What Zeal

It’s been over a month since I posted my last blog. The April 27th tornado rampage put me at a loss for words. Our Monastery buildings and our lives were spared, but the devastating effects of the city and neighborhood so close to us is unbelievable. Some places are totally wiped out, others unrecognizable, others still intact. Cullman County experienced only two deaths. Over 800 homes and 90 businesses were destroyed. Without power for six days, without TV and Internet for almost two weeks, we had no idea of the devastating impact of nature’s wrath all around us. Whenever I drive through the city, I become aware of another building destroyed that I had not noticed before. The spirit of the city of Cullman remains hopeful for rebuilding and surviving. The disaster relief and volunteer efforts have shown an overwhelming and generous, caring spirit.

Two blocks from us, corner of Hwy 278 and Convent Road

As I prepared a reflection yesterday for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, the readings reminded me of the virtue of good zeal that St. Benedict teaches in Chapter 72 of his Rule. I am finally able to write of our tornado experience because I see the good zeal manifested by so many during the aftermath of the April 27th monster tornado. And so I share this reflection with you…

In last Sunday’s Gospel (John 14:1-12), we hear Thomas and Philip still asking Jesus for clarification regarding his future destination and revelation of the Father. Jesus’ response “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip?” gives us food for thought in our own faith life. As we grow in our monastic way of life, we might chuckle at Jesus’ response and realize Jesus’ frustration with the fact that they still don’t get it. But then, it hits us that we probably have not gotten it either. Jesus’ statement calls us to reflect on our way of life, our fulfillment of his mission, and our proclamation of his message of love to each other and to the world.

In today’s first reading (Acts 8:5-8, 14-17), we see Philip proclaiming Christ to the people of Samaria. The crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip and saw the signs he was doing. The people witnessed the healing miracles Philip performed and there was great joy in the city. In John’s Gospel (John 14:15-21), we no longer hear any of the disciples asking Jesus for any clarification. We only hear Jesus’ words of instruction to love him and keep his commandments. He will send the Spirit to be with us always. He will not leave us orphans, but will come again. “In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live.” And more and more of the same words of the Gospel of John we have heard over and over throughout the Easter season to make sure we get it.

Philip’s journey of continuing Jesus’ mission confirms he finally got it. We see the zeal with which Jesus’ life within him showed Christ to a world in need of healing and proclamation of love. Perhaps the virtue of good zeal in the Rule of St. Benedict parallels the message of today’s Gospel.

“Thus monks should practice this zeal with the warmest love.”

“Let them strive to be the first to honor one another.”

“They must compete with one another in obedience.”

“No one should pursue what he judges advantageous to himself, but rather what benefits others.”

“They must show selfless love to [all].”

“Let them fear God out of love.”

“Let them prefer absolutely nothing to Christ, and may he lead us all together to everlasting life.”

(Rule of St. Benedict, Ch. 72)

Sr.Aquinata Bockmann, OSB, a renowned scholar on the Rule of St. Benedict, says the following in her commentary on Ch. 72:

“Fervor and love are congruent. They are to be practiced not only within the community, but also in our conduct toward all people who need us. Good zeal thus is ardent enthusiasm, the total engagement of our power of loving. It urges us to hasten, not just to walk, with the whole community and it marks all our actions. When we think of the texts from the Fathers that emphasize that the Holy Spirit makes our hearts wide, that the Spirit is love in person, dwelling within us, then we can also say here: zeal is not just a good force within people and flowing from people, but it is the active presence of Christ himself who urges us on. Zeal is the ardor, the fire of the Holy Spirit, and the dynamic power of community life and of the apostolate. “For the love of Christ impels us.”
(from Perspectives on the Rule of St. Benedict, pp. 57-58)


April 27th brought forth the living out of the practice of good zeal for us. Our togetherness in our sacred space without power, telephone, TV, and Internet was a truly zealous witness of community commitment. We continued to live out our monastic rhythm- praying together in chapel without light or microphone, sharing meals only because we were fortunate enough to have a gas oven, sharing community time with candlelight, celebrating Eucharist in the Great Room to be with those who could not walk up the steps. If we were not faithful to the day in and day out of living the Rule together, these six days of such close proximity and inconvenient interruption of our daily routine may have presented a real challenge for us. But it didn’t, we felt very much at home, because after all, “home is where the Heart is.”

The zealous action of others toward us has been such a gift to us and ignites our hearts to increase our zeal in reaching out to others:

             Two young monks coming over from St. Bernard after the tornado

                               to check on us and showing us pictures of the devastation right around

 us that we had not yet seen

Friends calling friends to check on us

Our employees reporting to work the next morning to help us clear debris

 even though they still had debris in their own yards to clean up

The contribution of generators from Golden Construction

Our Cenocolo community “tree surgeons”

Sisters pitching in to clean up the yard, or help in kitchen

Sister Therese and Robby faithfully adding diesel fuel to the generators

The Bradview Sisters’ hospitality, Sister Margaret Mary Liang’s good cooking for our Sisters that stayed at Bradview (our Birmingham house), and Carolyn Namie’s and Frances Bruno’s generosity in cooking a banquet for them that included scrumptious steak

Other Benedictine houses’ prayers and contributions

The list goes on and on.

As were able, we started to reach out beyond the monastery walls with zeal and fervent love:
Showers or rooms for staff if needed
Contribution of food to disaster relief services

Offering of sacred space to area churches impacted by the tornado
Donation of funds to relief organizations because of generosity of funds given to us
Sisters walking devastated areas and expressing concern for those they met along the way
Sr. Elisabeth’s fidelity to her blogs in keeping others up to date on our status and her prayerful ability to see debris picked up as part of people’s lives
(http://www.shmon.org/  Living the Tradition: A Benedictine Blog)



And most of all our prayer for all those affected by the country wide tornado rampage
And the love of Christ continues to impel us:
Sister Lynn Marie initiated a free legal clinic this past week.
We continue to contribute funds as generous contributions keep pouring in.
We continue to pray daily for all those affected and for those who assist them.
We share our sacred chapel space with the Lutheran community because
of the loss of their worship space.

The Easter Season always revs us up for what our life is about. Pentecost will light the fire of our hearts to continue Jesus’ mission every day for the rest of our lives. Let us take the following words of Joan Chittister, OSB, from her book, The Monastery of the Heart, as a mantra from this day forward:

“We must zealously do what is best for others,

rather than concentrate

simply on what we have decided

is best for ourselves.

We must zealously love one another

chastely and appropriately,

not selfishly

or exploitatively.

We must be in zealous awe

of the presence of God

in us and around us.

We must zealously love our community,

its tradition and its teachers,

with real affection.

Most of all, we must prefer nothing

in the world

to the love of God.

Then, if we do these things-

if we live life

in our Monastery of the Heart-

with this kind of zeal,

we will have reached

the heights of love

to which Benedictine spirituality

is designed to bring us.

“Let them prefer

nothing whatever to the love of Christ,

and may he bring us all

together

to everlasting life.”

The Rule of St. Benedict, Ch. 72:11-12



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.”