The Advocate: Reflections of a Roman Catholic Woman Priest
In this week’s Gospel readings Jesus physically leaves the disciples but sends the Holy Spirit to remain with them. (John 14-17 and Mark 16). He is sending the Holy Spirit- The Spirit of Truth and the Advocate to be with them always (John 14:6). The disciples are lost at his physical leaving and still have to learn what the Presence of the Holy Spirit can and does do. Through the Advocate we who follow Jesus will be able to discern what is right and just, and have the strength to do what is needed to work for justice and right. At the same time he commands the disciples, to “go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to every creature”. We can do this only with the strength, inspiration, support, nudging, and guidance of the Holy Spirit within and all around us.
How blessed are we to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to do what we never could do on our own. We consider today’s world with its divisions and polarizations, its immense possibilities for both right and wrong, and its every day choices that make a difference. We must pray for the guidance and presence of God’s Holy Spirit Whose essence is Love to help us discern and do what is right and just, and ultimately loving. This ranges from every day living decisions to decisions on what is Christ-like in the wider arenas of life- including the political arena. Jesus prayed that we will be consecrated (made holy) in God’s spirit, in the spirit of Truth, and not in the spirit of this world that so often has little to do with love or truth. ( John 17:11-19). How do we bring the Spirit into every decision we must make and discern right in every choice given us. My cousin recently asked me how can Christians support a political candidate who is untruthful, almost hateful of immigrants and other groups, and clearly narcissistic ? I did not have an answer beyond their following one statement or promise to the neglect of all else that is right. Her question is a good one for all to consider.
An excellent example of a person seeking and following the leading of the Holy Spirit to develop services and housing for homeless people, both in Hartford, Connecticut and Fort Myers, Florida is the story of Rev. Judy Beaumont. Her story is in several places but most fully in “The Courage to Love and Serve: The Life Story of Rev. Judith Ann Beaumont–A Roman Catholic Woman Priest and A Saint For Our Times” by Judith A. B. Lee, 2020, Outskirts Press, Inc.
My prayer is” Our loving God, fill us with Your most Holy Spirit so not our will but yours is accomplished. Help us to discern when we are acting in the spirit of this world, in the spirit of self and power, and not in Your Love. Help us to support what is right, just and loving in every arena of life.” Amen
Blessings to All who seek to Know and Do God’s Will,
Rev. Dr. Judy Lee, RCWP
5/8/2024
For God So Loved The World
First Mary of Magdala and the women, then Simon Peter and John witnessed the empty tomb of Jesus. “ Finding the empty tomb made Jesus’ followers…confused….Only when the disciples experienced the risen Lord did the meaning of the empty tomb become clear. The stone was rolled back not so Jesus could get out, but so we could get in and be assured that his tomb of death will remain empty forever. He is risen!” From The Living Christ p. 314) Today on this beautiful Easter Sunday may you experience the risen Christ and know that He Lives! And because He lives we too shall live now and forever!
Blessings and prayers for your truly happy Easter, Pastor Judy Lee,RCWP Good Shepherd Ministries of SW Florida
These words of Joan Chittister remind us that while deaths are inevitable they can be “gateways to resurrection.” May we have new life this Easter!
Our Hymn of Grateful Praise: Reflections of a Roman Catholic Woman Priest
We are so blessed in South Florida to have flowers blooming year round. This morning my friend John Hancock sent me pictures he took of the flowers on his lanai in Naples. They are so beautiful that I just had to pass them on. And add some that are just outside of my window. Of these flowers, John said “…they are loving the cool nights and pleasant sunny days. Makes me happy to look at them.” And they lift my spirits and make me happy too so I am hoping they will bring you some joy as well. I believe that they are a hymn of grateful praise to our loving God.
There is an old hymn that fills my heart as I see them-“For The Beauty of the Earth” by Folliot S. Pierpoint, Music, Conrad Kocher, adapted by William H. Monk:
“For the beauty of the earth, For the glory of the skies, For the love which from our birth, Over and around us lies: Lord of all, to you we raise This our hymn of grateful praise”. (Note: the Roman Catholic version of this line reads “This our gift of grateful praise”. Indeed, it is a gift to our loving God, and to those we love, if we remember to say a heart felt thank YOU! Let us jog that memory within us of the love and beauty that is all around us and has been over the years, and will be forever. And let us respond: Thank You , God!
Thank you, John for your exquisite pictures.
And the little ones below and the lovely orange one live on the side of my house.
“Fort the beauty of each hour, Of the day and of the night, Hill and vale and tree and flow’r, Sun and moon and stars of light…Lord of all to you we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise.”
The above picture was painted by my mother many years ago and lives forever on my living room wall. There is beauty that lives on forever-that is how I think of my mother who had many struggles but was so beautiful inside and out, and saw only beauty in the world.
“For they joy of human love, Brother,sister,parent,child, Friends on earth and friends above: for all gentle thoughts and mild: Lord of all to You we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise….”
For Your-self, O Gift Divine To our world so freely giv’n, For that love from which will shine, Peace on earth and joy in heav’n”, Lord of all, to you we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise.” Alternate last line, from Methodist Hymnal: “For that great,great love of thine, Peace on earth and joy in heaven: Lord of all, to You we raise This our hymn of grateful praise”.
Amen!
“Lord of all, to You we raise, this our gift of grateful praise!”
In thanksgiving and love, bless you,
Pastor Judy Lee, RCWP
The Good Shepherd Community in Fort Myers, Florida
2/20/2024
Thankful for Love: Reflections of a Roman Catholic Woman Priest
Meister Eckhart, the famous theologian said “If the only prayer you ever said was “thank You, that would be enough.” And, James Martin in his book Come Forth! notes “Gratitude is one of the gateways to the spiritual life. It reminds us of our ultimate reliance on God. We can do nothing without God’s help. Being grateful grounds us in that reality”( (2023:p.273). Indeed what I am most thankful for are the many ways love is shown to me and demonstrated all around me. I am thankful for loving and for being loved. I am most thankful for God’s love all around me.
I don’t know whether it is good to set a special day aside to remember to be thankful for the love that abounds in each of our lives. Such thankfulness could also be a natural ongoing response to the caring of family and friends, and even to appreciating the love God has shown in giving us this beautiful world. Every time I look at my little lake that abounds with such a variety of God’s creatures throughout the seasons I feel thankful. When I walk outside to fed the birds and ducks I feel so thankful. When my pets show their affection to me and to one another I am thankful. When friends and family reach out to me and to one another I am thankful. But next week we have St. Valentine’s Day and that has become a time to remember romantic love. I am still amazed and ever so thankful to have such love in my older years. Yet, sometimes because of its narrow connotation people who do not have such love in their lives may wish St. Valentine’s day away rather than celebrate it. For me, this day is about gratitude for all of the love in our lives without distinguishing one from the other. So it is a day of thankfulness for love in all the ways it can be expressed and lived. Hence it IS a holiday for everyone.
It originally was a Christian feast day that honored St. Valentine who was a martyr persecuted under the Roman Empire in the Third Century. But, later in the 14th and 15th centuries it became associated with romantic love and flourished in that after the eighteenth century fueled by a commercialism that exists to this day. Yet, it is good to remember that originally it celebrated the loyal love of Valentine, also seen as the Saint of Spring’s arrival, for the God he served. Ultimately it evokes the question: what love are you thankful for?
I recently adopted a senior dog, 13, who is starting his life over with me as his working family could not be home with him enough. He reminds me of how we can adapt to love and to be loved at any age or stage of life. His sweetness is amazing considering the changes he has been through in his life. His essence is love. And because of his gentleness the kitties easily accept him which is also amazing.
I am so thankful for all of the loving beings and beauty in my life, past and present for all together I am filled with love.
And most of all I am thankful for God’s great love to me and to all of us and all of creation . The gifted writer Edwina Gately captures this love beautifully in her poem “Let Your God Love You” in her Psalms of a Laywoman, 1999:p.. 159.
“Let Your God Love You.
Be silent.
Be still.
Alone.
Empty
Before Your God.
Say nothing.
Ask nothing.
Be silent.
Be still.
Let your God look upon you.
that is all.
God knows.
God Understands.
God loves you
With an enormous love.
And only wants
to look upon you
With that love.
Quiet.
Still.
Be.
Let your God–
Love You. ”
Let us contemplate God’s great love with thanksgiving this St. Valentine’s day and every day. And see the difference this makes: feel loved, be loved and love!
Amen and may our Loving God continue to bless you,
Pastor Judy Lee, RCWP
Good Shepherd Ministries of Fort Myers,Florida
February 10,2024
Happy, Blessed New Year! Reflections of a Roman Catholic Woman Priest
If you are reading this you are blessed to enter another New Year- 2024. Wow! For those of us who thought entering the Millenium year, 2000, was a major blessing we are now amazed that it is almost a quarter of a century after that. Thanks be to God for time marching on, and us with it. And thanks be to God for the events of the past year that have brought us here, and for the hope of a new year.
Harry Gary, friend and member of our Good Shepherd Ministry wrote me this morning with wishes and prayers for the new year emphasizing “It is NEW!” Yes, there is something about new chances for life that are God’s most wonderful gift! Having just celebrated his 72nd birthday Mr. Gary was thankful for all that brought him to that moment, including his connection to our Ministry-from the beginning in 2007 when he did not have his own home. His last eight years have had wonderful stability in affordable housing and several medical challenges. He is particularly thankful for his home and for coming through each of those challenges and for the strength and faith to deal with the changes in vision that are a current issue. Mr. Gary is such a man of faith and hope that it is always uplifting to walk and talk with him. In the picture below taken when we still had our house church site, Mr. Gary is standing with a black shirt and cross on. The young man next to him is Quay Crews, who is now his neighbor in the Ohio Place Housing Complex. Mr. Gary is a church father in his life and both enjoy being neighbors.
As I look at the picture above, I am also saddened to report that we lost three of our dear members to heaven within the last few years. I know that they are enjoying glory with Jesus after difficult lives here. But our church members miss them still. Grandma Jolinda Harmon who brought countless new members to the church is with Jesus now. Lauretta Rasmussen, like Gary was one of our oldest and most faithful members. She, and Joe Baker, striped shirt behind her, both loved their housing and their relationships in the community and with family, and both succumbed to cancer. In this picture we were celebrating the life of Pastor Judy Beaumont. When Lauretta was passing she held my hand and said that she was happy to be joining Pastor Judy Beaumont who helped her find the path to eternal life. I can just see Judy welcoming Lauretta and Joe and our other deceased members and friends to the heavenly kindom where they are with Love forever. Judy was close with my beloved lifelong friend Jean Cornella Bauer who passed suddenly two years ago and I am sure they are together again now. And my childhood friend Jean Tracy Foreman was welcomed home by Judy too. I miss them so much but my heart is still full with their love. Below are Jean Cornella Bauer and Judy and me.
We are happy for the young girls in the first picture, Quay’s cousins, who are teenagers now. And for all of our young people like Quay’s siblings who are wishing us Happy New Year this year. It is a good feeling to know that faith continues through the generations. Below are Maya Rismay Cummings and her daughter Kimora. I am blessed as they live here in Fort Myers and faithfully visit and keep in touch. Judy Beaumont and I helped mentor Maya and Felice and to help raise their older siblings, Perdita, Marley and Channel while living in Connecticut. Maya’s sister Felice and her son Daniel (Bubs) visit too but they live in Connecticut. Marley, Maya’s older brother, and wife Jen and his three children also live in Connecticut and visit here. It is such fun to enjoy the younger generations.
Below are Maya and Kimora who visited yesterday, 12/31/2023. Kimora especially loved visiting with our cat Finn.
Below are Felice and Bubs, and Marley and his daughter MyaLee. He also has two sons, Marley Jr. and Matthew Jude.
We are also so blessed to be able to continue our ministry here in Fort Myers. In the pictures below, taken in early December we see Brenda and her roommate Terri and one of her dogs. Brenda has been with our Good Shepherd Ministry like Mr. Gary since the beginning in 2007. Here she is in her own home with Terri and four pets and our member Carol Schauf and I are visiting them for Christmas. Carol is a wonderful mentor for Brenda.
We are thankful that our Good Shepherd relationships are active now.
We are also so thankful for the friends and family who remain loving in our lives. Below are Danielle and Laura whom we visited in New York. Laura, in the pink shirt, is now in a wonderful Orthodox Jewish Residential setting where she finally feels at home and can practice her faith. We are so happy for her and for the love and care that Danielle is able to give her. Indeed we are family more than friends.
And we are so thankful for family that continues to love and support us. At my age there is more family in heaven than here, but Jackie and Mike and Cousin Bob and family are still there to hold onto me here.
Above are Jackie and Mike with me. And below are Cousin Bob and his family and our cousin Lillian Dougherty Ebner as well.
And so we end this year and begin our new year 2024 thankful for love, for friends and family human and pet as well, and ministry, We are mindful of those, human and pet, that have gone home to God and so thankful for their lives. And we are so grateful for God’s glorious creation that renews us each day. And we especially thank God for those who remain with us for 2024.
THANK YOU, LOVING GOD, FOR ALL THE GIFTS OF 2023 AND THE HOPES FOR 2024. THANKYOU FOR THOSE WE HAVE LOST HERE AND FOR THOSE WHO REMAIN WITH US. THANK YOU FOR LIFE IN ALL OF ITS SHAPES, FORMS AND ESSENCES. THANK YOU FOR LOVE THAT IS FOREVER. THANK YOU FOR YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW IN YOUR LOVE.
BLESSINGS TO ALL AS WE WELCOME IN 2024, AND ALL THAT IS NEW AND GOOD TO COME.
LOVE AND BLESSINGS,
Pastor Judy Lee, RCWP
Good Shepherd Ministries of Southwest Florida
January 1, 2024
What or Who Are You Waiting For? Reflections of a Roman Catholic Woman Priest
It seems that we are always waiting for something or someone. Today I was waiting for the phone call of a dear friend from long ago so we can catch up on our lives. She had the women’s basketball game on in the background and was waiting to see how the UConn Huskies were doing. And she was waiting to find a new pet for her life-a senior pet for a senior person. As we talked we were both waiting for a special Christmas Show to come on TV later in the day. We also hoped for the time we could visit. All things worth waiting for. In this season we wait for the joy and excitement of the Christmas spirit in the very air we breathe. People seem more caring, and happier. Days seem brighter. Hope is in the air. Another friend is waiting to hear about a job, while my cousin Bob is awaiting his fifth great grand child! And I eagerly await for my love to visit later this month. Much that I plan is with that visit in mind. And so it is a natural and necessary part of life to wait, to anticipate, to hope.
Hope is exactly what the season of ADVENT that begins today is all about. The first of the four Advent candles is lighted. And we have three weeks of hoping ( the purple candles) and one of Joy ( The pink candle) as we anticipate the coming of Jesus on that first Christmas so long ago. During these weeks of waiting we hope to rekindle the faith to renew the world. We look to find ways to enact our faith and reach out to others in need of the true Christ-mas. We prepare for three comings: the birthday of the Christ of Christ-mas; the second coming of Christ, our Life and Redeemer of a broken world; and our own personal time of meeting the Lord when we are summonsed home. Most importantly in this season of Advent we work at keeping our hearts ready for our God’s appearance in our everyday lives.
On Saturday our Gospel reading warns us not to let our hearts “become drowsy….with the anxieties of everyday life” so that we miss the coming of Jesus (Luke 21:34). It is all too easy to become caught up in our lives so that we miss seeing God’s appearance. And in today’s Gospel Jesus tells us to “Be watchful! Be alert!” We do not know when Jesus will appear and we may be found sleeping so “Watch!” (Mark 13:33-37). In a busy holiday season as in our busy lives we become drowsy and fall asleep all too easily. And rest is important and can renew us, but our “drowsiness” may also overtake our interest and willingness to meet Jesus as He comes, in the faces of all we meet, in the faces of those we love and those who love us, and especially in the faces of the most needy around us, or in the wider world. When we see the face of our loved ones our hearts quicken and wake up so that we can reciprocate and initiate love.
May this Advent be a time when we rouse from the dullness or drowsiness that blinds us from seeing the face of Christ in our very midst. May we pray and meditate and read the Scriptures and other writings that open our hearts to meeting Jesus as he comes to us this Advent season. May we simply open our eyes and look around us with the eyes of love. Then Love will come to us on Christmas.
I look at this picture of our Good Shepherd Community of Christmas 11 years ago and am so thankful for the six beloved ones who are our angels now, guiding us from above. Oh, how we must love as we can every minute of every day. May we remain alert and watchful for the opportunity to love and serve. And to remain thankful for all the faces of Christ here and all around us that remain to guide and love us here and now.
May our loving God bless you this Advent season.
Pastor Judy Lee, RCWP
The Good Shepherd Community in Fort Myers, Florida
12/3/2023
Use It Or Lose It: Reflections of a Roman Catholic Woman Priest
When we work hard and manage to accomplish what we have set out to do there is great joy when we receive praise like: ” Well done!” It is human to want affirmation. Likewise, when we have not been successful, we hope the effort counts for something- at the very least we may learn from it. In the parable Jesus gives us today, sometimes called the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25: 14-30) Jesus teaches us to fully use the gifts that we have been given. He does praise both great success and effort. What he does not value is “making no effort”.
“Talents” in this parable means money given to a man’s servants when he went away and entrusted them with his property. Each of three servants is given talents to care for according to his abilities. The first two invest the talents and double the money for the Master who entrusted them. But the third one buries his one talent in fear of the master’s wrath should he lose it, and is admonished by the master when he returns. The first hear the words we all long to hear: “Well done, you good and faithful servant”. They are told that because of their actions they will be put in charge of many things. But the third has the talent taken from him and additionally will be punished severely and eternally for not using it. He is called a “wicked and lazy servant”. I have often felt badly for this man. He didn’t squander or lose what he was given, but he didn’t do anything with it. There were no points for not squandering it, or not misusing it. He was to use it or lose it. The master in this parable is not Jesus, despite the fact I heard a priest say it was Jesus this morning. The master is a mean and dishonest, unscrupulous boss. Very human indeed. He wants money made on his investments and punishes if it is not made. Jesus is using this example to make a point. The point is well beyond any material things we have been entrusted with. if we broaden being entrusted with material goods to mean the gifts we have been given to serve our loving God and one another we may understand better why it is serious,and a profound loss, not to use our gifts.
What are the various types of gifts we each have? Indeed, they are different for each of us, and unique to who we are. Think of your friends and family members,. What are their varied gifts? And, what defines them and makes them unique. What is it that each one can uniquely do or be? And what would it be like if they ignored the very gifts they were given to be themselves and to be useful and caring in this world? And also think of yourself. What have you been given? And, yes, what have you done with it?
I think of my Grandmother. She had a gift of making everyone laugh. this was wonderful in a life that was sometimes hard with economic and other problems that seemed insurmountable. Better still, she had the gift of finding the good in everyone without minimizing the problems they clearly struggled with. And she had an unshakeable faith in our loving God. She prayed often and Jesus was her best friend. She had the gift of teaching this abiding faith along with so many other things. Family, friends and neighbors sought her out for her special depth and wisdom. This dear woman living often in poverty with only an eighth grade education was the wisest person I will ever know- and the most giving person. Indeed, she often gave the proverbial shirt off her back to anyone who needed it. She used her talents well and while she was not rich in material goods, she was easily the richest person I have ever known.
My Mother too was such a special person. She was both brilliant and beautiful. She achieved academically and could hold important jobs when she was well. She struggled with mental illness in a day that medications did nothing to alleviate thinking that went awry and feelings that were not easy to manage. But her gift was seeing the beauty in the world. She was a gifted artist and she saw art in nature, and in animals and in flowers, especially. She saw it in people others dismissed. She was trotally charitable to others in her thoughts. She painted beautiful large paintings of flowers and the scenes around her, especially the sea and trees and nature. Her great joy was exhibiting her work at the Washington Square Art Show each year. And she was also a completely loyal person, especially to her daughter. I was blessed with her constant support.
And I think now of the gift of joy and smiles and acceptance on my love’s face that means so much to everyone around her, especially to me. I think of the wise counsel of another friend and the gift of listening and always being there for me of another. I think of the gift of asking good questions that a few of my friends have had, questions that make you think and clarify your thoughts. I remember Pastor Mel Williams who asked probing questions ensconced in love. And Pastor Dave Ver Nooy whose genuine warmth and compassion opened the doors cross culturally and softened many hard hearts. I think of friends who make art, and music and poetry to open the soul. I think of the gift of caring of another friend who calls just to see how her friends are doing. I think of another friend who makes sure I have all needed groceries in. And I think of an old friend, a dear man who makes sure all that is practical in living is done well. His ability to be a good friend extends this gift to all he knows.
There are so many wonderful gifts in life. I have not even begun to touch them here. You must name them for yourself. And Jesus wants us to own our gifts and use them toward building the kingdom of God on this earth. The opposite is to live only or mainly for ones’ self and indeed, that which was not used seems to be lost in self-absorbed people. Yet it is never too late. We can take stock of our gifts and use them well. And we can give thanks for the gifts of others that enrich our lives.
I am so thankful for the gifts of those around me and those before and now in my life. I am thankful for my gifts. And here I am thankful for and trying to use the gift of writing that lets me say what cannot so easily be said. Hopefully, it can touch someone or lift someone up. Or even just inspire a few thoughts, or thankfulness. Thanksgiving is every day. Yet on Thanksgiving Thursday we are reminded every year how good it is to give thanks, thanks to God, for God’s unending love, for Jesus, for the Gospel and the Holy Scriptures, for the many gifts we are given and thanks to one another.
As we approach the day of Thanksgiving let us take the time to appreciate the gifts of others all around us, and to cultivate and use the gifts deep within us.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all! I am truly thankful for you!
Love and blessings,
Pastor Judy Lee, RCWP
Good Shepherd Ministries, Fort Myers, Florida
11/19/2023
judyablfollowingSheWhoIs 
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