile when you’re feeling lonely” at someone who is carrying the weight of the world on their drooping shoulders.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle. With his brother Peter, the two at once left their nets and followed Jesus. May we be the beckoning voice that calls others to “Come after Jesus.”

This reflection was written by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

on November 30, 2021 – Giving Tuesday.

 

Continue Reading

“I AM the BREAD of LIFE”

by Leave a Comment

Kindly remember our community in your prayers this week as we engage in prayer and participation in our annual community planning days.

Our 2021-2027 directional goals (here summarized) will guide us:

We will:

  • be an authentic contemporary Benedictine community attentive to relationships within community and beyond.
  • will work to increase awareness of our community and invite others to share in our vision and mission.
  • will use the Restructuring Process we designed to discern how viable our future is as a community.
  • we will intentionally work to insure our economic and environmental sustainability.

 

“I AM the BREAD of LIFE”

 

I think we probably could all agree that the Gospel of John can be difficult to understand.  So we can’t blame Jesus’ critics who are confused and ask for a sign when he says, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”

This incident happened the day after the feeding of the 5000.  The crowd followed Jesus to a new location and were joined by many more curiosity seekers.  Remember, when John speaks of “the Jews” he is referring to a class of people: the religious authorities, the religious insiders of the day.  It is to this mixed group of people Jesus begins to explain the loaves and fish.

He gets pretty direct with them: “I am the bread of life.”  This makes the Jews – the religious insiders – angry.  Now, Benedict would tell them, “Don’t murmur.”  Their mothers might say “Stop your whining!”  Jesus lays it on the line, “Do not complain among yourselves.”  But, do they go directly to Jesus with their questions?  (Do you go directly to the source with your questions?)  No, they do what is fairly common (even in our house).  They go to one another and begin complaining, grumbling, and murmuring.  “Can you believe what he said?  Who does she think she is?  Where does she come up with that stuff?  Who gave her the right to change the schedule?”  And, the assignment of motivation for the person’s actions – well, all you can do is chuckle when you overhear another’s explanation about why you did something.  “You know why she did or said that?”  Like the Jews who were sure Jesus was the son of Joseph, so how could he be the Son of God?

The people were partially right – they did know Jesus.  But they only knew him through historical facts.  Now, we need to know the facts but too often the facts, the other’s history – and we are so sure we know all the pieces – about Jesus, about other persons, even ourselves.  But what little we know can be used to limit possibilities.  You can almost hear the Jews saying, (sometimes it’s our refrain, too) “We’ve never done it like this before.”  It is both amazing and sad that it is the Jews, the religious insiders, who do this.  They go to the synagogue, say their prayers, keep the fasts and dietary laws and try to live faithfully.  And yet they have a habit of accepting only historical knowledge.  Doing this limits not just our understanding – it also narrows our world, closing us to wonderful possibilities, great opportunities and enriching relationships.

The Spirit calls to us “A feast of life has been prepared for you.  The table is full, ready and waiting.  God is drawing, pulling, wooing, and loving you to the table.”  This sentiment is expressed in many of our Communion hymns such as: “We Come to Your Feast,” “Remember Me,” “Table of Plenty,” “One Communion of Love.”

Sometimes the history of our fears, regrets, pain, and losses become so established we are deceived into believing that we are not even hungry for new relationships, for the Bread of Life.  Maybe it’s a history of things done or left undone – or words said or affirmations left unsaid.  Perhaps we have a history of a particular way of thinking, believing, seeing the world, each other or ourselves.  You know the saying: Insanity is when you keep doing the same thing, the same way and expect a different result.

Jesus teaches us how to focus on the heart of the issue. He says, “No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me …”  Here Jesus reminds us that it is an act of God that in the first place brought us to the table and continues to gift us with the power to risk entering into the Christian life, into monastic life.  The God-image, PAPA, in THE SHACK movie – says to Mack: “Faith does not grow in the house of certainty – faith is a risk.  The good news is that God is willing to be present and teach us.”

So, let us be a people who dare the risk, and enjoy the daily privilege to respond to and consume the Bread of Life.  Remember, faith is a verb, not a noun … it is a way of life.  It’s not a once and forever thing – it needs to be nourished at the Table.  Let us share in the joys and challenges of being the Body of Christ for a hungry world, and drink for those who thirst for justice, peace, fullness of life, and even eternal life.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress

 

First Reading:   1 Kings 19:4-8           Second Reading:   Ephesians 4:30—5:2
Gospel:   John 6:41-51
Continue Reading

Holy Family Sunday 2020

by Leave a Comment

This coming year Pope Francis has designated the “Year of St. Joseph” marking the 150th anniversary of Pius IX’s declaration of St. Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church.  Francis describes Joseph as “a beloved father, tender and loving, obedient and accepting; a father who is creatively courageous, a working father, a father in the shadows.”

This weekend the Church turns our focus to Jesus’ earthly family with the feast of the Holy Family.  It’s natural when we celebrate the birth of the child Jesus that we would reflect on His family.  Do you realize that for every one year of his public life, Jesus spent ten years in family life?  That helps us understand the importance and priority He gave to family life.

What might that mean to (and for) us as monastics who we live in an intentional family we call community.  As Benedictines our lives are guided by the simple, yet profound, guidelines designed over 1500 years ago by the man Benedict.  His Rule gives us a picture of a man of great wisdom, compassion and much common sense. (I believe, we can agree, his guidelines were influenced to a great degree by his twin sister Scholastica.)

It is the spirit of the Rule that has survived.  Benedict had a knack for tempering discipline with compassion that makes the Rule come alive for so many.  His prudence shines through when, in so many words, he says: this is what works for us now – if the arrangement of the psalmody, the daily schedule and other daily living details don’t fit your need, change it.

If we only know the first word of the Rule “LISTEN” what an impact it could make on our own happiness and harmony between peoples.  To truly listen requires an attentive spirit … not a scramble to respond with advice, a witty remark or a “I’ve got a better one” or “I know exactly how you feel.”  When we truly listen to another we can identify their feeling, let it resonant within and know that very often all the person wants is a signal that we care.

Benedict’s Rule is not intended to be a great and lofty treatise on prayer or spirituality.  It’s just plain “down to earth” advice.  He says let this rule be read 3 times, cover to cover, to the potential member so she understands exactly what she is getting herself into.  The Rule is filled with practical guidance for ordinary people to live together peacefully. Benedict expected his followers to work hard, study hard and pray hard.  He recognized much of the study and work is an interior process – a true “self-study” steeped in a quiet atmosphere that is broken only by the sounds of nature, farm machinery, a printing press or sewing machine or the scratch of a calligraphy pen.  This kind of soul work begins in private prayer enriched in communal prayer.

I think Benedict must have valued the idea of cross-training.  Given the rotation of duties and positions in community, all members do well to take to heart the advice and warnings given to the various community officials: the prioress, the guest mistress and the porter; the cellarer, the artisans and the sub-prioress.  We all need to be aware of the final judgment – be strong, and at the same time, never be ashamed to have a tender heart.

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 … and don’t loiter outside chapel if you are late … it is evident that Benedict saw God at work within the ordinary events of everyday life with all its joys and sorrows, struggles and high points, funerals and jubilees, comings and goings.  In Psalm 27, and often as an antiphon, we pray: “One thing I seek: to dwell in your presence, O God, all the days of my life.”  And, that presence does not refer only to our final day on earth or future eternal life in heaven.  It is not found only in the Eucharistic presence in the chapel – it is EVERYWHERE – in the Voice of the Spirit working in our personal lives and in the voices of each other and the sounds of daily living.

So, LISTEN – to the Voice of your God within – and listen with your heart to your comrades’ hungers and longings.  Just LISTEN – with your ears certainly but also with your eyes and heart and feelings.  The quality of our life in community, is shaped by each of us.

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

Seekers Week

by Leave a Comment

A Special Invitation – Seekers Week!

A place to just be

Are you discerning a vocational call to religious life?  Are you a single Catholic woman who is curious about the Benedictine way of seeking God.  We invite you to come spend time with the Sisters to learn about our life together.  Seekers Week at Holy Name Monastery is:  December 26, 2020 to January 1, 2021.

Time for Seekers is an opportunity to listen to God in the richness of prayer, liturgy, silence and Community in a monastic setting.  Sharing with others and a vocation director is also part of this special program.  If this sounds like something that could be the answer to your prayer, register with S. Mary Clare at 352-588-7188 or maryclareneu@gmail.com.

If the Seekers Week schedules are not convenient, please know that you are welcome to visit our community when you can arrange to be free of other commitments.  There will be opportunities to join the Sisters at daily prayer, Mass and meals.  There may be some planned program presentations and time to spend in personal prayer, or enjoy our outdoor environment.  The cost in a free-will donation.

Or, you may want to attend our Sunday liturgy (Mass) at 10:30 a.m. to get a sneak preview before arranging an overnight visit.  Let us know ahead of time and then introduce yourself and we’ll welcome you for a meal.

To arrange a day-visit please contact me at vocation@saintleo.edu or call 352-588-8318.  To make arrangements for an overnight visit, contact S. Mary Clare at 352-588-7188 or maryclareneu@gmail.com.  Please share a little bit about yourself…where you are residing, your parish involvement, your profession, your interest in our community…

In the meantime, you may like to explore the vocation survey found on this website.  https://vocationnetwork.org

With kind regards and a prayer that God’s blessings be with you.

 

Sister Roberta Bailey, O.S.B., Office of the Prioress

vocation@saintleo.edu

 

Benedictine Sisters of Florida at Holy Name Monastery

PO Box 2450 – 12138 Wichers Road

St. Leo, FL 33574

Phone: (352) 588-8320

Continue Reading

We are Commissioned…

by Leave a Comment

First Reading  Acts of the Apostles 1:1-11  Second Reading  Ephesians 1:17-23
Gospel Matthew 28:16-20

When someone commands you to do something, it is all on you.  You will either succeed or fail, but no matter how it turns out, it’s on you.  Even the consideration of whether you have the capacity to do it doesn’t necessarily factor into the equation.  You have been commanded, and now you must obey, sink or swim.

But being commissioned to do something, that’s different.  When you are commissioned you are not merely commanded but also equipped, empowered, and given the necessary authority to accomplish your duty.  Police officers and leaders in the military, for instance, are given many commands over the course of their careers, but before those commands come, they are commissioned into their offices – that is, invested with the necessary authority and support to accomplish their mission.

In life, maybe we’re most aware of this happening in religious life in community – we are often asked to do something that seems impossible.  It may be presented as if it is intended to be a request but it comes across as a command, certainly not a commission since it does not include a package of skills to complete the task.   Benedict in his Rule describes how the monk should respond when asked to perform what for them may seem an impossible task.  He apparently decided to include these directives after some time of living with the various characters who joined the ranks of community.  Chapter 68 is in the portion of the Rule thought to be a collection of after-thoughts.   It’s like “oh, and by the way, after what I said about obedience in Chapter 5, it could happen that: “A Sister may be assigned a burdensome task or something she cannot do. If so, she should, with complete gentleness and obedience, accept the order given her.   Should she see, however, that the weight of the burden is altogether too much for her strength, then she should choose the appropriate moment and explain patiently to the superior the reasons why she cannot perform the task.  This she ought to do without pride, obstinacy or refusal.  If after the explanation the superior is still determined to hold to her original order, then the junior must recognize that this is best for her. Trusting in God’s help, she must in love obey.”

We sing about the scene in today’s Gospel in the one of our hymns: “Lord, you gave the great commission … with the spirit’s gifts empowering us, for the work of ministry.”  The disciples, and we, are being entrusted and enabled to continue Jesus’ own work – to share the news of God’s love in word and deed.  And, not only that, but to invite those who receive it to be co-workers in bringing the kingdom to fruition. .

To be effective it takes willing teachers as well as willing pupils.  More than that, it takes disciples as well as students – pupils may be just there, students are open to learning – absorbing and putting into practice.  Everything we do in life initially begins with being directly or indirectly taught.  Children raised in environments where there is inadequate attention, care and interaction, suffer failure to thrive and many die at a young age.  We come into this world ready and willing to learn.  God gave us the power of reasoning that we might learn.  God sent us into this world to learn his will for our lives so that we might influence others to recognize God’s glory.  Remember the 2nd question in the Baltimore catechism?  “Why did God make you?  God made me to know, love and serve Him in this world and to be happy with him forever in the next.”

We are commissioned both as individuals and as a community.  Thus, we are accountable as individuals and as community.  Benedict places much of the burden of responsibility on the prioress.  However notice the role of mutual obedience in our lives … each one to each other.

If we are com-missioned then we have a mission.  But, it’s easy to lose sight of our mission.  We can get excited about proposed projects, ministerial opportunities, and personal pursuits.   New projects may have appeal but if they do not reflect our mission as Benedictine Sisters of FL, they are not for us.  Or, we need to discern and then endorse a new statement of mission.

This little story – maybe true – illustrates the principle of accountability – “inspect what you expect.”

The story goes: a young soldier was deployed for a minimum of a year.  When he left, his fiancé gave him a harmonica. Strange gift – but she said, “I want you to learn to play this: it will help to keep your mind off the war and the girls.”

He wrote to her often and told her that he was faithfully practicing his harmonica every evening.

After a year she met him at the airport, he grabbed her to kiss her and she pushed back and said, “Wait before you kiss me, I want to hear you play the harmonica.”

She was no fool.  She knew that the man’s love would be reflected in what he did. If he’d done what he’d promised – she’d know it by his actions.

So, too, does God know by our actions how sincere, how faithful we are to our God-given personal mission, and our community commitments.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress

 

Continue Reading