Benedictine Sisters of FL

Holy Name Monastery
Founded 1889

stability

Do You Think You’re Really What They Say You Are?

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At the outset let it be understood that what follows may appear to be fiction, it is not.  More than one of the evangelists spent an afternoon sharing between themselves as I listened in.

This is some of what I gleaned.  One day, when the man of God Benedict was doing Lectio and pondering how to incorporate his set of values into his manuscript directed to his followers, the evangelists Luke and Matthew entered the reverie.  What an inspiration!  The exchange continued for quite a for a spell.  Look Ben, (one of the speakers said) “you’ve consulted the writings of the one you call the Master.  May I suggest you look at what’s recorded in our sayings of THE Master.   Sure enough!  Very many of our special Benedictine values are put forth by THE Master, Jesus.

+ A SPIRIT of POVERTY: take nothing with you (is how Jesus puts it) No money bags, no suitcase, no canvas bag or pretty tote and no sandals.  Or as you say it in your Rule: “No one may presume to give, receive or retrain anything as her own, nothing at all, in short not a single item … no one shall presume ownership of anything.“

+ A SENSE of STABILITY: Jesus advises his followers: Into whatever house you enter, stay in the same house; don’t be moving from one house to another.   Benedict, you describe the first kind of monastics called cenobites.  From what you say, I sense this may be your preferred type of members.  “Those who belong to a particular monastery, where they serve under the rule of a superior.”

+ Further, Benedict, you expect these cenobites to follow Jesus’ way of life, personally and communally, practicing a SPIRIT of SIMPLICITY and ACCEPTANCE of WHATEVER IS AVAILABLES:  In your words:  Eating and drinking whatever is offered to you; whatever is set before you.

You have an obvious understanding of human nature, Benedict. Could we attribute that to your twin sister’s influence?  She took her turn as cook for her group of women whom she loved as ardently as you looked after the rough and tough gang of men that lived with you. It’s evident in your words: Taking turns serving one another, using an unvoiced system of gestures when anything is required.  And (yes, PLEASE God) it will save you a heap of trouble if you, designate a weekly reader to proclaim the Holy Word throughout the meal.

In studying your Rule, Benedict, it seems to go without saying that there will likely be no harmony in the group unless the members each and all strive to AVOID EVIL and CLING to PEACE.   The evangelists remind readers: Remember what Jesus said: “If peace is not present in the house where you find yourself, go out into the streets and shake the dust from your feet and leave that town.”  When you feel evil arising in you, get in touch with the cause – shame the devil – leave the occasion of sin.

Mark interjected a stray thought.  Consider, he suggested, what ultimately did not happen in Nazareth: no healings, no mighty deeds.  Is it much of a surprise?  After all a miracle is not just an event, but it is an interpreted event. If Jesus is not reputed to be capable of healing, any healing that does take place won’t be attributed to him. So, the crowd’s attitude is “there’s nothing here to see. Let’s just move along, move along… and find some other excitement.”

Such is true with us, with our community.  Our guests won’t experience peace and harmony, generosity of spirit and light-heartedness, beauty in nature and in liturgy if they can’t witness those qualities in each of us.  They come expecting a miracle.  The miracles happen in our interactions, first with each other, then between us and our guests.

Remember Jesus’ question to this disciples, “Who do people say I am?  And, you: “Who do you say I am?”  Who do you say these Benedictine Sisters of FL are?

Do you recall the rock opera popular in the 1970’s: “Jesus Christ, Superstar”?   This line challenges us: “Do you think / you’re what / they say you are?”  Benedictine Sisters of Florida, do you think  / you’re what they say you are?  Are you really who you say you are?

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

Thursday, July 11, is the summer feast of St. Benedict.  The feast most folks know of is celebrated on March 21.  But that day usually falls during Lent when Alleluia is suppressed and music low key …  we, Benedictines “pull out all the stops” for the summer feast.  Whisper a pray for us at Holy Name as we continue to walk into an ever-evolving future.  God bless each of you!

 

 

 

Gospel:   Mark 6:1-6

 

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Let Your Yes be Yes and Your No be No

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Every Jew in Jesus’ day knew these words: “…ye have heard that it has been said by them of old time, you shalt not forswear thyself…”   We call it perjury – a willful act of swearing a false oath or of falsifying the truth.  Can people take me at my word?  If You can answer in the affirmative.  Then folks know that your ‘Yes’ means ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ means ‘No.’  Or, as Pilate once said -and someone around here says – “What I have spoken, I have spoken.”

With a vow what we say is what we mean.  If we do not mean it, if we hold on to “except when” or “unless” or “until it’s not working or it doesn’t fulfill me – then I’m out of here’ – that’s perjury, a false oath.  You see, a vow doesn’t need an oath.  Jesus made it clear that our yes is enough; we vow with “no strings attached.”  As vowed Benedictines what do we do to insure we are truly committed to a perpetual pursuit of growth in the monastic way of life?  What do we do to expand our knowledge and familiarity with the Rule of Benedict?  How deeply do we delve into Scripture and aim to deepen a new, fuller meaning of God’s Word?  What do I hear today that somehow I never heard before?

What do we do to expand our understanding and application of our vow of obedience?  What does obedience mean to me now?  In a spirit of mutual obedience do we conscientiously seek input from a superior and spiritual elder?  Suppose what is asked of me is not what I had in mind?  Do I give it serious consideration or was my asking simply pro forma?  Do I give a half-hearted acquiescence to a superior’s request treating it merely as a suggestion or do I view it as a call of the Spirit?

What if the group makes a decision I don’t like?  Do I have any obligation to comply it if I voted against it?  What about annoying behaviors – not immoral actions, just a behavior I know grates on another’s nerves?  Here’s the authentic test question: how closely does my behavior mirror Benedict’s “deference to one another?”

To keep our “yes” a “yes” takes much prayer, honest introspection, willingness to open our hearts to new meanings and a spirit of grounded integrity.  Otherwise, our vows are not worth the piece of paper they are written on.

This is where our vow of stability comes into play.  With our vow we are publicly professing responsibility to work on fidelity to our covenant with God and our commitment to one another.  That takes an awareness of what is going on inside of ourselves, and a responsibility for how we might be contributing to the building up of, or destruction of a bond into which we’ve entered.  Remember: if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

In this Gospel reading Jesus is talking about a lifetime pursuit in which our integrity isn’t just a matter of external conformity, but an internal way of life.  There’s that sticky vow of conversion of life.  Our words should simply be our bond.  If you sometimes say yes with your lips when your heart is thinking NO WAY!  People will pick up on that.  When in my heart I say NO, but my lips said yes…that’s deceit, it’s a lie.  My tongue speaks what my heart isn’t feeling.  I’m lying to myself and to others.  If I solemnly declare, “I promise I’m telling you the truth,” does that mean that sometimes I’m not telling the truth?

Ultimately our relationships with people are inseparable from our relationship to God; and it is the love of God that binds us.  It is God’s love that teaches us about relatedness, about truth, about personal integrity.  Heed Jesus’ words: Let your YES be YES and your NO be NO!

 

~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

First Reading:   Sirach 15:15-20         Second Reading:  1 Corinthians 2:6-10
Gospel:   Matthew 5:17-37

 

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Third Sunday of Advent

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This Third Sunday of Advent is familiarly known as Gaudete Sunday – a Latin word that means “rejoice” – the first word (in Latin) of the Entrance Antiphon at Mass: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice.  Indeed, the Lord is near.”  We mark Gaudete Sunday by lighting a rose-colored candle (in the Advent wreath) and the celebrant at Mass may wear rose colored vestments.  The church rejoices because we are halfway to Christmas.  I refer you to the First Reading from Isaiah: “The parched land will exult, will rejoice and bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song.”  We are called to be a joyful people.  The Promised One is approaching and is nearer at hand.

I get the impression, though, in today’s early post-pandemic world that “joy” is on the decline.  The theme of joy is a rare commodity.  When someone asks: “How was your day?”  We might hear ho-hum tones: “It was OK” or “Could have been better” or “I’m just so tired of doing the same thing every day.”  Or “I’m exhausted.”  Or “Don’t ask me.”  To have joy is to have a deep sense of delight.  The Greek origins of the word “joy” literally means “for the heart, in its deepest place of passion and feelings, to be well.”  That’s what it’s like to have joy.

So why is joy so rare?  To experience joy in one’s life, four qualities must co-exist.  First, joy takes time.  Joy comes of living a “savored” life.  Take the time, make the time to smell the roses, to observe the pace of a sandhill crane crossing the street or to glory in a sunset or moonrise.  There is an old monastic saying that describes joy.  “When you are sipping tea or watering a plant, or gazing at an icon, do just that.”  Be present in the moment.  Such moments are pregnant with God’s real presence, promise and providential care.

Second, to know joy requires acceptance – a “yes” to life – YES to the hand we’ve been dealt.  You may have discovered at some point that the script we’ve been handed in the play of life is not the part we thought we were trying out for.  Joy requires a deep willingness to accept that we are God’s creatures and that God is at work according to God’s good pleasure.  Joyful persons do not live in a state of resentment for what might have been or what “used to be.”  In God’s plan, there is a reason why today is not tomorrow.  We need each of our todays to prepare us to receive the promise of tomorrow.  Remember the phrase from our COVID prayer: “We live in full union with the God who loves us and wants only our good.”

Third, for a joyful spirit desire is required.  We have to want joy.  Joy is a gift, a gift of the Spirit.  If you want the gift of joy, ask God for the gift with your heart open and ready to accept the gift in whatever way God hands to the gift to you.

And, fourth, to be joyful we need stability, patience and endurance.  Maybe that’s why Jesus says: “Truly I tell you… you will have sorrow… but your sorrow will turn into joy.”

Life for most people is not picture perfect.  But there is much joy to be found if we simply LOOK for JOY.  Be on the lookout to SEE and REFLECT the JOY that is right before your eyes waiting to be seen.  The more we dwell on our everyday blessings, the more joyful moments seem to multiply in our lives.  And by experiencing more joy in my own life, I have more JOY to give away.  To quote Henri Nouwen: “Joy does not simply happen to us.  We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”  JOY is a beautiful gift to embrace, celebrate and give away at Christmastime.  

~by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB

 

 

First Reading  Isaiah 35:1-6, 10                       
Second Reading 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24  
Gospel Reading  Matthew 11:2-11

 

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