Father Ken Smits, Capuchin, Province of St. Joseph of the Capuchin Order, Detroit, Michigan, died on February, 4, 2023. He made a great contribution to the liturgical and ecumenical life of Holy Wisdom Monastery during the 14 years he worked at the monastery. Father Ken was hired as director of Benedictine life ministries in August of 1994. He served as the liturgist and program director at the Monastery of Saint Benedict Center (now Holy Wisdom Monastery) until 1998. That year he started dividing his time between the liturgy department (prayer & worship) and the spirituality department. Father Ken worked with …
Seeking Balance
By Pam Shellberg and Sister Denise West, OSB Sister Denise West and Pam Shellberg, director of spiritual nourishment at Holy Wisdom Monastery, enjoy regular conversations together about all things spiritual and Benedictine. In this blog post, they share a recent conversation and invite you to join them by leaving comments below. Sister Denise began the conversation: “If God does not build the house, in vain do its builders labor.” (Psalm 127) These lines grabbed my attention during midday prayer not long ago. It struck me that it had something to do not only with work but also with balance. Our …
Lynne Smith’s Homily, April 30, 2022
Holy Wisdom Monastery Memorial Service for R. Richard (Dick) Wagner April 30, 2022, 3 pm Homily by Lynne Smith, OSB It won’t surprise you to know that Dick made detailed plans for his memorial service. He chose the readings and the music. He chose the pictures to be displayed and the people he wanted involved if they were available. He planned for refreshments after the service and the portrait he wanted on the program cover. As the consummate and elegant host that he was, he planned this, his final gathering, to provide for us that we might remember him and …
Rex Piercy’s Homily from February 27, 2022
Homily for the Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus – February 27, 2022, preached at Holy Wisdom Monastery’s Sunday Assembly – Middleton, WI Texts – Exodus 34:29-35; 2 Corinthians 2:12-4:2; Luke 9:28-36 Back in early December while I was a away for a couple of weeks visiting friends and tying up the loose ends on my Hawaii church interim ministry gig, back at home, my husband took to some serious storage closet cleaning. He’s better at that kind of thing, or at least more committed to it than I am. He had, among other things, sorted and arranged a plastic …
We Glory in the Cross
Submitted by Sister Joanne Kollasch, Benedictine Women of Madison We glory in the cross, in Christ, the crucified. In him we die to sin and self and in God’s grace abide. We glory in the cross, in Christ, the risen One. In him we know the Spirit’s life and pow’r of Gospel word. The arms of Jesus’ cross encompass all the earth; in this embrace we find our peace and in this death, new birth. We glory in the cross, salvation’s shape and sign, the pledge of everlasting life, the span of God’s design. The folly of the cross is …
Lenten Fasting: A Meditation
By Pamela Johnson, Oblate and Sunday Assembly member I grew up in a religiously observant, ritual practicing Lutheran household where each Lent (and Advent) my parents and siblings gathered around our dining room table for family devotions. We lit candles, read scripture, and prayed around the table together – but we did not practice fasting during Lent or any other time of the year. And so I come uninitiated to fasting as a spiritual practice. I am entering into fasting this Lent. And because I was invited to do so, I share what I am noticing. I am noticing that …
Benedictine Practices for a Balanced Life
Benedictine spirituality aims at helping the sisters at Holy Wisdom Monastery live a balanced life. It provides time for prayer, work, leisure and study. We have time built into the day and week for solitude and time with others. The various activities of our days serve to integrate the body, mind, spirit and soul over the course of our lives. Manual labor and service to others keeps us from being in our head all day. Prayer keeps us from expending all our energy outward giving us time to go inward and reflect. Study stimulates our intellect and provides for growth …
Hispanic Family Christmas Sharing Project
Christmas delivered early This past Friday, the Sunday Assembly social justice initiative – Hispanic Family Christmas Sharing Project – provided joy, gifts and food to 35 Hispanic families and their 74 children. Together with more than 30 volunteers and 79 donors we raised $14,262.50. With these generous gifts, we were able to provide each family with Christmas gifts for each child, Christmas-inspired meal kits from our partner at The River Food Pantry, a $250 Woodman’s Market gift card, chocolate treats and a sweet note offering Christmas joy and blessings from the greater Holy Wisdom family. As one of our co-chairs, …
The love of learning and the desire for God
The importance of learning in Benedictine life.
Reflections of a racist nun*
Did the title catch your attention? I hope so, because it is intentional. I wonder what the world would be like if every morning thousands of white people took a page from 12-step programs and greeted one another with, “Hello. My name is _______, and I am racist.” I was recently diagnosed with the disease of racism. The strange thing is that I made the diagnosis myself, which is really the only way you can know if you have it. The metaphor of racism as a disease (as opposed to racism as individual actions carried out consciously by bad white …