Benedictine Sisters of FL

Holy Name Monastery
Founded 1889

Jesus

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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15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Jesus’ parables are moments of grace to ply open our heart’s willingness to surrender to, and be enveloped in, the always surprising generosity of God.

Here on our property, when we look out the windows we can see the greenhouse protecting the tilapia.  After months of growth they will eventually surrender themselves and be on our dinner table.  We can behold the life cycle of the hay field or blueberry patch and see first-hand in nature what Jesus’ is talking about. He extends the lesson to apply it to the human heart.  He reminds us that there are folks whose hearts are like cement.  It does not matter how much or how often seed is poured on these souls. Fertilize it, water it – nothing will cause those seeds to take root and sprout.  They (or we) can listen to church and TV sermons 24/7 and still remain unfazed.

Do you remember times you were like this …  not always … but a time or two when you just didn’t want to hear what God might have to say?

In contrast to the hardened-soil type person, the shallow-soil person is hyper-responsive to God’s word—but only for a wee tiny time. Like during a revival or a community retreat.   Be careful so you’re not temporary one of these ‘all in’ folks gobbling up every book or internet idea. At times you may be lucky enough to have the seed sink in and burst through the pavement of your heart.  But right away, birds or insects snatch the new growth so that it never comes to fruition.  It can’t survive the heat of the give and take of daily community life.

When were you like this?  Maybe in the novitiate … or the time in High School when the class made the senior retreat?  God was SO real to you … but God’s voice grew more faint as the days went by?  Remember those days?  You were so fervent.  But your fervor faded as time went by.

Then, there is a third type of soil – a thorny type – tightly entangled with the “thorns” “of the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches.” Matthew says these people are caught up in anxiety and get choked on the lure of the riches of the world that tug and yank at their minds and hearts until the seed suffocates, rendering them spiritually barren.

Was this ever the case in your life?  Times when you were just too distracted to cultivate God’s word? Times when several days went by without a pause for Lectio or healthy self-care?  Times when “thorny” remarks and obstinate behavior were your default mode?  That’s when God planted a general sense of dissatisfaction in the garden of your soul.

Oh, but how gratifying it must be to Jesus when He finds “good soil people” – when we share the time God’s has given us to meditate on the Word, let it penetrate and bear fruit – then we hold fast to the word making it our own.    Thus, we grow more Christ-like over time by absorbing and practicing the precepts of Benedict.  Over the years, as the seeds continue to take root and blossom, the fruits and gifts of the Spirit flourish.

One author describes Benedictine life: we fall down, and we get up as we ascend the ladder of humility.  We come not only to know, but to believe deep in our hearts that God can change hard, shallow, compromised patches of dirt into fertile garden soil.   We read in Ezekiel; “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

Some of us have, or have had, gardens. And all of us–whether we’re gardeners with a green thumb, or thumbs with only a tinge of green, or only a “wishful” thumb – or a thumb that only knows how to operate a TV remote or a computer mouse — all of us know the principle of planting: when we put a seed in the ground, we expect a plant to appear …  some may even think it will sprout with a flower already on it. We also know that not all seeds will produce full-grown plants. They just don’t, for a variety of reasons.

We don’t have to ever coddled a plant in order to know the different landscapes of which Jesus speaks. We know the beaten path of own lives. We’ve stumbled through the rocky patches of life. We have been scratched and cut by the thorns of life. But we have planted our roots deep in the sacred soil of community life that feeds and matures us to become a harvest – whether it’s a thirty, sixty or a hundredfold – who’s counting?!!  Given the right conditions apple seeds do become apples. Mango seeds become mangoes. God’s seeds become what we allow them to become.

Taking words from Matthew’s Gospel, why did Jesus speak in parables?  Remember what He said: I speak to them in parables because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.

Paraphrasing the words from Deuteronomy, we ask: “let the soil of my heart hear the words of Your mouth.  May Your instruction soak in like the rain and Your word permeate like the dew; like a gentle rain upon the grass and like a shower upon the crops.”  Or borrowing the words of Jeremiah: we pray to be like a tree that stretches its roots to the waters of a nearby stream.  May we stay green in the summer heat and in drought show no distress but still produce fruit.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

 

 

First Reading:   Isaiah 55:10-11         Second Reading:  Romans 8:18-23
Gospel:   Matthew 13:1-23
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14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Come to me – and I will give you rest

My yoke is easy and my burden is light

 

Have you ever owned a woolen turtle-neck sweater?  And you’re wearing it for the first time? You discover that when you turn your head it scratches your neck?  Wear it too long and you may develop itchy red welts.  There’s nothing you can do. The day is just beginning, you have an important meeting, and you don’t have a change of clothes with you.  You soon realize if you sit perfectly still you get some relief.  For you see, it’s only when we wrestle with a “yoke” that it chaffs your necks.

Or, have you ever tried to run a three-legged race strapped to someone whose pace and rhythm just does not match yours?  Until you do match strides you wind up rolling on the ground and struggling more than once to get up.

And, what about that Angelus bell.  Until you give up total control and let the bell help you establish the rhythm …  well, you know what happens.  At least, over here the chain does not come tumbling down in a heap at your feet.  In our former monastery the pull-chain was encased in a pipe that ran from the bell two stories above the person ringing the bell.  If she pulled too hard, to her chagrin the nasty chair landed in a pile at her feet.

Too often our first impulse is to complain about all I don’t have.  The burden of ungratefulness, like that snarled Angelus bell, will only weigh heavy on my heart. Wonder of wonders how quickly it lifts when I consider all that I DO have at hand that will serve my purpose.

When I focus on what irks me about situations or people and forget all the gifts the flow into my life – the chaffing of the rope to the gunny sack I’ve loaded on my back will choke me.

Sometimes we struggle with the devil and temptation.  Maybe more times it a struggle with God that’s taking place within.  When we ease up and take God’s view, the tussle eases.

When you’re new in a group, office staff or in a community and you discover they’re not as perfect as you had imagined, they crumble from their pedestals.  When we give up the battle to make them into my image and look for the pleasantries and similarities to be found, the burden of integration becomes lighter.

Remember during in COVID time, what were the dilemma’s – the “yokes” that we tied around on our own necks?  You could slip into magical thinking in La-La Land.   Convince ourselves it was all a hoax. Act like it was everyone else’s responsibility to keep me safe from harm.   Tell ourselves the rules are for those “others,” not me.  Listen to every source of information I can muster and be scared to breathe? Or, strike a balance of precautions and trust that I can live with – that to the best of my ability keeps me safe and protects others especially those closest to me.  Remember, the yoke “chaffs” until we give up the control we don’t really have anyway.

Jesus saw examples of this everywhere he went.  We marvel at Jesus’ powers of observation!  How many times must he have gazed out on a field watching pair of yoked oxen dragging along a heavy cart or trudging to keep pace with a farmer sowing the next crop.  He saw the tussle and the back and forth between the pair, only hurting themselves with the push and pull of the yoke until a smooth rhythm was set.

Remember: Jesus said: “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Learn from me – “I am meek and humble of heart.”  As my love for God and my acceptance of the realities of life deepen, we join Jesus in giving “thanks and praise to God the Father” for being so free with the graces given to us; for revealing the divine presence to us.

It behooves us to listen attentively to His words.  To hear His invitation, ‘Come to me’ is always an open invitation, especially at times like now, when we and our country, the church and the world really need the peace, rest, protection of God’s love.  We ask Jesus to come into our hearts and fill our lives with gifts that only God can give us.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

 

 

 

First Reading:   Zachariah 9:9-10         Second Reading:  Romans 8:9, 11-13
Gospel:   Matthew 11:25-30
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Who Do You Say I Am?

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Two unconnected but related phrases jump out here in this Gospel: “You – who do you say that I am?” And “Jesus strictly ordered them to tell no one he was the Christ.”  If we finally figure out who Jesus is but we can’t tell anyone, what’re we supposed to do with that long sought-after revelation?

I think the operative word here is “tell.”  We’re not meant to tell others what or who to believe so much as to be a model that reveals more than words can say.  To let our lives be a “show and tell” of mutual love and respect, of deference to each other – a “flesh and blood” model of our aim to build community, and to 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 modulated and friendly laughter, our expressions of gratitude with a simple phrase like “thank you” – our hospitality and sharing.  In other words: our gentle determination to be Christ-like AND to BE Christ to others.  Our tenor of 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 what’d 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: each one of us is responsible for the community we create.

One of the many stories Msgr 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 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

 

 

 

 

First Reading:   Isaiah 22:19-23         Second Reading:  Romans 17:33-36
Gospel:   Matthew 16:13-20
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12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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In this Gospel passage, Jesus uses a simple, mind-opening analogy to illustrate his point.  His listeners knew that the cheapest life in the market was a small bird of the field, perhaps a sparrow.  Yet, God’s providential care knows even when this smallest of birds dies.  Jesus is using here a rabbinic argument technique which compares a light matter to a heavy one. His idea here is to overcome fear and encourage the disciples, and us, to trust God.

Jesus recognizes that fear may cause failure on our part.  We see in the Gospel how on the one hand, the disciples are granted remarkable powers to heal the sick, exorcise demons, cleanse lepers, even to raise the dead. But at the same time, Jesus denies the disciples money, extra clothes, or a walking stick to aid in climbing the ups and downs of life or to protect themselves from wolves.  He even denies them a pair of sandals to shield their feet from rocks and stones, or, if they travel the fields in Florida, sandspurs.

They are to undertake their mission in complete vulnerability and dependence on God with an awareness that they go as “sheep in the midst of wolves.”  We know their stories. They faced arrests and beatings, hatred and persecution and opposition, even from family members.

With great care and compassion Jesus names aloud the suffering to be endured and its causes.  This is the first step in freeing them from the tenacious grip of fear.  Benedict knew this, didn’t he?  Remember what he says about receiving newcomers (Chapter 58).  “Do not grant newcomers an easy entry … test the spirits, let them keep persistently knocking at the door four or five days … they should be clearly told the things of everyday living in community; all the hardships and difficulties that will lead to God.  She, the newcomer, must be aware of what the Rule requires so that she may know what she is entering.”

Just as Jesus modeled the way for his disciples, we make a commitment to the each other to model Benedictine living.   An example: A young boy, out for a walk with his father on a cold winter day, was scared to cross a frozen pond … afraid of falling through the ice. But then his Father offered to lead the way.  Now the boy didn’t hesitate to go across the ice. The ice hadn’t become less frightening, but he was able to follow his father, trusting his father wouldn’t lead him to harm. He followed his father without fear across the ice.   Jesus leads us; we lead each other.

As we sing in the Suscipe: “Uphold me, O Lord, as you have promised, and I shall live, and do not disappoint me in my hope.”

“I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.” (William Allen White).  Also see Sirach 30:21-15: “Gladness of is the very life of a person, and cheerfulness prolongs our days.”

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

 

 

First Reading:   Jeremiah 20:10-13         Second Reading:  Romans 5:12-15
Gospel:   Matthew 10:26-33
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Feast of the Sacred Heart

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July is fast approaching when summer’s heat begins to wear down even the most dedicated of beach goers, sun lovers and spontaneous ball players. Life begins to feel sticky; nights get close; days get long and dry – and in Florida, very humid! Everything becomes a major effort; we slow down like rusty cogs on old wheels. Time seems suspended. Nothing much gets done. Day follows day with not much to show for any of them. Oh, yes, monastics know all about that kind of thing. Ancient monastics warn us to “beware the devil of the noonday sun.” Spiritual sloth they called it.  Rather, keep up your practice of lectio and don’t let lazy summer weather slow down your response time to others’ needs nor the whirling storms cause lightning-fast thunderous boisterous uncharitable remarks.

Who is it that gets us through our down times?  Who is it that gives us a boost “up” when life seems “blah”?  Jesus takes all our burdens and gives us every good thing.  In the end, we simply must confess, “Lord, my times are in your hands: my future, you’re my daily bread – you’ve carried it all and always will for me.”  What are we left with?  Comfort, confidence, joy…rest for our souls.  Trust Jesus’ promise.  Take his easy yoke, don’t fight it – trust. It is only when we wrestle with a yoke that it chafes our necks.  Jesus says: “My yoke is easy; my burden is light.  Learn from me – I am meek and humble of heart.”

The evangelist Matthew tells the story in his Gospel of the day Jesus offered us a bequest that gathered many of His lessons into one gift-wrapped package we call the BEATITUDES.  The evangelist Luke, too, relates his version of that afternoon on the mountainside.  Both men may have been there in the crowd on the hillside with Jesus but Matthew’s version contains more details.  We know that Luke gleaned an insight into Jesus’ home life from Mary, Jesus’ mother.  This particular day I know Matthew was there, hearing Jesus firsthand.  He was seated right beside me.  I can conjure up his image now.  He wasn’t very agile so he kept squirming to find a comfortable position on the grassy slope.

 LISTEN UP NOW!  Jesus is getting ready to speak.  Look around you. The Beatitudes that he’ll share are not some pie-in-the-sky sayings.  What Jesus says reflects what He saw so often.   He gives us a gift to unwrap and remember in our everyday life.  “Blessed are they.”

Jesus spots a rich man and his wife who live very simply.  Did you notice her peasant style dress?  She got it at the Jerusalem Good Will store.  This couple has a reputation for generosity.  Raising his hand in blessing over the crowd, Jesus says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, the kingdom of God is theirs.”

See that family there that is mourning the death of their infant daughter?  Hear Jesus when he says: “Blessed are the sorrowing, they shall be comforted.”

Turning to make eye contact with the family whose only child is in a wheelchair and has many special needs, Jesus says: “Blessed are the lowly; they shall inherit the land.”

 Seeing some of John’s disciples, Jesus senses the people’s hunger for His words.  But, the sun is high in the sky.  Some have traveled far and Jesus knows they must be weary and hungry.  But they wait with an air of expectancy to see if He will offer than a word.  Jesus does not disappoint them as he says: “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for holiness, they shall have their fill.”

Oh, look over to your right.  Do you see the older woman gently soothing a fretting infant so a young mother can rock her fretting toddler to sleep?  Hear Jesus when he says: “Blessed are they who show mercy, mercy shall be theirs.”

Why is Jesus looking over there?  He seems to be focusing on some who’ve lost interest in his sermon.  He knows that they’ve heard this before in different ways.  This time it might soak in if they’d just listen.  He knows their deep desire to be always in his presence.  He reminds them: “Blessed are the singe-hearted for they shall see God.”

 Why is He smiling now?  Oh, I see.  It’s that young father rolling a yarn ball back and forth to his two young sons.  A moment ago they were squabbling over the ball. Gently flicking the ball in the direction of each boy in turn seems to be a habit of his. And all the time Papa’s listening so intently to Jesus’ words.  “Blessed are the peacemakers; they shall be called children of God.”

Jesus’ express changes.  Mmmm.  He’s looking at those church officials.  The ones who have dared to follow him.  They know they’re going to be the object of tomorrow’s gossip fest.  Jesus speaks directly to them.   “Blessed are those persecuted for holiness sake; the reign of God is theirs.”

Slowly scanning the entire crowd, Jesus goes on to say: “Blest are YOU when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of slander against you because of me.  Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is great in heaven.   You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”

 Again, I remind you: You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its lampstand so it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, “let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in

heaven.”

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

 

 

 

First Reading: Zechariah 9:9-10                    Second Reading: Romans 8:9, 11-13
Gospel Reading: Matthew 11:25-30
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