love

LOVE

May 10, 2021 by Holy Name Monastery Leave a Comment

The theme of this Gospel is clearly love but not the kind of love we see on film or on TV, hear on the radio or a CD. In church hymns, too, we frequently sing about love. But, as Oliver sings in the musical based on Charles Dickens’ story, “Where is love?” We ask: What is love?

Father Andrew reminded us the other day, love is a gift freely given. If we receive it freely, dare we do anything less. For just a minute, let’s step aside to look at where John places this teaching. It fits squarely between the Gospel readings from this morning (Saturday) and yesterday (Friday) and immediately after the Gospel proclaimed last Sunday: the vine and branches where we were reminded that it is only in our union with Jesus that we can render fruitful service.

Sometimes we hear this word “love” used in such a way that we degrade, lessen or weaken its significance. The way Jesus, or in this case John, uses the word for love just doesn’t apply to chocolate, a long drink or an afternoon nap. We may like and enjoy those things a lot, but we don’t “love” them in the way we love our neighbor.

It is notable, I think, that Jesus gives us just ONE love commandment. He does not say, “Love me, love my father or love God as I have loved you.” No, he says, “If you want to be my disciple, then you must love one another.” If we really love our brothers and sisters we do not have to worry if we love God. But, if we do not love everyone unconditionally, then there is no other way we can claim to love Jesus. We need to love like God loves – without exception.

We have the perfect model in the love between the Father and the Son – selfless giving. The Father has given all things to the Son. The Son lays down his life in obedience to the Father. One scholar writes that, “Love is the will to good…One who loves promotes the good, or wills the benefit and strength, of the beloved – this is the nature of God.”

Deep down, we all want to love and be loved. We like people to be our friends. Yet, because of our past experiences, the influence of parents and other people around us, the pressures of our society and our traditions, and plain bad habits, we often do not know how to love, do not know how to forgive, do not know how to be reconciled. We do not practice the skills we know that promote healthy relationships.

Sometimes people will love us back, sometimes they will not. People learn to love by being loved. We learn to share love and communicate our feelings by imitating the models we live with. Remember your mom coaxing you when you received a gift or a compliment: “What do you say?”

When I genuinely love others, there will always be some who cannot love me back but there will be others who will really respond in love. And it may be that my love has empowered them to be loving too. Benedict reminds us in the Prologue to the Rule – we heard it read just yesterday: “See how the Lord in his love shows us the way of life…. What is not possible to us by nature, let us ask the Holy One to supply by the help of grace … while there is still time, while we are in this body and have time to accomplish all these things … we must run and do now what will profit us forever.” We know, but too often forget, that Jesus never told his disciples to LIKE each other. He said, “LOVE one another.” And how does Jesus express love? We know it is freely and without reserve. He gives us a “how to” when He says: “I am gentle and humble of heart.” This is how we are to love one another: in humility with gentleness. Just as we cradle and carry a precious glass object, we value and treasure our free gift of love with special caring.

It’s a life-long journey, isn’t it? We may have fleeting moments when “perfect love” rises to the surface of our motivation to action. I think it was St. Irenaeus who said a very long time ago that “The glory of God is a person fully alive.” (John Powell)

You see, love is God’s very nature – God cannot not love. How does God love? Full hearted and unconditionally. Jesus gives us just one commandment that encompasses all the others. He does not say, “Love Me as I have loved you.” No, he says, “If you want to be my disciple, then you must love one another, as I have loved you.” If we really love our brothers and sisters, including strangers and even enemies, we do not have to worry if we love God. In one of our “love” hymns, we sing “Where love abides, our God is ever there.”

St. John does not say to us, “Wherever there are Christians, there is God” or “Wherever there is a Christian church, there is God.” No, he says, “Wherever there is love, there is God.” Wherever there is a person filled with love for others, God is there.

Happy Valentines Day!

February 12, 2021 by Holy Name Monastery 1 Comment

There are several legends about Saint Valentine and most especially that there were three who all shared February 14^th as their feast day. Each lived around 250 A.D. While they shared a great love of Jesus, legend has it that one performed weddings in secret for soldiers who were forbidden to marry. Thus the feast day connection to love, young people and happy marriages.

Love and affection from the,

Benedictine Sisters of Florida

Daily Noon Prayer for Peace

January 20, 2021 by Holy Name Monastery 1 Comment

Daily Noon Prayer for Peace

Pax Christi Florida invites all members and friends to join in a prayer at noon, from inauguration week through Easter.

We pray for the healing of our nation.

Peace Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

~Article from Pax Christi, Florida which is a regional section of Pax Christi USA

Do and Be

August 26, 2020 by Holy Name Monastery Leave a Comment

Do and Be

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’s 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 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 – 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 Monsignor was around 50 years a priest, (this true story goes) a young intern at Good Counsel Camp asked Father 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.”

[TUBI movie “The Current.”]

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress

First Reading: Isaiah 22:19-23 Second Reading: Romans 17:33-36

Gospel Matthew 16:13-20

Meaningful Advent

December 2, 2019 by Holy Name Monastery Leave a Comment

So, it’s Advent again. Among the general populace, Advent remains an opportunity that is too often little appreciated, little understood and commonly ignored. Advent is about learning to wait. It is about not having to know exactly what is coming tomorrow. Advent teaches us the difference between expectation, anticipation and waiting; suspense, eagerness and “twiddling your thumbs to pass the time.”

Advent is about the power of emptiness and the spiritual meaning of smallness. We strive to live with the basics rather than hoard what, in God’s eyes anyway, after all is not ours. When we have little to begin with, we have even less to lose. When we have fewer possessions, fewer clothes in our closets and fewer books (even the holy ones) and papers that we MIGHT need someday, we spend fewer minutes caring for them. It means that we have less to protect or to fight over and even less to boast about. We can be more open to possibility.

Our conversations can turn to stories and concerns focused outward, on the other rather than the self. There is a rare sprinkling of “I” and “my” and “mine.” Attention is directed away from the self to shine our light on others. We radiate the blessings of life, not the gloom of sadness, sickness, tiredness and woe. We become more fully human, full of compassion and full of consciousness. Our community Advent practices help hone the attitude of prayerfulness, almsgiving and compassion.

Take a stroll down memory lane and feel again the anticipation and impatience you felt for the night Santa Claus would come. That’s the feeling we still need to be filled with as we await the coming of Christmas – the commemoration of the night Jesus opened His eyes and beheld the tender love of his earthly mother and his foster father Joseph; heard the voices of the angels singing praises and felt the warmth of the breath of curious animals.

I invite you to live again, the moment you discovered the reality of the Santa myth. You’d probably had plenty of hints for a long time from older siblings or classmates. In fact you might have known from the beginning that there was no one who was “Santa.” But, you were slow to relinquish the fantasy of the jolly fellow enjoying the cookies you’d left for him and emptying his sack of toys to find the gift with your name on it. Even children who are aware that their families are “dirt poor” cling to the dream of a Santa figure.

As we mature, so do our hopes and dreams. The final line of the selection from Matthew’s Gospel reminds us first: we do not know what day the Lord will appear. Then, “You must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” That does not refer only to the hour of our death. Remember the story of the Abbot who visited his Rabbi friend who shared with him a valuable lesson: “the messiah is among the ranks of your community.” We are challenged to be Messiah to each other. To treat each other, those who walk through the door, with gentleness and courtesy – that one may be the Messiah among us. Now, in place of eager children looking forward to Santa bringing us gifts, we conger ways to be “Santa” to others.

So, we pray: “May the God of Israel increase our longing for Jesus our Savior and give each and all of us the strength to grow in love, that the dawn of Jesus’ coming may find us rejoicing in his presence and welcoming the light of Truth.”

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, O.S.B., Prioress

Isaiah 2:1-5 Romans 13:11-14 Matthew 24:37-44

Intention: Meaningful Advent

A Particular Kind of Love

May 7, 2018 by Holy Name Monastery Leave a Comment

The theme of this Gospel is clearly love but not the kind of love we see a film or television program, or hear on the radio or a CD. Even in church hymns, we speak frequently about love. But, as Oliver sings in the musical based on Charles Dickens’ story, “Where is love?” We ask: what is love?

First, let’s look for a minute at where John places this reading. It fits squarely between the Gospel readings from this morning (Saturday) and yesterday (Friday) and immediately after the Gospel proclaimed last Sunday: the vine and branches wherein we were reminded that it is only in our union with Jesus that we can render fruitful service. Today’s reading, then, extends this teaching to the kind of service that we are called upon to offer: a particular kind of love, sacrificial love.

In the Greek, there are two words for love that are used interchangeably in this passage. The first is agape. It is understood as the highest and most perfect kind of love and is used to describe love for persons and for God. The second is philia and is used to describe the affection of friendship. John appears to use these words as synonyms so that we understand our relationship with God is based on friendship. Sometimes we hear this word “love” used in such a way that we degrade, lessen or weaken its significance. The way Jesus, or in this case John, uses the word for love just doesn’t apply to chocolate, a long drink or an afternoon nap. We may like and enjoy those things a lot, but we don’t “love” them in the way we love our neighbor.

It is notable, I think, that Jesus gives us just one love commandment. He does not say, “Love me, love my father or love God as I have loved you”. No, he says, “If you want to be my disciple, then you must love one another.” If we really love our brothers and sisters we do not have to worry if we love God. But, if we do not love everyone unconditionally, then there is no other way we can claim to love Jesus. We need to love like God loves: without exception.

So we do not really have to ask or worry, “Is it a sin to do or say or think such and such a thing?” The important thing to worry about or ask is: “When I do, say or think such and such, am I really a loving person?” As our relationship with our Redeemer grows, the less and less we are hung up on rules and regulations. We know in our heart what is the appropriate, loving thing to do or say.

In practice, of course, it’s easier said than done. We are slow learners …some slower than others. Some have a family history that promotes love in action; others struggle with a history of abuse in the home. In addition, the prevailing culture thinks and acts differently. Rough, raunchy, abusive language and tone of voice; behavioral violence can invade our homes every day on televised news. The sounds of fictionalized gun and interpersonal violence may come into our living spaces. Our blood pressure rises unnoticed, we flinch and blink our eyes not realizing that we are desensitizing ourselves to what we say we want controlled and petition lawmakers to protect us against.

Deep down, we all want to love people. We like people to be our friends. Yet, because of our past experiences, the influence of parents and other people around us, the pressures of our society and our traditions, we often do not know how to love, do not know how to forgive, do not know how to be reconciled, we do not practice the skills that promote healthy relationships.

Sometimes people will love us back; sometimes they will not. Sometimes, even though we want to love people, they may reject us. If they do reject us, we need not necessarily think that we have done wrong. When people cannot return genuine love, it is they who have the problem. Sad to say, due to past experiences not everyone is capable of loving. All the more reason why we need to pray for and reach out to them. People learn to love by being loved.

The most important thing is not that I am very clever, very successful, very rich, very famous… The most important thing is that I am someone who really loves. When I genuinely love others, there will always be some who cannot love me back but there will be others who will really respond in love. And it may be that my love has empowered them to be loving too.

Recall last evening reading from the Prologue of the Rule (of Benedict): “See how the Lord in his love shows us the way of life. Let us set out on this way, with the Gospel for our guide,that we may deserve to see him who has called us to his kingdom.”

You’ve heard the saying, when in doubt, don’t! But maybe a better point to ponder is: WWJD – what would Jesus do?

LOVE