Laetare Sunday March 10, 2013 Joshua 5:9-12, 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Luke 15:1-3,11b-32 prod·i·gal adjective. Lavish – profuse – extravagant – wasteful – spendthrift In my old school, when I was a child¸ I remember that this parable was commonly called the Prodigal Son. Lessons focused on the young man who left with his premature inheritance to squander it unwisely, until muddied and hungry he had no choice but to return home, where – no surprise to those of us with many siblings – he was shown so generous a welcome that his obedient brother spent the …
Scripture Commentary for March 10, 2013 by Arthur H. Cash
FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT 10 March 2013 FIRST LESSON Joshua 5:9-12. The Israelites are drawing close to the goal of their long trek from Egypt. They have passed the Dead Sea to the south and come northward along its eastern bank. They have now turned to the west, crossed over the Jordan River (with some divine help), and entered the promised land, a territory occupied by a variety of ethnic peoples. They are approaching a Canaanite city that stands in their way. They cleans themselves by circumcising all the men; they sit tight until the men are healed. Then …
Celebrating our 60th anniversary ~ March 11, 2013
This month the sisters celebrate 60 years of presence in Madison – a wonderful opportunity to renew the vision, commitment and strength of our sisters’ community and to recall the women who set out on a new venture. In the seeds of our founding, 60 years ago, was a deep faithfulness to God’s call and a pioneering spirit that has moved our community into uncharted waters throughout our history. Most recently this “pioneering spirit” motivated the bold step of becoming the first ecumenical Benedictine community in the US. Reflecting on early ecumenical experiences and the move toward greater ecumenism, …
Wayne Sigelko's Homily from March 3, 2013
Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent: Reflections on Exile and Figs, Manure and Potatoes I mentioned to my twin that I would be preaching today. His response was that he saw it as very fitting since the central metaphor of the Gospel is manure. Actually, he wasn’t quite that polite. The first reading is one of those that I came to love the very first time I heard it. And, as I learned more about it, I have become even more impressed with its power and depth. It was written by someone we have come to call Deutero Isaiah, since …
Scripture Commentary for March 3, 2013 by Arthur H. Cash
THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT 3 March 2013 FIRST LESSON Exodus 3:1-15. Moses, the youthful outlaw from Egypt, found shelter and employment at Midian, and married one of the daughters of the mysterious priest of Midian, Jethro. The Midianites worshiped a single, universal God who, I believe, was Yahweh. God’s commissioning of Moses takes place in the area of a Midianite altar. I am among those who hold that Moses learned the worship of Yahweh from Jethro. Our translation along with many others may not get right the name God announces is his. In the original Hebrew text, it is …
Rekindle Your Spiritual Energy and Learn More About Benedictine Spirituality
Many of the people who come to Holy Wisdom Monastery return again and again. Some join communities such as Sunday Assembly, the worshipping community, or the Oblates of Holy Wisdom Monastery. Others volunteer, attend daily prayer, read in the library, live with the sisters’ community, come on retreat, walk the nature trails or attend events. The Benedictine sisters who run Holy Wisdom Monastery base their ecumenical, monastic community on the Gospel and Rule of Benedict and hope those who come here learn a little about Benedictine spirituality and take these values home with them. A group of volunteers who want to help …
Benedictine Sojourners Coming and Going
Esther de Waal writes that the purpose of every Benedictine experience is to bring people together in community for mutual support on the spiritual journey, to teach them to live a balanced life and to enable participants to take their learning into their everyday life. This is what the Sojourner experience seeks to provide. On August 15, 2012, Linda Steg and Nancy Melin arrived at Holy Wisdom Monastery as our first two Benedictine Sojourners. During their time here they entered fully into the life of the monastery sharing common prayer, meals, work, study and leisure with the community. The sisters …
Dinner Theater Comes to Holy Wisdom Monastery
I’m pleased to announce a new event this year — Dinner with the Other Disciples — a fundraiser to benefit the sisters’ ministries at Holy Wisdom Monastery. The event came together near the end of last year. One of our fans and supporters, Mary Zaborski, brought a group of women from all over Wisconsin here on retreat for several days. The sisters enjoyed their camaraderie that week at meals and during prayer. The group had several artistic talents they wanted to share with the monastery. One of the gifts comes from Geri Luer, who is directing Dinner with the Other Disciples. She is …
Roberta Felker's Homily from February 17, 2013
Holy Wisdom Monastery First Sunday of Lent 2013 Luke 4:1-13[1] There’s no sense in searching your Bible dictionary for the word, “Lent;” there was no such thing in biblical times. There is some evidence that early Christians fasted 40 hours between Good Friday and Easter, but the custom of spending 40 days in prayer and penance did not arise until later, sometime after Christianity was legalized A.D. 313, when that first rush of Christian adrenaline was over and many believers had gotten rather ho-hum about their faith, hanging their crosses on the wall and settling back into their customary …
Sister Lynne Smith's Homily on the Feast of Saint Scholastica from February 10, 2013
Homily – Feast of Saint Scholastica February 10, 2013 Mark 3:31-35 Many of you may know the story of Scholastica. According to tradition, she was the twin sister of Benedict who wrote the Rule Benedictines follow. They lived in Italy in the sixth century. What we know about Scholastica comes from the Dialogues of Gregory the Great in which he writes about various saints to inspire the people of his time. Gregory is asked whether the saints are able to do everything they wish and obtain all that they desire. In response, he says there was one time when Benedict …