On September 1, 2010, Benedictine Women of Madison welcomed Mary Lynn Adams as the first associate member of Holy Wisdom Monastery. An Associate Member seeks God by following the Rule of Benedict as expressed through the mission and values of Benedictine Women of Madison, and by participating in the common life of the monastery. The associate lives, works and prays at Holy Wisdom Monastery; she is not a professed member of the community. With the successful completion of a six month probationary period, the associate and community enter into a covenant, which can be renewed annually. Through this covenant, the …
Contemporary Perspective on Social Justice
“Behold how good and how pleasant it is for sisters and brothers to dwell together in unity!” – Psalm 133:1 Most people have an inherent belief in equal rights. Unfortunately, in the chaos and upheaval of the modern world, many people still face ethnic persecution, unsafe living and working conditions and lack even the most basic survival necessities. Awareness of such conditions is more important than ever. It may be hard to find a focus in the overwhelming need for social justice. There is, however, a starting point. Many groups, secular and religious, share basic commitments to social justice, such …
Contemplation: Seeing the Silent Center of Love
Today it is the sixty-three purposeful steps to my roadside mailbox. Each step offers the on-going gifts of the journey: the tiniest of red mites dancing circles on rain-frayed hollyhock leaves like turning kaleidoscopes of life, the yarrow’s responsive swoop and spill mimicking the deep yearnings of the world, and from the top perches of the steady oak the gargled call of the red-bellied woodpecker replying in synchronicity to the measured jumps of a startled, wood-house toad. The harsh corners of the world are momentarily set aside to embrace these reminders that all of life is one continuous, interconnected, flow …
Lynn Ramshaw's Homily from July 18, 2010
The following homily was delivered by Lynn Ramshaw, an oblate of Holy Wisdom Monastery, at Sunday Assembly on July 18, 2010. All of us here, in one way or another, are influenced by and committed to the Benedictine value of hospitality. Today’s Scripture invites us to an exciting consideration; our most important guest, every day, is God! That reality evolves, beginning with a story from Genesis. Abraham is resting in an already sacred space at the oaks of Mamre. Three angelic beings approach him. The scripture says right away that God is the visitor; I’m not certain Abraham knows that for sure, but he seems …
St. Benedict and St. Scholastica Founders of Benedictine Monasticism
Excerpts from St. Benedict and St. Scholastica, by Sr. Margaret Clarke, OSB: Benedict, whose name in Latin means “Blessed,” was born to a Christian family in the mountains to the northeast of Rome (A.D.480?). The Roman Empire was crumbling and the Goths and Vandals controlled Italy. As a youth, he was sent to Rome for schooling and there experienced a religious awakening which caused him to renounce corrupt secular society and to join a band of Christian ascetics. He later became a hermit, living in the hill region of Subiaco. His fame as a holy person grew until he was …
Interchurch Families: Christian Unity Made Visible in Our Households
By Fr. George Kilcourse From Friday, July 9, through Sunday, July 11, the American Association of Interchurch Families (AAIF) will convene for its biennial national conference at Holy Wisdom Monastery near Madison, Wisconsin. AAIF, now in its third decade, undertakes ecumenical advocacy and support roles on behalf of the growing number of interchurch marriages and families around the United States. In some areas, marriages between Catholics, Protestants, and Eastern Orthodox Christians are not only no longer rare, they are proving to be the new majority. Interchurch families and their pastoral advisers define an interchurch marriage as one in which: (1) two baptized …
Benedictine Life: A Journey of the Heart
In September of 1996, I read two ads and an article about the new ecumenical Benedictine women’s community, Benedictine Women of Madison, Wisconsin. By the time I saw the third ad welcoming women of any Christian denomination to join, I thought, “That means me. I have to check this out.” That’s how my journey in Benedictine life began. After months of visits and discernment with the sisters, I came to the monastery in June of 1998 and made first profession two years later. Benedict begins his Rule “Listen carefully, my child, to my instructions, and attend to them with the …
The Value of Volunteers at Holy Wisdom Monastery
The contribution of the many volunteers at Holy Wisdom Monastery on a daily basis helps make the Monastery function. There is so much life that goes beyond the work of the monastic community and co-workers. Volunteering at Holy Wisdom Monastery fits in well with the core Benedictine values that the sisters profess to live, especially building community. On a typical day this spring, you will find volunteers cleaning the new bamboo floors, conducting a prairie burn to help restore it to pre-settlement conditions and planting the vegetable garden. The volunteers are a vital part of everyday life at the monastery. In 2001, the Conference …
Eco-Spirituality: Healing Earth, Healing Souls
“A spirit of reverence for all creation permeates the Rule, together with a sense of oneness with the land, the days and the seasons. Such conscious respect for all created goods makes it impossible to pollute the land, water or air; to waste resources or to forget about the children who will one day inhabit the earth.” – from Of All Good Gifts, a Statement from the Conference of American Benedictine Prioresses, June 1980 People relate to the environment in various ways. In years past, humans viewed the environment as the ultimate source of life, a necessary factor in their …
Care for the Earth: A Longstanding Monastery Tradition
Care of the earth is nothing new at Holy Wisdom Monastery. As the story goes, three sisters went into the countryside outside of Madison in the early 1950s looking for a site suitable for a new Benedictine monastery. They had come from Sioux City, Iowa at the invitation of the first Bishop of the Madison diocese. What they found was a hilltop in the country with an unparalleled vista of the Madison skyline. After saying a few prayers and burying medals of St. Benedict, they set out to acquire the land. Once they tracked down the current owner, they negotiated for the 42.5 acres …