From Benedictine Bridge, November, 2014 – featuring Ron Endres, a founding member of the Friends of Wisdom Prairie Council Ron Endres (center), Will Mann (left), and Greg Armstrong (right) prepare seed packets for the Wisdom Prairie seeding day. Ron Endres declines to be called a prairie expert, but he truly knows and loves native prairie culture. Ron has spent more hours than he can estimate harvesting, drying, smashing, screening, weighing, bagging and labelling prairie seed which he can provide to non-profit organizations to create new expanses of prairie habitat. It was his generous donation of 80-90 species and 240 pounds of prairie seeds …
Teaching us how to live rightly on the earth
Publishing in the Landscape by Calvin B. DeWitt We had driven through the Cotswold district of England a few days earlier, and now I was standing before an impressive group of scholars in nearby Oxford, ready to present a lecture on Creation stewardship. I had been welcomed to the lectern and was ready to begin with an academic introduction. But I put aside my notes, and announced to my audience, “I have just made what for me is an important discovery I want to share with you! It is a powerful and convicting publication on land stewardship. And yet, while …
Prairie Planting at Holy Wisdom Monastery
Paraphrased from a document written by Ron Endres and Greg Armstrong for the Wisdom Prairie Planting Day The Friends of Wisdom Prairie had a very successful prairie planting on nearly 20 acres of what was agricultural land. We planted this prairie at this time of year so that the seed can over-winter in the soil and germinate in the spring. In general, this is the most successful time to plant. Fall plantings take advantage of cold moist conditions to break seed dormancy. We spread the seeds by hand so that the frost works the seeds into the soil, instead of …
Patti La Cross' Homily, November 2, 2014
Feast of All Saints and Souls, November 2, 2014 Holy Wisdom Monastery Revelations 7:9-17; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:;1-12 Patti La Cross Today’s worship has so much to take in! Truly evocative selections from the scriptures, and much ritual to follow. Did you get some lift, just following the image of a global, victorious, massed robed choir of praise singers? Did you sense that we briefly joined their ranks for Psalm 34? Singing is one image of the kingdom of God that we find coming through the Epistles in descriptions of early gatherings of followers of Jesus’ …
Earthkeeping and con-servancy
Homily by Calvin DeWitt, October 19, 2014 Readings: Genesis 2:4-9,15; Colossians 1:15-20. Our readings today from Genesis and Colossians help us to learn about our privilege and responsibility to care for the land God has entrusted to our care. Genesis 2:15 gives the commission to avad the Garden and to shamar it. And the hymn of Colossians, (1:15-20) tells us that is through Jesus Christ that God creates, sustains, and reconciles ta panta. The Hebrew word avad in Genesis is variously translated, till, tend, cultivate, work, and serve. It is a word with a constellation of meanings all centering …
Myth #209 – All nuns prefer black
Not necessarily. Benedictine Women of Madison prefer green. On October 15, 2014 we posted a link to an article about the newest solar panels on our “green” monastery building and retreat and guest house, but the story begins much earlier: “Benedictine women in Wisconsin are practicing new (and ancient) ways to save the earth, starting with the home front. New growth has a history of springing to life at Holy Wisdom Monastery in Madison, Wisconsin — and that’s just fine with the Benedictine sisters there.” These lines introduce Sister Act, an article by Betsy Shirley, published in Sojourners Magazine, which details the history …
Myth #233 – All nuns have beautiful voices
Not necessarily. Music is vital to our prayer and worship. We sing every day, we surround ourselves in music because it is a language of the soul, but we don’t all have perfect voices. Rather, we support and sing with and for each other, knowing that God loves the music in our hearts. Does your heart long for something more? Come work and pray with us for 6 months as a Benedictine Sojourner. Learn more at an Experience Benedictine Life at the Monastery retreat. Contact Lynne at lwsmith@benedictinewomen.org or 608-831-9305. _________________________ Follow the series: Living in Community – Myth busting. What …
Myth #391 – Living in a monastery limits who I can be
In the monastery we become part of one another’s lives, we support and challenge each other to become most fully and freely who God created us to be. Ours is a community of women seeking a deeper awareness of God’s presence in our lives. Living in community is about living life together. In community, everyone works hand in hand, sharing meals, prayer, work and conversation. While Benedictine spirituality is communal, it recognizes the uniqueness of the individual. The monastic value of respect for the person is an essential element of community life. Each member holds a privileged and equal place. …
Leora Weitzman's Homily, October 12, 2014
28th Ordinary Time • 10/12/14 • Isaiah 25:1-9, Philippians 4:1-9, Matthew 22:1-14 • Leora Weitzman Today’s Isaiah and Gospel readings contain a disturbing mixture of violence and grace. In order to be able to embrace them fully as good news, I needed a way to reconcile the violent images with a totally loving God. There is some precedent for treating ancient stories allegorically, as portrayals of the community within the self. For example, I’ve heard the story of the Israelites’ liberation from enslavement by the Egyptians interpreted as an allegory for our liberation from enslavement to sin or …
Myth #468 – Living in a monastery is an escape from the world
In the monastery we practice living open-heartedly and serving others to make a difference in the world around us. Holy Wisdom Monastery welcomes people into sacred space and our community of communities to pray, study and nourish one another. Compelled by the Gospel and rooted in the Benedictine tradition, we support personal and community growth as we live out our mission and values in a changing world. Can you imagine yourself in this picture? Experience our life in community. Learn more at an Experience Benedictine Life at the Monastery retreat. Come live, work and pray with us for 6-9 months …