Category Archive

(Left to Right) Emma Kloes, Jacob Lawrence, Amy Alstad and Cortez Mitchell This week, we say goodbye to Jacob Lawrence, who spent the past 10 weeks at Holy Wisdom as the summer prairie intern. He was a fantastic addition to the coworker community in general, and the land management team in particular.  Next week, he returns to Yale Divinity School to finish the final year of his  Master of Arts in Religion with a concentration in Religion and Ecology. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors, and can’t wait to see where his curious and compassionate spirit leads …

Felipe Saint-Martin is a culinary innovator whose journey spans continents and cuisines. Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Felipe’s passion for food and adventure led him to New York City, thanks to a prestigious visa sponsorship from Gramercy Tavern – one of Manhattan’s most celebrated restaurants, renowned for its seasonal American fare and commitment to hospitality. At Gramercy Tavern, Felipe honed his craft as Lead Line Cook, developing expertise in charcuterie and fresh pasta, and immersing himself in the high standards of a world-class kitchen. Felipe’s pursuit of pasta mastery took him to Italy, where he studied under the family …

The Sisters of Holy Wisdom Monastery and the Benedictine Women of Madison Board have been working tirelessly to get documents and signatures in place to finalize the internal reorganization of Benedictine Women of Madison, the civil corporation of Holy Wisdom Monastery. We have previously presented to the community what is entailed, but we thought it a good time to review the reasoning for the restructuring with the full community as the July deadline is approaching. The main purpose of restructuring is to protect the longevity of Holy Wisdom Monastery (both the Sisters Division and the Ministries Division), by setting up …

Submitted by Felipe Saint-Martin (he/him), Chef The Holy Wisdom Monastery Culinary Department is delighted to announce an exciting new partnership with Vitruvian Farms, one of Wisconsin’s most celebrated organic farms. This collaboration brings together two communities dedicated to nourishing both body and spirit with the very best that our region has to offer.  Located just outside Madison in McFarland, Vitruvian Farms has earned a reputation as one of the premier organic producers in the state – if not the very best. Founded by Shawn Kuhn and Tommy Stauffer, Vitruvian Farms has been a leader in sustainable agriculture since 2010, focusing …

Hello Dear Community, I hope you all are enjoying watching spring unfold upon the prairie as much as I am. The coworkers, retreatants, and other community members share gratitude that we have this sacred place of Holy Wisdom Monastery in our lives. Holy Wisdom, the Sisters, the coworkers, the communities, the prairie and all that is held here is so full of hope, life, and love. I am inspired daily by the steadfast spirit of the place, how it saunters on in the face of despair, how it has for seven decades, and will continue to do so long after …

7th Sunday of Ordinary TimeGenesis 45:3-11I Cor. 15:35-38, 42-50Lk. 6:27-38 “ABSORBING THE HATRED” As always, it is very good to be together this morning to support each other in our faith and to share in this Eucharist. When I was coming through the front entrance this morning, Diana, one of our greeters, told me that she had been listening to a podcast this week from someone commenting on today’s gospel about loving your enemies. The podcaster stated jokingly: “We should love our enemies, but do everything we can do make them feel terribly guilty about their actions.” Clever….Great to laugh …

Recalling the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his Letter from Birmingham Jail, “We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and action of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people,” a number of members of Sunday Assembly (Sally Bowers, David Couper, Jerry Folk, and I) have asked ourselves whether other members of our Holy Wisdom community feel, as we do, that it is time to “speak up” about what is happening these days in our country. We believe that the contradictions between policies and actions of …

In 1953, the Sisters of St. Benedict from Sioux City, Iowa, were invited by Bishop William P. O’Connor, the first bishop of Madison, Wisconsin, to come and start a high school for girls in Madison. Three sisters arrived in Madison and purchased a parcel of open pastureland overlooking Lake Mendota and the city of Madison, Wisconsin. The property included a 10,000-year-old glacial lake. On this land, the sisters built a priory to serve as their new home. Then, in the fall of 1959, they opened the Academy of St. Benedict, a girls’ high school. The Vatican Council II, held from …