Joyous light of heav’nly glory, loving glow of God’s own face, you who sing creation’s story, shine on ev’ry land and race… ~ text by Marty Haugen,from Joyous Light of Heavenly Glory, one of the many hymns of praise sung during Liturgy of the Hours at Holy Wisdom Monastery Situated in a sweep of prairie on a hill between the monastery building and our little recovered glacial lake is this grand old willow tree. Its expanse reaches out to the driveway of the monastery, a couple walking trails, and a little meditation deck. It can be seen from …
Finding your way home
Wooed by positive reviews, I went out to watch Gravity with a couple of the other Benedictine Sojourners (Yes, for those who wonder: it’s not all ora et labora at the monastery—sometimes we go to the movies!) Gravity has a simple plot: an accident at a space station detaches one of the astronauts from her shuttle, leaving her tumbling through empty space and struggling for survival. Alone and radically disconnected from everything that is life-sustaining, she desperately tries to find a handhold, anything to anchor her from floating away forever. In zero-gravity, where falling and flying are the same thing, which …
Out there in faith
Another Benedictine Sojourner and I are reflecting on the movie, Gravity, and how it spins with our life at Holy Wisdom Monastery. The basic plot conveys both the exhilaration and perils of space exploration. One line in the film pierces my sense of self: “You have to learn to let go.” (See my last blog post.) We muse on the breathless, frightening scene when medical engineer Ryan Stone becomes disconnected from the space shuttle and is hurled through the darkness of deep space. Though unmoored, Ryan’s spacesuit provides some measure of protection and stability. Where am I finding protection and …
Praying The Prayer of Jesus
The Prayer of Jesus Holy One, our only Home, blessed be your name, may your day dawn, your will be done, here, as in heaven. Feed us today, and forgive us, as we forgive each other. Do not forsake us at the test, …
Please respect the fence
I have a tree in New York City. It lives in Prospect Park, not far from my apartment in Brooklyn. Over the years, I cannot recount how many times I headed there when I felt confused, afraid, direction-less. Sitting under its broad branches, I sought solace and a place to pray. My tree always seemed to welcome me into quiet contemplation: “Don’t run. Don’t be afraid. Stay rooted. Offer your life gently—in every season—as a steady and consistent witness of God.” Strange as it may sound, I like to think of this tree as my first monastic teacher in Benedictine …
Profound Trust
This morning over Lost Lake on the monastery grounds I see the full moon in the sunlight of day. As if that isn’t enough to stop me for a moment, just then a flock of little black birds rustles free from the treetops and flies right across that moon. Another flock comes from a different direction, and then a third no less, dotting the sky with flapping wonder. It is LaGuardia Airport but softer, a symphony of wings. Though earthbound, I am lifted. I need that. I am feeling heavy laden. Sometimes that’s just the way it is for me, …
What is the Monastic Ritual Team?
Let us stand to sing the psalms so that our minds may be in harmony with our voices. ~ Rule of Benedict Once a month, Sister Mary David, Lynn Lemberger (our director of worship and music) and I gather as the monastic ritual team. You might find us trying out a new hymn for Christmas or planning the environment of our worship spaces for liturgical seasons such as Advent or Christmas. Together we decide the arrangement of psalms, readings and hymns the community uses during the Liturgy of Hours, our daily prayers. We are the team that oversees the design and …
Planning a retreat with PeerSpirit
What is PeerSpirit? Essentially, PeerSpirit is a way to share responsibility within a group. The sojourners chose this method to help us plan the Advent retreat. Using PeerSpirit Circle Guidelines, the group comes together as a “Circle” and has three components: a check-in, a conversation council and a check-out. A chime is used to signal a passage from one component to the other. The check-in allows for all to share how they come to the circle and is usually a question framed in reference to a song, a poem or some aspect of the planning task. There is no “cross-talk” …
Can You Help Me?
The young man’s question hung uncomfortably between us. It was my first Saturday away from the monastery. I and another Benedictine Sojourner had decided to go into downtown Madison to check out the famed Dane County Farmer’s Market that sprawls around the Capitol building. We had spent hours exploring streets thronged with shoppers, lined with fresh produce and flowers. Lingering in one of the many coffee shops along State Street to celebrate the end of our day, we rationed our time carefully, calculating the number of minutes to reach our parking spot and make it back to the monastery for …
Finding One’s Center
A lot is going on. Apple picking, to start. We’re harvesting about 200 bushels compared to 27 last year. Then there is prairie seed collection for a new restoration project next year. As with the apples, sojourners are helping to coordinate volunteers in this small fall window of seed harvest. We are also putting the garden to bed – gathering the last crops of butternut squash and greens, removing and straightening tomato cages for storage, pulling out the woody stalks of spent plants and making ready for a winter cover of rye. In addition, the monastery is hosting a number …