By Sally Bowers and Julie Melton, Friends of Wisdom Prairie volunteers The story of Noah and the Flood is not unique to the Bible. There are three flood stories in Native American culture. In each one, the flood follows human failure to live in balance. Food sovereignty is about balance. Use what our Creator has provided, but use it sustainably, respectfully. Balance recognizes that we humans are but one of God’s creations. We are related to every other piece of creation from microbe to mountain. ReStoryation from the native people and their ancestral lands teaches us this importance. Food Sovereignty preserves …
New books in the library—April 2023
Enrich your mind and spirit—visit the monastery library! April 2023 The monastery library added the following books to its collection: Koosed, Jennifer L. Judith. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022. Maloney, Linda M. Acts of the Apostles. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022. Nolan, Albert. Jesus before Christianity. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2022.
April phenology
By Sylvia Marek Phenology is a science focused on observing and recording biological events from year to year and their relationships to the change of seasons and climate. These are the “normal” phenology events we expect to see here and in the Madison area this month. We would love to hear about what you are seeing on the grounds of Holy Wisdom Monastery. Please comment on this post with what you are observing, where at Holy Wisdom and the date you observed the event. No month ends or begins overnight. Events can be a few weeks early or late. “For …
Lost Lake, Sacred Space
Author: Julie Melton Lost Lake is living evidence of the last glacier in southern Wisconsin. As the glacier melted, huge chunks of ice were separated from the receding edge. Rivers of melt water gushed around it depositing 30 foot deep layers of silt, rock, and gravel. Lost Lake was born when the ice melted leaving a depression in the landscape. Ground water, rain, and snow fed it. After the glaciers receded, life returned, eventually greening the landscape. Ancestors of the Ho-Chunk who lived throughout this area were attracted to the lake. This space was so sacred to them that they …
International Women’s Day
The Sisters at Holy Wisdom Monastery, Madison, Wisconsin welcome and celebrate International Women’s Day. We are a small community of Benedictine women who enjoy and benefit from an international world view. Our community is a member of the world-wide Benedictine order begun in the sixth century. Our interests and work focus not only locally but on sisters’ communities and work in Africa, Asia, South America and Europe. Travel to these countries prompts a desire and understanding for collaboration. After a visit with sisters in Korea, Korean sisters came to our monastery to learn English. They attended classes at WESLI – …
Patti LaCross’s Homily from March 5, 2023
We’ve traveled the distance across the history of our faith and blessings this morning: from Abram’s accepting a call to set out, to Jesus’ encounter with a cautious Nicodemus, and finally intimations of his own crucifixion. Relating John’s image of Jesus – on the cross, lifted up, – to that of Moses with the bronze serpent staff – raised to protect the Israelites from death by snake bite- theologian John Shea* wrote: “Humans are bitten by death. Jesus, Son of man, becomes death on the cross; If you see him lifted up, you can believe and receive eternal life… Divine …
Monitoring Bird-Window Collisions at the Monastery
Since the Fall of 2021, volunteers from Madison Audubon and Holy Wisdom have been monitoring windows at the Monastery and Retreat & Guest House for bird collisions. The volunteers detected 21 window collisions during fall 2022. This was more than the combined number of collisions documented during the fall of 2021 and spring of 2022. The greatest number of collisions occurred at glass doors at the Retreat & Guest House courtyard. Dr. Amy Alstad, the Director of Land Management noted “This is a protected area with vegetation that is attractive to song birds. As soon as it warms up, we …
Wayne Sigelko’s Homily from February 26, 2023
First Sunday of Lent-February 26, 2023 Temptation bookends our liturgy of the word today. In the reading from Genesis, we get the familiar story of Adam, Eve, the Serpent and that damned apple. And, I don’t know about you, but from my standpoint, the whole situation was a bit of a set up. I mean, sure, God gave his first couple everything they might need in history’s first recorded nudist camp. Glorious surroundings, sustenance in the form of every imaginable fruit from every tree and each other for suitable companionship. And then, God throws this in. “Oh and by the …
New books in the library—March 2023
Enrich your mind and spirit—visit the monastery library! March 2023 The monastery library added the following books to its collection: Koosed, Jennifer L. Judith. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022. Maloney, Linda M. Acts of the Apostles. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022. Nolan, Albert. Jesus before Christianity. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2022.
March phenology (the awakening season)
By Sylvia Marek Phenology is a science focused on observing and recording biological events from year to year and their relationships to the change of seasons and climate. These are the “normal” phenology events we expect to see here and in the Madison area this month. We would love to hear about what you are seeing on the grounds of Holy Wisdom Monastery. Please comment on this post with what you are observing, where at Holy Wisdom and the date you observed the event. No month ends or begins overnight. Events can be a few weeks early or late. …