Our mind is a powerful source of what becomes our reality. Ultimately, the sum of our choices create our life. Through awareness of our weaknesses, we can take a sacred pause and do things differently rather than keep perpetuating the reactions that are ingrained deeply within. We can fast from our brokenness and feast on Gods goodness. The choice is ours, whether we fast or feast. During this easter season, let’s consciously choose to feast!
HOLY – WHOLLY – HOLEY Three words that sound alike, are spelled differently, have their own distinct meaning and yet are connected one with the other.
The third is HOLEY – H-O-L-E-Y.
This holey is porous, permeable, spacious, expansive. I think of a donut hole. The hole of the donut offers a space, a spaciousness. Without its hole, it would be a different pastry. For us, the holey space is a place of being. It is not for doing, it has no form for doing. It is a space, which allows inner stillness that fosters authentic connection. I think of the womb, a spaciousness where a child becomes. In the silence and spaciousness of this holey space, a song, a poem, or this reflection is born.
Rabbi Mosche Gersht says, “It is in this inner spaciousness that we monitor our inner dialogue. From this spaciousness, the true power of who we are will shine the way it was meant to be. Everything seems to emanate from this space, there is a source of being in truth.” This space is that deep knowing that we experience. A knowing that seems to be filled with goodness, with God-ness inside, a place where our creator God is guiding, directing and moving the world toward the highest good. This kind of holey is a space inside us that allows creativity, connection and love to expand. It seems to me that it is the spaciousness of the tomb in which Jesus becomes the Christ of Resurrection.
Hafiz, the Sufi mystic and Persian poet, writes, “I am a hole in a flute that Christ’s breath moves through…..listen to the music.”
To become holey we rest and stay in silence where there is a space where we can authentically engage with the Divine. Perhaps, this prayer by Christin Lore Weber is ours to consciously consider: The world needs the hollowness of you. At times, this hollowness will be a passage that people will find their way through you. Or your hollowness will be a bowl and people will eat from you and not know hunger. Your hollowness will be a cup for those who thirst from suffering, they will find wisdom and love as they drink from you.
I believe from this spaciousness we may discover our sameness and oneness as the human race, with all creatures and all subatomic atoms. From this spaciousness, we will believe all are equal, all is one, and all is love. We will know there is a difference, but not separation, only connectivity.
HOLY – WHOLLY – HOLEY
Lord, Weave these three ways of being into one and allow us to become the manifestation Your glory…the Glory of God. Allow us to become radiant and who we are born to be. May our Easter Season and long beyond be holy, wholly and holey!
Excerpt from Easter Vigil Reflection March 30, 2024 Sister Marie Therese “MT” Summers, OSB, Prioress, Benet Hill Monastery
HOLY – WHOLLY – HOLEY. Three words that sound alike, are spelled differently, have their own distinct meaning and yet are connected one with the other.
Holy, H-O-L-Y.
Repeatedly in the Hebrew Scripture in Leviticus, we hear: Be holy because I am holy. Be holy as I am holy. Be holy for I your God am Holy. Again in the Christian Scriptures in 1 Peter, it says: As God who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”[a] This Holy means sacred, morally blameless, consecrated, saint. And though we know ourselves as both saint and sinner, each one of us is called to this holiness.
Lord, draw me to holiness today. Created in Your image, I grant You permission to make me Your instrument. Jesus, I trust in You! Amen
Excerpt for the Easter Vigil Reflection, March 30, 2024, Sister Marie Therese “MT” Summers, OSB, Prioress, Benet Hill Monastery
God is faithful. What has been promised, he has brought to fulfillment. Christ, our paschal lamb has been sacrificed and he has risen, just as he said. We are witnesses of these things, then and now. We revel in the same grace, by the same Christ through the same Church.
Easter confirms that salvation is real and present to us now, today and forever. Love now reigns. Death and sin are overcome. Christ’s resurrection is our resurrection, for he has opened for us, the gates of eternal life. It is on this truth, that we stake our whole lives. Filled with the glory of Christ Easter triumph, we cannot help but cry out Alleluia!
This is the day the Lord has made: let us be glad and rejoice in it! Fill our hearts with the joy of the resurrection and grant us abundant love so we can share the Good News. Through Christ our Lord. Amen
As I look back over my Lenten observance, how have I truly died to self in order to live for God in the service of my neighbor? What signs do I see of new life in my daily way of thinking and doing? How has Lent prepared me to live more fully in God’s house as a member of his household?
God, come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen
Today is a work of pure love, beyond our human understanding. The cross gives us a way out of the sin of our human nature. One God-man in Jesus Christ bears the weight of sin, and darkness of the world. Let’s venerate the cross he bore for us.
What were His thoughts as He took all the sins of mankind upon Himself? He forgives His enemies, forgives the penitent thief, cries out to God, and declares the end of His earthly life:
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34
“Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43
“Woman, behold your son. Son, behold your mother.” John 19:26–27
“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46 & Mark 15:34
“I thirst.” John 19:28
“It is finished.” Matthew 27:46 & Mark 15:34
“Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit.” Luke 23:46
This message of forgiveness provides a way out and a path forward from the darkness of sin in our life. Christ’s love breaks the cycle of our natural human response where if you are cruel to me, I will be cruel to you. The power of love can change lives and societies. Actions speak louder than words – the cross is the purest example.
As we contemplate our Lord’s Passion on this Good Friday, I invite you to reflect upon how your daily actions reflect your love and gratitude for God’s goodness. Has your journey through Lent opened your heart to receive a deeper encounter with God’s love? Will you continue small sacrifices of self-denial, praying and serving others? Action speaks louder than words.
Today is Holy Wednesday, the day of Jesus’ aloneness. It is hard to get my head and heart around how he must have felt knowing the events ahead and what Judas will do. But Jesus knew the part Judas played in salvation history just as he knows the part we all play today.
Reflect what might have been in Judas’ heart. He must have been on edge as he sat at the table of the Last Supper with the others. Through the exchanges at the table, we see it is Judas’ own conscience that implicates him, not Jesus.
How does my conscience implicate me today? Do I love God through all the challenges I’m experiencing? Do I endeavor to see my fellow human person as God sees them? Do I see the divine who is infused in all of creation? Or do I betray God in my prideful pursuit of earthly desires?
God, you formed us as temples of your Spirit. Here, our prayers and grant that in the cracks and brokenness of our hearts we may offer you fitting worship and praise for the saving cross of your son, that conquers all evil, and brings us your healing light. Through Christ, our Lord Amen.
We are God’s people, created and sent by Him. Through his words and tradition we learn how to live the fullness of life. As we prepare our hearts for Holy Week, we continue to assess how we are living a life with God at the center, loving God and His ways with all our heart and soul.
The Lord your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your souls. Deuteronomy 26:16
Examine your conscience, in prayer, with what God asks of us::
Love God more than anything else.
Don’t make anything in your life more important than God.
Always say God’s name with love and respect.
Love and respect your parents.
Don’t kill (spoiler alert, anger is the first step in the path of killing).
Do not take anything that isn’t yours.
Always be faithful to your spouse.
Do not lie.
Be content with what you have and don’t wish for other people’s stuff.
There are moments throughout our day where we feel the sacredness, where the divine inside connects with the divine in another. Psalm 27:7-9 says it beautifully: “Here, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!
“You have said, ‘Seek my face.’ My heart says to you, ‘Your face, Lord, do I seek.’ Hide not your face from me.” As we see the face of God in our neighbor our interactions change. We become move loving. Let’s praise God for showing his face through love which is truth and beauty, today.
We are all familiar with temptation, that desire from within that invites us to act, contrary to what we know to be right. We are called to seek God‘s guidance and strength to persevere against temptation, for God does not tempt us. Rather, he offers us the ability to resist the temptation to grow in holiness. We are called to be pure of heart, and when we walk with God at our side, we are more easily able to achieve that goal. We are delivered. What are the things that tempt you? Ask for God’s help to identify and persevere against them.
God of all understanding, you are our source of strength and perseverance, in the midst of trials and Temptations. You lead us not in temptation, but deliver us from evil. Protect us oh, Lord, from fear and doubt, from sadness, and a spare, from isolation and loneliness, from trials, and temptations, from persecution, weariness us, the tendency to give up, apathy, pain and hardship, sickness and death. Help us recognize you are by our side, offering compassion and assistance, so that we may overcome the wearisome burdens. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen
Smitten With Goodness 