Benedictine Sisters of FL

Holy Name Monastery
Founded 1889

Reflection

Good Friday

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Reflection on a Good Friday Afternoon

The hour of Jesus’ death draws near.

WERE YOU THERE WHEN THEY CRUCIFIED MY LORD?

The sky grows dark, thunder rumbles and the air turns chill.

WERE YOU THERE WHEN THEY CRUCIFIED MY LORD?

The bickering among the soldiers stops, the murmuring crowd grows quiet.

WERE YOU THERE WHEN THEY CRUCIFIED MY LORD?

All attention focuses on Jesus.

In the silence His voice in utter anguish cries:

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?”

WERE YOU THERE WHEN THEY CRUCIFIED MY LORD?

Refusing the sponge of wine which might numb his senses and dull his awareness,

He cries aloud as His spirit at last departs from His earthly body.

WERE YOU THERE WHEN THEY CRUCIFIED MY LORD?

Yes, were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?  WERE YOU?

WHERE WERE YOU?

Were you part of the jeering crowd; caught up in the mob emotion?

Were you a silent on-looker, trembling lest you be recognized (like Peter had been) for one of Jesus’ followers?   Or were you one of the soldiers doing a task – not so tasteful but all in day’s work, required to collect that almighty silver coin?

WHERE WERE YOU?

Were you among the women quietly lending mutual support to each other; heart-broken and helpless to do naught but weep and hope for a miracle of deliverance for your Lord?

WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THEY CRUCIFIED MY LORD?  Look into your heart . . .

The hour of His death has come.  And, gone.  Will you gather up your picnic cloth and go home to wait for another day’s excitement?  Or, will you silently mourn His passing, confused but confident that He will rise again?  He told you “this temple shall be rebuilt.”

WERE YOU THERE WHEN THEY LAID HIM IN THE TOMB?

When the sky was dark and the earth quaked; when spirits walked the earth and on-lookers beat their breasts in fear and withdrew from the scene.

WERE YOU THERE?

Were you there to help linen-wrap His broken body, to place it in the newly hewn tomb and set the stone at the entrance?

WHERE WERE YOU?

Were you among the women who went home to prepare spices and perfumes to anoint the body of Your Lord?  Valiant women, strong in respectful silence for each other’s grief.  Strong in the promise of Passover.  Strong in the love of the Man of Nazareth, their Lord, and now their Redeemer.

WERE YOU THERE WHEN THEY CRUCIFIED MY LORD?  WERE YOU THERE WHEN THEY NAILED HIM TO THE TREE?  WERE YOU THERE WHEN THEY LAID HIM IN THE TOMB?      Where were you?

~by Sister Roberta Bailey

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“I’ll Be Back – I Can Thrive Here”

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Look what happens here in Luke’s retelling of one of Jesus’ visits to the synoguge….in verse 21 the writer (Luke) tells us: “All spoke highly of Jesus and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.”  Then someone spoke up, “But, isn’t he the son of Joseph?”  Seven verses later, listen to what is happening: “They drove him out of town, to the brow of the hill to hurl him down headlong.”  Those seven verses only took two minutes to read?  In real life how quickly did it happen that the people went from awe at Jesus’ words to the point that those same people were ready to toss him off a cliff?

Come to think of it, we’ve seen the same thing happen in our midst – certainly in society.  A person is put on a pedestal – – – a single detractor mutters a criticism, a neighbor hears it and shares it at the dinner table or with co-workers.  In the time it takes to go from one TV commercial to the next, the person goes from being a hero to the devil-incarnate.

It can happen on a smaller scale, but it’s just as devastating.  Someone offers a complimentary remark and a so-called friend mutters, “Huh, if you only knew what I know.”  And in a flash a reputation crumbles!  Or, perhaps worse yet, nothing is said.  The compliment falls in a vacuum of dead air.  Why are we so afraid to lift one another up, to second a compliment, or expand on the worthiness of the person???

The word “bystander” isn’t a nasty word and  shouldn’t be a term connected solely with bullying.  It’s an active word; it means more than being a zoned-out spectator.  Speaking up, standing up for someone being criticized, picked on, condemned for the same faults the speaker may have – yes, it takes daring…  a special grace of courage.  A by-stander worth her salt can repeat and expand on complimentary remarks to make a person’s day.

Think about this: What did Jesus do when the crowd turned on him?  Luke says, “He passed through the midst of them and went away.”  What happens when guests or prospective vocations encounter a judgmental flavor in the air versus when they experience an atmosphere where love is obvious and personal reputations upheld.  Compliments and positive strokes far out-weigh any negativity?  In the one guest’s experience they do what Jesus did – they pass through our midst and disappear.  In the other, they say, “I like this place and these people – the Spirit is in this place.  I can thrive here.  I’ll be back and I’ll tell others what I found here to bolster my spirit.  Give me some flyers, I want to share the peace I’ve found here.”

It takes but one stone thrown into the pool of family/community life to start a negative rumor (“Isn’t he the son of Joseph?”). Or a stone tossed lightly over the water may cause the opposite.  It can cause ripples that form a pleasant, positive touchy-feely circle of belonging.  Bystanders have a choice: pick up their negative stone and toss it into the mix.  Remember what your parents, your first teachers taught you: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”  Recall the Sufi teaching “Before you speak, ask yourself: ‘Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?”

It’s not necessarily true that practice makes perfect.  What is true is that practice makes permanent.  Studies show that persons with dementia can readily recall Christmas carols, nursery rhymes and dance steps learned early in life.  But what happened yesterday?  Did I eat lunch?  I was married?  May be fuzzy or completely lost.  We need practice making positive contributions to conversation.  And it does take practice; lots of practice – like 6-8 weeks of daily practice.

This week we will celebrate the memorial of St. Blasé when we traditionally receive the blessing of throats.  We pray for deliverance from all ailments of the throat.  It seems to me this would include control of the tongue – fitting right in with the message of the Gospel for this Fourth Sunday.

Degrading, critical remarks can’t live side by side with the sentiments we’ll pray in tomorrow’s psalm: “O God, you have taught me from my youth and till the present, I proclaim your wondrous deeds.”  Acknowledging and complimenting the “wondrous deeds” in the life of another is one way of proclaiming God’s work.  We pray with the psalmist: “You are my hope, O Lord; my trust; on you I depend.  My mouth shall declare your justice, day by day your salvation; I will proclaim your wondrous deeds.”

~ Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress

 

First Reading:  Jeremiah 1:4-5;17-19     Second Reading:  Corinthians 12:31-13:13
Gospel:  Luke 4:21-30
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Lent 2021 – Part 2

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This April 7th post just after Easter again features Abbot Gregory J. Polan’s Circular Letter. In case you missed the first part posted March 26th, his brief bio is repeated here.

Abbot Polan was elected in 2016 as the Abbot Primate of the 1500-year old Benedictine Order and resides at Sant’ Anselmo in Rome.  He serves the Benedictine community as its liaison to the Vatican and civil authorities to promote unity among the various autonomous Benedictine monasteries and congregations. Abbot Polan is the tenth Abbot Primate and the fourth American elected. 

The following is more from Abbot Polan’s recent Circular Letter:

There are a few spiritual thoughts that have come to mind in recent weeks to offer for your reflection. In the Farewell Discourse of Jesus in the Johannine Gospel, he says, “Peace I leave with you. My peace is my gift to you, and I do not give it to you as the world gives it. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid” (14:27). In the Greek text of these few words, there is a sense in which Jesus is bequeathing something significant to his followers, a gift of profound import, a bequest of divine consequence. Today we can think of peace as an absence of anxiety, conflict or worry.  As a Jew, Jesus knew that peace/shalom touched on the total well-being of a person – body, soul and spirit. These words of Jesus to his disciples came at that moment when he was about to enter into his paschal offering to the One he called Abba. It was to be a total offering of himself. We note in this Gospel text that it is not simply peace that Jesus gives his followers, but an emphasis on “my” peace. Jesus’ own peace would possess a character deeper and more profound because his disciples would also share in his mission. We might even call it a peace in the midst of paschal living, a peace that comes with the gift of self in a moment of personal self-offering, with a movement from challenge to blessing. And yet, this special peace is able to bring joy, inner comfort and strength in the midst of anguish and distress. But we see how deeply Jesus looked at his life and its meaning for others; he was able to see what others, especially his own disciples, were unable to see and understand fully. Only with time and spiritual wisdom would this make sense to them and to us.

In this passage, we find the ever so brief and powerful expression that appears on the lips of Jesus more than any other expression: “Do not be afraid.” As Jesus prepares to enter into his passing-over, he gives his disciples and us a gift of the spiritual life: Do not be afraid. In accepting the evolving plan of God, Jesus shows us the path to glory, to victory and to a peace that this world cannot give. This is something so important for us to hold on to in any variety of situations that come our way. Could Jesus have already seen this in the rich tradition of his ancestors in the Laments of the psalter? I believe so. Even when we read the painful words of the Laments in the Psalms, notice how there is a word of hope, a call to courage and a belief that Gods’ providential care will “win the day” amid life’s challenges. On my desk, I keep a card with the words my doctor from the United States sent to me: “Remain calm, stay strong, carry on.”  I think these words reflect in a contemporary way the words of Jesus to his disciples.

Be sure to watch for two more thoughtful posts from Abbot Polan in the coming weeks.

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Reflection from Federation of St. Scholastica

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Today’s reflection is by

Sister Glenna Smith, OSB

of the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia

 

If you would like to sign up to receive alerts when a new reflection from Sister Glenna Smith is posted and help spread the word of the Federation of St. Scholastica Centennial Celebration 1922-2022,

please click here: scholastica-celebration.org. 

 

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 19
Matthew 13:24-43 OR 13:24-30

Again, Jesus says, “Whoever has ears ought to hear.” This, once again, suggests that we need to be open and receptive to the Word. There are some ordinary, simple things outlined in today’s Gospel: the farmer is to sow good seed, the leavening power of yeast mixed with flour, the mustard seed. These metaphors may help us to begin to perceive Jesus’ meanings.

Some of Mother Teresa’s words ring in my ears and heart:

  • Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.
  • Peace begins with a smile.
  • Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.
  • If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
  • I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, but only more love.
  • Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.

I offer a sample of my own pondering that comes from the Rule of Benedict, Scripture, and others (Facebook, musicals, psychology, Star Trek, etc.):

  • Be the first to show respect…bear with the greatest patience one another’s weaknesses of body or behavior.
  • Let there be no grumbling whatsoever.
  • See Christ in everyone (Namaste)
  • You will never look into the eyes of anyone God does not love.
  • Gossip does not bear good fruit.
  • The good of the many outweighs the good of the one.
  • To have loved another person is to have seen the face of God.
  • Maturity moves us from an external locus of control to an internal locus of control. (equivalent or parallel to conscience development?)
  • Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.

Enormous sacrifices are asked of some of Jesus followers. Others of us are asked to do seemingly smaller, perhaps less noteworthy, things to build or strengthen the Body of Christ. What are you called to today?

Sister Glenna Smith entered the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia in 1977 and has served her community and their ministries for 40+ years as teacher, prefect, camp director, counselor, principal and administrator, school psychologist, member of various boards, formation director, monastery coordinator, and subprioress. She was privileged to serve the Federation of Saint Scholastica as president from 2010-2014.

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