Benedictine Sisters of FL

Holy Name Monastery
Founded 1889

Jesus

Third Sunday of Lent

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The Choice is Ours

 

One day, a week or so after the “big storm,” I saw the Master Gardener in our gardens.  Have you met Him?  This day He seemed to be assessing the damage Milton had reeked on our plant life.  Like the fig tree in Luke’s story, our plants, our Laudato Si Aquaponic Gardens and the “hobby gardens” were about to get a reprieve.  Insurance money gifted us with the wherewithal to rebuild the Hydro/aquaponic operation. And if you look closely, you can see plants that appeared to have been cut off at the root, are beginning to sprout ever so tiny green leaves peeking through the churned up soil.

Did you know Jesus was quite a gardener Himself?  Artists often depict Him with His foster father Joseph in a carpenter’s workshop.  But He also spent time with Mary, His mother, learning the art of cultivation of plants.  What cultivation skills did we learn under our mother’s watchful eye?  It may not have been working in a garden, but someone in our life showed us how to coax maturity to signs of new life.

The Gospel is asking us to take a good look at ourselves.  The tree in the parable is showing signs of life but it bears no fruit.  We ask ourselves: Is that me?  Am I barely managing to “hang in there?”   Am I being called to more than that? Yes, God has higher hopes for each of us, if we will but give grace a chance.

For instance, we can ask ourselves:

  • How do I relate with those I reside with? With outsiders?  Is my presence a positive element or do I fall into the negativity trap?  Do I pass judgment without giving God credit for knowing the whole story?
  • Am I a good or sour influence within my community (or my family circle)?
  • What is my attitude towards people I do not know or who aren’t “useful” to me?
  • What kind of contribution (including being physically present) do I make to the life of this community?
  • In general, what kind of contribution do I make to our community and beyond?  What COULD I be doing?

Pope Francis has reminded us more than once of something we know deep down – but sometimes, especially in the midst of trouble, we tend to forget.  He says: “There are no situations we cannot get out of.  We are not condemned to sink into quicksand where the more we move the deeper we sink.  Jesus is always there, his hand extended, ready to reach out to us and pull us up out of the mud, out of sin, out of the abyss into which we have stumbled.

The barren fig tree in Jesus’ story is given a reprieve.  It is allowed another chance to respond favorably and to produce fruit.  Every Lenten season offers us a chance to fertilize our tree, the tree which is our life, and to see how it can be more fruitful.

We need to realize love is only fully completed in us when we become a genuinely loving and caring person; one who loves both God and others in word and action.  We have the choice to open ourselves and come closer to God, to experience the gift of LOVE personified in Jesus. The choice is up to us. God’s love is there for the taking.  What are you, what are we waiting for?

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

 

First Reading:   Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15       Second Reading:  1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12
Gospel:   Luke 13:1-8
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Second Sunday of Lent

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“Jesus took Peter, James and his brother John off by themselves and led hem up a high mountain.”  This transfiguration account appears just after Jesus has reminded the disciples, “Whoever loses your life for My sake, and the gospel – will save your life. Jesus lets these remarks soak in and take root for six days before he sets off up the mountain with Peter, James and John in tow.

The story (I believe) calls each one of us to examine what mountains we have yet to climb to see God’s glory.  We could apply the story to death or a near-death experience, but if we do that, we miss the everyday mountains that we must scale.  Call those mountains what you will, we must climb them to witness God’s glory: hurdles, challenges, enticing temptations, near occasions of sin, quirks of personality, Lenten resolutions, pet peeves…   They can be like a grain of sand inside your shoe.  Other times, they may feel like huge boulders that we need a backhoe to lever inch by inch.  Everyone’s mountain is different. To witness God’s glory, we must each climb our own “mountains”.

As we become aware that we are nearing a mountaintop, we must relax take a breather, yes, but with our spirit-eyes open to see God’s glory.  Stay alert, careful not to misread the signs; have the insight to know that we are at the top.  Gaze on the God of the Revelation.  In awe we may wonder: Why did God choose me?  Why does God love me so much?

What causes us to miss the “small miracles”, the “everyday transfigurations”?  The “Emmaus” moments along the path to Life? Gently remind yourself, that Jesus and the disciples also went back down the mountain.  Thank God when you get to top and do not be distracted with worry over “what’s going to happen next?”

Jesus did not become “more God” that day on the mountain.  It seems to me the change was not so much in Jesus, as it was in the disciples.  They were ready.  They had climbed the mountain.   And their eyes were open to witness the miracle of the moment.   What are those moments in your life?  Maybe it happens at the Consecration of the Mass or when you look across the dining table or at confreres across the aisle in chapel.

God is already there; is right here NOW.   Jesus invites us to go up the mountain with Him.  He leads the way.  We must open our awareness to witness the transfiguration. God reveals the Son little by little to those who take the time and interest to stay with him.  When we follow His lead, stay with the experience, do what it takes to build our relationship, foster life with the Other; in essence we live out our vow of stability; our promise of “stick-to-tive-ness.

 

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

 

First Reading:   Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18        Second Reading:  Philippians 3:17-4:1
Gospel:   Luke 9:28b-36

 

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First Sunday of Lent

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We all think we understand what temptation is.  Imagine this: there’s a little boy in a grocery store who walks by an open pack of chocolate-peanut butter cookies. A clerk notices him eye the cookies.  “Son, what are you doing there?” “Nothing,” replied the boy. “It looks to me like you’re trying to steal a cookie.” “No,” said the boy, “I’m trying not to.”  That’s temptation!

We understand that temptation leads to trouble.  Such was the plight of the man that I read about in Reader’s Digest. The man told this on himself.  He was shopping with his wife in the mall when a shapely young woman in a short, form-fitting dress walked by.  He followed her with his eyes.  Without looking up from the item she was examining his wife asked, “Was it worth the trouble you are in?”  That’s the trouble with temptation!

How many of us have shrugged and said, “The devil made me do it!” and used that as an excuse when caught doing something we weren’t supposed to?  It’s a convenient defense.  But there’s one problem: the devil can’t MAKE us do anything.  He may be clever, but he’s not all powerful.  It may feel that way, however, when we’re dangling on temptation’s hook, because the devil has a tried and true strategy for luring us into his net.  First, he lays out the bait like a skilled fisherman.  The devil has been following our clues and noting our habits and social media hangouts.  Then  a custom-made lure appears right in front of our noses.

Now comes the appeal.  We can’t be made to bite, but you know what happens when we catch a glimpse of the tantalizing bait like (maybe a snapshot promo on TV).  We’re drawn in, we linger over it. We toy with the idea and roll it over in our minds until it consumes our imagination.  We just HAVE to know what the gossip tidbit was we overheard.  Now the struggle really begins.  Our conscience jabs us in the ribs, the red flags go up, the warning sirens go off but that invitation looks so delightful.  What do we do?

Notice how Luke ends his report – the devil departed for a time. We know what happened to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. The depth of Jesus’ trust in God is shown most fully when He rejects the temptation to turn away from his God-given mission.  Christ let Satan make us of all his evil conniving forces and defeated him at every angle until the devil got discouraged and left “for a time.”

Benedict knew this dynamic, didn’t he?  Remember in chapter 43 where he warns if the monastic comes late for chapel?!  Even though ashamed, she should still come inside lest she be tempted to return to bed and sleep, or worse, settle down outside and engage in idle talk, thereby giving occasion to the Evil One.  Latecomers should come inside so that they will not lose everything and may amend in the future.  Either we will resist or yield. We will swim away or swallow the temptation whole.  When you give in you know the feeling of emptiness and the pain that sticks in your throat or gut.  But, be alert when you do resist – be ready for the temptation to come from a different direction.  However, when you do resist you will know a feeling of blessed freedom.

You may have learned this little ditty of a prayer as a child.  It’s still a good one for nightly protection. I liken it to a child’s compline (evening prayer).

“Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
Bless this bed that I lie on.
Before I close my eyes in sleep,
I give my soul to Christ to keep.

Four corners to my bed,
Four angels ’round my head,
One to watch, one to pray,
And two to bear my soul away.

I go by sea, I go by land,
The Lord made me with his right hand,
If any danger come to me,
Sweet Jesus Christ, deliver me.

You are the branch, I am the flower,
I pray God send me a happy hour,

And if I die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

May you each have a spirituality enriching LENT 2025 experience! 

 

 

First Reading:   Deuteronomy 26:4-10         Second Reading:  Romans 10:8-13
Gospel:   Luke 4:1-13

 

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Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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This Sunday can fall either before Lent or after the Easter season, so it is not often celebrated.

THE GOSPEL IS A STRONG CHALLENGE to the lifestyle that prevails in most of our cities in the so-called developed world.  Jesus puts it bluntly: “You cannot at the same time be the slave of God and “mammon.” What Matthew is pointing out is that since human beings are not self-sufficient, we are dependent on something outside ourselves. It should be God, not the material goods we own.  Matthew concludes by reminding us to use our “one day at a time” confidence and remember that we are in God’s loving care. The graces we need will be there when we need them.  We can’t stock-pile graces for a rainy day.

What is in question is our attitude towards “things.”  Lent is a good time to review  the contents of our closets and other possessions.  Jesus is teaching us that our only real security is total trust in God.  We have to make a choice between God’s vision of life and a preoccupation with possessions. That involves different goals and visions of what is most important in life.  We can wear a veneer of Christian practice, but it won’t penetrate below the surface of our skin.

Jesus preaches something akin to “holy indifference” toward material goods. It should be obvious that some material things — like food and clothing and shelter — are necessary for daily living and everyone has a right to have these things.  The attitude of ‘holy indifference’ is not to be confused with an attitude of not caring about anyone or anything.   On the contrary, a person who practices holy indifference cares much and deeply and says ‘yes’ only to what is needed.

In the ordinary run of things, worry is a waste of time and psychic energy because it’s all about being uneasy about what might happen and will probably never happen. (Father) Tony de Mello quotes the Buddhist axiom: “Why worry?  If you don’t worry, you die; if you do worry, you die.  So, why worry?”    Fr. Tony continues: “Be yourself.  Be here.  Be now.”  God has provided you with everything you need right now to be happy.”  Our lives would be transformed if only we could really take Jesus’ advice: “Do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself.”

If you tend to be a worrywart, Jesus has a remedy for you.  He says, look at the birds of the air and the flowers in the field.  They do nothing except be themselves and God takes care of them.  People are often so busy regretting the past or fretting about what MIGHT BE in the future that they can’t enjoy life.

Sounds so logical but you and I both know that everyone here worries about something. Some of us probably only worry every now and then. Some of us could win the prize for the world’s “expert worrier”. If we find ourselves with nothing to worry about, we worry that there’s nothing to worry about… so we worry until we figure out what that “nothing” is.  Right?

You know, worry is almost always about assuming control over things.  That’s a control that God never meant for us to have. Assuming control for the future is just not part of what we’re designed to do. Jesus says, “Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?”   We don’t have that kind of power.   But we can come into the peace of “the birds of the air and the flowers of the fields” when we are content with just being a human being and stop trying to be God.  “Let go, let God!”  This Gospel lesson reminds us that we are called to trust in God who knows what we need and when we need it.  We are called to believe that God will give it to us, when we need it.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

Prepare ye that way for the good Lenten experience.

God bless!

 

 

First Reading:   Isaiah 49:14-15         Second Reading:  1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Gospel:   Matthew 6:24-34
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Give to everyone that asks.

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We live in a society that seems to have forgotten much of this Gospel message.  Children come to believe there is a trophy for every event in life.   They have forgotten – if they ever knew – the thrill of running for the sheer joy of feeling the wind on their faces, a hug from a parent – a loving squeeze without words that conveys, “I am so proud of you!”

All-too-quickly many lose (and sadly never rediscover) the warm, fuzzy feelings of self-satisfaction that was once a natural reaction to success  – that gleeful, almost smug smile the first time they stood alone, took their first step… when for the first time, to the consternation of the adults, they opened a child-proof container, hammered the first nail into mom’s precious table or exhibited their wonderful drawing with indelible pen on the living room wall…no one could be prouder of an achievement!

School children vie with each other to make donations to a collective cause.   Why?  Because they are learning the virtue of mercy?   Or because they get a “free dress” day at school?

Jesus tells us: Give to everyone who asks; treat others as you’d like to be treated; don’t take back what you gave as gift; give God the credit due for the generous urges you feel toward others and the charitable thoughts that squelch the unkind words that try to spring thoughtlessly past our lips.

Jesus advises us: Give your cloak AND your tunic – not just your warm coat (since you have another at home) but also the shirt off your back.  Today Jesus might challenge us – Why is your closet stuffed with blouses you haven’t worn since before you lost weight – or gained it?  It is quite unlikely you’ll never wear them again.  But what about that DAYSTAR customer, or that lady from the Sunrise women’s shelter who is going for a job interview?  Your blouse would fit her perfectly and add an ounce of confidence to her self-esteem.

Jesus reminds us, when we invite company for a meal not to wait for a return dinner date.  Don’t ask: whose turn is it to pick up the tab this time? He says to lend freely without expectation of repayment.  And when you respond generously to the impulse to do good – what caused that desire to arise?   Be slow to assume it is due to anything you have done.  Remember Jesus says “even sinners lend to their own kind.”  Give, and gifts will be given to you – in good measure, tamped down, packed tight, so your vessel can hold every tiny possible grain of blessing – full to overflowing – spilling over into your life and influencing all around you.

But there is a condition – if you are stingy, stinginess will be yours.  But, If you give without measure, generosity will be yours.  So how will you measure your kindness – by the teaspoon, tablespoon or a cupful?  By the minute, by the hour it might take you?  You know that you have 24 hours in a day.  That’s a 168 hours each week, (true not all are waking hours). That’s time in excess of 8,000 hours a year!  How flexible will you be with these God-given hours?  Will you respond to an imposition on your time – Now?  Tomorrow?  Next week?  Or with a prayer that the request will be forgotten?  Or will you give with open hands and heart – freely, without measure?  Jesus promises us: “the measure with which you measure, it will in turn be measured out to you.”

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

 

 

First Reading:   1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23         Second Reading:  1 Corinthians 15:45-49
Gospel:   Luke 6:27-38
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Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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What Luke shares with us in this Gospel is a good example of how Jesus models the saying: actions speak louder than words.

If you will picture this with me –  Put yourself in the scene.

It’s midmorning.  Jesus is meditatively strolling at the water’s edge.   I suspect He may have been virtually unaware that people were beginning to trail him.  The crowd is swelling.  This causes Jesus to edge closer to the advancing waves of the changing tide.  The eagerness of the crowd is palpable in the air – just to hear a word from Jesus.   He turns to face the crowd, putting his back to the water.  The scene causes him to draw a breath and take a step backward.  Now the waters are lapping above his ankles.  He spies a couple fishing boats; one belonging to his friend Simon.  He presumes permission to step in.   And what does He do?   Remember last week’s lesson?  HE SITS TO TEACH.   As the crowd is settling down, He looks around at the empty boats and thinks “What a pity!  The fish are right there.  But they didn’t take a nibble.  Let’s fix that.”

Now, these boatmen have spent all night fishing without success.  They are tired, discouraged, disheartened.  And so far their morning has been spent prudently cleaning their nets lest the debris they did manage to trawl would rot and get too smelly to attract any fish tomorrow.

We don’t know what Jesus taught from the boat that morning; Luke did not have any first-hand experience to share. What we do know is what Luke heard from those who were there.  He tells us that Jesus surprised Simon and his buddies telling them to “put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”  Can’t you just hear Simon draw a vexed breath?  He’s professional fisherman; learned the trade from his father and grandfather. “Come on, Jesus.  We’ve worked all night but have caught nothing.”  You know the feeling.  How often have you said (or at least thought) we’ve tried that before?  But Peter pauses.  Maybe makes eye contact with Jesus.  Mmmm.  “Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.”

That’s the operative sentiment.  “If you say so, I will let down the nets.”   The boats was suddenly, miraculously full of fish so that they begin to sink.  And this after a long night of frustration – not a single fish to show for their efforts.  Amazement struck them.  Peter, (and maybe the others, we don’t know,) fell to his knees and begged Jesus, “Get away from me – I am a sinful man!”

Ah, sweet Jesus!  We know what Jesus said.  He’s said it to us more than once.  “Do not be afraid.”  As he counsels Peter He uses a word that in Greek means: “to catch alive.”  He’s caught Peter alive with yearning.  Ripe for his new vocation, a new mission that He’s about to offer. “From now on you will be catching people.”  We turn now to the words from Isaiah in the First Reading: “God touched my mouth [in Peter’s case in today’s Gospel – “touched your nets, your labor.”  God, the Lord, continues: “See, now that this has touched you, your wickedness is removed.”  Then God asks – invites, challenges – “Whom shall I send?  Who will go?”

With Peter – and so many, many others who’ve followed through the years, we answer: “Here I am, send me!”  We add the words of Psalm 138: “When I called, you answered.  You built up strength with in me.  Your right hand saved me.  You will complete what You have done for me.  Your kindness endures forever.”

“When the fisherman brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.”  Your life, the life of each of us, tells the rest of the story.  But it leaves us with a question.  “How can we catch people?  What waters do we have to wade out into?  What are the nets we can lower?”  One thing we know for certain.  We know we want to keep Jesus on our side of the boat.  Seems to me this is pretty much the question Pope Francis and our Bishop Parkes is dangling as a challenge to us.  What bait will we put on the hook?  Or what kind of net will we lower?  How will we live out our Benedictine charism of prayer, hospitality and stability in community?

An answer lies in today’s Gospel: live it – be it – do it … that’s the bait.  Now, invite others to “lower their nets” and let’s break bread together.”

 ~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

Happy Feast Day to us – and Benedictines world-wide! 

On February 10th we celebrate the feast of St. Scholastica, twin sister to St. Benedict.

 

First Reading:   Isaiah 6:1-2, 3-8         Second Reading:  1 Corinthians 15:3-8, 11
Gospel:   Luke 5:1-11
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