Easter Light



Easter Light


In every darkness,
there is always Light,
the Light we often fail to see
because we slumber in unawareness.


In every darkness,
a plant grows,
reflecting the Beauty of the Light
and we awaken to see in awareness.


In every awareness,
our heart leaps with joy
at the profound sight of Radiant Light
and we breathlessly sing “Rabbouni!”


In every Illuminative Encounter,
our heart is ONED with the Light
and we enthusiastically go forth as commanded
to awaken others to the surprise of the Easter Light.

~Sister Priscilla Cohen, OSB



Fra Angelico, 1425-30
Location- Convent of San Marco, Florence
"Noli Me Tangere"
("Do Not Cling to Me")



Suspended in Time

Holy Saturday, the Vigil of Easter, is often called the "Forgotten Day", the day suspended in time, the "in-between day" between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.  While some may keep Good Friday as a day of silence to ponder Jesus' sacrificial love, most become busy with the frenetic activity of Easter preparations.  Monateries have  for centuries observed this "suspended in time" day in prayer and silence from Holy Thursday through Holy Saturday.  But, as Thomas Merton often said, it can get quite busy inside the monastery walls. So we did have to stop a while to prepare for tomorrows glorious feast.

The tables are decorated

The Easter Eggs are ready

The Easter bread is ready

"The kindling is ready for the Easter fire

The Easter lilies are all lined up ready to be taken

to the chapel altar

The staff have prepared the Easter dinner for tomorrow

The grounds have been mowed



And now it's time to go to this "mother of all Vigils."

Tune in later for more.

This is my favorite celebration, but I cannot adequately put into words why it is so special to me.  It's like it is a mystery.  It's one of those deep down things that one just experiences and knows the "is-ness" of it.  The liturgy is so rich, so full of symbolism, that the heart and mind cannot absorb it all.  The "suspended in time" mode just immerses one in the Presence.  Tonight's service started at 8pm and was over at 10pm, I think.  We had a little party afterwards.  It is now 12:28 am and I cannot think anymore.  The only thing I can do is to download some more pictures and a video that will reflect the four aspects of the Vigil service- The Service of Light, Liturgy of the Word (video of the first day of the creation story-but if this takes 2hrs to download, it might not be posted until tomorrow), Liturgy of Baptism, and Liturgy of the Eucharist.

 "Make this new fire holy, and inflame us with new hope."

"Let us now listen attentively to the word of God, recalling how he saved his people throughout history and, in the fullness of time, sent his own Son to be our Redeemer."

Sister Lynn Marie and Sister Therese

singing the Creation story from Genesis

 "Bless this water: it makes the seed to grow, it refreshes us and makes us clean."



 

 "May the light of Christ, rising in     glory, dispel the darkness

of our hearts and minds."





"Christ has become our
paschal sacrifice;
let us feast
with the unleavened bread
of sincerity and truth,
ALLELUIA!!!!!
ALLELUIA!!!!!
                                   ALLELUIA!!!!!

The Gift of Love

“When Jesus saw his mother

and the disciple there whom he loved

he said to his mother,

Woman, behold, your son.

Then he said to the disciple,

Behold your mother.”

John 19: 26-27

My niece Tracy gave birth to her beautiful little baby boy this past Tuesday. Pictures of this blessed gift of God have been flying all over Facebook the past few days. I am here and he and his happy parents and first-time grandparents are in Mississippi, but thanks to social networking I feel I am already making connection with little Gunnar. I see pictures of Tracy holding and admiring him and I speculate they were taken just minutes after his birth since Tracy still has the blood pressure cuff on one arm and an IV in the other arm. The picture of him naked with only a warming cap on his head and screaming his lungs out puts me at the scene of the delivery. I even see a slightly bluish hand which tells me he just came into the world. Subsequent pictures show a deep pink complexion which reassures this nurse that he is healthy and right on target with his Apgar scores.

The above posted picture is my favorite. Tracy is crying tears of joy and overwhelming gratitude for the gift of little Gunnar. Her whole pregnancy was one of joyful anticipation and generous preparation for this beautiful child of God. He will dwell in the most beautiful and unique nursery in all the world and will be loved by the most loving parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents in all the world.

I knew yesterday that I had to write a blog about this picture. But this is Good Friday, so I pondered all day how I could connect it with the liturgy of today. As I was listening to the Gospel at our service for Good Friday, the above words hit me like a thunderbolt and this picture of Tracy and Gunnar jumped into my awareness. That’s it!!! Tracy’s intimate encounter with the face of her newborn son, her tears of joy and her overwhelming sense of “Wow, Luke and I really did this!” somehow reflects Mary and Jesus’ loving relationship also. Mary held Jesus also in her arms after his birth, she picked him up whenever he fell, she looked for him when he was lost, she was with him all the way to Calvary and helped him up when he fell due to the weight of his cross. She was there at the foot of the cross when he gave his last breath and again held him in her arms when he was taken from the cross.

I pray that Mary will be a source of grace for Tracy and Luke as they hold Gunnar when he is crying, as they hold him and teach him to walk, fish and hunt, as they take him to the doctor for all his routine check-ups and hold him close during all his immunizations, as they hug him good-bye on his first day of school and on and on and on. I know that Gunnar will be loved and cared for just like Jesus was.

The Gift of Love

My thoughts of you are fair as precious stones

out of the memory’s deep mysterious mines.

I cut and polish, hold the gems to light-

color of sea water, color of wines

coaxed from the earth’s sweetest fruits.

I drop them down

into my heart, into the lifted hands

of love whose lone concern is your renown.

~Jessica Powers

Dining with Jesus

At the table with Jesus tonight,

my eyes were opened

to the wondrous insight

of his extravagant love for me and my Sisters.

After all the thoughtful preparations

for our last meal together,

we all reclined with satisfaction

as we waited to share

Holy Communion with our Teacher

who would dare
to show us how to serve forever.

My intent was just

to be a “Mary” figure at Jesus’ feet

absorbing his Words of

Light, Life, and Mystery sweet.

But it wasn’t long

before I started pondering

how I could

wait on him

comfort him,

thank him

for his laying down his life for me on Calvary tomorrow.

After breaking bread together,

Jesus took a towel

and he washed OUR FEET.

He could lovingly

accomplish this generous feat

despite his betrayer

at that moment

making plans for his defeat.



Section stained glass window
Sacred Heart Monastery Chapel

Sitting back down at table,

he reminded us he is our Teacher

and that what he has just done will enable

us to carry on his mission

of love and service

for all generations.

All in silence now,

to our Savior we bow

and watch and pray and suppose

the meaning of Gethsemane’s repose.

In silence tomorrow

we ponder Jesus’ great love for us

and resolve that we

“will lay our lives down

for the other, as Jesus did,

and count everything we do

as the privilege of participating

in the co-creation of the world.”

(Quote from The Monastery of the Heart ~ Joan Chittister)

~Sister Priscilla Cohen, OSB

4/21/2011



Section of stained glass window
Sacred Heart Monastery Chapel

"My soul is sorrowful even to death.

Remain here and keep watch with me."

Matthew 26:38

 



The End is Near?

The Scripture readings for yesterday and today heighten the awareness that Jesus’ final days are imminent. In the reading from Isaiah this morning (Is. 50: 4-9a), Jesus’ humility in accepting his mission on earth is very clear:

                                  "Morning after morning

he opens my ears

that I may hear;

and I have not rebelled,

have not turned back.

I gave my back to those

who beat me,

                                             my cheeks to those

                                                 who plucked my beard;

                                                my face I did not shield

                                                from buffets and spitting.

                                                …He is near who upholds my right;

                                               if anyone wishes to oppose me,

                                                 let us appear together.”

In John’s Gospel (13:21-33, 36-38), Jesus announces his impending betrayal by one of his disciples. Totally clueless, they begin asking who the traitor could be. Judas steps into the scene as Jesus hands him the dipped morsel, but the disciples do not perceive the significance of this betrayal identification. Jesus tells Judas to proceed with what he is going to do. Since Judas was the keeper of the money bag, the disciples assumed his quick departure was for the purpose of procuring supplies for the Passover feast or to contribute alms to the poor. John’s words “And it was night” indicate Judas’ isolation from the communion of love that Jesus the Light of the World came to give.

Jesus appears pretty calm in his consideration of Judas’ action in what is about to occur. He goes on to continue the discourse of what is about to transpire:



                                                                 "Now is the Son of Man to be glorified

                      and God is glorified in him...

                 you will look for me…

                        where I go you cannot come…”

Peter then jumps into the limelight with his inquisitiveness as to Jesus’ location and a promise to follow Jesus wherever he goes, no matter what. Jesus informs Peter the “the cock will not crow before you deny me three times.”

The same betrayal story appears in Matthew’s Gospel  (Mt. 26:14-25). Judas approaches the chief priests- the betrayal plans are made and Judas receives the thirty pieces of silver. Jesus and the other disciples begin preparations for the Passover. Judas returns, receives the dipped morsel, and betrays.

Jesus, Judas, Peter~ Light, Betrayer, Denier.

Jesus~ The Light of the World, Peace and Love, Servant to all, center of salvation history.

Judas~ Fallen away in darkness, but loved by Jesus.

Peter~ Sincere but not always faithful, but loved by Jesus.

Judas~ Remorseful, but gave it all up.

Peter~ Remorseful, but returned and became faithful servant of Jesus’ mission

And the story goes on

as these characters live on in each of us

and we are truly loved!!!

Overflowing Fragrance of Love

In today’s Gospel (John 12: 1-11), Jesus once again visits his friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus at their house just six days before the Passover. In past Gospel accounts, we observe Mary always sitting at Jesus’ feet absorbed in his presence. Some consider her passive as compared to the hustle-bustle activity of her sister Martha; others see her as actively present to the Word of God, soaking in Light, Love and Life. But in today’s reading, she switches gears. We see her in the “doing” mode, spilling “a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard” over Jesus’ feet and then drying them with her hair. The aromatic fragrance of the oil filled the house. Mary had grown in love with Jesus and her heart was grateful to him for just recently bringing her brother Lazarus back to life. This ignited her grateful heart to return the love to Jesus she had witnessed. Jesus taught her love and by her generous act of returning love, she graduates from disciple to teacher, thus showing us the way to continue Jesus’ mission.

Thomas Keating, in his book The Mystery of Christ, says that in Mary’s anointing Jesus’ feet, “she manifests the same disposition of total self-giving that he is about to manifest on the cross. She had learned from Jesus how to throw herself away and become like God…To perpetuate Mary’s memory is to fill the whole world with the perfume of God’s love, the love that is totally self-giving. In the concrete, it is to anoint the poor and the afflicted, the favored members of Christ’s Body, with this love.”

Judas comes to the forefront and questions the extravagant waste of the perfume when it could be used for the service of the poor. This provides another teaching opportunity for Jesus. Jesus’ response -“Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me”- indicates Mary has chosen the right path and is part of the redemptive act for the world about to take place. Through her anointing of Jesus, she predicts Jesus’ washing the disciples’ feet and his total act of self-giving on the cross.

As I ponder this beautiful Gospel story, I realize the importance of right relationship in community. Jesus unites all present in the House of Bethany into a communion of love. Judas, the thief and betrayer, cannot understand this communion because of his greed and is thus isolated from the true understanding of total self-giving.

Joan Chittister, in her book, The Monastery of the Heart, captures the essence of this Gospel’s message:
                                                          

                                                     “What is central is that together

                                                  we use our goods

for something greater than ourselves,

that we “do not store up grain in barns,”

as the scriptures say,

for our own security alone,

but use the profits of our labor

for the good of others, as well.

It is a process of making

all of human community real,

                                                 and of doing it

                                                      out of a common vision

                                                     and one heart,

                                                        in whatever form is available-

                                                         so that the spirit of community

                                                        that is Benedictine to its core

                                                        may spread like a holy plague

                                                      throughout the world.”

Final Stretch to Easter Glory

Today, Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, we enter into the final stretch of accompanying Jesus on his journey to Easter glory. As we gather for the blessing of the palm, the priest proclaims the following salutation: “Dear friends in Christ, for five weeks we have been preparing, by works of charity and self-sacrifice, for the celebration of our Lord’s paschal mystery. Today we come together to begin this solemn celebration in union with the whole Church throughout the world. Christ entered in triumph into his own city, to complete his work as our Messiah: to suffer, to die, and to rise again. Let us remember with devotion this entry which began his saving work and follow him with a lively faith. United with him in his suffering on the cross, may we share his resurrection and new life.” As I listen to this greeting year after year, I realize I have come to a crossroad in life. I am on the bridge between what has been and what is yet to come. My mind begins to unravel a quick examination of conscience- How have I lived these past five weeks of Lent? Did I fulfill my Lenten resolutions? Did I at least try to fulfill them? Did I at least fulfill one of them? What works of charity and self-sacrifice did I practice? But I don’t have much time for this interior soul searching because my heart awakens to the invitation to join everyone in union with the whole Church to accompany Christ as he enters in triumph into his own city to complete his journey of suffering, dying, and rising. Jesus and I are both on the bridge of “no return” and willingly trust the Spirit to lead us step by step to the promise of new life. As I join the procession to the chapel, my heart fast forwards to the intensity of the liturgical drama that will transpire during this Holy Week Pilgrimage. The long Passion narrative will be read today and on Good Friday and I must listen for God’s message for me at this time in my life. The symbol of the cross is like a seal on my heart as I immerse myself into greater effort to understand the true meaning of the Passion narrative.

Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser, in a reflection entitled “The Cross as Revealing the Inner life of God,” describes the cross as “the ultimate icon, the real depiction of the Holy. It shows us the inner life of the Trinity…Ultimately all three persons of the Trinity-Father, Son, and Spirit-are on the cross. On the surface, of course, we see Jesus, the Son…He hangs on the cross in anguish, dying, alone, humiliated, misunderstood, but he also hangs there in trust and fidelity, giving his life away without resentment, recrimination, and bitter questioning because he knows and trusts someone deeply enough to, literally, believe in the sun even when it isn’t shining, in love even when he isn’t experiencing it, and in God even when God is silent.” Rolheiser goes on to say the Father is also present on the cross, “suffering, waiting in patience, empowering another to trust….As the drama of the crucifixion is taking place…a forgiving warmth, a healing fire, and an unfathomable patience and understanding are being produced, revealed, and released. That energy, the ultimate oxygen, which the gospels depict as spilling out of Jesus’ pierced side as blood and water, is the Holy Spirit and that Spirit reveals precisely what is going on inside of God…The cross is therefore an icon of love and “defines God as love and gives us a picture of what that kind of love looks like.”


The cross, this icon of ultimate love, will be constantly in my sight as I re-live another Holy Week pilgrimage. I have one more chance to complete my Lenten resolutions and to journey deeper into the mystery of death and resurrection, supported by the Trinity of Love. I have another chance to renew my baptismal and monastic vows. I have one more chance to join in communion with all the People of God to respond to Christ’s call to “faithfully [observe] God’s teaching in the monastery until death, [and] shall through patience share in the sufferings of Christ that we may deserve also to share in the eternal presence.” (St. Benedict’s Prologue)

My challenge, of course, will be to be mindful of this intention throughout the week. The many liturgical events, the preparations for festive meals, and the unexpected demands of life can sometimes interrupt my plans for staying on a mindful track. Kathleen Norris, in her book The Cloister Walk, sums it up well:
“In a monastery, the Easter Triduum [Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday]…is a total surrender to worship. Time feels suspended, allowing for focus on the events commemorated: Jesus gathering with friends the night before his death, to share a last meal; Jesus’ arrest and execution; and his resurrection. If you’ve become acclimated to the normal rhythms of the monastery, the daily round of prayer, meals, and work, the liturgies of the Triduum are guaranteed to throw you off.”


But I can have faith that I am supported and loved on this final stretch of walking with Jesus and know that in this suspended time I will only be thrown off into Glorious New Life.

Haiku

Your cross before me

unites my heart with your Heart

in Ultimate Love.

~Sister Priscilla Cohen, OSB