Benedictine Sisters of FL

Holy Name Monastery
Founded 1889

Lent

Lent 2021 – Part 3

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Jesus’ Peace

 

Abbot Gregory J. Polan talks about the peace that Jesus gives in his Lenten Circular Letter.  You can read the first two parts on our website under “Articles of Interest”:  www.benedictinesistersoffl.org.  The Abbot’s brief bio is at the beginning of the first post.

 

The following is from Abbot Polan’s recent Circular:

The gift of Jesus’ peace forces us to seek our God’s mysterious and inscrutable ways, to understand that faith and trust in God’s providential care for us take us to new levels of meaning and significance of peace. Jesus would certainly have a sense of how the leaders of his time were threatened by his teaching and also his strong following from among the people. This is how Jesus encourages his disciples, and also us, as we face the uncertain future that will roll-out in the coming weeks, months, and even years. Economic, social and national rebuilding will all take time, effort and patience. I hope this can be a word of encouragement to the Benedictine men and women, knowing that our willingness to remain faithful will bear rich fruit in times to come. Paschal living calls for great courage and faith, and its fruits are already growing within us.

Jesus emphasizes that the peace which he gives is not “as the world gives it,” that is to say, not an immediate feeling of well-being and fulfillment. Rather we note how Jesus speaks here as he bestows his own peace upon his closest friends. The peace of Jesus is not something that comes without a price, a price of surrender to the unfolding plan of God in his life, and also in our lives. The Dominican preacher, Father Bede Jarrett, uses an expression which describes this Scriptural passage so well and speaks to us today: “Jesus looked at his life intensely.” The peace that comes from following Jesus comes with the price of following him, remaining close to him, trusting him, believing in his unique yet salvific path to glory. We know that “paying the price” for finding this peace enables us to live in hope, a divine gift that comes at a price and whose rewards are eternal, even now.

The last post from Abbot Polan’s Circular Letter will be sent Friday, April 29th.

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Cactus and Lent

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In the Catholic tradition, cacti rather than flowers are placed at the alter during Lent. This is the time that signifies Jesus’ journey in the desert to meditate and prayer. We had a rather large ugly cactus in chapel last year. I meditated on it throughout the season. There were dead spots, thorns and some new growth. After Lent I decided to ask anyone who could, to bring a cactus to the Monastery to be in the chapel this Lent.

People are so good to us. Many brought cacti and they are now displayed in front of the altar. And once again in meditating, they have given me several ways to examine myself. For instance, one of the cacti has very large thorns which reminds me that I can be prickly with others. I’m reminded that people need to be handled as gently as I handle that cactus. Three of the cacti bloomed, bringing to mind the beauty that there is all around us. One has dead spots showing where I neglected them. How often do I neglect people? Looking upon the differences of the cacti makes me ponder the variety in God’s creation and wonder if I am doing enough to care for Mother Earth.

Having repotted the cacti right before the season of Lent began, it was a delight to see new shoots spout. Cacti soil with fertilizer was part of the repotting. Some have very tiny new shoots and one shoot is taller than the plant it came from! Each is growing the way God meant for them to grow. The cacti help me to grow in ways I think God wants me to grow.

Thank you for all the variety of cacti that you brought. My promise is to do  my very best to keep them alive, nurtured and growing for Lent 2022!

Sister Dianne Wansley, OSB

 

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The Miracle of Our Lives

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It is very easy to forget the wonders God has done for us. God often performs these marvels when we are least hopeful they will happen, least sure they can happen.

Out of death, after pain diminishes and numbness fades, new life so often comes forth. After the loss of one direction, another more vibrant than the first so often emerges. Beyond what the world says are our best years, comes a fullness of life unmatched by any other stage.

These are the miracles of life. These are the wonders we stumble into, so obviously not our own making that they must be of God. These are the things that must be remembered in the midst of the daily, dull, depressing moments of life.

Good has so often come out of even the shabbier parts of our own life. We retreat from religion because it disappoints, only to find no better answers elsewhere and return more spiritual than ever before. We fail ourselves miserably, then find new life when we discover that people loved us for ourselves, not our images. We get stopped in our indulgent, dishonest, ambitious, shiftless tracks and become newer, better selves. These are the wonders of life.

Every life is filled with a series of small miracles designed to carry us through dark days, up steep mountains, down into the valley of death, beyond every boundary.

One of the spiritual disciplines of Lent is to recognize these, to let praise raise in our hearts. We need to see the miracles of our lives as signs along the way that no path is too twisted, no burden so heavy, no social system so impenetrable as to confound us utterly. The God who has sustained us in the past will not desert us in the present.

Praise and memory take us into tomorrow with open minds and certain hearts.

~Sister Joan Chittister, OSB

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I Am Here – Waiting – Day or Night – Let’s Talk

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In John’s Gospel, the evangelist has (already before Lent) walked us through the story of the Wedding at Cana.  Jesus, at a nudge from his mother Mary, interacted with the servers who followed his directions to fill the empty stone jar with water.  Only to be mystified when the water turns into the best wine in the house.  Now, John is the only evangelist who relates this story.  And, he is exact in some details: there were six jars, each 2-3 feet tall, each holding 9-10 gallons.  That’s approximately 55 gallons of wine – making for quite a wedding!

Last Sunday, we witnessed an interaction of a different sort.  Jesus calls a halt to the desecration of His father’s house, the temple in Jerusalem.  Today’s Gospel takes a leap that skips over an interaction that sets up today’s teaching.  In that gap, we hear about the conversation between Jesus and the Pharisee Nicodemus who came to Jesus under the cover of darkness.  Nicodemus was struggling with some big questions.  As he said to Jesus: “I know you came from God.  Maybe you can share some light on my quandary.”  Seems like they must have talked well into the night.

Puzzled by what Jesus had said, Nicodemus questions how an old man can be born again???  Jesus cautions him: “Don’t be amazed that I told you, ‘you must be born from above.’”  Here comes a sentence that I love: “The wind blows where it wills, you hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.”  [Like Benedict said, “Listen with the ear of your heart.”] Reminds me of a 70s folk song: “Blowin’ in the Wind” – “How many times must we look up before we can see the sky?  How many ears must we have before we can hear people cry?  The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.”

I digress from the Gospel.  Or do I?  John says in today’s reading: “In all truth I tell you, we speak only about what we know and witness, what we have seen and heard.  And yet people reject our evidence.  If you do not believe me when I speak to you about earthly things, how will you believe me when I speak to you about heavenly things?”

Keep reading…  Jesus speaks through the mouth of John, reminding us of our history.  Remember the story in the Book of Numbers, when the people were in the desert and they complained against God and Moses.  God sent poisonous serpents as punishment.  But, when the people repented, God did not leave them without a sign.  The people slinked back to Moses, like “a dog with its tail between its legs.”  They begged: “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and against you; (They pleaded) please intercede with the Lord, that He will remove the serpents from us.”  And Moses interceded for the people.  Sounds like Moses might have bargained with God.  The Lord said to Moses, Here’s the deal: “Make a fiery serpent, and put it on a flag pole; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, and looks at it, will live.”

Jesus calls Nicodemus’ attention to that story.  “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent … so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.  Then He reminds us: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.  God did not send his Son to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”

Today, I believe, God is telling us: “I did not send COVID-19 to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through my Son.”  It’s a wake-up call.  “Like I said to the prophet Isaiah yea these many years ago.  I am the designer and maker of the earth.  Remember in Genesis, at the creation of life on this earth, I looked on all that had been created, and I said: ‘It is good. …  For, I am God, there is no other.  I will not speak in secret nor from some dark place.  I did not say: Look for me in chaos.  I promise justice, ‘the public face of love’.  I speak the truth.  Turn to me and be safe.  Say: From God alone comes my strength and safety.’”

God continues speaking to us.  “You were correct, when a year ago this week, you posted that sign on the chapel door: we regret that we are TEMPORARILY closed to visitors.  All time is temporary in My eyes until you rest in ME eternally.  Today I tell you, just as I welcomed a midnight conversation with Nicodemus, I am here – day or night – for you.  What’s on your mind or weighing heavy on your heart?  Let’s talk.”

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress

 

 

Next Sunday, March 21 we would normally celebrate the solemnity of St. Benedict, however, since this year, the date falls on and Sunday, we will celebrate St. Benedict on Monday, March 22.  Join with us as we honor our wise founder … and let us not overlook his twin sister, Scholastica.  Their wise words, and worthy example have influenced our world for over 1500 years!  “LISTEN WITH THE EAR OF YOUR HEART.  And may Christ lead us all together to everlasting life.”

 

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March: Celebrating Women’s Accomplishments

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Saint Hildegard of Bingen

Saint Hildegard, a Benedictine abbess, lived in the early 1100s.  She was a German writer, philosopher, composer, mystic and visionary.  Her interests, research and letters represented a broad spectrum from mathematics, science and medicine to the arts (notice she is pictured here with four other saints, holding a pen and book).  She is one of very few proclaimed women of the medieval period.  In fact Hildegard is one of just four women to be named a Doctor of the Church, a title given by a pope to saints who have made exceptional contributions to Catholic theology and doctrine. Her feast day is September 17th.

Hildegard wrote extensively about Saint Benedict’s Rule and Lent.  From Sister Andrea Westkamp, a member of Saint Benedict Monastery in Bristow, Virginia, we share her reflection of one of Hildegard’s Lent reminders.  Sister Andrea talks about pondering on the heart and Benedict’s words that we need to listen with the ear of our heart.  She refers to Hildegard’s idea that Lent would be different if we practiced to listen with the heart:

O, You who are ever

giving life to all life,

moving all creatures,

root of all things,

washing them clean,

wiping out their mistakes,

healing their wounds,

You are our true life,

luminous, wonderful,

awakening the heart

from its ancient sleep.

Sister Andrea continues:  “Listening with the heart ‘awakens the heart from its ancient sleep.’ God offers life.  According to Hildegard, God also washes us, forgives our sins.  God heals our wounds.  The ‘ancient sleep’ is Hildegard’s metaphor of a life lived without reflection, faith or awareness of God’s presence.  She reminds us that God continues to give us life, to change our lives.  Is it any wonder that she was a composer, praising her God for having touched her life?”

 

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Lent – God’s Call

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In the liturgical cycle of readings, this Gospel from Mark was originally only two verses – later the church added two more – but it is still one of the shortest Sunday readings.  It tells us only that, immediately after His baptism, Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil, for 40 days.  You’ll notice that Mark, unlike Luke and Matthew, does not outline for us the three temptations of Jesus.  He simply lets us know that the conflict between Jesus and Satan only begins in the desert.  The ultimate test will be in Jesus’ final hours on the cross.

We are now four days into our Lenten journey of 40 days.  We are reminded of Elijah who journeyed in a desert 40 days and nights, making his way to Mount Horeb as well as the Israelites who wandered in a desert for 40 years.  Benedict knew that deserts are an unavoidable part of life.  We have to pass through them – not get stuck in them. In the desert, we soon find out we are too weak to go it alone.  According to St. John Chrysostom: “The Spirit drags Jesus into the desert, since he wanted to draw the devil there – and Jesus gave occasion to him not only on account of his hunger but also on account of the place: for then most especially does the devil attack when he sees people isolated and by themselves.”  No wonder Benedict urges us not to be isolated in our Lenten journey: “the entire community during these days of Lent (together strives) to keep the manner of life most pure.”

We’ve heard the expression “practice makes perfect” so often that the meaning may have lost its impact on us.  Each year at the beginning of Lent we may feel like that skater or a musician who’s been laid up for a year without practice.  As Benedict says in Chapter 49 of the Rule, during Lent we are called to be the kind of person we should be every day.  Lent gives us a jump-start of courage to pick up the practices that will support the values we profess and hold dear.  The biggest temptation most of us have to face it to “give up” because we stumble.  What would you think if you dialed a wrong number and got this recording: I’m not available right now, but I do thank you for caring enough to call me.”  (How sweet!)  But, it continues: “I am making some changes in my life.  Please leave a message after the beep.  If I do not return your call, you are one of the changes.”

Thomas à Kempis, in the IMITATION OF CHRIST, says, “Often we do not know what we can stand, but temptation shows us what we are.  Above all, we must be especially alert against the beginnings of temptation, for the enemy is more easily conquered if refused admittance to the mind and is met beyond the threshold when it knocks…. A person, indeed, is not worthy of the sublime contemplation of God who has not been tried by some tribulation for the sake of God.  For temptation is usually the sign preceding the consolation that is to follow.”

Lent is God’s call to us to make God and Godly values the center of our life.  It is a time for honesty and stability.  A time for us to be close to God.  The desert of life, of Lent – like any desert – can be a vast expanse of sand and rock, punctuated by ragged hills, blistered by a relentless sun, a barren land in which little grows.  But, depending on our outlook, the space can be filled with mysterious unexpected experiences.  It can be a place not only of testing but of beauty where faith can grow.  Mirages give us false hope.  A welcome pool of water or a dripping cactus can reveal to us, in the blink of an eye, a reflection of what we really look like.  During Lent we are simply being asked to dare to be convinced that this is a wonderful opportunity to rediscover our true self-worth and the wonder of being the child of a loving God.  We are challenged not to focus on the storm clouds of COVID restrictions, chronic health conditions, what we DON’T have.  We do well to focus on all that we DO have: our faithful supporters, the friends who DO make contact, the companions who DO treat us gently, our God who, even with all the concerns and pleas that are raised for attention, remembers ME and loves ME with unfailing love.

Personal deserts are unavoidable, they’re part of life.  We need Christ and we need the ministry of others.  If for nothing else than to teach lessons of dependence.  We’ll never be as strong or wise as we’d like.  We need the grace of God in Christ.  We need the ministry of each other and all of God’s people to strengthen us by their prayerful support and good example that we, too, might take up our crosses and follow Jesus.  We pray that like that voice message said (I mentioned earlier), we do take the opportunity of Lent to make changes on our lives.  But unlike that voice message, may we never hear God’s voice and choose not to return the call.

Next Sunday we will be commemorating the 132nd anniversary of the founding of Holy Name Convent from Pittsburgh, PA.  You can look for a snippet of our history as the reflection.  God bless our founding Sisters!  Their first home was “on loan”  space in a family home in San Antonio which is the township adjacent to Saint Leo, home of the current monastery.  The weather bureau archives reveal that it was 80 degrees in San Antonio, FL on the day of their arrive, February 28, 1889.  Stay tuned for the “rest of the story” next week.  

~Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

Genesis 9:8-15   1 Peter 3:18-22   Mark 1:12-15

 

 

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