Benedictine Sisters of FL

Holy Name Monastery
Founded 1889

God

An Unspeakable Event

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First Reading  Genesis 12:1-4a               Second Reading 2 Timothy 1:8b-10
Gospel   Matthew 17:1-9

Let’s set the scene: there is a mountain, there must have been clouds since we hear a voice come from out the clouds … then, there is Jesus. Three special friends, a face shining like the sun, clothes dazzling white, a voice from a cloud!   Something powerful is occurring here. And, it’s more than the disciples can comprehend.  They knew Jesus was someone special.  They’d known Him as a teacher, a healer, even a prophet… but that did not capture His full identity. Peter gets it “You are the Christ, the son of the living God!”    But his human understanding did not grasp the full meaning of what he said.

Peter recognizes that Jesus’ dazzling appearance in the presence of Moses and Elijah is significant–“Lord, it is good for us to be here!”   His suggestion to build three booths, or dwelling places sounds like an attempt to capture the moment, to preserve for safekeeping this frightening experience.   Imagine Peter (the extrovert par excellence) , jumping up and down with his hand in the air, like a child desperate to give the right answer, but who cannot quite get it right because he does not fully understand the question.

In his attempt to make sense of the magnificent transformation taking place before his eyes, Peter tries to talk it out, to speak words for the unspeakable event.  While he is still speaking, a bright cloud overshadows all of them and a voice interrupts: “This is my Son, my Beloved; in whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

A stunned silence follows.  The four-some turns to go back down the mountain.  And Jesus asks them to tell no one what they experienced UNTIL He has been raised from the dead.

There are times when it is best to be quiet.  Times when we are a part of something much bigger than ourselves. There is more going on than what our physical eyes can see or understand. We have entered a mystery that can neither be defined nor discussed, only experienced.

There are moments like that in every life. Lovers gazing at each other see more than just another person. They have been brought face to face with the mystery of love. Parents and grandparents will recall when they beheld for the very first time the new baby in the family.  They see more than a baby. They are face to face with the mystery of life.  We’ve all seen a little child squealing with excitement. It is more than excitement. That child has come face to face with the mystery of deep joy. Recall a time you made a confession, formal or informal, and experienced the forgiveness of God or another person. It was about much more than words, past behavior, and the memory of estrangement. You came face to face with the mystery of grace.  And, many of us have been with a dying confrere, or parent, or friend.  We waited and watched for the person to be carried into new life. We came face to face with the mystery of death.

These are the moments of transfiguration. Each one of them is distinct, unique, and unrepeatable.  Yet they are somehow the same. Each one is so transparent, so real, they glow with the light of God’s presence. They are moments of pure grace. We cannot make them happen. We can only be there when it does happen. Thus, the importance of simply living in the present moment where everything around us seems to fall away.  It is a moment of pure, complete presence.

That is what happened to Peter, James, and John on the mountain.  They “looked up and saw only Jesus.”  This was as much their transfiguration as it was Jesus’. They didn’t just see the light they were absorbed into the light!

Jesus did not become something he was not before that night on the mountain. He was always filled with the glory of God. He didn’t become something new; but the disciples did.  In a flash of insight they saw the world with God’s eyes.  For, you see, transfiguration is not so much about what we see as it is about how we see. As long as we see only with our physical eyes, we will always be looking for something … looking over the fences of our own reality for that greener grass on the other side of the fence.

~ Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress
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What is the Astuteness of the Christian?

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3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Right to Life (January 23)  St. Paul (January 25)

First Reading   Isaiah 8:23-9:3          Second Reading  1 Corinthians 1:10-13,17
Gospel Reading  Matthew 4:12-23

In this Gospel the power of Jesus’ call is immediately evident – Peter, Andrew, James and John dropped everything to follow Jesus immediately.  Jesus doesn’t have to pitch the idea to these individuals nor does he need to persuade them.  Each has little reason to leave their current way of life.    Each seemingly has a steady job.  Most importantly they have familial ties to their vocations as family men and fishermen.  Now, in the new lifestyle they were inaugurating, their security would come from life in a mutually supporting community, where the needs of each one were taken care of.

Having begun to assemble his company of companions, Jesus turns to his ministry, as the Gospel describes it: teaching in the synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.   He moved quickly and determinedly from one place to another … planting dreams, raising expectations, and opens doors of possibility.  His followers witnessed a dramatic alternative to the emptiness and despair that filled the lives of the people immersed in an atmosphere devoid off their trust and hope.

Whether man or a woman, when one joyfully responded to Jesus’ call to follow, and entered Jesus enterprise, their lives were dramatically changed.  They became agents of new possibility for all who came into contact with them – beacons of encouragement for the discouraged – inviting the stranger to faith in God and purpose in life.

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!

A vital faith community will always be asking … inviting followers just as Jesus did.
It is never enough to simply welcome people when they happen to visit, we must also invite them to join us in our worship and ministries.  Without a direct “ask” a vocation may be stifled or a prayer-partner lost.  My mother spoke with great admiration for the Benedictine Sisters who were her teachers in elementary school.  I asked her once when 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.

Tomorrow (Monday, January 23) the church leads us in prayer for the sanctity of all life: for an end to abortion, euthanasia and the death penalty.  And more than that: to honor, respect and love all God’s people without reservation.  I invite you to listen to these words of Pope Francis (adapted slightly to be gender inclusion):

The Christian cannot allow her/himself the luxury to be an idiot, that’s clear. We don’t have the luxury to be fools because we have a very beautiful message of life and we’re not permitted to be fools.  For that reason, Jesus says, “Be astute, be careful.”  What is the astuteness of the Christian?  In knowing how to discern who is a wolf and who is a sheep. 

And when … a wolf disguises itself as a sheep, (the Christian) knows how they smell. “Look, you have the skin of a sheep but the smell of a wolf.” And this, this mandate that Jesus gives us is very important. It’s for something very great.  Jesus tells us something that attracts our attention, when someone asks him: “Well, why did you come into the world?” “Look, I come to bring life and for that life to be in abundance, and I am sending you so that you can advance that life, and so that it will be abundant.”

Jesus didn’t come to bring death (of the body), but rather, the death of hatred, the death of fighting, the death of slander, that is, killing with the tongue.  Jesus came to bring life and to bring the abundant life, and he sends us out, carrying that life, but he tells us: “Care for it!” Because there are people bringing us today the culture of death.  That is, life interests them insofar as it is useful, insofar as it has some kind of utility and if not, it doesn’t interest them.  And throughout the world, this weed has been planted, of the culture of death.

How beautiful is caring for life, allowing life to grow, to give life like Jesus, and to give it abundantly, not to permit that even one of these smallest ones be lost.  That is what Jesus asked of the Father: “that none of those whom You have given me be lost, that all of the life that You gave me to care for, might be cared for, that it might not be lost.”  And we care for life, because He cares for our life from the womb.

Caring for life from the beginning to the end. What a simple thing, what a beautiful thing.  Father, is that why there are so many wolves who want to eat us?  Is that why, tell me?  Who did Jesus kill? No one.  He did good things. And how did he end up?  If we go down the road of life ugly things can happen to us, but it doesn’t matter. It’s worth it.  He first opened the way.

So, go forth and don’t be discouraged.  Don’t be fools, remember, a Christian doesn’t have the luxury of being foolish, I’m going to repeat this: an idiot, a fool – you can’t give yourself that luxury.  You have to be clever, be astute!     Care for life. It’s worth it! “

~ Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress
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Why is Jesus called by this strange title, “the Lamb of God”?

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First Reading Isaiah 49:3,5-6    Second Reading  1 Corinthians 1:1-3
Gospel John 1:29-34
Today we hear the story of what John the Baptist witnessed when Jesus, his cousin, approached him in the river Jordan where John was baptizing those who came forward.   Last Monday we heard Matthew’s account of Jesus’ baptism.  The two accounts differ because the evangelist we hear today does not describe the baptism.  Instead, in John’s account, John the Baptist announces that he knows that Jesus is the Son of God. He cries out, giving witness about who Jesus is. He says that he saw the Spirit descend upon Jesus. By this sign, John the Baptist knew that Jesus was the one who was to come after him.

We hear two familiar titles for Jesus. John calls Jesus the “Lamb of God” and the “Son of God” identifying Jesus’ ultimate purpose is to redeem humanity. We need to know who Jesus is, if we want to be his disciples. We also need to know what his mission is, if we want to be good disciples.

Why is Jesus called by this strange title, the Lamb of God? It refers back to the origins of the great Jewish feast of the Passover that commemorates when the people were told, in order to escape punishment, that they should smear the doorposts of their houses with the blood of a lamb. When God’s angel struck, he passed over the blood-painted houses of the Israelites and their children were spared. They had, in effect, been saved by the “blood of the lamb.”  The lamb then becomes the sign and symbol of the liberation of God’s people from slavery and oppression. But for us – and this is what John the Baptist’s means – Jesus is the new Lamb which brings freedom and liberation.

The purpose of John’s baptism was to make Jesus known to Israel.  John’s witness is an excellent example of what it means to be a disciple. By our Baptism, we are called to be disciples – to make Jesus known to all the world by our words and by the witness of our lives.

This Wednesday we will begin the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.  The theme for 2017, “Reconciliation – The Love of Christ Compels Us” was chosen to mark the 500th anniversary year of the beginning of the Reformation.  Two accents are reflected: the main concerns marked by Martin Luther’s Reformation and our recognition of the pain of the subsequent deep divisions which continue to afflict the unity of the Church.  Christians are encouraged to pray and to view this week as a first step toward reconciliation.

Each year on his birthday, our nation takes time to stand back and contemplate the impact of Martin Luther King on the course of history. It may be tempting to treat this day like any other.   But, many of us cannot forget; we grew up in a segregated society.  Most of us remember attending – or for that matter teaching in – racial segregated school. We went to all-white schools.  We can remember “whites only” water fountains, lunch counters and seats on the bus.  The name of Martin Luther King, Jr. represents the blood, sweat and tears of many, many people.  Praise God for people who live by the courage of their convictions.

Tuesday evening, in his farewell address, President Obama reminded our nation:  “For white Americans, it means acknowledging that the effects of slavery and Jim Crow didn’t suddenly vanish in the ’60s; that when minority groups voice discontent, they’re not just engaging in reverse racism or practicing political correctness; when they wage peaceful protest, they’re not demanding special treatment, but the equal treatment that our founders promised.”

In 1956, Rev. King realized just how parched he was, how needy he was for a drink from God’s fountain of live-giving water.  On January 27 of that year, he received a phone call: “Nigger, we are tired of you and your mess now, and if you are not out of Montgomery in three days, we’re going to blow your brains out and blow up your house.”  Dr. King was so disturbed by this threat to his family and was especially concerned for his newborn daughter.  He went to the kitchen seeking solace from a steaming cup of coffee.  As he began to muse he was confronted with a vision in the kitchen.

In his words: Rationality left me…and I started thinking about many things.  Something said to me, you can’t call on daddy now; he’s in Atlanta – You’ve got to call on that something, on that person that your daddy used to tell you about, that power that can make a way out of no way.  And I discovered then that religion had to become real to me and I had to know God for myself.  I bowed down over that cup of coffee, I never will forget it.  I prayed out loud: Lord, I’m down here trying to do what’s right.  I think the cause that we represent is right.  But Lord, I must confess that I’m faltering.  I’m losing courage.

Almost out of nowhere I heard a voice.  “Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness.  Stand up for justice.  Stand up for truth.  And lo, I will be with you, even until the end of the world.”   Dr. King recounts that he was ready for anything after this.  He experienced renewal from the fountain of life.

Tuesday is a national day of prayer for reconciliation and healing.  Let us take this opportunity to renew our baptismal commitment.  With all these celebrations (this week)  we are impelled to revisit our own “vision in the kitchen” and like genuine messengers of God to respond with the sentiments of tomorrow’s responsorial psalm: “I will announce your justice in the vast assembly; I will not restrain my lips, as you, O Lord, know.” Further, with the words of the psalmist we pray: “I waited, waited for the Lord, and God stooped toward me and heard my cry. He put a new song into my mouth, a hymn to our God. “

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress
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The face of God on earth

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I believe that Jesus Christ,
the unique son of God,
is the face of God
on earth
in whom we see best
the divine justice,
divine mercy,
and divine compassion
to which we are all called.

Through Christ
we become new people,
called beyond
the consequences
of our brokenness
and lifted to the fullness of life.

By the power
of the Holy Spirit
he was born
of the woman Mary,
pure in soul
and single-hearted—
a sign to the ages
of the exalted place
of womankind
in the divine plan
of human salvation.

He grew as we grow
through all the stages of life.
He lived as we live
prey to the pressures of evil
and intent on the good.

He broke no bonds
with the world
to which he was bound.
He sinned not.
He never strayed
from the mind of God.

He showed us the Way,
lived it for us,
suffered from it,
and died because of it
so that we might live
with new heart, new mind,
and new strength
despite all the death
to which
we are daily subjected.

—edited from “A Creed,” In Search of Belief  by Joan Chittister
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The Waiting Begins

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4th Sunday of Advent

First Reading:  Isaiah 7:10-14                  Second Reading: Romans 1:1-7

Gospel: Matthew 1:18-24

Each night for the octave before Christmas which begins tonight, we ask Christ to come, calling him by a different title in the Magnificat Antiphon, familiarly called the O Antiphons”.  These antiphons were developed during the Church’s first centuries, soon used widely in monasteries and by the 8th century they were in use in both the monastic and the Roman breviary (Divine Office).   They were originally in Latin and traditionally chanted. The O Antiphons are also used with the Alleluia for the Gospel Verse at Mass. The last one is sung at the Evening Office on December 23rd – there isn’t one for the evening service for Dec 24th because that is already the vigil of Christmas, so we are no longer waiting.

An interesting note that is not apparent in English, but it can be seen clearly in the Latin. Sometimes you see the phrase ERO CRAS on banners or cards listing the O Antiphons in Latin because if we take the first letter of each Latin title for Christ and write them in backwards order, we get “ERO CRAS, a Latin phrase that means “Tomorrow, I will Come.” Before tomorrow does come, Let’s take a stroll along the path of the O Antiphons …

O Wisdom!   Sirach (24:3) says:  “From the mouth of the Most High I came forth, and like mist covered the earth”.  Wisdom “reaches from end to end mightily and governs all things well”.  Wisdom is the foundation of fear of the Lord, of holiness, or right living: it is wisdom whom we bid to come to teach us prudence.

 

O Adonai and Ruler of the House of Israel! In Exodus (6:6) we read: “I will rescue you by my outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment”. With this second antiphon we progress from creation to the familiar story of God manifesting himself by name to Moses and giving his law to Israel as their way of life.

 

O Root of Jesse!  Isaiah (52:13-15) prophesied the restoration of David’s throne – a new branch budding out of the old root. Christ is the root of Jesse in a two-fold sense: he is the descendant of David, who was the youngest son of Jesse, and he inherited the royal throne.  The angel foretold to Mary, “The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father.”

 

 Key of David  Isaiah (22:22) makes a prophecy: “I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder. When he opens, no one shall shut; when he shuts, no one shall open.”  The key and scepter are traditional symbols of kingly power and authority. Jesus shared his authority when He entrusted the power to “bind and to loose” to Peter and the ministers of his church. We look to Jesus to unlock the fetters of our shadow selves that keep us so tightly chained to bad habits and the stumbling blocks that impede our spiritual maturity.

 

O Rising Dawn!  Peter’s epistle echoes the sentiment of the prophet Malachi (2 Peter 1:19): “Keep your attention closely fixed on it, as you would on a lamp shining in a dark place, until the first streaks of dawn appear and the morning star rises in your heart”.  This title is variously translated “morning star”, “Dayspring”, “rising sun”, “radiant dawn”, “orient”.  All beautifully express the idea of light with its brightness bringing healing and warmth to cold hearts.  We pray this petition daily in the Benedictus: “the morning sun will rise upon us … guiding us in ways of peace.”

 

O King of the Gentiles and the Desired of all nations!  Thus says the prophet Isaiah: “Therefore, says the Lord God: See, I am laying a stone in Zion, a stone that has been tested, a precious cornerstone as a sure foundation”.  This sixth antiphon, in the words of Isaiah and Jeremiah, (Isaiah 28:16 and Jerimiah 10:7) clearly addresses the savior as the king of the gentiles and the Desired One of the nations, the cornerstone on whom our spiritual foundations are laid. We call on Christ to once again breathe new life into us.

 

O Emmanuel!   In this the seventh antiphon, we are reassured by the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 7:14): “The Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel”.  With this last antiphon our expectation finds joy in the certainty of fulfillment.  We call Jesus by one of the most personal and intimate of his titles, Emmanuel, God-with-us.

Our Advent Scripture readings have been stressing the truth that Christ is the fulfillment not only of Old Testament hopes, but present ones as well. Our repeated use of the imperative “Come!” embodies the longing of all of us for the One who is to come in many ways – He came historically at Bethlehem in the fullness of time. He comes to us sacramentally.  He will come again at the end of time.  Christ comes to us also in the two-fold consecration of the Body and Blood of Christ and to us in Communion.  He comes in the words of Sacred Scripture and in the person of our confreres, our family and neighbors.  Christ comes in a special way through our corporate commitment actions – through the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.

In this final week of Advent we fix our attention on the messianic promises proclaimed by the ancient prophets.    The O Antiphons add a mood of eager expectation to the liturgy that builds throughout these seven days and climaxes at Christmas midnight Mass when the church sings: “I proclaim to you good news of great joy: today a Savior is born for us.”

~ Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress
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Advent – Guadete (Rejoice) Sunday

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This past week we celebrated some feasts that are frequently connected in our minds to the customs of Christmas time: St. Nicholas shoes, the Immaculate Conception of Mary, and next week we’ll honor our Lady of Guadalupe (roses in the snow) and St. Lucy, patron of the sight-limited and blind, with crowns of lit candles and cat cookies.  And, this weekend the liturgy says: “take a breather – we’re halfway to Christmas.”

Two figures, John the Baptist and Mary the Mother of God, stand out in the Advent Gospels as we prepare for Christ’s birth.  John’s purpose in preparing us for Christ is fourfold: to bring knowledge of salvation, to bring forgiveness of sins, to give light in the darkness, and to guide us in the way of peace.

First, John models for us simplicity.  He lived a simple life, keeping his focus on Christ in everything he did.  We, too, strive to keep our focus on the true purpose of Christmas – the celebration of the birth of our Lord – much more than gift-giving.

Second, John lived a life of fasting.  We too can make little sacrifices for others during Advent, thereby keeping the focus off of consumerism and placing it on relationships – with Christ and with others.

Third, John forgave others.  We too can make a commitment to forgive others this Advent.  In forgiveness therapy there is a belief that anger is due to a lack of forgiveness and a lack of forgiveness is due to anger.  The two feed off each other.  Thus, if you are feeling angry, practice forgiveness.  What a great time to offer the gift of forgiveness to a love one, a confrere, or a coworker.

Fourth, John lived a virtuous life.  We too can focus on increasing the positive in our lives and letting go of the negative. Following John’s lead is a great way to our lives peaceful.

The Blessed Virgin Mary is the other figure that prepares us for Christ’s birth.  Mary’s face in many sculptures, icons and images exemplifies the peace she must have exuded in her life.  Her peace came from putting Christ at the center of all she did.  Like Benedict says (in his Rule): put nothing whatever ahead of Christ.”  Mary’s “yes” was the ultimate gift she could give and she offered it peacefully.

We ask ourselves: what is my best?  What can I give to God this advent season?

This story, told in this month’s Catholic Digest illustrates the lesson that God cannot not be undone is generosity.  I quote:  When I was a child, my parents would have my siblings and me create a list of Christmas gifts we wanted that year.  Then, they would find children in need who were the same age and gender as we were.  My parents then asked us to give our No. 1 item to that child and cross it off our list.  It was a huge sacrifice for us – and a lesson in giving our best to God.

One year my brother wanted an action figure and was very upset that he was being asked to give that same action figure to another boy who had very few, if any, toys.  He balked at giving this best and did it only reluctantly that year.  Once it was gone, he knew it was off his list for the year, at least from my parents.  However, our aunt, not knowing our family practice, or what my brother’s best gift was and that he had given it away, gave him that same action figure for Christmas.  The joy on his face was radiant, as he exclaimed: “I’m giving God my best gift every year!”

What is your best give?  Just like the Blessed Virgin Mary, what can you give to Christ this year, knowing that the reward for giving is beautiful?

In tomorrow’s Entrance Antiphon (from Paul to the Philippians)  the Church exhorts us: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice!”  The antiphon reminds me of a hymn made popular by S. Miriam Therese Winter, with her peppy guitar rendition of “God Loves a Cheerful Giver.”  You may remember it – if so, sing:

God loves a cheerful giver, give it all you’ve got,
He loves to hear you singing when you’re in an awkward spot,
When the odds are up against you,
It’s time to stop and sing – Praise God,
to praise Him is a joyous thing!

Do what the church says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.”

(Disclaimer: in this reflection, I’ve borrowed a good bit from an article in this month’s Catholic Digest “Creating Advent Peace in Your Life” by Lisa Kiewicki)
~Relection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress
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