At the Benedictine Spirituality Workshop and Retreat prior to my final profession, Sister Meg Funk from Our Lady of Grace Monastery in Beech Grove, Indiana, described Benedictine life as having two aspects: above the river and below the river. This image has stayed with me over the years. Above the river we go to prayers and meals, share in community work and conversation, greet guests and participate in leisure activities. Under the river is where the soul work happens as we seek God in all things.

Under the river, praying the Psalms has offered an image of God who wants both mercy and justice, a God beyond dualism who includes all things. Under the river, living in community challenges my ego set in its ways and calls for humility. Under the river, hospitality necessitates looking at the parts of myself that I reject and my unexamined assumptions that judge others. Sometimes I resist the flow of the river and am tumbled around to smooth my edges. Sometimes I go with the flow and enjoy the ride with others. Sometimes I call out for a hand to buoy me up. Sometimes I offer a hand reaching out to another.

When I made my first profession 25 years ago, I couldn’t have known how the river of life at Holy Wisdom Monastery would flow and form me. These days, as I look back, I am grateful for all it has brought and pray that I may continue to be faithful to the journey to which God has called me into the future.

The post Reflections on 25 years as a sister at Holy Wisdom Monastery appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Benedictines around the world celebrate the Solemnity of Benedict and Scholastica on July 11. This is a good opportunity to reflect on what the Benedictine way of life has to offer our world today. The Rule of Benedict was written in the sixth century. Since that time, the people who follow the Rule have applied Benedictine values in their own context.

When Benedict of Nursia wrote his Rule, the Roman Empire to which he belonged was in decline, and the world around him was experiencing the chaos of that momentous change. The Rule represented a way for Christians to come together to live Gospel values in that uncertain context.

Today, our own world is experiencing wars, large-scale migration, growing poverty and the effects of climate change. Life can feel chaotic and uncertain as we experience so much transition. Our shared Benedictine values at Holy Wisdom Monastery offer us a strong foundation from which to meet the challenges of our time.

Our mission statement highlights some of these values. “Holy Wisdom Monastery, home of Benedictine Women of Madison and a community of ecumenical Benedictine communities, weaves prayer, hospitality, justice and care for the earth into a shared way of life.”

Weaves – Benedictine life integrates head and heart, action and contemplation, spirit, mind, body and soul. The retreats we offer engage people at both the head and the heart level. In the conversations we share, our whole person is welcome.

Prayer – Prayer is at the center of Benedictine life. Communal prayer grounds us in a community of faith and practice. It is woven throughout the day to ground us in who we are and who God is. Prayer shapes how we live and how we serve. Three times a day we gather for the Liturgy of the Hours. Twice a day, we gather for centering prayer. You are invited to participate in person whenever you are able. Midday prayer can be heard on the livestream site Tuesday – Friday, from 11:45-noon. The Sunday ecumenical liturgy is open to all. The liturgy is livestreamed and archived so you can participate in it at any time through the link on our website.

Hospitality – The Rule of Benedict teaches us to welcome each person as Christ. From this flows our ecumenism, our open Eucharistic table, our retreat and spiritual guidance ministry, our conversations at table with friends and guests. Hospitality guides our openness to the future that always comes to us as a stranger in our midst.

Justice – In biblical terms and for Benedict, justice means to be in right relationship. That includes right relationship with God, with other human beings and with all creation. The Rule of Benedict calls us to receive all people as Christ. This means all people are holy and are to be treated with respect. Through the years, the sisters have welcomed many guests to live with us including refugees and immigrants from Guatemala, Vietnam, India and China. The monastery is a member of MOSES, a faith-based community organizing group “working to transform public policies in Wisconsin which deny social justice to the poor, people of color, and the mentally ill, starting with mass incarceration.” Many members of the communities at the monastery are involved in justice work seeking to better the living conditions of individuals and to bring about systemic change.

Care for the Earth – The sisters are committed to living in a mutual and sustainable relationship with all of creation. This is an important aspect of our justice work. The prairie and oak savanna restoration, restoration of Lost Lake, the green monastery building and now our net-zero initiative are some of the ways we express our care for the earth. The monastery is an example and inspiration to many people who also have a desire to live sustainably on the earth.

A shared way of life – Along with prayer, community is one of the central pillars of Benedictine life. At Holy Wisdom Monastery, we are intentional about creating community through hospitality, dialogue, prayer, conversation, working together and sharing meals and social time. In our individualistic society, participating in some form of community supports and challenges us as we seek meaning and values by which to live. The monastery’s communities of sisters, coworkers, Sunday Assembly members, oblates, Friends of Wisdom Prairie and Center for Clergy Renewal pastors are places where people find meaning and support for what is important to them.

I invite you to explore how these values speak to you and how you might want to participate in this shared way of life at the monastery. May you find community, values and practices through the monastery to support you as you meet the challenges of living in these turbulent times.

The post A Shared Way of Life appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

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 expectant.

I signed up for the Summer Steward experience to get a glimpse of monastic life. I’m curious about learning the contemplative rhythms of work and prayer as a young adult who is new to the 9-to-5 and who wants to be faithful to Christ in my job. I live on the other side of Lake Mendota, working on the editorial team for InterVarsity, an interdenominational campus ministry that serves colleges across the nation. I visited the monastery on a retreat day organized by the spiritual foundations department at our workplace. Since I attended, I have felt compelled to return. So, when I saw that they had put together a retreat where we could learn about ecospirituality, Benedictine values and creation care, I knew it was something I didn’t want to miss.

For one week, six women came together to live communally. We ate together, prayed together and slept together. We harvested vegetables from the garden, weeded out invasive species in the prairie and washed dishes in the kitchen after every meal. Most importantly, we learned together what it means to listen – to God, to nature, to our community and to ourselves. “Listen, O child,” says St. Benedict in his Rule. First and foremost, he teaches the importance of heeding to the call of our surroundings, to attend to them with the ear of our heart.

This act of listening connects us with the Divine, our neighbors and our world. This is our beacon in a society that is rife with racial injustice, colonial wars and environmental degradation. It is inescapable. We arrived at the monastery with the smoke from the wildfires in Canada filling the air. But every day, in prayer, we remember those affected by worldly evils and choose to put our hope in Christ. In every meal, we remember those who do not have enough and expect miraculous provisions to come their way. In every reading of Benedict’s teachings, we learn the value of simplicity, hospitality and justice. The spiritual disciplines we did in community helped us to remember the call to rest in God amidst the trials and tribulations we face in our world.

Monasticism taught us to consider the essentials of life – to hold close to our hearts the things that matter most. It taught us to be in a posture of acceptance, which is required when one truly listens. Whether we were discussing an article about ecospirituality and womanist theology or spending our time outdoors during our holy leisure, we saw the beauty of openness. In addition to that, monastic life taught us to be attuned to the connectedness of all things.

When polarization divides us, we are reconciled by our ability to see one another as beloved. Living in the monastery showed us how integrated our humanity is to one another. This is something we should never forget. I cannot help but meditate on this whenever we bow our heads to pray.

In the beginning of our day, there is silence. But at the same time, there is also the clear and compelling voice of Jesus saying, “Behold, I make all things new.” His icon hung on the wall of the prayer room with these words written on the scroll in his hands. These are the words that I pondered in my heart as the week went on. The Summer Stewards retreat gave me an assurance that it is possible to have faith because Jesus is making all things new – amidst the terror of living. I am reminded of this when I look at the flowers that bloom in the prairie, signaling the genesis of this newborn hope.

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By Grace Vosen

“Holy Leisure?”

These were the first words out of my mouth as I read the Summer Stewards program schedule. I wasn’t familiar with that item – and I was unsure if I should take it seriously. Was it a cute joke, or a solemn Benedictine tradition?

I soon learned that the sisters had chosen this phrase to help us see the benefits that leisure could offer. We could use this time for anything, and it didn’t have to refresh us spiritually. But sometimes it might. All we had to do was be open to whatever happened: walking, swimming, meditating, reading or resting.

The three of us in my cohort were open to all of these possibilities. While we came from different backgrounds and had different goals for the week, we shared a desire to grow. We wanted to live more intentionally and deepen our spirituality. Our paths had converged at Holy Wisdom. The community welcomed us with kindness and a sincere interest in our stories.

For the next week, we were immersed in monastery life. We attended prayer, ate meals with the sisters and other retreatants, and shared in chores. The fresh vegetables we harvested in the morning became the dinner we enjoyed in the evening. We helped with restoration efforts on the prairie and in the pines. Everyone had a part to play, and it seemed that everyone worked together well.

Similarly, we learned how the buildings work with the landscape to support a Benedictine way of life. The property seemed like a world in itself. It caused me to think about how I could continue using my talents to serve this community.

And indeed, our “holy leisure” time complemented the scheduled activities. I spent much of it sitting outside and gazing across Lake Mendota, and just as much napping in my room. Although it felt unproductive, the quiet let me process my thoughts in a way that wouldn’t have been possible if the whole day had been scheduled.

It was clear that my housemates also valued these times. Often, in the space between leisure and an activity, we would walk to or from Anna’s House in silence and let the beauty of the land speak to each of us.

Another time when we were encouraged to be open was during Centering Prayer, which was held in the mornings and evenings. We each chose a short word that represented our openness to what God might have to tell us. My word was “still”, as in quiet. I greatly appreciated the chance to be still along with other people who understood stillness.

It is in the stillness, in the moments of silence between psalms, and in the unscheduled times that some of the greatest revelations come our way. It was hard for me to quiet my mind, but not all of the thoughts that intruded were unwelcome. Some have transformed the way I view myself, my relationships, and my role in the world. I simply needed to be open to it.

Grace Vosen was part of the July 2022 Summer Stewards program. She is a naturalist and writer living in Spring Green. Read her blog at DriftlessGrace.com.

The post Summer Stewards Reflection By Grace appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Have you ever noticed how time seems to go by more quickly as we grow older? I recently read an article that offered tips to combat this.

First the author summarized this feeling is due to routine. When you’re younger, you experience more things that are new to you that make impressions on your memory and leave the perception of lengthened time. However, as we grow older we’re more likely to settle into familiar rhythms and patterns. These repeated actions are consolidated in the brain as one memory which in turn makes time feel like it has contracted.

What can you do?

The author went on to offer several tips, but these were my favorites:

1. Switch up your routine – take a different route to work; cook something new for dinner; explore a different area of your neighborhood on your next walk.
2. Actively notice new things – be aware of changes in your environment such as leaves changing color or new businesses opening.
3. Travel – get away from the same similar surroundings.

I was struck by how closely the author aligned with the values and vision of Holy Wisdom Monastery. Although not expressed exactly in this fashion, she seemed to be encouraging people to be mindful, present and intentional each and every day. I concluded that lack of engagement in routine is what makes time fly.

Thinking about a getaway?

So, getaway for a while and change your routine. Come see all the wonderful changes that can be discovered at Holy Wisdom Monastery – each day, each season, each year!

The Retreat and Guest House has the following openings between now and the end of September:

Retreat and Guest House:

• Aug. 9-13
• Aug 17 – Sept. 17
• Sept. 19-24
• Sept. 26 – Oct. 4
• Oct. 6-14
• Oct. 17-20
• Oct. 27-29
• Oct. 30-31

Hermitages:

• Aug. 14-16; Elizabeth Hermitage
• Aug. 21-23; Elizabeth Hermitage
• Sept. 12-14; Elizabeth Hermitage
• Oct. 1-4; Elizabeth Hermitage
• Oct. 8-14; Elizabeth Hermitage
• Oct. 10-14; Mary Hermitage
• Oct. 17-19; Mary Hermitage
• Oct. 17-21; Elizabeth Hermitage
• Oct. 25-29; Mary Hermitage
• Oct. 27-29; Elizabeth Hermitage

The first date listed for each period is the earliest available arrival day and the second date listed is the latest available departure day. Hermitage visits require a minimum of a two night stay. Please note all of our accommodations are fully air conditioned.

To schedule your visit, please click the link below.

https://holywisdommonastery.org/visit/personal-retreat-availability-form/

The post 3 Ways to Slow the Speed of Time appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

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In this episode, we sit down with Sarah Wilkin Gibart, a member of Sunday Assembly, to explore her experience as a Benedictine Sojourner – living among the sisters and working with them for half a year!

Journey with us as Sarah shares how she learned of the Benedictine Sojourner experience, what she gained, and how it helped her grow as she stepped into the next phase of her life.

If you’re interested in learning more about the sisters’ community and upcoming experiences, consider Summer Stewards, a meaningful 7-day immersive experience growing in God, self and community with the sisters here at Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Where to Listen?

You can listen to The Holy Wisdom Podcast at any of these online locations:

Our Blog, under the “Podcast” Category

Anchor.fm

Apple Podcasts

Breaker

Google Podcasts

Spotify

RadioPublic

PocketCasts

The post Living at a Monastery, ft. former Sojourner Sarah Wilkin Gibart appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

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How do you imagine one becomes a monk? Is it something you plan or something you discover? Do you have to be religious your whole life before joining a monastery?

Truth be told, there is no one answer. Our own sister’s community at Holy Wisdom Monastery have an array of unique stories that led them to their lives here in Middleton.

In this episode, we sit with Sister Denise West and listen to her journey from a non-secular home in Tennessee to her life in New York as a teacher and eventually, through her search for spirituality, becoming a sister at our monastery.

Sister Denise’ story is a beautiful example of the unexpected turns in life that can lead us to our place in the world. Listen in to this episode and tell us in the comments below: What are the unexpected parts of your journey that have led you to where you are today?

Where to Listen?

You can listen to The Holy Wisdom Podcast at any of these online locations:

Our Blog, under the “Podcast” Category

Anchor.fm

Apple Podcasts

Breaker

Google Podcasts

Spotify

RadioPublic

PocketCasts

The post How Did You Become a Sister?, Ft. Sister Denise West appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

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This month, Sister Lynne Smith and Lynn Lemberger return to talk all about Holy Week.

Lynn gives us an overview of the history, including a first-hand account from a woman’s travel journal of Roman celebrations. Learn why Palm Sunday is named after palms, and the significance of this week leading up to Easter.

Meanwhile, Sister Lynne shares the traditions we normally hold throughout this week. Maybe you can bring some of these celebrations to life in your own home!

Where to Listen?

You can listen to The Holy Wisdom Podcast at any of these online locations:

Our Blog, under the “Podcast” Category

Anchor.fm

Apple Podcasts

Breaker

Google Podcasts

Spotify

RadioPublic

PocketCasts

The post ‘Holy Week: Origins and Traditions,’ The Holy Wisdom Podcast appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

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In this continuation of Ep. 1, Becoming Ecumenical: Bringing Christians Together, we sit down once more with Sister Mary David Walgenbach and Sister Joanne Kollasch. Starting in 1966, the sisters take us along the hurdles and fundamental moments of growth into an ecumenical community throughout the 60’s, 70’s, and Vatican II.

From welcoming retreat groups for many different Christian denominations to hosting the Dalai Lama, the sisters have embraced the hospitality of St. Benedict, calling it “the everyday path to God that St. Benedict asks of people coming to the monastery.”

Where to Listen?

You can listen to The Holy Wisdom Podcast at any of these online locations:

Our Blog, under the “Podcast” Category

Anchor.fm

Apple Podcasts

Breaker

Google Podcasts

Spotify

RadioPublic

PocketCasts

The post ‘Becoming Ecumenical: The New Spirit of Vatican II,’ The Holy Wisdom Podcast appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Ecumenism is defined as “the principle or aim of promoting unity among the world’s Christian Churches.” Led by this strive for unity, Holy Wisdom Monastery has long been welcoming people of a variety of denominations and religions.

Therefore, it made sense to sit down for a deeper look with the women who have led us here.

Thus, this first episode of The Holy Wisdom Podcast features Sister Mary David Walgenbach and Sister Joanne Kollasch. They begin by sharing their early memories of meeting people from other denominations. Then, they regale some of the early stories that led to the monastery becoming a retreat center.

One of these stories may involve some horses and some startled Monks of Taize.

Where to Listen?

You can listen to The Holy Wisdom Podcast at any of these online locations:

Our Blog, under the “Podcast” Category

Anchor.fm

Breaker

Google Podcasts

Spotify

RadioPublic

PocketCasts

The post ‘Becoming Ecumenical: Bringing Christians Together,’ The Holy Wisdom Podcast appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.