Sr Kym Harris – Page 6 – Benedictine Monastery

July 25, 2020

Peacemakers

Whether republican or monarchist, we all seemed to have been impressed with Queen Elizabeth’s courage and dignity during her visit to Ireland last week. In spite of all the security efforts she still was a target for a possible violent attack, as was the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese who accompanied her most of the time. Yet these two women carried themselves with dignity and beauty. Just by watching the courtesy between the two women, we would never have known that they were acknowledging and regretting nearly 900 years of domination, war, oppression and then turning to make peace and harmony. Through the trip we saw how big an impact can be made by small gestures: the Queen speaking in Gaelic, honouring the dead from the fight for independence and visiting Croke Park, the scene of a massacre. All these showed that she was sincere in recognising her own country’s past and in hoping for peace in the future.

Here, in own time, was the forgiveness of Christ being lived out in public. We all have our fights and feuds – certainly not as long lived and dramatic as the “Troubles” but real none the less. Whether it be in marriage, or family, or staff room, or club or school grounds or anywhere people live with each other, disagreements happen and injustice occurs. If we allow them to fester and grow, they can seriously distort us and our relationships. If we have wronged someone, we are often reluctant to apologise because we think it may demean us – the Queen showed that isn’t so. If we receive an apology, we often can be off-hand or gauche in receiving it: the President of Ireland showed how to do it well. In this coming week, let us look for opportunities for small gestures that make for peace.

Loving God, send your Spirit of Peace into our hearts and into our lives. Following the Spirit’s wisdom may we be like Jesus and offer forgiveness to those who hurt us. Teach us the wisdom of small gestures that say much. We ask this in Jesus’ name, confident that you will hear us.

Sr Kym Harris osb

July 25, 2020

Cold Snap

For most of Australia winter has now come and many of us are not enjoying it. Some places are having really sharp cold weather. Before we get too chilled it is worth remembering just how much good this cold can bring. I live on the Capricorn Coast and last summer we had no mangoes on our trees. I don’t mean few, I mean none, not one. One theory about the cause is because last winter was so mild, the trees didn’t switch into fruiting mode. The way of nature is often ‘no pain, no gain’.

We can find a parallel in our own lives as well. It is often by set-backs, difficulties, failures, that we learn who we really are and what our capabilities are. As parents and teachers, we want to protect the children in our care from these things but we have to ask: are we really serving them for rich and fulfilling lives by protecting them from all that is hard. This is not about being hard so your child feels put down but rather using difficulties to help them grow. How do you tell the difference? Look back over your own life and recognise the challenges in your childhood that helped you grow and those that undermined your growth. There should be a different ‘feel’ between them. When your child struggles in a situation, use that feeling to determine whether this situation is something they can grow through or whether you need to intervene for their care. Ask for the wisdom of God’s Spirit to help you make wise decisions as you try to nurture them into the fullness of life that both you and God desire for them.

Loving God, life can be difficult and hard at times, both for us individually and as a family. Send us the your wise Spirit to guide us into the ways of Jesus. Let his love and peace guide our decisions, especially in hard and painful times. We ask this in his name confident that you will hear us.

Sr Kym Harris osb

July 25, 2020

Making a Good Atmosphere

In the past week, the news has been dominated by the death of Osama bin Laden and whether or not his execution was the right thing but I don’t want to discuss that. What has appalled me though has been the gruesome details broadcast repeatedly and the issue of whether the photos should be displayed as well. For right or wrong, this was a violent act, and the clamour for photos says a lot about our values as a society.

Why do we give more attention to negative actions than positive? Imagine you’ve been out driving. In your trip you experienced an act of driver rudeness and three acts of courtesy and patience. What do you describe when you get home? Most people describe the bad and ignore the good. What influence does that have on our children? They learn that the bad will get attention and good will be ignored. Talking about the bad may seem interesting at the time, but the emotional effect it leaves behind is unsettling. Talking about the good leaves a sense of peace and harmony in its wake.

Children will model their behaviour on what they see and hear. If they see us noticing kindness and good service and praising it, they will realise that being kind and of service is a good way to be. Even better, if they see us being kind, patient and of service, they are more likely to live that way. And then wouldn’t that make family so much more enjoyable.

Loving God, you surround us with so much good. We recognise that there is evil and sin in our world. Send us your Spirit of Wisdom so that we may celebrate the good in our lives and work to overcome the bad. May Jesus’ example of love in the face of hatred be our model and inspiration. We ask this in his name confident that you will hear us.

Sr Kym Harris osb

July 25, 2020

The Joy of Work.

Work – we all have to do it, whether we like it or not. Even if we like it we tend to have mixed feelings. There is almost an expectation in our society that unless our work is deeply ‘satisfying’ and well paid, we will whinge about it. Yet it doesn’t have to be like that. In the past week, we have celebrated both Labour Day and the Feast of St Joseph the Worker.

Our Christian faith holds that by working we share in God’s creative power. In the Creation Story we see God stopping to admire the divine work and proclaim it as good, even very good. In the Gospels we see Jesus working as a tradesman for years before preaching. We are made in God’s image and we, too, should take satisfaction in our work. No matter how humble or boring it is, we find that when we finish a task and appreciate what we have done, we grow as human beings and we have a sense of satisfaction and joy. Yes, we should be paid a fair wage – that is the way the wider society shows it appreciation of our work – but our respect for and pride in our work is more important than money.

It is important for our children to learn this sense of satisfaction. They need to do chores around the house. Even though it can be a bother for us to teach them (it is far easier to do it ourselves), even though they grumble and argue, even though work done might not be up to scratch, they get a sense of belonging to their family and community that no amount of verbal affirmation can give them and at the same time, you, as parents, have the opportunity to be their teachers in the important skills of life.

Loving God, you delight in creation. As we work, may your Spirit play within us do that we may delight in sharing your care for people and creation. May the example of Jesus, the tradesman, inspire to take pride in our work. We ask this in his name confident that you will hear us.

Sr Kym Harris osb

July 25, 2020

The Quiet Resurrection

You’d think God would have done a better job of announcing the Resurrection of Jesus. Here is the most important event in human history – the overcoming of sin and death, in which the richness of divine life is offered to us – and it takes place in a backwater country to a small group of ordinary people. Even then God doesn’t swamp their lives with amazing miracles, lights, glory. No, Jesus comes into their midst, at first unrecognised, reveals himself, assures them of love and forgiveness and then disappears before they realise what has really happened. One thing he does do is to tell them to go and preach this ‘good news’ to all the world. It is only afterwards reflecting on the event and telling others of it does its wonderfulness really hit them.

God is like that in our lives. We rarely have dramatic or exciting things happen to us when we pray or go to church. If we did the churches would be packed on Sundays. No, God usually comes very quietly into our lives and we usually have to reflect on what has happened before we realise its richness and meaning. I think this is because God does not want us to be in awe of but in love with God. God wants to be friends with us, not a dazzling entertainer or powerful master. To foster this friendship, we need to take time to be with God, both alone reflecting and praying, and then praying with God’s other friends in the community, that is Church. Then, as it happened to those first disciples, the sheer wonder of the Resurrection of Jesus will come into our lives.

Loving God, send your Spirit into our hearts to reveal the mystery of love at work within us. May Jesus come into the dead and dark places of our lives and bring his mystery of Resurrection. We ask this in his name, confident that you will hear us.

Sr Kym Harris osb

July 24, 2020

Mature Love

Well, it has been a long term and now the Easter holidays with the children begins. Given the public holidays, this means, for many, plenty of time together as a family. This can be a time of real joy and contentment. It can also be a time of challenge and difficulty. Our greatest joys are in relationship with people…our greatest challenges are living with other people. And don’t children just know how to push our buttons at times. We can react badly to their behaviour and then feel like we have been children ourselves or we can respond and model to them the way we would like them to grow.

Through the Gospels we see Jesus respond to a number of difficult people. Especially in the story of his Passion and Death, we see him treat people with respect, even when they are plotting to kill him, even when they are attacking him and spreading lies. This doesn’t mean he ‘just takes it’ – he is not a wimp. He never puts himself down and is not afraid of straight-talking. While treating people with respect, he is in control of himself and he serves with love, even when rejected. At heart, he can do this because he knows he is loved by God his Father – that is the ground on which he walks. We, too, can draw our strength from that love. Over these holidays, when things get a little challenging, take a few moments and acknowledge to yourself that God loves you and ask for wisdom and grace in that situation.

Loving Father, as we have time together with our families over these holidays send us you Spirit of love and peace. May we find joy in each other and love as Jesus’ loved us. We ask this in his name confident that you will hear us.

Sr Kym Harris osb

July 24, 2020

Caritas

On a sleepy Saturday afternoon in 1998, the then head of Caritas was travelling through central NSW. His phone rang and it was confrere in Port Moresby, PNG, ringing to say that something awful had happened at Aitape in the north of his country. There had been a earthquake and the first news of a tsunami was coming through. They did not know how many had been hurt or the extent of the damage. So there on the side of the road, the Australian rang his contact at Caritas in Rome and transferred $10,000 immediately to Caritas PNG so that relief could begin as soon as possible. It is quite something to transfer money out of Italy in the middle of a weekend. Caritas can do that.

Caritas is an amalgamation of Catholic aid and development agencies from the nations of the world. It has the strengths of being national and international. Its workforce is usually local people that know their own country and how it works, but being united internationally through the Church, it can draw on the expertise and resources of other nations. While it can act quickly, it is also in for the long haul. Its work in Aitape continued for years, given the nature of the injuries sustained, particularly by the children.

During this Lent, you may hear your children talking about Project Compassion. This is a primary fundraising drive of Caritas that links the personal prayer and discipline that we are called to in Lent with a vision of service to our brothers and sisters across the world. If you want to know more about Caritas their website is www.caritas.org.au

Loving Father, you call us each by name and know us individually but you also call us to live together in communion with each other. Send us your Spirit that we may care for those beyond the circle of our family and friends, loving them as Jesus loves them. We ask this in his name confident that you will hear us.

Sr Kym Harris osb

July 24, 2020

“I know just how you feel.”

I’ve often heard that and far too often from people who haven’t stopped to find out just how I did feel and who have gone on to tell me what I should be doing with my life. Yes, I have felt angry and hurt about their so-called ‘care’. And I’m sure many reading this can recall similar experiences. The ‘care’ we have been offered either doesn’t suit our need or is given insensitively. But then maybe I haven’t expressed my need properly. It seems we all have a lot to learn about caring – both in expressing our needs and in giving and receiving care.

In Lent one of the traditional practices is ‘almsgiving’, that is the showing of practical compassion to those in need. The word ‘compassion’ comes from the Latin meaning ‘feeling with’. With this practice we try to feel with people and offer a care that is appropriate to them – not to how we feel about their situation. It is good to send money to help those in need who are remote from us but the challenge of ‘almsgiving’ in Lent is primarily directed at us learning better ways of being compassionate to those around us who are in need….and that is pretty well everyone. We are challenged to love like God. Over these weeks, take time to really listen to those around you, and even ask questions about how they really feel, what their deepest desires are, how they feel needy. Ask yourself these questions, and if needs be, ask for care for yourself.

Loving God, you know all our needs. Send us your Spirit of compassion to care for each other with the tenderness and wisdom that Jesus shows in his care. We ask this in his name confident that you will hear us.

Sr Kym Harris osb

July 24, 2020

Would you like fries with that?

One of the traditional practices of Lent is fasting – denying ourselves some food so that we feel our hunger, feel our need. This is not dieting though the practice may look the same and physically get similar results. If we do not regularly face our neediness as human beings before God, we will eventually be consumed by greediness. If we do not recognise that we have a space in our heart that only God’s grace can fill, we will try to fill that space with all sorts of other things that can so easily become addictions.

Food isn’t the only thing we may have trouble with. There is alcoholism on both sides of my extended family and, though I like a drink, every year or two I go off alcohol for Lent to ‘test my heart.’ Some young people are so addicted to the mobile phone that they sleep with it under their pillow ‘in case’ a text comes through the night. Are they so afraid of loneliness? If a message does come, what happens to the night’s sleep? When shopping is a major form of entertainment, what happens to just spending time with family and friends?

We all have wants like these that we need to face and Lent is a good time to do it because we are looking towards to the source of all true joy: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Anything that seems to put our lives out of balance can be a sign of the space God is meant to fill in our lives. This Lent consider what may be putting your life off balance, cut back on it for awhile and see what effect this has on you. If you experience a ‘hunger’, indeed a ‘craving’, pray for the Spirit’s guidance to how you should deal with this.

Loving God, you know the desires of our hearts and the weaknesses that can cause so much sorrow and grief. Send us the wisdom of your Spirit to guide us in facing our weakness. Lead us to the fullness of life that Jesus offers. We ask this in his name confident that you will hear us.

Sr Kym Harris osb

July 24, 2020

Spiritual Stocktaking

Shops have stocktaking, businesses have audits, employees have job reviews, people have medical check-ups and Christians have Lent. For the next 6 weeks, we consider the quality of our life. We take up Jesus’ first challenge: “Repent” – which comes from a Greek word meaning ‘having another think.’ Jesus doesn’t want us to just drift through life, as this so often leads to unhappiness and poor relationships.

There are three areas that are recommended that we check up on. Traditionally, they are called fasting, alms-giving and prayer. What these mean realistically is that we look at personal discipline, compassion for others and our relationship with God. Over the next few weeks, we will explore how we can do a stock-take on each of these areas. But for now, let us just consider what in means to ‘have another think’.

Too often we just make decisions on the basis of what others think or because we react impulsively to a crisis. Rarely do we take a stocktake of

1. the gifts that we have been given by God

2. the demands we need to meet

3. the desires of our heart.

Take some time this week to really ponder each of these areas, even take a pen in hand and write down what comes to mind. Now ask God for inspiration regarding the things on the list. Write down what comes to mind. Now mull over these things in the coming week.

Loving God, we rush, rush, rush through so much of life, not taking time to be with you and with those we love. Give us your Spirit of Wisdom that we may embrace the fullness of life that Jesus wants for us. We ask this in his name confident that you will hear us.

Sr Kym Harris osb