Benedictine Sisters of FL

Holy Name Monastery
Founded 1889

God

A Reflection from Easter Season 2018

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On this third Sunday of Easter, we continue to hear Gospel accounts of Jesus’ appearances following his Resurrection.  In each account Jesus greets his disciples with the words, “Peace be with you.”  Peace is their most obvious and pressing need.  They have witnessed the death of someone they dearly loved.

Here is this account, two of the disciples recount a touching story of PEACE invading their lives.  They were taking a Sunday stroll – well, a seven-mile walk – chatting about the events of the last several days.  Suddenly a stranger slips into their midst.  Now, the Jewish custom of the day required that they invite the stranger to join them for a meal.  In this case, the invitation included an overnight’s rest.  Later they realized Who had broken bread in their company.  Can’t you see Jesus’ smiling to himself in delight in picturing his friends’ sudden realization who they had been talking with!?  Now this friends realized that their hearts had been afire as they listened to him break open the Scriptures with him.  What a Lectio experience!

We believe God is all around us: God is in nature, God is here with you and me now.  But do we really believe that God – in the person of Jesus – will drop into our company and chat with us?  That every person manifests a virtue of Jesus that I need in my life.  One may be the patience of Christ, another the spirit of helpfulness, or a positive attitude, the ability to turn strangers into friends, a secret friend that does your daily chore, a soothing voice, a listening ear.  Look around the room: where do you see Jesus looking back at you.  How interesting that we all see the faces but each one sees the very virtue she needs to make her life whole.  And, how puzzling it can be when two people share an experience, know the same person, were there when “it” happened but have two distinct, often opposite, memories.

You know what it’s like, many years after childhood, at family gatherings,… your siblings’ memory of particular event can be worlds apart.  And, what about community memories!  I once heard Sister Helen talk about something that happened to her …   I feel certain that was MY experience.

Let me tell you about an event that happened on a Sunday afternoon many Springs ago.  Kevin was walking home through the park after having attended Sunday Mass and CCD class.  He stopped to pluck a flower for his mom and watched a butterfly flit from plant to plant….  He stood quietly watching a woodpecker drill a hole in a tree.  All the while, he couldn’t stop thinking about the Bible lesson for that day. What impressed him the most was when the teacher said, “You will find the risen Jesus in every one you meet.”

As he continued through the park, he noticed an old woman sitting on a bench. She looked lonely and hungry. So he sat down next to her, took out the coveted chocolate bar he had been saving.  He offered some to the lady who accepted it with a beautiful smile.  They sat together in silence, for a long time, just smiling at each other.  As Kevin was leaving, he had gone but a short distance when he ran back to the bench, and gave the woman a big hug.

When he arrived home, his mother asked, “What’s making you smile so happily today?”  (He said,) “I shared my chocolate bar with Jesus. You know, he has the most beautiful smile in the world.”

Meanwhile, the old woman returned to the little apartment where she lived with her sister.  Her sister remarked, “You seem really happy today.  “I am, I’ve been in the park.  Jesus shared his chocolate bar with me. And, you know, he looks a lot younger than I expected.”

That’s the lesson in today’s gospel –  we will meet and experience the risen Jesus in unexpected places and persons.  Our only expectation can be “He will show up!”

Pooh and Piglet were taking their evening walk. For a long time they walked in the kind of silence good friends share.  Finally, Piglet asks, “When you wake up in the morning, Pooh, what’s the first thing you say to yourself?” “What’s for breakfast?  And what do you say, Piglet?”  “I say, I wonder what exciting thing is going to happen to me today?”

When or where will we meet the Risen Christ today.    What we know is that He will show up.  Take delight in his revelation!   In the words of our Responsorial Psalm: “Know that the Lord does wonders for his faithful ones.  God puts gladness into my heart.”

 

What virtue of Jesus do you see reflected back to you in person of the persons you meet?

Have a good week.   We long for the day we can share a hug …  here’s a virtual hug for you ….   Stay safe …

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress
First Reading  Acts of the Apostles 3:13-15,17-19        Second Reading 1 John 2:1-5a
Gospel Luke 24:35-48 
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Living in Joy

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This third Sunday of Advent is familiarly known as Gaudete Sunday – a Latin word that means “rejoice” – the first word of the Entrance Antiphon (at Mass): “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.  Indeed, the Lord is near.”  As you know, we mark Gaudete Sunday by lighting a pink candle (in the Advent wreath) and the celebrant at Mass wears rose colored vestments.  I wonder why “rose”?  Yes, it’s a “happy” color but I wonder if it might be because when you dilute the ‘blue-ness” with the red that makes purple, the red shades are left lightly tinged with blue which creates more of a rose color.  The church rejoices because we are halfway to Christmas.  The Promised One is nearer at hand.  And, we are called to live as people of joy.

But in everyday life I get the impression that “joy” is on the decline.  Often what is the response when someone asks: “How was your day?”  My sense is that the theme of joy is something of a rare commodity.  I hear responses such as “It was OK” or “Could have been better.”  Or “I’m just so tired of so and so doing such and such.”  Or, “I’m exhausted.  Or “Don’t ask.”  To have joy or – or as they would say in slang – to do joy – is to have a deep sense of delight.  The Greek origins of the word literally means “for the heart, in its deepest place of passion and feelings, to be well.”  That’s what it’s like to have joy.

So why is joy so rare?  Well, it occurs to me (and not me alone), that for the experience of joy in one’s life, four qualities must also be found.  First, joy takes time.  Joy comes of living a “savored” life…of having time and taking time to smell the roses, to observe the pace of a Sandhill Crane as it crosses the street, to glory in a sunset.  Joy needs time.  There is this old monastic saying about living a joy-filled life.  If you are sipping tea or watering a plant, or gazing at an icon, to do just that.  We call this “being there” or being “in the moment.”  We know – and more than that, we believe, that each moment is pregnant with God’s real presence and promise and providential care.  Look for it; wait for it; savor it. Don’t just visit life; life needs time to be lived abundantly.

Secondly, to know joy requires acceptance – a “yes” to life –  to the life we’ve been given.  We may have discovered at some point that the script we’ve been handed in the play of life is not the part we thought we were trying out for.  Joy requires a deep willingness to accept we are God’s creatures and that God is at work according to God’s good pleasure.  Joyful persons accept the good gifts of life that actually are there.  They do not live in a state of resentment for what might have been or what “used to be.”  In God’s plan, there is a reason why today is not tomorrow.  We need all of today to prepare us to receive the promise of tomorrow.

So, to be joyful takes time and acceptance.  Third, it also requires desire.  We have to want joy.  Joy is a gift, a gift of the Spirit.  If you want the gift of joy, ask God for the gift with your heart open and hands to accept the gift.

And, fourth to be joyful we need stability, patience and endurance.  Maybe that’s why Jesus says: “Truly I tell you… you will have sorrow… but your sorrow will turn into joy.

Life for most people is not picture perfect, but there is so much joy to be found If we simply LOOK for JOY.  Be on the lookout – SEE and REFLECT on the JOY right before your eyes.  The more we dwell on everyday blessings, the more they seem to multiply.  And by experiencing more joy in my own life, I have more JOY to give away.  JOY is a beautiful gift to embrace, celebrate and give away at Christmastime.  And, in doing so, increase our own joy.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress

 

First Reading   Isaiah 35:1-6, 10   Second Reading   1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Gospel  Matthew 11:2-11
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What New Road?

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This Gospel introduces us to the man John; John the Baptist, the voice of prophecy in a world where such a voice had been silent for 400 years.  Now John is: “The voice (that Isaiah described), the voice crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight His paths’.”

The highlight of John’s ministry was the fantastic success he enjoyed way out in the wilderness.  This guy doesn’t care what people think.  And, his style worked!

We still hear about it, don’t we?  When the people of Jerusalem and Judea left their cities to hear John preach, they probably had to walk twenty or thirty miles.  They did so in such increasing numbers that Scripture tells us (with only slight exaggeration) that “all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem” came out to hear this young preacher proclaim: “The Kingdom of heaven is near!  Repent and be baptized.”  That is all he did – he announced!  He never told them how it worked, or why.

And, he certainly was no fashion plate, with his camel hair clothing, leather sandals and the girdle around his waist.  His diet was very simple: locusts (grasshoppers) and wild honey.  This note is important, or it wouldn’t be here.  It is symbolic.  You can’t wear anything more simple in the way of clothing, or eat a more basic diet.  In other words, it is representative of his ministry — one of very simple beginnings – the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What is all this saying to us?  What new road is God building in our lives?  When our life’s valley is filled in and the road made straight, will we be ready to “see the Son of Man coming in a cloud.”  As we approach the off-ramp of life – will we be so attuned to the divine whisper that we hear clearly the voice of the One crying out – Look!  The “salvation of our God” is at hand!

So what kind of forklift will it take to raise our weariness to a conscientious attention to those with whom we live?  What kind of backhoe does it take to crack the ridged set in our ways?  How many hosing-downs does it take to quiet a hot temper or a sharp tongue?  How tall a crane do we need for us to see the bigger picture?  What kind of work goggles do we need to protect our eyes from worldliness?  What kind of binoculars will it take to pinpoint and zero in on the evils we want to eradicate?  Are we keeping the traffic strips on the edges of our souls bright enough to protect us from running off the road to goodness?  How tough are the rumble strips that we put down to remind us of “danger ahead”?  Is our prayer life regular enough, strong enough and sincere enough to be the barricades we need to protect us from on-coming temptations?

And, then we have the task of repairing old roads.  In our lives, no matter how we might like to think that we’ve got it all together, sooner or later we all need to have a little “heavenly highway repair.”  Our God promises to fix what’s broken in our lives.  When a hurtful word breaks away a slab of our self-confidence, or when an extended period of neglecting our prayer life creates a pothole of emptiness and isolation, God is there to put out the orange cones.  When we are battered by life’s challenges and we feel that our bridge supports are beginning to fail, God promises to strengthen those areas of weakness that plague us so.

We are called to be prophets in today’s world.  Each of us has a mission to communicate Christ’s message of hope, love, freedom and peace.  We can help people fill in their valleys and make their rough paths smoother.

As we go along, day by day … driving through the work site we call “life,” imagine you see John the Baptist shouting with the powerful words of the prophet Isaiah, almost like a highway foreman, “Prepare the way of the Lord!  Make that path straight!  Fill in that valley!  Get that mountain outta here!  Hey, what happened over there?  It’s all crooked!  Make it straight!  Smooth out that rough place!  Get busy – do your part.  We gotta show everyone the salvation of God is coming.”

 

 

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress
Second Sunday in Advent 2019
First Reading Isaiah 11:1-10                      Second Reading   Romans 13:4-9
Gospel  Matthew 3:1-17
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Meaningful Advent

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So, it’s Advent again.  Among the general populace, Advent remains an opportunity that is too often little appreciated, little understood and commonly ignored.  Advent is about learning to wait.  It is about not having to know exactly what is coming tomorrow.  Advent teaches us the difference between expectation, anticipation and waiting; suspense, eagerness and “twiddling your thumbs to pass the time.”

Advent is about the power of emptiness and the spiritual meaning of smallness.  We strive to live with the basics rather than hoard what, in God’s eyes anyway, after all is not ours.  When we have little to begin with, we have even less to lose.  When we have fewer possessions, fewer clothes in our closets and fewer books (even the holy ones) and papers that we MIGHT need someday, we spend fewer minutes caring for them.  It means that we have less to protect or to fight over and even less to boast about.  We can be more open to possibility.

Our conversations can turn to stories and concerns focused outward, on the other rather than the self.  There is a rare sprinkling of “I” and “my” and “mine.”  Attention is directed away from the self to shine our light on others.  We radiate the blessings of life, not the gloom of sadness, sickness, tiredness and woe.  We become more fully human, full of compassion and full of consciousness.  Our community Advent practices help hone the attitude of prayerfulness, almsgiving and compassion.

Take a stroll down memory lane and feel again the anticipation and impatience you felt for the night Santa Claus would come.  That’s the feeling we still need to be filled with as we await the coming of Christmas – the commemoration of the night Jesus opened His eyes and beheld the tender love of his earthly mother and his foster father Joseph; heard the voices of the angels singing praises and felt the warmth of the breath of curious animals.

I invite you to live again, the moment you discovered the reality of the Santa myth.  You’d probably had plenty of hints for a long time from older siblings or classmates.  In fact you might have known from the beginning that there was no one who was “Santa.”  But, you were slow to relinquish the fantasy of the jolly fellow enjoying the cookies you’d left for him and emptying his sack of toys to find the gift with your name on it.  Even children who are aware that their families are “dirt poor” cling to the dream of a Santa figure.

As we mature, so do our hopes and dreams.  The final line of the selection from Matthew’s Gospel reminds us first: we do not know what day the Lord will appear.  Then, “You must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”  That does not refer only to the hour of our death.  Remember the story of the Abbot who visited his Rabbi friend who shared with him a valuable lesson: “the messiah is among the ranks of your community.”  We are challenged to be Messiah to each other.  To treat each other, those who walk through the door, with gentleness and courtesy – that one may be the Messiah among us.  Now, in place of eager children looking forward to Santa bringing us gifts, we conger ways to be “Santa” to others.

So, we pray: “May the God of Israel increase our longing for Jesus our Savior and give each and all of us the strength to grow in love, that the dawn of Jesus’ coming may find us rejoicing in his presence and welcoming the light of Truth.”

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, O.S.B., Prioress

 

Isaiah 2:1-5                   Romans 13:11-14    Matthew 24:37-44
Intention:  Meaningful Advent
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A Line from Star Wars

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In the 2nd reading for this 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Paul says to the Thessalonians: Pray that the word of the Lord may speed forward and be glorified.”  Sounds like a line from Star Wars or the Narnia Chronicles.  “Speed the Word of God forward.”  Paul continues – “I am confident that you are doing and will continue to do as the Lord directs your hearts to the love of God and the endurance of Christ.”  The “endurance of Christ.”  A reminder that, yes, we are the hands and heart of Christ in our world.

Relating to the Gospel seems a bit more tricky.  The Sadducees are once again challenging Jesus…  describing a most unlikely situation and quoting Moses as their authority.  One woman being wed, in turn to seven brothers.  Often Jesus answers a question with a question.  He responds differently this time.  But this time he uses the occasion for instruction.  Actually, Jesus makes four points.

First:  life here on earth and life after death are not alike.  The kingdom of heaven is not simply an extension of the good things in this life.  Even though some give the impression “if ice cream will make you happy, yes, you’ll have it in heaven.”  Jesus makes it clear that eternity is more than just an extension of what we have here.

Second: Jesus explains that there is no marriage in “that age.”  He doesn’t say that a married couple won’t know each other in the age to come, but, Jesus let us know rather that the relationship will be different.

Jesus’ third point, is that there is no death in “that age.”  Jesus identifies the quality of life when He says “neither can they die anymore,” it’s all about eternal life.

The fourth thing Jesus points out, is that the redeemed will be “like” the angels in heaven – not that they will be angels, but “like” the angels they will be forever praising and serving God.

And, if we drill deeper into the Jesus story, we’ll discover that the Sadducees were impressed with Jesus.  Like the twelve-year-old in the temple who amazed the people with his knowledge.  The Sadducees congratulated Jesus on his logic and his use of Scripture.  Jesus proved, from Scripture, that there are some references to life after death.

As we wrestle with questions about resurrection and after life, especially in this month when we honor our deceased Sisters and our loved ones.  And, at times like this week’s Veterans’ Day celebrations, we confirm our belief in Jesus’ promise of life beyond this one.  The trivia of this life loses much of its importance, while the values, the important things take on added meaning.  Living with the assurance of heaven, we live differently, we live for God.  The promise of eternal life is not just some pie in the sky hope for us. In eternity, in the everlasting life, we’ll be ourselves at our ultimate best and will be more loveable and more capable of loving than ever before.  [And it would serve us well, also, to think about the one who just jostled our nerves: she’ll/he’ll be more loveable in the life to come.]

[I’ve a story to share but could not figure out how to slip it into the body or the reflection….]

A newly-assigned young pastor had just received his first visitor.  The parish council president came by to visit him on a Sunday afternoon.  The man was a highly respected member of this congregation for over 25 years and president of the Parish council.

It was a balmy – not too humid kind of day – unusual for a day in August.  Taking advantage of the nice day, they were sitting on the back porch of the rectory.  The man seemed uneasy but slowly started to speak, “Father, first off I want to tell you this is a personal matter – nothing to do with Parish council business.  I want to share this with you, and seek your advice.  I’ve never told this to a soul, it’s extremely difficult to tell you this now.  Well, here goes:  “My wife and I have had a fight almost every day for the past 30 years of our marriage.”

The young priest was taken aback.  He nervously took a sip of his sweetened Southern iced tea.  He didn’t know what to say.  He had never personally experienced that kind of thing growing up.  Of course he’d taken counseling courses in the seminary.  He wanted to respond with compassion.  This was real life, not a set-up scenario from seminary days.

After a brief pause, he asked:  “Everyday?”  “Yes, just about every day.”  “Did you fight before you came to church this morning?”  “Yes.”  “Well, how did it end up?”  “It was different this time. She came crawling to me on her hands and knees.”

Trying to hide this shock, and keep his voice calm, Father ask:  “Oh, my goodness what did she say?”  “She pounded the floor with her hand and said in a voice that I’ve never heard before.  It was low and commanding as she growled: “Come out from under that bed, you coward, and fight like a man!”

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress

 

32nd Sunday, November 10, 2019
2 Macabees 7:1-2, 9-14   2 Thessalonians 2:16-3::5
Gospel Luke 20:27-38
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Seekers Week

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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

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