ARTICLES

Grounded

Scripture Retreat in San Luis Obispo

BY VINCE FERRARO

A three-hour "scripture retreat" was held at Nativity of Our Lady Parish in San Luis Obispo on January 24. I attended the retreat, enticed by an advertisement for it in the Monterey diocese's newspaper, the Observer: "How did Jesus reveal himself and his mission to the people of his time? to us? Let Jesus invite us to live our faith more deeply. Prayer, reflection, sharing." The retreat's director, Sister Frances Franey of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, led us in meditations and group discussions with the theme, "Jesus Manifestation and Mission: Our Response." About eleven pastoral leaders attended, including Sister Molly Neville, director of vocations in the diocese of Monterey.

Sister Molly introduced Sister Frances as being a friend who is "really steeped in the Word of God and knows it well." At present Sister Frances is doing "spiritual development of adults" and "scripture work with parishes."

Sister Frances began by asking us to welcome someone else whom we haven't welcomed yet this morning. I welcomed Sister Molly. Sister Frances then put on a CD that played an orchestral rendition of "You are mine," by David Haas.

We started out the retreat by discussing the meaning of the word "Epiphany." We usually associate it with the Feast of January 6, according to Sister Frances, though the feast actually goes beyond that for two more weeks. "It' s the visit of the wise men, followed by the baptism of Jesus. That's a revelation. And the first of his signs at Cana in Galilee."

Alluding to both the birth of Christ and events of the Epiphany, Sister stated mysteriously, "God is grounded here forever." She asked us to think about that, so that we may share where we think Jesus is grounded. One woman shared that He is grounded in the hearts of those who have good will. Sister Frances stated that "grace rises out of the experiences of our lives." Sister Molly opined that he is grounded in our humanity, our flesh. He is grounded in all of us as the Body of Christ, living and breathing and ministering and loving. I think that is how Christ is made known today." Another shared, "he's grounded in our ministries." Sister Frances said that, although Jesus is present in the Eucharist, He is also present in a very special way in the assembly.

One woman, who later said she was a Franciscan sister, said she once attended a workshop where "we sat around a circle, and someone had an electric light. We joined our hands, and when someone let go, the light went out. And when the hand was rejoined, it went on again," she said profoundly -- explaining that that was how the Holy Spirit works. "The same spirit that led Jesus in prayer," Sister Frances added.

Franey continued, "the three synoptics [Matthew, Mark, and Luke] all talk about the baptism of Jesus." But Luke's version is special, she said. "The Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily shape like a dove, a voice came from heaven: 'You are my Son, my beloved. My favor rests on you.'" Sister then pointed out that at our baptisms God's favor rests on us.

Sister then explained that after Jesus' baptism, the spirit led Jesus into the desert to pray, where he could make some decisions about what God wanted him to do. Next, Sister discussed the third "manifestation" -- the wedding feast at Cana.

Franey asked us if we could go back in time to experience one of the three Epiphany events, which one would we choose? She asked us what we would say to Jesus. We had time to think about it before we were asked to share with our partner. My partner was Sister Molly, Monterey diocese's vocations director. The baptism was "the only time that God said, 'you are my beloved,'" Sister Molly shared with me. "I love the fact that Jesus knew he was God's beloved. He actually heard it. The Baptism of Jesus for me was a defining moment ... he strays out into the desert ... struggling with who he was ... and I just want to say, 'go for it, Jesus! Be our example. Be our model. Journey with us through the same things.' And I think in this life, maybe, his disciples thought his ideas didn't bear fruit... I think he heard again, 'you are my beloved,' and that was enough. It was enough for him to know he belonged to God and had a mission ... and maybe it was the extremers out there -- people didn't get it, or maybe his disciples confused him with wanting to be a messiah. You know, I'm sure that was discouraging; but, I think the thing that sustained him, somehow, was that everything was going to be all right. I think he was very true to himself."

Sister Franey asked if anyone would like to share with the larger group.

Of those who chose the baptism of Jesus as a meditation theme, some said they that they would congratulate Jesus after they saw him. Someone else said that what struck them was how Jesus was just like everyone else. "Just a man. Truly human and divine."

Sister then segued into the topic of prayer. "Some of you honor Mary by saying the rosary; others, by reading scripture; others, by looking at the landscape -- the beach, the mountains." Sister suggested a threefold way to study scripture: "gently read a passage of the Scriptures. Listen with the ear of your heart. Let a word or phrase move out of you. Read the same passage again slowly. Rest with the word or phrase. What does it say to you about God or Jesus, God's Son? What do you see? What do you hear? Read the passage a third time. Ask what the word or phrase is calling you to do or to be."

Sister Frances recommended a small paperback from Paulist Press ("anything from Paulist Press is good," she said): scripture scholar Raymond Brown's Responses to 101 Questions on the Bible. This book, she said, was "very practical." For example, when someone asked Brown if Mary and Joseph had other children, he said "that there is nothing in scripture that will tell you one way or the other." One woman asked Sister if Mary was perpetually a virgin, and Franey replied, evasively, "Our Catholic Tradition says she was; but the Protestant tradition says she had other children." She gave further explanation that amounted neither to a "yes" or a "no" and concluded that maybe there was some other angelic message we don't know about. "Maybe it was so personal, it wasn't recorded. They [Mary and Joseph] followed whatever they thought God wanted them to do."

One woman in the audience commented, "it's none of our business." Sister Frances agreed.

Sister asked us to share how we manifest Jesus. Sister Molly shared first: "we are all vocations directors" because "we are all called to empower gifts, whether you are a mother, grandmother, single-dedicated layman." She said that she has always been "captivated" by the mission of Jesus and that she loves thinking about it and that she wants to be a part of it. "This Sunday's Gospel is a powerful invitation to be about what Jesus is about."

Sister Molly added, "when Jesus looked at Peter, there was Peter, kind of waffling on things, his words and his actions didn't always meet, but he was good hearted, But when Jesus looked at Peter, he saw a rock. And other people didn't. But Jesus saw the solidity, the deep love, the generosity in Peter."

Commenting on another person's experience, Sister Molly said, "when you said that, I think God may have given you that same insight of Jesus to see the good in people, and that's calling forth the gifts. And just being yourself, just being your light; that's how we minister. Its not in words, it's in our life."

Sister Franey asked us to share our thoughts on a rather fundamental question: "we are supposed to spread the Good News. What is the Good News?" Sister Franey answered her own question, "The Good News is that God loves us".

Everyone laughed at the profound simplicity of her answer.

Sister Molly told a story about a certain theologian, who said his favorite scripture passage was the baptism of Jesus. "I just love that he knew that he was the beloved of God," she quoted. She explained that the baptism inspired the theologian to create a short prayer containing only three lines -- which Sister Molly explicated line-by-line:

Jesus, you are the beloved.

Sister commented, "yes, we know he is the Son of God, and that he is the rock. But here we dwell on that Jesus was loved."

Jesus, I am the beloved.

Sister further explained, "and that's harder to believe."

Jesus, we all are the beloved.

"The person whose dog dews on our lawn," Sister Molly explained, "the person who doesn't like us, and the family member who's betrayed. We are all the beloved. And that is really what the Good News is."

Sister Frances wanted to finish with a reflection. "Grace rises out of the circumstances of my life. It might come in a moment of awe at the sunset, in a time of joy or at a time of disappointment." God will assist us in his way, not our way. "There will always be a degree of unmanageability. May I recognize the invincible nature of the grace that sustains me."

She closed by playing, Gloria a Te, Christo Gesu, sung by Andrea Bocelli.

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