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

Welcoming Spring



Welcoming Spring

How I love the gentle surprises

that jump into my sight

announcing God’s presence

in the bursting forth of spring delight.

The radiant sunlight of the jonquils,

the pastel pink blossoms of the Japanese tulip tree,

the tapestry of white and violet blossoms
covering moss green mounds

these announcements of spring my eyes behold.

As I awake to each new day,

the colorful panorama of new surprises continue

their portrait of God’s majestic array

four red tulip buds,

Lenten purple violets and pansies

snowy cherry blossom trees,

flaming red azaleas,

the dogwood trees that each day

remind me of Christ’s love and way.

Spring preaches the melody of attentiveness

an invitation to be immersed in God’s beauty,

open to nature’s Mystery of new life,

renouncing fallen ways of strife,

nurturing growth

of the beautiful seed of Goodness

within, knowing that I become

God’s colorful Spring Surprise!

~Sister Priscilla Cohen, OSB

Lenten Garden

The Genesis reading for the First Sunday of Lent (Gen. 2:7-9, 3:1-7) tells us that God “planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and placed there the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” This garden of paradise was generous gift to Adam and Eve-it was all theirs except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden. But then came that serpent-coaxing Eve into tasting the fruit of the forbidden tree, sharing it with her husband, and thus initiating humanity’s cycle of life-long bouts of turning toward and away from God.

Each time I hear this temptation story, there is a little mantra that automatically pops into my head, “The devil made me do it.” Or, ho-hum, another reprimand to be a good little girl and do what God says (or whoever “God” is at that time). But as I listened to this reading today, I recalled God’s creation story (Gen. 1:1-2:2) which so vividly describes God’s creation of day and night, sky, land and sea with every form of vegetation, lights in the dome of the sky, sea monsters, swimming creatures, winged birds, and humanity in God’s image. After six days of this creation work, God took the seventh day off and reflected on the goodness of all that he had created. This reading is sung each year by Sister Lynn Marie and Sister Therese as we begin the Easter Vigil readings on Holy Saturday. In the darkness of the chapel, their angelic voices move us into the beauty of God’s wondrous gift of creation to open our hearts to once again return to God in new life. We imitate God’s pause to look upon the goodness of all creation and life experience. And, of course, the following words from the Exultet sung at the beginning of the Easter Vigil remind us of God’s merciful love throughout salvation history:
“For Christ has ransomed us with his blood,
 and paid for us the price of Adam’s sin to our eternal Father!...
“O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam,

 which gained for us so great a Redeemer!

My mind then turned back to the garden. I began to imagine how glorious the garden
must have been. I’ve been blessed in the best of gardens-Callaway, Bellingrath, Butchart in Victoria,
parks and monastery gardens, but I’m sure they cannot compare with the Gardener’s creative masterpiece.


Butchart Gardens
Victoria, BC


The image of Mary’s garden in The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett) might come close to God’s idea of a garden and a message for a Lenten journey. Mary Lenox is sent to live with her uncle at Misselthwaite Manor and is convinced this will not be a happy environment for her. She finds a key to a hidden door which opens up to a secret garden which has been neglected for years. She transforms the garden into her own secret paradise, her place to give her life. In the dark interior of the estate home, she discovers her invalid cousin Colin. She shares her secret paradise with him and he finds new life and is able to walk again. The two of them bring her uncle into the garden and he is transformed also from a reclusive life to a meaningful life and love for his son Colin. The garden’s new life and beauty enable Colin to sing

“The sun is shining-the sun is shining.
 That is the Magic.
 The flowers are growing-the roots are stirring.
 That is the Magic.
 Being alive is the Magic-being strong is the Magic.
 The Magic is in me-the Magic is in me.
 It is in me- the Magic is in me."

Lent is a call to "rest on the seventh day' to reflect on the good, the bad, and the ugly of life experience.  It is a time to let go of the bad and ugly and to appreciate and grow ever deeper in the beauty and goodness of God's creation.  While the garden of winter recedes and the garden of spring starts bursting in radiant color before our eyes, we begin to experience a re-awakening of God's light-filled Presence.  Lent is "to be a  journey to a place of stillness, trusting that in the process, growth will take place, transformation will occur, and God will tend the soil of my soul and nurture new life."
 (from Springtime of the Soul, Jackie Schmitz, CSJ)
Resting, reflecting, and being open to the transformation of the Lenten Garden brings us to meet Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane to yet another time of surrender and transformation.  If we grasp the meaning of this self-emptying experience, we are then able to discover the Garden of Resurrection at Easter.

The monastery where I dwell is my garden of daily life, my "tent" as St. Benedict calls it in his Rule, the "school of the Lord's service."  St. Benedict says that the life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent. Through our vow of conversion, we strive to grow in new life day after day after day.  As we begin to slack off, Lent comes as a wake-up call to start the process of transformation over again, so that we can "look forward to holy Easter with joy and spiritual longing." (Rule of St. Benedict, 49:7)

"Inside everyone

is a great shout of joy

waiting to be born." David Whyte

Life Goes On...

God did come through with my wish for a White Christmas.  Even though it was predicted, we here in the deep South do not hold our breath for bountiful snow-covered landscapes.  I sat for hours watching the graceful dance of the snowflakes as they blanketed our beautiful grounds.  We experienced the mystic beauty of God's wintry art for two days.  It felt like Christmas, it felt like winter, and it felt like God's presence for new beginnings. As we prayed morning prayer on Christmas Day, the words we chanted from the Book of Daniel invited us to be thankful for God's coming in another year of our lives. 

"Bless the Lord, dews and falling snow;

sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.

Bless the Lord, ice and cold;

sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.

Bless the Lord, frosts and snows;

sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever."  Daniel 3: 68-70

After visiting with my family in Florida the week after Christmas, I returned to Cullman to begin the New Year with the thought "life goes on."  The older I get, the more I realize each year, in fact, each day, is a new beginning.  I may THINK I know what my new journey will be, but God sometimes has OTHER plans for me.  My first week of the new year was the ordinary expectation-catching up on mail, answering e-mail, following the monastic horarium, and returning to my nursing ministry at St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham.  My rather ordinary schedule began to look like it was taking a different turn that Friday at work.  Weather reports were predicting freezing temperatures with rain, sleet, ice and snow with 3-5 inches of snow accumulation.  Naturally, I was excited about another mystical landscape.  However, my joyful anticipation quickly dissipated when we were told that if the hospital implemented the hazardous weather plan we would have to be prepared to come to the hospital to stay through the inclement situation in order to provide ongoing service to our patients.  The plan was initiated Sunday afternoon and I got the call saying I needed to come.  As I made the fifty mile nail-biting trek at 50 miles per hour with snow and sleet already sweeping across the windshield, I prayed fervently to arrive at the hospital safely.  I did arrive safely and thanked God from the bottom of my heart.  As I arrived on the unit with overnight bag, pillow, blanket, uniform attire, and comfort food snacks, I was greeted by my co-workers, some just arriving, some still working and having to stay over.  The conference room was full of activity- TV weather news, some eating supper, others interacting with cell phones, iPhones, laptops, and occasional conversation with each other.  We hung out till around

9 pm waiting on a room assignment where we would be able to sleep.  There were two assigned to a room.  I got the sofa bed.  I don't think I got more than 2 hours of sleep-I was still awake at 2:20 am.  At 5:30 we got up to start getting ready to report to duty.  I made it through an 8 hour shift even though I felt a sleep attack coming on at various intervals throughout the day.  I was grateful I only had 4 patients.  The environment was much quieter than a normal work day- no constantly blaring PA system, no orders to sign off since most of the physicians could not get to the hospital to make rounds, no admissions or discharges.  I realized that we were all actually pretty calm after the initial shock of this unplanned event in our lives.  I have to say I felt God's presence in this calmness, praying that we would get through this since it looked pretty imminent that we would be staying another night also.

During the early afternoon hours, one of the surgeons called the unit, stating he was at Piggly Wiggly and wondering what kind of snacks we would like.  He later appeared to make rounds, toting bags of goodies, tea and orange juice.  We were all so impressed with his thoughtfulness and generosity. What a marvelous example of "over and beyond the call of duty."  The snacks were welcomed, enjoyed and consumed- and lasted through the next day!!! The multitudes were fed!!!

The Administrative staff hosted a pizza party the first night while fans watched the Auburn vs.Oregon game.  And the multitudes were fed!!!

Even though it was hard to give up two days of our ordinary plans, leaving loved ones and sleeplessly sleeping on sofa beds, there seemed to be a calm, cheerful presence among us. Perhaps it was a surrendering attitude to make this event the best it can be, to live up to our mission of providing "care you can believe in," to implement God's plan rather than our own. 

As I left the hospital the second day, numerous physicians were making rounds and writing orders, patients were being discharged, the operating room was scheduling cases, the PA system was blaring, the halls were full of people scurrying to various locations.  My parting thoughts were

 "Thank you, God

and

LIFE GOES ON."