Benedictine Sisters of FL

Holy Name Monastery
Founded 1889

John

Second Sunday of Advent

by Leave a Comment

Our God of the Promise

 

In Advent, like the child we once were, we eagerly await the coming of Christ as an infant in Bethlehem.  At the same time, we invite him into our hearts in the present, the “now” of our lives. And we look forward to his future coming as king of glory. Dwelling in the past or wishing for a perfect future can keep us from hearing the will of God NOW, in our today.  Many recognize in Pope Francis a voice that is, like that of John the Baptist, crying in the wilderness … urging us forward in the present to mend the past as we confront the life as it greets us today, in the NOW of our lives.

The opening lines in Mark’s gospel greet us with the words: “the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ”.  But, the first character we meet is not Jesus, but John the Baptist, the fiery preacher who came out of the desert where he lived on honey and locusts.   And, he is no fashion plate, with his camel’s hair clothes, leather sandals, and leather girdle around his waist. His diet was very simple: locusts (grasshoppers) and wild honey. This is important, or it would not be here.  It is symbolic. But what does it symbolize? Well, you cannot wear anything more fundamental in the way of clothing, or eat a more basic diet, than John did. It is representative of his ministry — one of simple beginnings. It is not the end; it is the beginning.

John is very honest. He says, “Don’t look to me for answers beyond what I have already told you.  That must come from another, who is coming right after me. He is so much greater than I.  I am not even worthy to untie his shoes.”  Remember, this was Jesus’ cousin, his elder by six months, that he was talking about!  You’ll recall John jumped for joy, (maybe he was dancing) in his mother’s womb when he was introduced to Mary and Jesus.  John could bring people to God, but he could not take them beyond that.   Something drew these people into the desert to listen to this strange and rugged young preacher proclaim good news.  That’s all he did! He never told how it worked, or why; he just announced it.  And, this was in a desert in the wilderness.  But it worked, in part because In John’s day, as now in ours, people needed to know they can begin again.

But, keep in mind what the prophet Isaiah said about John’s message. This business of reconciliation will resemble a great bulldozer, building a highway in the middle of nowhere.  (I wonder if they put in roundabouts?)  John was God’s bulldozer to build that highway.  We know how roads are built; we see the process in almost any direction we go on the highway.  Isaiah says: “Every mountain shall be brought low, and every valley shall be lifted up; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places plain.”  And, that is what repentance does. It bulldozes down all the high peaks of pride that we stand on and refuse to admit we’re wrong. It takes the depressed areas of our life and lifts them up. It takes the crooked places and straightens them out. And it makes the rough places plain. Then, there is God!  God comes to us so that we can come to God.

Our hope is in the promise of God; in our God of the Promise.  It is a promise that was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  It is a hope that will not be disappointed because God, although He may delay or tarry, He will not forget His promise.  Be assured: God will never let us down!

 

~by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

First Reading  Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11                        
Second Reading 2 Peter 3:8-14  
Gospel Reading  Mark 1:1-8
Continue Reading

Palm Sunday

by Leave a Comment

Vigil of Palm Sunday

The contemporary (former monk) author Thomas Moore says, “The whole point of a good story is to give birth to other stories and to deep reflection.”  The Palm Sunday stories certainly call us to reflection.  There are stories within stories that bring to mind more stories.   A temptation may be to try to reflect on too much.  In Lectio, as in any of the arts, we allow the music, the art, the Word to take over.  We become absorbed in the complex harmonies, tempos and textures, and become servant to the materials at hand.

Palm Sunday liturgy, it seems to me, is a potpourri of themes and a roller-coaster of emotions: high hosannas, a supper with friends, examples of loving humility, washing of feet and later washing of hands.  There are incidents of betrayal and mockery; bravery of Simon and Veronica; compassion of John and Mary.  All are acts of caring, courage and compassion.  The soldier’s declaration: “Surely this was an innocent man,” and, the donation of a burial place, the preparation of the body of a loved-one, the watching and waiting … and waiting … and waiting.

Palm Sunday services begin with such glorious solemnity: waving palms, processions, joyful singing of hosanna!  Within about an hour’s time we travel from cries of “Blessed is He who comes in the name of God!” to shouts of “Away with this man!  Crucify him!”  Then, we move on to the Eucharistic acclamation: “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again!”  We pray for forgiveness and daily bread.  We exchange God’s own peace with each other.  We recall Jesus’ supreme sacrifice and take into ourselves His body and blood.  The communion antiphon calls us back to the beginning of the story and the thread that winds through the whole story: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me.  Still, not my will but yours be done.”  A few hours later Jesus will utter: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”

This same sentiment is echoed in the prayer often used at the Stations of the Cross: “Oh, my God, I love you.  I love you more than myself.  Grant that I may love you always, then do with me what you will.”  I hand myself over to God, as Jesus did, in an act of self-surrender, “Suscipe me.”  I am asking God to accept me just as I am now, open, vulnerable, powerless.  I am also saying that I am willing to receive whatever God has in store for me in the future: the journey onward, the Palm Sundays, the Good Fridays, the Easters in my life.  “Accept us O God, as you have promised; we shall live, and we shall not be disappointed in our hope.”  A good choice for the Palm Sunday may be to simply “sit with” the story.  I repeat: “The whole point of a good story is to give birth to other stories and to deep reflection.”  (Thomas Moore Original Self p. 66)

~by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

Continue Reading

Fifth Sunday of Lent

by Leave a Comment

This story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is so familiar I’m curious what I may need to hear this Lenten season.  I feel the anguish of the sisters and friends of the deceased as they watched their loved one struggle with a terminal illness, and then watch life drain out of him.  I can feel their frustration when Jesus did not come at their call.  They were hoping against all hope that he would get there in time to keep Lazarus from dying.

We wander into a scene of much confusion.  The two sisters of the dead man had sent word to Jesus that his friend, their brother, was ill.  Jesus is said to have loved the three siblings: Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, but he delays responding with the haste we and they might have expected.  To the puzzlement of all who were aware of the situation, it is two days later that Jesus finally declares that he will make the journey to Bethany.  Thomas says to his companions: “Let us go with him.”  And he warns that they must be prepared to die with Jesus.

This is the 7th and final sign in John’s gospel.  It appears that the crowd had overheard the exchange between Jesus and Lazarus’ siblings.  It seems obvious Jesus was a frequent “drop in” at their house.  They seem very comfortable with chiding Jesus, weeping in his presence and engaging in a verbal back and forth with him.

Jesus’ delay heightens the drama.  We know the end of the story, so we can recognize that the delay was deliberate.  Jesus had to wait until Lazarus had succumbed to his illness for Jesus to glorify His father through Lazarus’ resurrection.

Can’t you see Jesus?  He elicits from Martha a profession of faith, probably amid many nodding heads of the bystanders, “Yes, Lord, I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”  (Do you hear the “but” coming?)  Then she runs for Mary – why?  Perhaps thinking that Mary’s special friendship with Jesus will win his favorable response to their request to “do something!”  Touched by Mary’s tears, Jesus wept!  Then a fore sign of what will happen in a short while: Jesus asked that they roll aside the stone – sign of resurrection.

Don’t you love what happens next?  Raising his eyes Jesus said “Thanks, Father, for hearing me.  I’ve tried with this crowd.  I need a little help here – that they may believe that you sent me.”  Then he said in a loud voice: “Lazarus! Come out!”  When Lazarus appeared at the mouth of the cave, his burial place, Jesus orders: “Untie him and let him go.”

All through Lent this is what Jesus has been doing for us and calling to us:  He says in a loud voice “Come out!  Be your true self!  Let me untie you, and let you go.  I know you, I love you!  And, I know what you are capable of doing and who you can be.  I have a special niche carved out for you.  You are in the palm of my hand.  You have a unique role I have carve out for you to play in the work of creation.  If you stay in the cave of your selfishness and self-interests, hidden behind your mistaken concept of humility, reluctant to respond to the call of my poor ones,  the job will not get done.  I need YOU to be my hands on this one.  You say you believe my words.  Now it is time for you to COME OUT.  Let me untie the binding cloths (this is something you can’t do yourself), uncover your face – and let the world see the person that has existed in the mind of God for all eternity.  Don’t worry about the stench from the “four days” you’ve lain in the tomb of resistance to my call.  I invite you again, COME OUT!”

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

First Reading:   Ezekiel 37: 37: 12-14      Second Reading:  Romans 8: 8-11
Gospel:   John 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45

 

Continue Reading

Second Sunday of Lent

by Leave a Comment

“Jesus took Peter, James and his brother John off by themselves and led them 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.  Then 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 must 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…. Some days they are like a little pebble on our path.  Or, they can be like a grain of sand inside your shoe.  Other days, they are like boulders for which we need a backhoe to lever them inch by inch.  Everyone’s mountain is different. But, 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 and rest, and keep our eyes open to see God’s glory.  We must stay alert, careful not to misread the signs; have the insight to know that we are at the top.  We 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 you 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.  I don’t think the change was 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 the miracles of the moments of your life?

When you have had a “mountaintop experience” you don’t forget it!  When the veil was removed from your eyes and you beheld Jesus as He really is, you can recall every detail of the moment.  Maybe it was while you were on retreat, or a day of recollection, during adoration or Stations of the Cross, or out of the blue.  Maybe it was in the privacy of your own room or in a crowd.  Maybe it happens at the Consecration of the Mass or when you look across the dining table or at a confrere across the aisle in chapel.

God is already there; is right here NOW.   Jesus invites us up the mountain and 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.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 Have a good week.

 

 

First Reading:   Genesis 12:1-4a        Second Reading:  Timothy 1:8b-10
Gospel:   Matthew 17:109
Continue Reading

Unity Week

by Leave a Comment

The three readings we have this weekend are, I believe, they present an example of a woven piece of God’s mysterious message-giving.  It creates a colorful piece with threads that weave the way from Isaiah, through the Letter to the Corinthians, into the Gospel of John, laced with verses from the Responsorial Psalm 40.

From Isaiah we hear: “I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth.”  Then Paul tells us who the “you” is: “You who are called to be holy with all who call upon the name of Jesus.”  Now slip in a line from Psalm 40: “Sacrifice or offerings you wish not, but ears open to obedience you gave me.”  This leads us right into the Gospel and a declaration of obedience to listening.  Here John the Baptist speak: “I did not know him (that is, when Jesus came to the River Jordan for baptism) “I saw the Spirit and the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, “On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one…”  Then slide back to Psalm 40 “To do your will, O my God, (to be obedient) is my delight.”  Obedience is the psalmist’s delight – John’s, Jesus’ and ours.

This week Wednesday, we will begin the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity with the 2023 theme: “Do Good; Seek Justice” (Isaiah 1:17)   The theme is captured in the Gospel reading the presence by the two groups who were present at Jesus’ baptism at the River Jordan: the followers of John and of Jesus in combination with the presence of our Triune God (the voice of the Father, Jesus in the Jordan, and the hovering Spirit in the form of a dove).  The week of prayer for Christian Unity has a 100-year history in which Christians around the world pray for the fulfillment of Jesus’ prayer at the Last Supper “that they all may be one .”

A question: How did John (the evangelist) come to know so many intimate details about John the Baptist’s encounter with Jesus at the Jordan?  It is generally assumed that the disciple James and his younger brother John were among the followers of the Baptist.   It is likely this is how they, along with Peter and Andrew, first met Jesus.  John was the only one of Christ’s original disciples who lived into old age and the only one who was not martyred for his faith.  He can tell the story of Jesus from an old man’s perspective, wisdom and vision that is a gift of the elderly…. pondering the essentials, sifting out the riff raff of gossip, suppositions and guess work [or, spicing up the stories with borrowed memories and supposed tidbits.]

As we in community know so well, stories are a gift given by older members to newer members.  The elders are the torch bearers, the younger folk the keepers of the torch.  It is they who are responsible to coax the sparks to keep the flame burning.  Our future will be enriched by those who keenly listen and preserve the traditional word-of-mouth stories.  This is what enriches our present by helping us better understand the past and the people who gave shape to our present.  Stories of the “good old days” may get “old” but consider what we’d miss if John and the other evangelists had kept secret their experiences with Jesus.

In today’s world, much like the days of early Christianity, people are facing crises of migration, prejudice, violence and indifference. How can we show “unusual kindness” that is a witness to God’s loving providence for all people? When we invite people to “come and see” they are looking for more than a tour of our monastery building and a list of volunteer ministries. Our spirit of hospitality will have a ripple effect (positive or negative) that makes visible (or not) Jesus’ love in today’s world. We pray that we and all peoples of diverse backgrounds, cultures and religions, are enlightened to accept each other with open hands and hearts and that world peace will prevail in our lifetime.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

First Reading:   Isaiah 49:3, 5-6         Second Reading:  1 Corinthians 1:1-3
Gospel:   John 1:29-34
 
Continue Reading

Second Sunday of Advent

by Leave a Comment

Over the next few days in our Advent journey the church invites us to consider John the Baptist’s relationship to Jesus.  John appears in the tradition of the great prophets of Israel, preaching repentance and reform.  In fact, the description of John found in this reading is reminiscent of the description of the prophet Elijah.  John words are not directed only to the Pharisees and Sadducees.  John’s message is a pointed call to repentance aimed in our direction: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

John makes very clear that his relationship to the Messiah is one of service and subservience: “The one who is coming after me is mightier than I.  I am not worthy to carry his sandals.”  The highlight of John’s ministry was the fantastic success he enjoyed way out in the wilderness.  This man does not care what people think.  And his style worked!  He certainly was no fashion plate, with his camel hair clothing, leather sandals and the cincture around his waist.  His diet was simple: locusts and wild honey.  This note must have been important to the evangelists, or it wouldn’t be included in their Gospels.  It is symbolic.  You can’t wear anything more simple in the way of clothing, or eat a more basic diet.  John’s ministry, and our inheritance, is one of very simple beginnings.

But what does it say to us?  What is God, the Divine architect, designing and constructing in our lives?  When our life’s valley is filled in and the road made smooth, the crooked straight, will we be ready to “see the Son of Man coming in a cloud?”  As we approach the off-ramp of life, will we be attuned to the divine whisper that is familiar from our daily Lectio?  Will we hear clearly the voice of the One crying out to us?  Will we stand erect and call to others: “Look! The salvation of our God is at hand?”

What will it take to raise our weariness to consciousness, and conscientious attention to those with whom we live?  What will it take to crack the ridged set in our ways?  How many hosing-downs does it take to quiet a hot temper or a sharp tongue?  How can we remove our spiritual cataracts so we can see the bigger picture?  What kind of corrective lens do we need to protect our eyes from worldliness?  What strength of binoculars will it take to zero in on the faulty behavior we what to eradicate?  What kind of safe-guards will we need to keep us on the straight and narrow?  Is our prayer life regular enough, strong enough, secure enough to protect us from inevitable temptation?

No matter how we might like to think that we’ve got it all together, sooner or later we all need to have a maintenance check-up and a little divine repair job.  When a hurtful word slips through our lips or cares and daily concerns erode our promised Lectio time; when we are battered by life’s challenges, God promises to strengthen the areas of weakness that plague us.  Our God promises to fix what’s broken in our lives.

Paul reminds us in the Second Reading: “Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction, that by endurance and by encouragement you may think in harmony with one another … that with one accord in one voice you may glorify God.”  John’s message prepared the way for Jesus in the first century.  We are called to be prophets in today’s world.  Each of us has a mission to communicate Christ’s message of hope, freedom, and peace; to help people fill in their valleys and make their rough paths more smooth.  “Prepare the  way of the Lord, make straight his paths: all shall see the salvation of our God!”

 

~by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

First Reading  Isaiah 11:1-10                        
Second Reading Romans 15:4-9  
Gospel Reading  Matthew 3:1-12
Continue Reading