LET IT BE

 LET IT BE

            Last week we celebrated the feast of the Annunciation, and this week we have Good Friday. With these two days so close together this year, I am aware of their similarity - in one word "fiat" (Latin for "Let it be.")

            As Mary breathed out her word of acceptance, in Latin–one word -fiat -she became the mother of God. THE MOTHER OF GOD!

It was her vocation: to bear Christ into the world. No wonder she was frightened; she likely knew in her culture the punishment to be meted out to an unwed pregnant girl. Joseph also knew it and became the protector of her and foster father of the Divine Child to come.

But Mary trusted, and had the courage to say Let It Be, the most powerful YES ever spoken by a human being. 

            Many years later, this divine son of hers, in His work of teaching, stood before a crowd of people, and one of his disciples pointed out to Him that His mother was there in the crowd. Jesus answered, "Who is my mother?  Whoever does what my Father in heaven wants him to do, is my brother, my sister, my mother."

            So important is this teaching, that it is related in three of the four gospels. (Matthew 12: 46-50, Mark 3:31-35, Luke 8:19-21)

             Jesus Himself practiced what He taught.  The night before He died He accepted the will of His Father as he cried out in agony his own fiat: "Not my will, but Thine be done."

Together, Mary's and Jesus' acceptance of the will of the Father, brought about both the Incarnation and the Redemption.

One of the authors I read says "this gospel reminds us that the incarnation and redemption are clearly related to one another and are not to be sharply divided."

             Fiat     mihi     secundum   verbum tuum   Let it be done to me according to your word.

            

Fiat      voluntas tuas  Thy will be done.

            The first Fiat resulted in new life – Jesus the Savior was born!

            The second Fiat also resulted in new life but only after the death of Jesus- the Resurrection!  -- and, the promise of a new resurrected life for us! It's part of The Lord's Prayer. How many times a day are we aware of saying these words, "Thy Will be done"

            What does it mean for me and for you? God does not will that we suffer; it is part of the human condition. Instead, He sent His Son to teach us how to bear it, and to heal all those He met.

            What is my fiat? What does God ask of us?

            Some examples came to mind:

Can I accept the reality of old age, and its accompanying diminishments?  I may be getting forgetful. My sight is not so good; It gets harder to hear what others say; I join the parade of mobile walkers and use a cane. Perhaps I get the news that I, or someone in my family has cancer or another terrible illness. And if I accept any of these in my own life, then I must also accept them with patience in others, who are always before me.

We ask ourselves: Can I bring forth new life, as Mary did? Or if not new life, then a new look at life?

            If we mean what we say in these words, accepting God's will, it can bear fruit. Christ can be reborn in others or we can recognize him in others and serve Him in them.

            In 1970 a new song hit the pop music charts, originating with a young man from Liverpool; he was part of a group whose music you may remember. The lyrics went like this: "When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me; speaking words of wisdom, 'Let it Be.' And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me, speaking words of wisdom, 'Let it Be.'"

             Yes, it was Paul McCartney of the Beatles. Are you surprised?

            Let It Be = Fiat!            Look for New Life!                

  Sister Mary Carol Hellman, OSB

The Observance of Lent

 

The Observance of Lent

            Chapter 49 of the Rule of Benedict is devoted to “The Observance of Lent.” Including among many suggestions Benedict tells us to devote ourselves to prayer and to reading. It has become a custom in our community for each sister to choose a book for her Lenten spiritual reading.

            This year I had no need to search for a book; the book found me. During a phone call with a cousin he asked whether I had ever heard of St. Faustina Kawalsko. Yes, I had heard of her, but that was the extent of my acquaintance. My cousin told me that he had read her diary and would send me a copy.  He thought I would really enjoy it.

            When the package arrived, I was surprised to find a tiny 7 by 5 inch book that I assumed would be easy reading—likely not enough to last through Lent.  Upon closer inspection the little inspirational book was printed in small print and also a Lenten penance for my 92 year old eyes, but I decided to finish this unusual story.

            Helen (Faustina’s baptismal name) was from a poor Polish family of 20 children. At her First Communion, age 9, she knew she was being called to be a nun. At the age of 19 while at a dance with her sister. Helen had a vision of the crucified Christ. This confirmed her decision to enter a convent and she now wished to do so as soon as possible. She heard God telling her to travel to Warsaw, 85 miles from home to enter a convent. She obediently made the trip. After being refused by two communities, she was admitted to the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. At age 20, she was clothed in the habit and received the name Sister Marie Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament.

            Both Jesus and her spiritual director had asked St. Faustina to record her visions and what she had heard God saying. These notebooks are known today as loving messages of Divine Mercy. Almost every entry speaks of God’s mercy and describes her many visions and messages from God.

            St. Faustina died of tuberculosis at age 30 and has been called “The Apostle or Secretary of God’s Mercy.” The Church now celebrates Divine Mercy Sunday on the first Sunday after Easter.

            Of course, I have long been aware of god’s mercy, but I now think of it every day and have a new sense of gratitude for God’s mercy. I highly recommend the Dairy, but suggest the reader have a good magnifying glass or a coup with large print.

Sister Victoria Eiseman, OSB

 

 

Cead Mile Failte!

 

Céad Míle Fáilte!

 

I suspect it was no accident that I was assigned the blog for today, St. Patrick’s Day. A name doesn’t get more Irish than Eileen O’Connell! Today, I am not writing about Patrick, but one of my favorite expressions from the Emerald Isle, céad míle fáilte! Gaelic in origin, its literal translation is "one hundred thousand welcomes", or "you are welcome, a thousand times, wherever you come from, whosoever you be." 

 

While Benedictines are welcoming guests, this past year has virtually brought that to a grinding halt. We cannot physically welcome our friends, families, strangers, or guests. It has felt like a hospitality desert. Relief will come. I believe that. Welcoming others into our lives has taken many other forms: phone calls, zoom meetings, emails, or outside staying masked and six feet apart. It is a start, but feels, well, more like fifty thousand welcomes, not one hundred thousand. 

 

And I wonder about other times pre-Covid, if my welcomes were only half of what they could have been. Do I really mean it when I say, “Make yourself at home?” What if  guests really took that to heart? Helped themself to whatever was in the fridge? Opened my cabinets? Offended my dogs? Or what if they stayed past their “welcome?” Egads! Perhaps more is meant by a welcome than just being gladly received. Do I put a person at ease? Do they feel safe and understood? Do I really listen? Are my smiles genuine? Benedict said to welcome all guests as Christ. Or to put it biblically, “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you (Matt 7:12). Easier some days than others.

 

Tonight, as I eat my Irish soda bread and enjoy an Irish coffee, I will toast my family, my friends, and all who have received me into their lives. The privilege has been mine. And know if we have not met yet, someday you will be welcomed a thousand times, wherever you come from, whosoever you be. Until then, I leave you with this Irish blessing:

 

"Walls for the wind,

And a roof for the rain,

And drinks beside the fire -

Laughter to cheer you

And those you love near you,

And all that your heart may desire!"

Sister Eileen O'Connell

 

A Year of Lent and Beyond

 

     Benedict says to his followers, “The life of a monastic ought to be a continuous Lent but since few have the strength for this “and he proceeds to describe how the forty days of Lent are to be observed. It seems, as a community we met a year of a continuous Lent. I suppose this is also true for much of the world. For us, there has been fasting, not necessarily from food, but fasting from being with family, friends, guests, fasting from vacations, time away, outings, shopping, or going out for a meal.  There were many large and small sacrifices that went into our attempts to keep the community safe.

     No one in the community has a memory that in our past we ever had to cease praying together in our chapel, that is, until COVID struck us. For two weeks we prayed the office privately, certainly not a Benedictine practice. Though I have cherished communal prayer, one result of this separation, is a greater mindful appreciation of the need to gather together in prayer with the community. Especially now there are so many current reasons: grief for the loss of our sisters; lamenting the pandemic and other challenges facing our world; being mindful and vigilant for not only our needs but the needs of all persons; and, of course, to praise our loving God on whom we rely to carry us through these hard days. Truly, the psalms, the heart of the liturgy of the hours describe the human condition, and our dependence on God to help us through all the struggles and complexities that as humans we experience. A paraphrase of psalm 51, poignantly pleads with God during these times; wash me, cleanse me, heal me, create a new heart within me, and restore the joy of God’s salvation.

     May this ongoing Lent bring about a transfigured heart, a genuine reliance on God and a love for all creation.  

 Sister Aileen Bankemper, OSB

 

Death, Where is Your Sting?

                        In recent months the notion of death has been thrust into our minds and lives through a barrage of news stories or maybe personal experiences of losing family or friends. Death, being an unpleasant subject for most people, is not something we like to think about. Not only is it mysterious, raising many questions with no answers, but it can stir unpleasant, even painful memories.

                      When two of our oldest sisters died recently on the same day, the topic started nagging at me. Memories tinged with smiles, regrets mixed with prayers and a sense of gratitude that they are relieved from their long illnesses. Because death is such a mystery, I found myself wondering what kinds of light past thinkers have cast on the subject. I went on a search  thought I’d share some of what I found.

Some things struck me as simple but profound truth that made me think beyond the headlines:

            * Death is in the goodbye.    Anna Sexton

* A friend who dies, it’s something of you who dies.         Gustav Flaubert

* The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic.  Joseph Stalin

* Every parting is a form of death, as every reunion is a type of heaven.           Tyron Edwards

* Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live .      Norman Cousins

Some thoughts opened me to some new ways of thinking:

* Death gives meaning to our lives. It gives importance and value to time.  Time would become meaningless if there were too much of it.       Ray Kurzweil

* Man always dies before he is fully born. `Erich Fromm

* The gods conceal from men the happiness of death that they may endure Life.        Lucan

* I had seen birth and death but had thought they were different.         T.S.Eliot

Ideas that seemed especially centered in God and spirituality:

* Look for me in the nurseries of heaven.              Francis Thompson

* Death is not extinguishing the light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.                Rabindranath Tagore

* It is love, not reason, that is stronger than death.              Thomas Mann

* For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity.             William Penn

 

There were many more thoughts I found, and you’ll notice I didn’t even dip into scripture. In this season of Lent the church reminds us that each of us is only dust and that we need daily to remember to die to the selfish part of ourselves. The headlines in the news, if we allow them, could be a reminder of this challenge. St. Benedict says in his rule that each of us should keep death daily before our eyes. Why? He didn’t spell out his reasons, but it’s easy to guess at least some of them. We are meant for life beyond dust. Christ showed us that the limitations we experience here are limits he has already broken if we let him bring us to himself. If we can do this, it will certainly lessen the sting of death because we will become aware of the undying love of God that enfolds us even while we are here on earth. Maybe the sting of the vaccination needle can be a reminder that beyond the sting of death lies love and wholeness that lasts an eternity.

Sr. Colleen Winston, OSB