JESUS’ REARRANGEMENT THEOREM When Lynne asked for a volunteer to preach this morning, I looked at my calendar, saw that today was open, and said ok. Then, after I had agreed to do it, I read the readings she had included, especially the one from Genesis and thought, “Oh, crud.” I have to admit that I am incredibly uncomfortable with Covenant Theology. And, no, my difficulties are not about pre- vs. post- vs. a- millennialism. Frankly, I’m just not that deep a thinker. My problem with Covenant Theology is simply this, “If we’re God’s chosen people, then who the hell are they?” All too often in history, the answer has been simple. They are the …
Bearing with one another
Thanks to Trisha Day, member of Sunday Assembly at Holy Wisdom Monastery, for leading off our series of Women’s Lenten Lunches today. We were joined by 48 guests as Trisha offered a new perspective on Lenten disciplines. She suggests we give up some of our own self-interest and unhelpful patterns of relating to others in order to “bear with one another,” to show true compassion, to reverence what is sacred in others. Trisha references this spirit of compassion in a variety of writings: Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as sisters and brothers …
Rest and Relaxation at Holy Wisdom Monastery—Brother Paul Richards, OSB on Sabbatical
Balance. How do we find balance in our hectic lives? One way is by taking a break from our ordinary lives, and going to a quiet, peaceful place. Many people come to Holy Wisdom Monastery in search of this peace and quiet and leave feeling rested and renewed. Brother Paul Richards, OSB is spending a sabbatical from his work at St. John’s Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota, at Holy Wisdom Monastery from October 2011 until May 2012. And he is finding the rhythm of the day at the monastery provides him the rest and relaxation he is searching for. Why does a Benedictine …
Planned Giving at Holy Wisdom Monastery: A Legacy of Love
What does a planned gift donor look like at Holy Wisdom Monastery? I’ve been fortunate to meet several of them in the past few years. They are Sunday Assembly members, Oblate community members, and members of the longstanding Community of Benedict. They are neighbors and environmental enthusiasts. They are supporters who have designated a few hundred dollars in their trust, will, or bequest, or they are people who have designated hundreds of thousands of dollars to benefit the Benedictine Life Foundation of Wisconsin, Inc. For a lot of people, a planned gift is a way to make a big impact …
Celebrating the gift of ecumenical Benedictine community
Today, February 17, 2012, marks the 6th anniversary of our official re-founding as an ecumenical Benedictine community for Benedictine Women of Madison. “A New World Order” is how the media sees it. “Welcoming women of all Christian traditions” is how we talk about it. “It is a gift to be welcomed into a community” is how a recent Volunteer in Community experiences it. The history that brings us to this day is rich and deep, as Sister Mary David Walgenbach recalls: The first steps were inspired by the decrees of the Second Vatican Council and the Community of Taize, France. …
Jim Penczykowski’s Homily from February 12, 2012
[A homily suggestion I heard many years ago was prepare with the Sacred Scripture in one hand and the New York Times in the other. In this case I also included the Wisconsin State Journal and Ched Myers commentary on Mark’s Gospel, Binding the Strong Man, Orbis Books, 1988.] What did he know and when did he know it? Seems stolen from the recent headlines reporting on Governor Walker’s recent problems with aides who campaigned while on the government clock. It is rather a frequently asked question among scripture commentators about Jesus in Mark’s Gospel account. We are only about …
Celebrating the Feast of Scholastica
Today we celebrate the Feast of Scholastica, said to have lived from 480 to 543, the twin sister of Benedict. She is a patron of Benedictines throughout the world. Scholastica led a form of consecrated life with a group of Christian women, following the spirit of the Rule of Benedict. We know of her life only from legend and from a brief story in the Dialogues of Gregory the Great. Gregory tells us that she traveled each year to meet her brother at a small house midway between their residences. On one occasion, after a day filled with deep and …
Lenten Devotional
The following entry is reprinted from the 2012 John Knox Presbytery Lenten Devotional, a booklet containing real life stories from people across the Presbytery in addition to Scripture and prayer. The entry was submitted by Sister Lynne Smith, OSB from Holy Wisdom Monastery and we have permission to reprint it here. Week of March 5, 2012 “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in …
Gain or loss?
“Didn’t you have to give up a lot to become a sister?” This question, which was posed to me recently, seems to be a common perception of religious life. The question might come from the image of monks “leaving the world” to live in the desert or from the image of religious life as made up of strict ascetical practices. However, something in me resists thinking about religious life in terms of giving something up. To be sure, one does give up some things to enter a community and there is asceticism involved in religious life. The practice of asceticism …
Discipleship and the Drum Major Instinct: Homily by Colleen Hartung from January 22, 2012
This week, on Monday January 16, after over 14 years of planning, deliberation and delay, the family of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. finally got to lay a wreath at the foot of the new monument erected in his honor. Chiseled on the north side of the monument are the words “I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness”. This is a seemingly simple, straight-forward claim made by King about service and discipleship. Yet, just days before this celebration, after months of contentious debate, Ken Salazar, the Interior Secretary of the United States of America, issued orders to …