Benedictine Sisters of FL

Holy Name Monastery
Founded 1889

Rule of Benedict

Tell All Around You of the Great Love of God

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“Tell All Around You of the Great Love of God.

When All Else Fails, Use Words.”

 

 

Today’s Gospel continues the messages of the readings we’ve heard for the last ten days or so and goes hand in hand with the current daily selections from the Holy Rule.  We get glimpses into Jesus’ practice of conferring extraordinary responsibility on ordinary people.  For instance, consider the amazing features of Jesus’ ministry in His choice of closest disciples.  They are hardly the kind of people we’d choose to put on a ministry team: fishermen, a former tax collector, a couple known to have quick tempers, a revolutionary and a traitor. Some were always getting into trouble, missing the point of Jesus’ teachings, putting a foot in the mouth. At times, they revealed their jealousy when folks outside their circle got too close to Jesus or when so-called outsiders were trying to perform healings.  When the going got tough, most of them walked away or denied their commitment to Jesus. Despite all this, Jesus used them to turn the world upside down. Doesn’t knowing that give us cause for hope?

Readings from the Rule of Benedict remind us three times annually that our founder picked up on Jesus’ theme when he reminds his followers to be satisfied with what the monastery has to offer.  The monks “must not eat with outsiders, unless perhaps the superior has ordered it.”  Concerning their clothing, Benedict recognizes that a monk’s everyday clothes – the clothes on his back – might disgrace him in public. He directs that the members should not come across as though they were better than the people they encountered.  Is he saying that we need not dress like the poor in order to minister to them?  We show respect for others by wearing attire which in an unspoken message conveys ‘You are special, I value you and so I made a special effort in my appearance to be with you.’   You’ll notice also that when Jesus sends His new missionaries out, it’s always in the plural: in pairs, two by two showing that His mission, our mission, is a communal endeavor.

And, when Jesus told the disciples to shake the dust from their sandals if they found themselves in a village where their message was rejected, this was not something new.  Jews often did this when they returned from a foreign land across the border back into their homeland. It represented a total disassociation from pagans and pollution.

Jesus did not limit his power to His little company of disciples.  He gives us, too, the grace to carry His message to the world.  We may feel inadequate but Jesus’ power rests in us and on us. Jesus assures us “Don’t worry about what you are to say.  At that moment, the words will be given to you” (Matt 10:19).  As one of our hymns says: “His love and grace, that’s enough for me!”

Surely you remember St. Francis, the son of a wealthy merchant who became known as the poor man of Assisi. He serves as an example of a Christian who responded to God’s call: “Repair my Church.” Asking another friar to accompany him to preach to the townspeople, the two walked together through the streets and returned home without ever uttering a word. Questioned by the friar as to when they would begin to preach, Francis replied, “We just did. Tell all around you of the great love of God. When all else fails, use words.”

This is the kind of pilgrimage 40,000 believers are taking along four (4) routes that lead to Indianapolis for the 5-day Eucharistic Congress that begins on July 17th.   Staff from our diocesan pastoral center, and over 100 Tampa Bay parishes, will be gathering in Indianapolis for liturgies, impact sessions, concerts and other faith-filled experiences culminating in a Eucharistic Procession through downtown Indianapolis. Let us pray daily this week that pilgrims may travel in safety and that their lives may be enriched by their experience.

Join us as we pray in spirit with the pilgrims at the Congress.  Choose your own prayer time or slip away for a few minutes at the times the Sisters will be at prayer.

 

EUCHARISTIC REVIVAL

Join Crusade: Pray 10,000 Holy Hours in July

Optional Holy Hours in union with pilgrims

At The Eucharistic Revival Congress

  

Tuesday, July 16 (travel Day)        4:45 p.m. + Vespers    

 

Wednesday, July 17                        10:45 a.m. + 11:15 Mass    

 

Thursday, July 18                              3-4 p.m.

 

Friday, July 19                                    6:30 + Compline

 

Saturday, July 20                              4:30 p.m. + Vigil Service

 

Sunday, July 21                                  4:30 p.m. + Evening

 

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

 

First Reading:   Amos 7:12-15         Second Reading:  Ephesians 1:3-14
Gospel:   Mark 6:7-13

 

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Humble Yourself the More, the Greater You Are

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Yesterday’s reading from Sirach addresses us thus: “My child, conduct your affairs with humility.  Humble yourself the more, the greater you are. And you will find favor with God.”  So, how can one develop humility without becoming proud of how humble you are?

In practical everyday terms how can we recognize this amazing quality of humility?  How can you develop this wonderful trait?  We know we can quickly spot what it is NOT.  It is not judgmental, does not have room for vanity.  The one who is humble is not self-consumed, is not a door mat, is not rough with others but treasures and respects the value of all persons.

Benedict, in the Prologue and opening chapters of the Rule, prescribes humility as an essential quality of monastics in community.  He speaks of the necessity for humility for the superior and sub-prioress, the artisans, the cellarer, the readers, visiting clerics and relationships with each other in community.  He helps us recognize the role of humility in perfect love when we make satisfaction for mistakes, for broken dishes and tools, in our acceptance of what the cook offers and what the superior supplies for the members, when we consciously blend voices with others in communal prayer and graciously receive guests who share our monastic space.

Let’s look at three proven hindrances to growth in humility.

PRIDE – which focuses on self rather than others.  Listen to yourself.  How often do you start a conversation with “I”?

INSECURITY and/or OVER-CONFIDENCE – Both are forms of unhealthy self-centeredness and oppose humility because these people spend too much time “navel gazing” – examining themselves. Can you graciously digest criticism and suggestions without scrambling to justify your action or point a finger at what someone else did?  Do you smile and accept a compliment without downplaying its value with a comment like: “This old dress?  I got it long ago at Daystar.” or “Oh, it was nothing. There’s an app that does all the work.”   “The project turned out OK but it wasn’t my best.”

SELFISHNESS – As long as you focus exclusively on your own perceived personal needs and desires – forget the idea of humility – it will only be a distant dream.  Remember Benedict’s advice: “Pursue what you judge better for someone else, love humbly and prefer nothing whatever to Christ.”

The practice of humility begins in little everyday ways:

+  The words we speak: no boasting, bragging or pushing your opinion down others’ throats.

+ The way you treat others: not looking for choice places at table or seeking to rub shoulders with only the rich and famous but treating each person as one of value.

+ How you treat yourself. The humble person values herself and her abilities.  She does not spoil herself, is not self-centered; refrains from superficial behavior, is not obsessed with her appearance, her likes and dislikes, her opinions or material possessions.

What begins as a single humble act multiplies, and becomes a life-long, positive habit that impacts not only your own life, but the lives of those around you.

So, in real life what does humility look like?

  • Humble people handle challenging situations with a sense of peace because they RESPOND rather than REACT to life’s challenges.
  • The humble person focuses on service to others and not her own problems, weaknesses, health or likes and dislikes.
  • Humble people are good at networking because they attract others by making them feel comfortable, wanted and valued.
  • Humble people are wise because they listen well, do not speak impulsively and value what words they do share.
  • Humble persons are perceived as trustworthy because their goals are not self-motivated.
  • Humble persons create loyalty because they take pleasure in the successes of others.

It goes without saying that practice of humility requires sacrificing pride and moving out of your “comfort zone.”  It takes a complete a turn-around from self-centeredness.  Humility is not popular in today’s world so dare to be different.  The benefits are worth any cost: healthier relationships, mutual respect, wisdom and a quiet peace.

 

~by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

First Reading  Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29      
Second Reading  Hebrews 12:18-19;22-24
Gospel Reading  Luke 14: 1, 7-14
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Is it Time to Leave the Comfort Zone

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There is a term popular today that seems to me to fit with this message of Jesus.  The term is “comfort zone” which refers to those situations in which the person feels comfortable, safe, free from threat and challenge.  The comfort zone is, for the person involved, a thoroughly comfortable place.  Life there is marked by ease and familiarity.

It’s natural to like one’s comfort zone, but most of us would admit that we should not remain there indefinitely.  People do not become better or more mature or holier lingering in their comfort zone.  That just doesn’t happen.

In the first part of this Gospel, Jesus cautions against sitting in the place of honor at a wedding banquet and advises taking the lowest place instead.  But it is not simply a suggestion about etiquette.  Something more is going on here.  What Jesus advocates is not only for social occasions, but it’s meant to shape the entirety of our lives.

Choosing the seat of honor for ourselves is choosing the seat in our “comfort zone” – where we will be comfortable, safe, and free from the threat of interacting with strangers.  Jesus cautions us against moving into a comfort zone all on our own as though we know what we’re doing, as though it’s something we need to do.

In the second part of the Gospel, he urges us to invite the crippled, lame, and blind when we give a luncheon or dinner, rather than friends, relatives, and rich people.

So there’s advice here for us whether we’re the guest or the ones hosting an event.  Picture entering the banquet hall at our annual Gala.  Do you gravitate toward a familiar face or approach a table of “new friends” you’ve just never met before.  Do we sit in “us vs them” clumps?”  Do we do what Jesus says – ensure that our guest list includes those who are different, people who may make us uncomfortable, but whose difference from us may bring us a blessing?  This is what I think is so significant about our Thanksgiving Day dinner.  We open our door, our hearts and our table expecting nothing in return.  The blessing of being in a position to share is its own reward.

Jesus not only teaches us this lesson of stretching our comfort zone, he demonstrates it.  His entire life, his public ministry, his passion and resurrection, is full of one episode after another of his expanding what could have become his comfort zone.  Repeatedly, Jesus takes the low seat and invites unlikely types to be his guests.

Jesus left the comfort zone of his place by his Father to come to earth as a tiny, helpless infant.  Finally, he took the worst seat of all––on the cross.  He left the comfort zone of his earthly life, allowed himself to be placed in a narrow grave in order to experience ever-expanding resurrected life.  Jesus left the comfort zone within his family and friends on earth to become ever-present to all of us – to each one – at our beck and call.

Every day we encounter situations that place us outside our comfort zone – that stretch us to new territory in welcoming the “stranger” – persons or experiences.  Just be on guard against the inevitable danger that this place will soon become our new comfort zone.

I am reminded of the words of a hymn found in our Journey hymnals: “Now As We Gather” ….     “Now as we gather, God’s chosen people … there are no strangers in this holy place.”  When the stranger becomes friend, we must search out other strangers to befriend.

In this Gospel and in a hundred other ways, Jesus asks us that we do him the honor of keeping ourselves, our religion, our community from becoming trapped in some comfort zone.  This is what it means to live the life of faith – a life on the ladder of humility as described in the Rule of Benedict …  living in reverence and deference to others.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress
First Reading  Sirach 3:17-18,20,28-29     Second Reading   Hebrews 12:18-19,22-24
Gospel Reading   Luke 14:1,7-14   
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