Benedictine Sisters of FL

Holy Name Monastery
Founded 1889

Son

“The Son – Who will take the Son?”

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I want to tell you a story – it’s been in my collection just waiting to be told.   I trust, in the end, you will see how it relates to this weekend’s Gospel selection

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They would often sit together and admire them.  When the conflict in the Mideast broke out and Desert Shield and Desert Storm were declared, the son went to war where he died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.

About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands.  He said, “Sir, you don’t know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly.  I recall that he often talked about you, and your love for art.  I’m not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this”.  It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. The father stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son. His eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. “Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It’s a gift.”

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home, he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.  A few months later the older man died. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.  On the platform sat the painting of the son. “We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?”

There was silence.  Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, “We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.”  But the auctioneer persisted. “Will somebody bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?”  Another voice shouted angrily: “We didn’t come to see this painting. Get on with the real bids!”  But still the auctioneer continued. “The son! The son! Who’ll take the son?”

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime housekeeper of the man and his son. She bid her last penny.   “I’ll give $10 for the painting.”   The crowd shouted angrily: “Give it to her for $10. Let us see the works of the masters.”  The auctioneer pounded the gavel. “Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!”  A man sitting on the second row shouted, “Now, let’s get on with the collection!”

The crowd grew quiet; shocked when the auctioneer responded: “I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. And, whoever bought that painting, would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings.  The person who took the son, gets everything!”

Much like that auctioneer, God’s message today is: “The Son, the Son, who’ll take the Son?”  Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything!

In our Gospel today the Son reminds us of his two-pronged commandment: love of God and love of neighbor.  When we accept the Son, we accept the responsibility, along with all the blessings, the Son offers us.  Part of our acceptance package, like the housekeeper-bidder in our story, is the “whole collection.”  It is not an easy choice but one we know is possible because we trust the words of Scripture.  In the writings of the Evangelist John we read: “My friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.  God is love!  We love because God first loved us.”

What is your response when the auctioneer’s voice rings out in our assembly: “The Son – who will take the Son?”

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

Pray for a peaceful election season: Bless our nation in this time of great transition.

 

 

First Reading:   Deuteronomy 6:2-6         Second Reading:  Hebrews 7:23-28
Gospel:   Mark 12:28b-34

 

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Trinity Sunday

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On this, the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, we celebrate the Church’s understanding of who God is: three unique, equal, divine persons in one God.  It is a celebration of our lived faith experience that we attempt to put into words.  We turn to the Scripture writers for a fuller understanding of this experience and for the ability to share the experience of God in our own lives.  I like Bishop Barron’s description, “The love that God the Father and the Son breathe back and forth is the Holy Spirit, the life of the church.”

But, nowhere in Scripture will you find a specific teaching of the Trinity.  However, we do find many places where the biblical experience of God is so rich that it cannot be encapsulated in a single word.  Jesus is the visible icon (as it were) of the invisible God, making the mystery of God tangible to us.  It is important that we believers have a welcoming attitude to the triune presence of God, so we are ready whenever, and through whomever, God chooses to continue to be revealed.  In this way we will be ready to listen to  and become involved in that dialogue.  Without the continued experience of Father, Son, and Spirit (or some may choose to say: Creator, Savior and Spirit) the doctrine ceases to be a lived experience.  But, if we expect today’s readings to give a clear presentation of the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity, that simply will not be the case.  Ours is a God so generous… who loves us so much, that this whole world was created for us and continues to gift to us the gift of Self through the appearance of bread and wine.  Here is a God, generosity personified, who loves us beyond our wildest imaginings.

God wants us to discover this Love and celebrate it.  The fact is: God wants to be found and is constantly calling out to us – but not necessarily with words. He gives us so many opportunities – so many times when we travel through even the darkest tunnels of our lives and then come out the other side to encounter, unexpectedly, something surprisingly, great beauty and holiness.  As I came through the connector this past week, I found myself surprised and confounded by a glimpse of an awesome glorious dawn!  The words of Sirach spring to mind: “As the rising sun is clear to all!  How beautiful are all God’s works!  Even to the spark of a fleeting vision.”

As long as we have our feet planted on “this side of the grass” it makes sense that we might not be able to completely understand how something can be “one” and “three” at the same time.  We need symbols to help us delve deeper and deeper into the mystery of the Trinity e.g. St. Patrick’s shamrock or three-leafed clover … three leaves, one stem.  Or consider the egg you might have for breakfast: yolk, white and shell – three parts, one egg.  Or we might’ve heard the Trinity compared to an Apple….  ONE apple, three different parts: skin, flesh, and seed.

This is a feast, a solemnity beyond words.  The Holy Trinity is a privilege and not merely a commemoration of a doctrine.  Through the celebration the Trinity we enter into a communion of Persons who has loved us into being and continues to call us each day to a fuller experience, a deeper lived knowledge, of our Triune God.

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

 

First Reading: Deuteronomy 4:32-34. 30-40             Second Reading: Roman 8:14-17
Gospel:  Matthew 28:16-20
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Fourth Sunday of Lent

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What’s weighing heavy on your heart? I’m here. Let’s talk.

 

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 jars 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 – which makes 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 shed some light on my quandary.”

Puzzled by what Jesus says, 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.”

John reports that Jesus assures Nicodemus: “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?”

Jesus calls Nicodemus’ attention to the story in the Book of Numbers, when the people were in the desert and they complained against God and Moses. “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.”  John 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: “What’s happening today: natural disasters, people against people violence, starvation and selfishness, dread illness …   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.  “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

 

 

 

First Reading:   2 Chronicles 36:14-16      Second Reading:  Ephesians 2:4-10
Gospel:   John 3:14-21
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Trinity Sunday

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This past week, as you know, we returned to Ordinary Time.  However, it’s as if today the Church says: “Wait a minute – there IS one more idea we need to explore.  Let’s celebrate our Triune God.”

But if you expect today’s readings to give a clear presentation of the doctrine of the Trinity, you will be sorely disappointed. In fact, the word “Trinity” is not found in the Scripture.  One writer has said if Jesus were to ask the question today, “Who do you say that I am?”, a modern theologian might answer: “Thou art the Logos, existing in the Father as His rationality and then, by an act of His will, being generated, in consideration of the various functions by which God is related to his creation, but only on the fact that Scripture speaks of a Father, and a Son, and a Holy Spirit, etc. etc.”  Jesus might have replied: “What’s that you say?”

We may not be able to understand the how of the Trinity, but it is important to understand the why.  The concept gives us a more personal, a more dynamic experience of God.  We are made in the image of God, and, therefore, the more we understand God the more we can understand ourselves.   The mystery of the Blessed Trinity tells us about the kind of God we worship and about the kind of people we should be.

Here is a generous God who loves us beyond our understanding! This whole world was created for us.  God gave us Himself in flesh, to suffer with us and die for us.  Here is a God so generous as to continue to offer Himself to us through the appearance of bread and wine.  Here is a God whose generosity spills over for us in gifts of wisdom and understanding, courage and piety, knowledge and counsel and fear of the Lord.  Here is a God who loves us beyond our wildest imaginings.

God wants us to discover this and celebrate it.  The fact is: God wants to be found and is constantly calling out to us. But he does not necessarily call out to us with words. We are given many opportunities; so many times, when we travel through even the darkest tunnels of our lives and then come out at the other side of the encounter to discover, unexpectedly, something surprising and beautiful and holy.  There is an example from this past week, when I came into the connector and was surprised by an awesome glorious red dawn!  Recall the reading earlier this week (from Sirach): “As the rising sun is clear to all, so the glory of the Lord fills all His works.  How beautiful are all God’s works!  Even to the spark of a fleeting vision.”

Recall the analogy of a community to a three-legged stool.  As individuals in community, we need God and others.  The stool becomes lopsided or falls if any one leg is shortened or missing.  It takes all of us to make community: God, me and all our members.  Sometimes we may feel it really doesn’t matter if I miss an activity; that the meals, card games, choral prayer will still go on whether I am present or not.  And, it will!  And it will be done in your name.  There are legitimate reasons to be absent, but never, ever feel that your presence doesn’t count or is not important or significant.

A recent study reports that people between the ages 25 to 44 saw a nearly 30% increase in heart attack deaths over the first two years of the pandemic.  Another study tells us that people who experience prolonged feelings of loneliness are 26% more likely to suffer a heart attack.  So, let’s be on the watch for symptoms of loneliness in ourselves.  And, likewise, be on guard that we are inclusive of each other.

This celebration of the Trinity reminds us of the limitless possibilities of God.  Our god is One God, and cannot be contained but must co-exist as three persons. Let us seek out God in divine magnificent creativity, in all the manifestations as Father Mother as Sister Brother, as Counselor, Friend.  God is waiting for us.  Ours is a God who wants to be found.

~by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

First Reading: Exodus 34: 4b-6, 8-9   Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Gospel Reading: John 3:16-18
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Contemplating the Assumption of Mary

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Contemplating the Assumption of Mary

From Fr. Ed Lamp – August 15, 2021

Original Author Andy Alexander, S.J. – January 1, 2000

Mary looked over at John writing at his table and smiled.  He had always looked so young and the years had not aged him very much.  She could understand why Jesus had such a special place in his heart for John, with his gentle ways and his easy love for people.

She gathered her cloak around her against the cold and closed her eyes as she thought about the many years of her life.  So much of it was beyond understanding and yet she believed it and accepted it.  She had been given a courage, faith and humility that could only be a gift from God.  How else could she have overcome her fears and said “Yes” when Gabriel asked her to be the mother of the Savior?  Her son, Jesus, had been a wonder in her life.  She had not always understood all of what he did but she knew he had a special role on earth.  Their hearts had been bound together in faith and an unbreakable love.  She had watched him leave home, teach, heal and challenge the authorities.  Her heart had been pierced with such sorrow when he was arrested and tortured and finally put to death.  Her faith in the Father had carried her through those days, and the incredible joy-filled days that came after.

“Imma?” John, said using the most intimate Hebrew form of “mother.”  He laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.  “You are so quiet these days.”  She smiled at him with affection.  “Dearest John, my life has been long and I have so much to be grateful for.  These years together have been so full.”

It was true.  In the weeks after he had risen, Jesus had spoken to them of a new order, a new way of life.  She had resisted the urge to cling to him and not let him go again.  She had to trust.  “I will be with you always,” he had said.  In her heart, she knew it was true and once again opened her life fully to God’s will.  She had watched with joy as Jesus was taken up into the clouds.  In the years that had followed, his message and life had given hope and meaning to a growing number of followers.  She had spoken to so many of the disciples and followers in those times.

Jesus was in her life, too, in a vivid and very real way.  She felt his presence with her as she grew tired.  She spoke to him from her heart constantly, just as she did when he was on earth.  She felt a strong connection that was as unexplainable as it was real.  She closed her eyes again in thought.

“Imma,” came the familiar loving voice.  “Blessed are you among women.”   She knew it was different.  She was not in John’s house but with Jesus, standing in a place that filled her with a different kind of joy.  “My son,” she said softly as they embraced.  She felt his cheek firmly against hers.

She did not know how or why.  There were no questions and no answers for this.  He had promised her she would be with him and the Father.  She touched her body in wonder and knew she had been drawn to a different place by power not her own.  It was her same body and yet different, more vibrant.

“You said ‘Yes’ to the Father’s request, Imma,” Jesus said to her.  “Your life was prepared in a special way and you followed it with such faith.  You made my work possible.”

Mary knew that somehow she was experiencing the resurrection in a way others would have to wait for.  As she had so many times before, she paused and opened her heart in prayer.  “The Almighty has done great things for me.  Holy is his Name.”

 

In your prayers please remember the people of Haiti.  Early reports say that the earthquake there (7.2 magnitude) caused catastrophic damage with many people still trapped in the rubble.  We pray for the health and safety of everyone impacted and for the emergency responders and medical teams as they work during this devastating time to help people in the aftermath.

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The Holy Trinity – There are Clues

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I quote Richard Rohr: “I think it’s foolish to presume we can understand Jesus if we don’t first of all understand the Trinity.  We will continually misinterpret and misuse Jesus if we don’t first participate in the circle dance of mutuality and communion within which he participated.”

The reality of the Holy Trinity a mystery – an incomprehensible concept.   Thankfully, mysteries can be talked about.  They can be described.  They have clues that our minds can grasp.  A mystery remains a mystery unless and until we grasp it in its totality.  But, when it comes to God we simply cannot grasp the total reality of God.

We know, because we’ve been taught, that the inner nature of God, in whose image and likeness we are made, is Three Persons who, however distinct they are, totally belong to each other.  Humans, because they are made in God’s image, are made to belong in a special kind of belonging.  We (Benedictines at Holy Name Monastery) are free persons who chose to live in a community where we are mutually dependent on each other for full existence.  While there is a style of belonging that enslaves – a possessive belonging – there is also a belonging that gives freedom, the freedom to be who we are as persons.

The concept of the Holy Trinity is a mystery, but not a total mystery.   Mysteries, after all, are made up of clues. In a mystery story we pursue and piece together clues in order to see the whole picture.  So it is with the Holy Trinity.  We have lots of clues about the Holy Trinity.  And when we pursue them and piece them together we get a good glimpse into what kind of a god our God is.  God is all about love.  And when we live in love we live in God, and God lives in us.  Living in love, however, does not mean we must all be exactly the same.

There’s a great deal of confusion about this in today’s culture.  But it’s ridiculous to think that all persons must be the same.  We aren’t meant to be ducks in a row, waddling to the same tempo.  We honor our Triune God in whose image we are made.  God the Creator is a distinct Person; the God the Son, our Savior is a distinct Person; and God the Holy Spirit is a distinct person.  Distinct though they are, however, they exist in one being of infinite love.  They exist in one unbreakable bond, in one infinite union of being together.

While all of that remains a mystery to us, it is not so mysterious that we cannot live with each other in a reality of life that reflects and shares in the reality of God’s life.  To live a God-like life we must forgive rather than condemn.  We must build-up and affirm rather than tear down.  We must see the best, not the worst.  We must be self-sacrificial and not self-centered.  We must be giving rather than grasping.  We must offer hope, not despair.  We must heal rather than wound.  All of this is best affirmed and nurtured in what we know as a community.  There is nothing in life that more closely reflects the reality of the Holy Trinity than genuine family life.   This concept is mimicked in intentional community life.  For it is in such a setting that we not only belong but also where we discover, nurture, and affirm our own unique and individual personalities.  It is in living the reality of being truly a community that we have a glimpse into the life of the Trinity.

In our community prayer, a “Trinitarian-like movement” echoes the rhythm of our whole lives.  In Lectio we go up to the mountaintop with Jesus, we have conversation with Him there, and we return to everyday life among his people.  Notice, too, in our communal prayer, a three-fold movement: we sit, we stand, we bow.  In our chants, we don’t always have to harmonize (singing different but complementary melodies) but we do strive to keep our voices in harmony with each other – one heart, one voice, one love.

We all have different views about the mystery we celebrate today.  We have different views in our heads about who God is and what God is like.   But I think we agree:  God is love and we are made in God’s image.  But, love is only a word until someone gives it meaning.  To be true to our calling we must be the ones who give meaning to love in our world.  We, Benedictine Sisters of Florida – and our Oblates and Volunteers – put flesh on that calling through our Corporate Commitment: We commit ourselves and our resources to respond with the compassion of Christ to the hungers of the people of God.

~Reflection By Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB, Prioress

 

First Reading   Exodus 34:4b-6,8-9                  Second Reading 2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Gospel  John 3:16-18                    
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