Benedictine Sisters of FL

Holy Name Monastery
Founded 1889

Jesus

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Have you ever had this the experience? You’ve composed an email and as you push “send” you have a flash of insight that you forgot a word or an idea but off it goes into cyberspace anyway.  If Peter lived today, he’d probably have quite a few of such experiences.  He is a prime example of the saying: “Open mouth, insert foot.”  He may have wished he’d heard what Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in his classic book, The Cost of Discipleship: “When Christ calls a man, he bids him to die.”

As with Peter, it’s probably a good thing we don’t know the bottom line when we sign on with Jesus.  We haven’t yet read all the fine print or it might literally scare us to death, or at least cause us to shrink or depart from his company.

It’s a good thing that we have become cynics when it comes to promises received in the mail or on the computer in spam mail.  Almost daily, some spam mailing assures us that we are the “lucky winner of one of several prizes.” All we need to do is contact them to identify our prize. Fortunately, we’ve learned that no matter how good the promises sound, they simply are not true.  Have any of you become the promised “Publisher’s House” mystery winner – and then heard them knocking at your door to televise your exuberant surprise?!

In order for you to more easily understand this “bottom line” business and the “fine print” concept, let’s imagine a contemporary, local situation.   Let’s say a local dairy farmer sees a TV ad for a great buy on a new pickup truck.  The ad promises deep discounts and unbelievable factory rebates. So, he decides to trade in his old clunker. He chooses a new model and was ready to write the check for the full amount. The salesman says, “Wait, wait I haven’t given you the final cost yet.” The farmer says, “Isn’t it the price I saw on TV?”  The salesman says, “Well, yes, but that’s for the basic model, all the options cost extra. After the options you’ve chosen are added, this is the price.”  The farmer really wanted that new truck – and anyway he’d gotten all his junk out of the old clunker.  So, the farmer reluctantly writes a check and drives off in his new pick-up.

A few months goes by.  That same car salesman calls on the farmer because he wants to buy a cow for his daughter’s 4-H project. The farmer assures the car salesman he has several good milk cows for sale for $500. The salesman drives out and selects a cow and takes out his checkbook. The farmer says, “Wait. I haven’t given you the final cost yet.” Then he hands the salesman a bill that reads:

BASIC MODEL COW          $500
Two-tone exterior                  $45
Extra stomach                        $75
Milk storage compartment     $60
Straw recycle compartment   $120
4 handy spigots  @  $10each  $40
Leather upholstery                  $125
Dual horns                               $45
Automatic rear fly swatter      $38
Natural fertilizer attachment $185
               GRAND TOTAL  $1,233

Sadly, many people are only interested in the basic model of Christian living. They want just enough to keep them out of hell without intruding on their fun. You won’t find the full cost of discipleship advertised in many places today. It doesn’t fill the pews in our churches or religious vocation programs.  Whether you’re buying cars or cows, it’s important to get to “the bottom line” even if we go into sticker shock when we discover the full cost.

Be assured by what Paul says in this weekend’s second reading: “I urge you to discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.”  We know what Jeremiah means in the first reading when he says: “God’s word becomes like fire burning in my heart; I grow weary holding it in.”  That’s our bottom line.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

 

First Reading:   Jeremiah 20:7-9         Second Reading:  Romans 12:1-2
Gospel:   Matthew 16:21-27
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Who Do You Say That I Am?

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“Who do you say that I am?”  If we finally figure out who Jesus is, He strictly orders us in the next breath, “Tell no one I am the Christ.”   But if we can’t tell anyone, what’re we supposed to do with that long sought-after revelation?

May I suggest: Rest comfortably in Jesus’ presence and turn his question back on him: Who do YOU say that I am?  Why do you love me so much? On an occasion when I did this, an answer came slowly: “Because you’re always there.”  Now my challenge is to figure out how to “always be there.”  Be where?  How do I remain comfortable and at the same time alert to Jesus’ presence in others?  I’ve concluded that the operative part in Jesus’ command is “not tell.”  We’re not meant to tell others what or who to believe in so much as to be a model that reveals more than words can say.  We must let our lives be a “show and tell” of mutual love and respect, of deference to each other.  We must “keep our doors figuratively and literally open to others i.e. to be a “flesh and blood” model of as we build community and maintain a balance in our communal and personal lives of prayer and work, art and music and poetry.

A living example of how “give and take” is part of life-long learning and nurtures our love for each other in spite of – no, because it causes us to see our own shadow side.  Our sunlit side shows itself in modulated and friendly laughter, in our expressions of gratitude with a simple phrase like “thank you”, and in our hospitality and sharing.  It shows in our gentle determination to be Christ-like AND to BE Christ to others.  The tenor of our voice in our exchanges, our harmony in prayer and song, our attentive awareness to join the pace of our liturgy, our acknowledgement of Christ in the other when we pass in the hallways – all this “tells” who our Beloved model is.

And, you know what it takes to DO and BE this.  That’s the answer to the question Jesus asks: “Who do YOU say that I am?”  It takes close familiarity with WHO Jesus is.  You’ve probably heard the expression “familiarity breeds contempt.”  But the opposite is true for those who seek to know Jesus – really to know anyone.  Time spent in Jesus’ company – in the company of our companions – fosters intimacy, closeness and an ease in each other’s company.  It’s true, too, for all who seek to build a relationship with another person or persons in community.  It’s a powerful realization when we stop to think that each one of us is responsible for the community we create.

I’d like to relate one of the many stories Monsignor Cummings (1918-2020) shared with me in his later years.  I’d first met “Father George” in 1949 as a youngster at Good Counsel Camp.  This story was also quoted at his funeral.  It serves to remind all of us of what it takes to be a loyal follower, an imitator of Christ – a true servant.

When Msgr was around 50 years a priest, (this true story goes) a young intern at Good Counsel Camp asked Fr. George: “When did you decide to become a priest?”  Without skipping a beat, Cummings answered: “This morning.”  He added as aside, “Every day I wake up and I recommit myself, to serving as a priest.”

That’s a true vocation story!  Each and every day, we hear Jesus ask: “Who do you say that I am?”  Whatever our response, He cautions: “Tell no one I am the Christ.”   “Rather, my friend, recommit yourself to be my instrument of peace in your community, your family, your social group who, in turn, together will be a living example of a “peaceable kingdom” to all who witness your way of life, and your living.  “For where God has placed you, that is your pulpit.”

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 AN AFTERTHOUGHT …  On Friday we had a reading that (I believe) is An answer given long before Jesus walked on earth. The reading is from Deuteronomy 6:4-9.  Ponder it for yourself.  

 

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, and with our whole being, and with your whole strength.  Take to heart these words which I command you today. Keep repeating them to your children.  Recite them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie and when you get up.  Bind them on your arm as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead.  Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.”

We, Benedictine Sisters of Holy Name Monastery, have a ring that binds our finger and on many days the Sisters wear a “pendant” – a metal of our founder, St. Benedict.   And in most of the Sisters’ rooms, somewhere you will find “writing on the walls” – family photos, favorites paintings, calligraphy hand-printed quotes that we can see “when we lie and when we get up.”

 

 

 

 

First Reading:   Isaiah 22:19-23         Second Reading:  Romans 17:33-36
Gospel:   Matthew 16:13-20
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Let it be done for you as you wish.

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Today we are with Jesus when he meets a distraught woman with a special needs child. Maybe you have seen her, too, at the local Publix or Walmart or you might remember the parent of a child in your school, or the child of a relative in your family or someone you’ve seen shopping at Daystar.   This is a mixed-race woman, a foreigner.  Her family has disowned her.   And when she told her boyfriend she was pregnant he fled.

But she is a determined, courageous woman who has survived as a single mother.   When her daughter began having seizures, gossipy opinions surfaced: “She deserves what she gets. See what happens when you make the kind of decisions she’s made.”  On top of that she is a woman in a society in which women have no real value or standing.

Now, she is out of options.  She’s heard that a Jewish miracle-worker is passing through the area. Maybe, just maybe, this Jesus is the answer to her prayers.  At first Jesus appears to be ignoring her. The disciples ask Jesus to send her away, and Jesus seems to agree, remarking that he was sent to minister to Jews alone.

She’s already endured a series of obstacles that would threaten the best of us. She can’t believe what she’s hearing.  Is Jesus being rude to her?   Did he really refer to her using a Jewish word of derision for Gentiles, “dog”?  Listen as the woman cleverly turns Jesus’ own words against him.  “Even the dogs eat the scraps.”  Only then does Jesus grant her request and heal her daughter.

Let’s consider why Jesus would lead this mother through a humbling process in order to grant her request.  Could it be that Jesus used this encounter to help her develop a deep courageous faith that would sustain her for the rest of her life?  Don’t miss the lesson that she praised Jesus in the midst of her pain.  Notice that she referred to Jesus as Lord, acknowledging that He is worthy of praise.  She is obviously a very humble woman.  But never confuse humility with weakness. Pride would have been offended by the “dog” comment. And pride would have gone away empty; without a miracle; without a healthy, whole child.

It’s a nice story but what does it teach us?  Here we have lessons in skilled, reverent, peaceful confrontation; tenacity, humility and focus on the important matter for winning a hearing.  Heeding the example of the Canaanite woman we must come to stand before God, united in our plea for an end to racism and violence; for peace in our world, for calmness to conquer brashness, humility to counter pride and persistence to win out over discouragement.

There is a tale told about former President Andrew Jackson.  His former childhood friends were reminiscing about their childhood with Andy and expressing surprise at how successful he’d become considering all his flaws.  They recalled that whenever they wrestled, the class bully would throw Andy three times out of four.   A listener asked: “What happened on the fourth time?”  Andy’s friend spoke up: “I guess that was Andy’s secret. He just wouldn’t stay “throwed.”

As Andy and the Canaanite woman teach us: if life circumstances throw you down, don’t stay “throwed.”  You’ve heard it said that Benedictine community life is a series of beginnings. Like those bottom-weighted good-luck dolls, we just keep bouncing upright.  As one author puts it: we fall down and we get up.  Or as the saying goes: seven times down; eight times up.  So let us stand firm in praying for peace that we may hear the same response Jesus gave to the Canaanite woman: “Great is your faith!  Let it be done for you as you wish.”

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

 

First Reading:   Isaiah 56:1, 6-7         Second Reading:  Romans 11:13-15; 29-32
Gospel:   Matthew 15:21-28
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19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Imagine it is the fourth hour of the night, between 3 to 6 a.m. The sun is just beginning to peek over the horizon.  If Father John is in his usual breakfast place, he’s on the porch sipping English tea and pondering his homily for the Sisters’ Mass as he observes the rising sun coming up.  He might take a photo if the sky is beautifully lit up.

Let’s return to Jesus’ story.  Earlier, He had shepherded his disciples into a boat and pushed them further out into the lake.  Jesus himself headed toward one of his favorite places for solitude, up the hillside by himself. Out on the lake, until a few minutes ago, everyone in the boat had been asleep or in that twilight state between sleep and alertness, that brief moment when you’re not quite sure if you’re awake or dreaming.  Suddenly, the rocking of the boat shook them all awake.  Gasping for air they shouted to each other: “Where’s Jesus?”

Then Peter spied Jesus in the mist and heard “Come!” At Jesus’ beckoning, Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.  As long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, his feet found steady grounding even in the churning sea.  It’s difficult, isn’t it, to keep your eyes on the goal when there is a whirlwind swirling around you.  But remember, as long as we keep our eyes focused on Jesus, on our overall goal, and on each other, we’ll stay afloat with a tangible sense of peace.

Now, don’t disregard the fact that it was early dawn when Jesus came toward his disciples walking on the water.  You may have to squint until your eyes adjust to the darkness to make out clearly your surroundings.  But listen!  It’s not a ghost.  There is a whisper that, strange as it seems, is booming over the sound of the threatening waves of the storms in life: “Do not be afraid.  It is I.”

Jesus is reaching out a hand toward us, but it will fall empty to his side if we do not reach out in return.  Jesus, in the person of our donors, reaches out with eager hands to help us.  For the gift to be received we simply have to grasp their hands in ours in acceptance of their generosity.  We strive to respond without fear when we see them walking on the water toward us with their gift of self.  Like impulsive Peter, we speak up: “If that is really you, Lord, command me to come to you on the water.”

At this point in our lives, that moment has come as we move into American House.  We’ve left behind the safety and security of the known at the monastery building. We’ve stepped into the realm of the unknown. We must be willing to trust our life to our God’s care. It’s difficult to leave our safety nets.  We worked hard to insulate ourselves from the danger of failure.  The threat of the unknown can be paralyzing.  It’s pretty comfortable in the boat we’ve constructed. It’s not fancy but we have everything we need. Then God invites us to step out of our boat and venture into an unknown future.

Jesus repeats, “Come.”  Why did Jesus not go to Peter; why did he beckon him to “come”?   That’s the lesson for us.  We can’t sit, as they say, on our laurels, in our boat and do nothing.  When the storms of life are blowing all around us, Jesus says: COME.   Like a parent coaxing an infant to take a first step or like Elijah in the First Reading, you’ll hear a tiny whispering sound: COME! Come apart and rest in Me.  I am always within reach.  Grab that life jacket or that raft or an inner tube and get those arms and legs moving.  SWIM!  Pray, yes, but don’t forget to paddle, swim or row.  Take your time if you need to; catch your breath.  And don’t worry about calming the storm; Jesus promises “I’ll take care of that.  You just calm yourself.  Look around.  You will spot me in the mist, beckoning to you: COME!”

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

 

 

 

First Reading:   1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13         Second Reading:  Romans 9:1-5
Gospel:   Matthew 14:22-33
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18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Did you know this is the only story that is mentioned by all four gospel writers?  Jesus performs this same miracle on two separate occasions.   And, you know the story well: Jesus takes His disciples out into a deserted place, a place of human loneliness, hunger, and thirst. Hungry and thirsty people follow Him out there. When the day is getting long, His disciples tell Him the obvious. “They are hungry.” Jesus responds, “Feed them yourselves.”  This is the same thing He is telling us.  We are likely to reply, as did His disciples, “All we’ve got are five measly barley loaves and two fish. What good is that in the face of all that has to be done?”

Recently while channel surfing I saw a preacher-looking person writing on a white board.  I paused to see what would appear. There it was: today’s lesson!  “Faith is taking God at His word.”  That’s what happened here, isn’t it? Jesus said, “Feed them yourselves” and they did that with trust.  That took faith!  Would we have done the same or would we have figured there’s not enough for everyone so let’s not start a frenzy!?  The disciples and their helpers trusted that they would not be embarrassed by scarcity.  Pope Francis reminded us: “In the desert (where this crowd was gathered) people of faith are needed who, by the example of their own lives, keep hope alive.”  Hope rose as those baskets fed family after family.   Did the people realize how little food was in the baskets when they started?  Was the miracle that faith moved everyone who had even a smidgen of food to share it with their neighbors?   Is that why five loaves and two fish became a banquet with 12 baskets for another day?

Today we live among material progress beyond anything that our deceased Sisters and our parents could ever have imagined. But spiritually people hunger and thirst.  This is the situation that prompts our Corporate Commitment: to respond to the physical, spiritual, social and emotional hungers of the people of God.

And we pledge to do just this with the compassion of Christ.  That’s a tall order.   If we are to have something to share, we must also take seriously God’s invitation to be fed by Him, especially in the Eucharistic feast.  We can only fill the hungry crowd if we seek the Lord in Lectio, communal prayer and quiet times of reflection and conversation with the One we pledge to imitate.

We are moved to ask ourselves: “What really sustains me? What is my true sustenance?  Or, am I living in a state of spiritual starvation?”  If that is the case we will come up clueless when we ask ourselves, “What can I do to relieve others’ hungers?”  As the saying goes: you can’t give what you ain’t got!

Imagine yourself seated on the grass that day as a witness of the miracle where over 5,000 were fed from food barely enough for one. If you received physical sustenance from that bread that had been miraculously changed by Jesus, would you ever be the same again? Could you ever eat any meal in the same way ever again?

Rest assured: when we reach out in trust it is Jesus who does the feeding. All we have to do is share His food – His tender loving mercies, His presence, and His love.  You see, Jesus is not really saying – you do it all by your lonesome.  Instead, Jesus is saying: “Let’s do it together!”  When we look at needs and situations around us, we might be overwhelmed – but we need to count Jesus in equation.  (Our limited resources) plus (JESUS) divided by (the world’s great needs) equals A MIRACLE!  Maybe when it comes to ordering our spiritual food we shouldn’t hesitate to say, “Yeah…supersize me.”

My friend tells this story:  one day – while walking into the Dade City hospital main entrance – a mother and her young daughter were ahead of him. Just before they got to the entrance, the little girl noticed the closed door and asked her mother how they were going to get inside. The mother smiled – walked forward – the electronic eye opened the door and they walked in. The little girl turned to the next person and said: “It’s ok – just step up and a miracle will happen.”   Jesus says that same thing to us – “It’s ok – step forward in faith – the door will open – and a miracle will happen!”  The crowd will be satisfied and there will be leftovers for another day, for the next crowd of hungry people who approach you.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

 

 

First Reading:   Isaiah 55:1-3         Second Reading:  Romans 8:35, 37-39
Gospel:   Matthew 14:13-21
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16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Jesus tells a second parable about sowing seeds, This time it’s about two sowers — one who sows good seed to grow wheat, and the enemy who sows weeds among the wheat. What strikes me is the line that says: “Jesus proposes in the parable: the sower went out and sowed a field.  This Parable seems fitting for us at this time when four of our Sisters will be moving to a new location.  This will offer us a new field to sow the seeds of Benedictine values among the residents at American House Assisted Living facility.

A bit of botany is helpful in understanding Jesus’ parable as Matthew interprets it for us.  He uses the Greek term zizania, which in modern botanical terms, refers to a noxious weed that closely resembles wheat. The difference is that real wheat is heavy while the ears of the darnel stand up straight.

When the householder’s slaves notice those up-right weeds, their first response is to question the quality of the seed.  The master defends himself: No, No! An Enemy must have mixed in some bad seed! The farmhands are anxious to uproot the nasty weeds. But the master restrains them explaining that when they gather the wheat they can sort out the nasty Zizanias.  He orders them to let both grow together until the harvest. Then he will send reapers to collect and burn the weeds and gather the wheat into his barn.

In telling this parable, Jesus holds out hope for those who stumble, even  those whom Jesus calls stumbling blocks.  We may consider overzealous “weeders” as stumbling blocks in our faith community. You know them: they are those who want to purify the community by rooting out the bad seed. They whip themselves into a weeding frenzy, certain that they know the difference between weeds and wheat, and that they know how to deal with the weeds!  But Jesus’ parable makes clear that any attempt to root out the weeds will only do more damage to the crop.

Thank God it is not up to us! We can leave the weeding and sorting to the angels, and get on with the mission Jesus has given us: Proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God with a Benedictine flavor.  That in all things God may be gloried.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

 

 

 

First Reading:   Wisdom 12:13, 16-19         Second Reading:  Romans 8:26-27
Gospel:   Matthew 13:24-43
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