New books in the library—October 2023

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Enrich your mind and spirit—visit the monastery library! October 2023 The monastery library added the following books to its collection: Cassidy, Laurie, ed.  Desire, darkness, and hope.  Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2021. Hewett, Beth.  Grief on the road to Emmaus.  Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2023. Irwin, Kevin.  Ecology, liturgy, and the sacraments.  Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2023 Kim, Seung Chul.  The Center is everywhere.  Eugen, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2022 Koosed, Jennifer L.  Judith.  Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022. Lane, Dermot.  Nature praising God.  Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022 Lohfink, Gerhard.  Between Heaven and earth.  Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022 Lohfink, …

October phenology

Sylvia Marek Care for the Earth, Friends of Wisdom Prairie, Phenology Leave a Comment

Heron on Lost LakePhenology 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. October Phenology The following favorite observations are from notes I have kept for many years. October …

 Jim Penczykowski’s Homily from September 10, 2023

Nancy Sandleback Homilies Leave a Comment

A pious elder stated to a group of us twenty somethings many years ago, “God’s mercy is exceeded only by God’s justice.”  A rather lively exchange of views was going on at the time.  While theological debates of this sort may not play out much in classrooms, dorm rooms and bars anymore, our attitudes and resulting behaviors toward one another are frequently determined by what part of the equation we land on. Our scripture today gives us an entrée into these competing points of view.  In particular, I think it has application to how we balance the needs of individuals …

Patti La Cross’s Homily from Setember 3, 2023

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Twenty-Second Sunday, Sept 3, 2023                                         Holy Wisdom Monastery Jeremiah 15: 15-21; Romans 12:9-21, Matthew 16:21-28          Patti La Cross In each of the monotheistic traditions, prophets are seen as key to connecting and communicating between humans and the divine. It is they whodiscern the signs of the time, who guide, warn, and confront –  always in an effort to help the people move toward liberation and reconciliation. As we move into this latest stretch of very hot days, I want to explore how the notion of prophecy might help us reflect on faithful action in this era of climate …

MOSES Action for Forgiveness

Holy Wisdom Monastery Justice Leave a Comment

Sumbitted by The Religious Leader Caucus of MOSES: Sr. Joan Duerst, O.P., Patricia La Cross, Mark Petersen, Marsha Baldwridge As a community of communities, MOSES members share the core belief that each human person is precious and redeemable by all we call Holy: the Lord of Israel, Jesus, the teachings of the prophet Mohammed, and the practices of Buddhism and other non-theist spiritualities. Our whole Wisconsin network (MOSES is one of 11 WISDOM state affiliates) has been asked to broadly urge our members to join a letter campaign. This effort aims for the release of 2 individuals in our prison …

Rex Piercy’s Homily from August 27, 2023

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HOMILY delivered at Sunday Assembly, Holy Wisdom Monastery, Middleton, WI – August 27, 2023 Text(s) – Matthew 16:13-20 and Mark 8:27-38 I suspect most of us pretty much agree that the level and tone of our public discourse in this country right now has sunk to a mighty low level. Mostly, it seems, we just talk past each other, if in fact we’re not shouting at or over one another. So a comment I recently overheard while standing in the checkout line at the grocery store was interesting to me. “Why,” one woman asked another, “are the only people who …

New England aster with rigid leaf goldenrod

September phenology

Holy Wisdom Monastery Care for the Earth, Friends of Wisdom Prairie, Phenology Leave a Comment

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. September Phenology The following September phenology is from my phenology notebooks. These phenomena do not occur at …

New books in the library—September 2023

Nancy Sandleback Library Leave a Comment

Enrich your mind and spirit—visit the monastery library! September 2023 The monastery library added the following books to its collection: Cassidy, Laurie, ed.  Desire, darkness, and hope.  Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2021. Hewett, Beth.  Grief on the road to Emmaus.  Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2023. Irwin, Kevin.  Ecology, liturgy, and the sacraments.  Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2023 Kim, Seung Chul.  The Center is everywhere.  Eugen, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2022 Koosed, Jennifer L.  Judith.  Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022. Lane, Dermot.  Nature praising God.  Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022 Lohfink, Gerhard.  Between Heaven and earth.  Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022 Lohfink, …

Pam Shellberg’s Homily from August 20, 2023

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Homily                   Sunday, August 20, 2023                  Holy Wisdom Monastery                       Pam Shellberg   Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost                Matthew 15:21-28 Well, this is certainly not the Jesus we are used to seeing, is it … maybe not the Jesus we really want to see – and certainly not the Jesus our theology often primes us to see – a gentle, loving, and inclusive Jesus who reaches out to everyone, no exceptions. It’s hard to know what to make of this rude, disrespectful, and exclusionary Jesus who earlier in Matthew’s gospel was more than willing to heal the servant of a …

Reflections from a Summer Steward

Holy Wisdom Monastery Hospitality, Living in Community, Monastic Life, Prayer & Worship, Weekly Wisdom, Women Exploring Community 2 Comments

Submitted by Hannah Keziah Agustin In the beginning of our day, there is silence. We center ourselves on the presence of God in the basement of Holy Wisdom Monastery’s main building at 7:30 in the morning, our chairs facing toward each other as we pray. Outside of the windows, the prairie sprawls with the bloom of a Wisconsin summer – bergamot, coneflowers and butterfly milkweed decorate the fields in the day’s early sun. Here, Benedictine sisters, retreatants and community members gather for the hearing of the liturgy, the singing of worship and the reading of God’s word. Here, we come …