Benedictine Sisters of FL

Holy Name Monastery
Founded 1889

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Trinity Sunday

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On this, the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, we celebrate the Church’s understanding of who God is: three unique, equal, divine persons in one God.  It is a celebration of our lived faith experience that we attempt to put into words.  We turn to the Scripture writers for a fuller understanding of this experience and for the ability to share the experience of God in our own lives.  I like Bishop Barron’s description, “The love that God the Father and the Son breathe back and forth is the Holy Spirit, the life of the church.”

But, nowhere in Scripture will you find a specific teaching of the Trinity.  However, we do find many places where the biblical experience of God is so rich that it cannot be encapsulated in a single word.  Jesus is the visible icon (as it were) of the invisible God, making the mystery of God tangible to us.  It is important that we believers have a welcoming attitude to the triune presence of God, so we are ready whenever, and through whomever, God chooses to continue to be revealed.  In this way we will be ready to listen to  and become involved in that dialogue.  Without the continued experience of Father, Son, and Spirit (or some may choose to say: Creator, Savior and Spirit) the doctrine ceases to be a lived experience.  But, if we expect today’s readings to give a clear presentation of the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity, that simply will not be the case.  Ours is a God so generous… who loves us so much, that this whole world was created for us and continues to gift to us the gift of Self through the appearance of bread and wine.  Here is a God, generosity personified, who loves us beyond our wildest imaginings.

God wants us to discover this Love and celebrate it.  The fact is: God wants to be found and is constantly calling out to us – but not necessarily with words. He gives us so many opportunities – so many times when we travel through even the darkest tunnels of our lives and then come out the other side to encounter, unexpectedly, something surprisingly, great beauty and holiness.  As I came through the connector this past week, I found myself surprised and confounded by a glimpse of an awesome glorious dawn!  The words of Sirach spring to mind: “As the rising sun is clear to all!  How beautiful are all God’s works!  Even to the spark of a fleeting vision.”

As long as we have our feet planted on “this side of the grass” it makes sense that we might not be able to completely understand how something can be “one” and “three” at the same time.  We need symbols to help us delve deeper and deeper into the mystery of the Trinity e.g. St. Patrick’s shamrock or three-leafed clover … three leaves, one stem.  Or consider the egg you might have for breakfast: yolk, white and shell – three parts, one egg.  Or we might’ve heard the Trinity compared to an Apple….  ONE apple, three different parts: skin, flesh, and seed.

This is a feast, a solemnity beyond words.  The Holy Trinity is a privilege and not merely a commemoration of a doctrine.  Through the celebration the Trinity we enter into a communion of Persons who has loved us into being and continues to call us each day to a fuller experience, a deeper lived knowledge, of our Triune God.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

 

First Reading: Deuteronomy 4:32-34. 30-40             Second Reading: Roman 8:14-17
Gospel:  Matthew 28:16-20
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Trinity Sunday

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This past week, as you know, we returned to Ordinary Time.  However, it’s as if today the Church says: “Wait a minute – there IS one more idea we need to explore.  Let’s celebrate our Triune God.”

But if you expect today’s readings to give a clear presentation of the doctrine of the Trinity, you will be sorely disappointed. In fact, the word “Trinity” is not found in the Scripture.  One writer has said if Jesus were to ask the question today, “Who do you say that I am?”, a modern theologian might answer: “Thou art the Logos, existing in the Father as His rationality and then, by an act of His will, being generated, in consideration of the various functions by which God is related to his creation, but only on the fact that Scripture speaks of a Father, and a Son, and a Holy Spirit, etc. etc.”  Jesus might have replied: “What’s that you say?”

We may not be able to understand the how of the Trinity, but it is important to understand the why.  The concept gives us a more personal, a more dynamic experience of God.  We are made in the image of God, and, therefore, the more we understand God the more we can understand ourselves.   The mystery of the Blessed Trinity tells us about the kind of God we worship and about the kind of people we should be.

Here is a generous God who loves us beyond our understanding! This whole world was created for us.  God gave us Himself in flesh, to suffer with us and die for us.  Here is a God so generous as to continue to offer Himself to us through the appearance of bread and wine.  Here is a God whose generosity spills over for us in gifts of wisdom and understanding, courage and piety, knowledge and counsel and fear of the Lord.  Here is a God who loves us beyond our wildest imaginings.

God wants us to discover this and celebrate it.  The fact is: God wants to be found and is constantly calling out to us. But he does not necessarily call out to us with words. We are given many opportunities; so many times, when we travel through even the darkest tunnels of our lives and then come out at the other side of the encounter to discover, unexpectedly, something surprising and beautiful and holy.  There is an example from this past week, when I came into the connector and was surprised by an awesome glorious red dawn!  Recall the reading earlier this week (from Sirach): “As the rising sun is clear to all, so the glory of the Lord fills all His works.  How beautiful are all God’s works!  Even to the spark of a fleeting vision.”

Recall the analogy of a community to a three-legged stool.  As individuals in community, we need God and others.  The stool becomes lopsided or falls if any one leg is shortened or missing.  It takes all of us to make community: God, me and all our members.  Sometimes we may feel it really doesn’t matter if I miss an activity; that the meals, card games, choral prayer will still go on whether I am present or not.  And, it will!  And it will be done in your name.  There are legitimate reasons to be absent, but never, ever feel that your presence doesn’t count or is not important or significant.

A recent study reports that people between the ages 25 to 44 saw a nearly 30% increase in heart attack deaths over the first two years of the pandemic.  Another study tells us that people who experience prolonged feelings of loneliness are 26% more likely to suffer a heart attack.  So, let’s be on the watch for symptoms of loneliness in ourselves.  And, likewise, be on guard that we are inclusive of each other.

This celebration of the Trinity reminds us of the limitless possibilities of God.  Our god is One God, and cannot be contained but must co-exist as three persons. Let us seek out God in divine magnificent creativity, in all the manifestations as Father Mother as Sister Brother, as Counselor, Friend.  God is waiting for us.  Ours is a God who wants to be found.

~by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

First Reading: Exodus 34: 4b-6, 8-9   Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Gospel Reading: John 3:16-18
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Be Courageous

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Today’s reflection on the diocesan website
is by
Sister Roberta Bailey, O.S.B.
We are a joyful community of disciples proclaiming the
Good News and inviting all people to encounter the
love and mercy of Jesus Christ.
St. Bonaventure

“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.” – Matthew 11: 25

Unless you grew up in a parish, or went to a school or college dedicated to St. Bonaventure, (or maybe happen to be a Franciscan), it’s likely you never heard of today’s saint who lived in the 13th century.  He is known as a preaching mystic who closely joined theology with holiness of life.  At his funeral Mass it is said “many were in tears, for the Lord granted him the grace, that whoever came to know him was forthwith drawn to a deep love of him.”

Bonaventure (it strikes me) is a perfect match with today’s Gospel.  A worthy example of the kind of relationship Jesus had with his Father God.  You sense this closeness in the way He addresses His Father.  “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.”  It is what comes next that tugs at your heart strings.  “No one knows the Father, but the Son.”  In our parlance, isn’t He saying: “Papa, no one knows you like I do.”  Then, He includes us in that special bond between child and parent. Jesus assures us He will reveal the Father to those to whom “it shall please the Son to reveal him.”

Jesus came into the world to fulfill the plan of the Father and He gave himself completely to that mission. No matter what happens in life, even a pandemic, Jesus is always with us, blessing us and revealing the Father’s love to draw us closer to God.  His is a genuine invitation to “come to me all you who labor”.   Am I open to receiving that precious gift from God’s own Son?  Please, God, let not pride keep me from knowing God’s gift of love and wisdom and the truth “that that sets us free”.

Am I open to receiving that precious gift from God’s own Son?

Please, God, let not pride keep me from knowing God’s gift of love and wisdom and the truth “that that sets us free”.

Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, O.S.B., is currently the prioress (president) of the Benedictine Sisters of Florida in Saint Leo. Sister serves on the diocesan Commission for Religious.  She is the former principal of St. Anthony Catholic School in San Antonio, Florida, and Saint John Paul II Catholic School in Lecanto, Florida. This year, Sister Roberta is celebrating her 60th Jubilee in religious life.
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Solemnity of the Trinity 2020

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With this weekend’s Scripture readings the Church seems to be saying “Wait a minute – put the brakes on your return to Ordinary time.  There’s another idea to explore.  Let’s celebrate our Triune God.”  But we know the idea of one God in three persons remains a mystery, so what can I say???  Sometimes it is better to believe than to be able to explain.  You know that about many things: can you explain how you put a printed page in a FAX machine that reads it and spits out a printed copy miles away?  Most of us could not explain how electricity works or the WiFi we trust will connect us to the world?  We just believe it’ll work at our command …  and feel disappointment and frustration when it fails us.  We stand strong in our belief of a Triune God though words fail us.

The Gospel of Matthew (read today) and the writings of St. Paul shed light on the concept of Trinity that the early Christians held.  We just heard Jesus say: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  Somewhere along the line we studied Trinitarian theology: the Didache, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origen, Gregory, Patrick with his shamrock imagery, and Augustine with his story of the child trying to empty the sea into a tiny hole in the sand.

But, if we expect these writers and the Scriptures to give a clear presentation of the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity – that simply is not the case.  We may lack an understanding of the how of the Trinity, but it is important to understand the why.  The concept gives us a more personal, more dynamic experience of God.  We are made in the image of God, and, therefore, the more we understand God the more we can understand ourselves.  The mystery of the Blessed Trinity tells us about the kind of God we worship and about the kind of people we should be.

We were created to live in relationship, in unity – giving of ourselves to one another as God exists in relationship.  But, look around today: the sit-ins and the marches are recurring evidence that divisions continue.  We are divided along all kinds of lines: national, religion and racial, gender and sexual orientation, socio-economics and politics, the insured and the uninsured, the “haves” and the “have-nots.”  People identify themselves primarily by what distinguishes and separates them from the rest of God’s people.

We sing “God is Love.”  What exactly does that mean?

Here is a God that is so generous… who loves us so much, He cannot contain Himself.  Here is our God who wants to be discovered and celebrated.  The fact is: God wants us  – waits day and night – to be found.  Here is a God who is constantly calling out to us – but not necessarily with words.  Here is a God who surprises us with gifts like one morning coming into the connector or dining room and being surprised and confounded by an awesome glorious sunrise.  Or a double rainbow after a Florida rain.

Remember the analogy of the three-legged stool?  As individuals in community we need God and others …  the stool becomes lopsided or falls if any one leg is shortened or missing.  Community takes all of us, all the “legs”: God, me and all our members.  Sometimes we may feel it really doesn’t matter if I miss an activity – that the meals, card games, choral prayer will still go on whether I am present or not.  And, it will – and even in your name.  But, never ever feel that your presence doesn’t count or is not important and significant.

This celebration of the Trinity reminds us of the limitless possibilities of God – one God who cannot be contained, but must co-exist as three persons.  Let us seek God out in all His creativity, in varied manifestations – as Father, as Brother, as Counselor, as Companion and Friend – is waiting for us.  Ours is a God who wants to be found.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress

 

First Reading Deuteronomy 4:32-34;39-40       Second Reading Romans 8:14-17
Gospel Matthew 28:16-20                                     Intention Health Care Workers
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The Holy Trinity – There are Clues

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I quote Richard Rohr: “I think it’s foolish to presume we can understand Jesus if we don’t first of all understand the Trinity.  We will continually misinterpret and misuse Jesus if we don’t first participate in the circle dance of mutuality and communion within which he participated.”

The reality of the Holy Trinity a mystery – an incomprehensible concept.   Thankfully, mysteries can be talked about.  They can be described.  They have clues that our minds can grasp.  A mystery remains a mystery unless and until we grasp it in its totality.  But, when it comes to God we simply cannot grasp the total reality of God.

We know, because we’ve been taught, that the inner nature of God, in whose image and likeness we are made, is Three Persons who, however distinct they are, totally belong to each other.  Humans, because they are made in God’s image, are made to belong in a special kind of belonging.  We (Benedictines at Holy Name Monastery) are free persons who chose to live in a community where we are mutually dependent on each other for full existence.  While there is a style of belonging that enslaves – a possessive belonging – there is also a belonging that gives freedom, the freedom to be who we are as persons.

The concept of the Holy Trinity is a mystery, but not a total mystery.   Mysteries, after all, are made up of clues. In a mystery story we pursue and piece together clues in order to see the whole picture.  So it is with the Holy Trinity.  We have lots of clues about the Holy Trinity.  And when we pursue them and piece them together we get a good glimpse into what kind of a god our God is.  God is all about love.  And when we live in love we live in God, and God lives in us.  Living in love, however, does not mean we must all be exactly the same.

There’s a great deal of confusion about this in today’s culture.  But it’s ridiculous to think that all persons must be the same.  We aren’t meant to be ducks in a row, waddling to the same tempo.  We honor our Triune God in whose image we are made.  God the Creator is a distinct Person; the God the Son, our Savior is a distinct Person; and God the Holy Spirit is a distinct person.  Distinct though they are, however, they exist in one being of infinite love.  They exist in one unbreakable bond, in one infinite union of being together.

While all of that remains a mystery to us, it is not so mysterious that we cannot live with each other in a reality of life that reflects and shares in the reality of God’s life.  To live a God-like life we must forgive rather than condemn.  We must build-up and affirm rather than tear down.  We must see the best, not the worst.  We must be self-sacrificial and not self-centered.  We must be giving rather than grasping.  We must offer hope, not despair.  We must heal rather than wound.  All of this is best affirmed and nurtured in what we know as a community.  There is nothing in life that more closely reflects the reality of the Holy Trinity than genuine family life.   This concept is mimicked in intentional community life.  For it is in such a setting that we not only belong but also where we discover, nurture, and affirm our own unique and individual personalities.  It is in living the reality of being truly a community that we have a glimpse into the life of the Trinity.

In our community prayer, a “Trinitarian-like movement” echoes the rhythm of our whole lives.  In Lectio we go up to the mountaintop with Jesus, we have conversation with Him there, and we return to everyday life among his people.  Notice, too, in our communal prayer, a three-fold movement: we sit, we stand, we bow.  In our chants, we don’t always have to harmonize (singing different but complementary melodies) but we do strive to keep our voices in harmony with each other – one heart, one voice, one love.

We all have different views about the mystery we celebrate today.  We have different views in our heads about who God is and what God is like.   But I think we agree:  God is love and we are made in God’s image.  But, love is only a word until someone gives it meaning.  To be true to our calling we must be the ones who give meaning to love in our world.  We, Benedictine Sisters of Florida – and our Oblates and Volunteers – put flesh on that calling through our Corporate Commitment: We commit ourselves and our resources to respond with the compassion of Christ to the hungers of the people of God.

~Reflection By Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress

 

First Reading   Exodus 34:4b-6,8-9                  Second Reading 2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Gospel  John 3:16-18                    
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Do You Recognize the Shepherd’s Voice?

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Sunday, May 12th is designated Good Shepherd Sunday, a day of prayer for vocations.  We will certainly continue to pray for vocations to church ministries and for an increase in membership in religious communities.  In addition to that prayer, our community weekly intention is an intercessory prayer for MOTHERS – including all who mother others…  which in today’s society of broken families many daddies, too, serve in the role of both “mother” and “father” to their children.

The brief Gospel (just read) reveals Jesus as our unique “parent” – mother and father – our good shepherd.  Jesus is our means to salvation – the “sheep gate,” the gateway, the threshold to eternal life.  Jesus is the selfless, caring “shepherd” who provides protection and life itself.  How consoling and reassuring his words: “No one can take you out of my hand.  My Father, who has given you to me, is greater than all, and no one can take you out of my Father’s hand.”

A good shepherd’s life is not an easy one – the shepherd must be vigilant at all times, willing to keep the sheep close together (in community), lead them to green pastures and set a good pace sensitive to their endurance.  Jesus explains the difference between the concerned shepherd and the hireling.  The hireling is there only for the paycheck.  When trouble comes, he runs away and leaves the sheep to be devoured by the wolves.  The good shepherd, on the other hand, the shepherd who owns the sheep, has a vested interested in their welfare.  Therefore, the good shepherd is willing to pay any price to protect the sheep, even if it means that he has to give His very life for them.  Christ, the Chief Shepherd, knows our individual weaknesses and failings and watches over us with discerning love and sympathetic understanding.  With infinite concern He notes the doubts, fears, trials, conflicts, and defeats that disturb our peace, and He swiftly comes to our aid.

You’ve probably seen the painting titled “His Master’s Voice.”  It depicts a dog, looking with a cocked head, into an old gramophone.  It’s an apt symbol of what Jesus is saying to us or Benedict’s call to heed the voice of the Master.  Hear what Jesus says: “The sheep listen to his voice.  He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”

The spiritual writer, Tony Campolo tells the story of a census taker who went to the home of a rather poor family in the mountains of West Virginia to gather information.  He asked the mother how many dependents she had.  She began, “Well, there is Rosie, and Billy, and Lewella, Susie, Harry, and Jeffrey.  There’s Johnny, and Harvey, and our dog, Willie.”  The census taker interrupted her: “No, ma’am, that’s not necessary.  I only need the humans.” “Ah,” she said.  “Well, there is Rosie, and Billy, and Lewella, Susie, Harry, and Jeffrey, Johnny, and Harvey, and….”  At this the exasperated man interrupted, “No, ma’am, you don’t seem to understand.  I don’t need their names I just need the numbers.”  To which the old woman replied, “But I don’t know their numbers.  I only know them by name.”

Sounds like Jesus in today’s Gospel – Jesus says the good shepherd knows his sheep by name.  Although there may be several flocks sharing the same sheepfold, when the shepherds walk up to the gate and call their sheep, each one instantly recognizes the voice of its own shepherd or shepherdess.  When they hear the familiar voice, they instinctively follow (they are led and they follow, they are not driven, that’s for goats).  They will ignore the voice of a shepherd other than their own.  We will hear many voices competing for our attention, but there is a special note to the voice of Jesus that demands our immediate and full attention.

To the untrained eye, the individual sheep in a flock may all look alike.  A good shepherd, however, can tell them apart — often because of their defects and peculiar traits.  A man who was tending a large flock explained it this way: “See that sheep over there? Notice how it toes in a little.  The one behind it has a squint; the next one has a patch of wool off its back; ahead is one with a distinguishing black mark, while the one closest to us has a small piece torn out of its ear.”  Jesus says: “I know my sheep and they know me.”  (Reminds me of how we can detect who is coming down the hall by the sound of her footsteps.)

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!”

There is no question that Jesus is our Good Shepherd.  The only question that remains at this point is this: Do you know the Shepherd? Do you recognize His voice?

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress
First Reading:           Acts 13: 14, 43-52                      Second Reading: Revelation 7:9, 14b-17
Gospel: John1o: 27-30
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