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How Did You Become a Sister?, Ft. Sister Denise West

Holy Wisdom MonasteryCommunity of Benedict, Monastic Life, Myth busting, Podcast, Rule of Benedict, Women Exploring Community 6 Comments

Want to be the first to hear every new episode? Click here to sign up for email notifications! 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 …

Sisters walking together outdoors

Passionate about building community

Lynne Smith, OSBBuilding Community, Living in Community Leave a Comment

Sister Joanne often says, “Building community is one of the things we do around here.” Indeed it is. You could say we are passionate about building community at Holy Wisdom Monastery. In the sisters’ community and the oblate community, in Sunday Assembly, among coworkers, Benedictine Sojourners and Friends of Wisdom Prairie—we seek to foster personal connections where people can find a welcome acceptance for who they are and a vibrant place to give and receive personal gifts and experience the divine. Many people today express a desire for community in a society where they experience so much divisiveness and isolation. …

Sisters Joanne and Mary David, Paz and Sister Lynne gathered for conversation around the table.

Discerniendo el futuro, una nueva vida

Holy Wisdom MonasteryPequeñas notas de un viaje a la pradera Leave a Comment

Nota: Después de la experiencia de Sojourner Benedictina, una mujer puede elegir regresar a su anterior forma de vida, llevando consigo todo lo nuevo que ha aprendido, o ella puede optar por iniciar un proceso de discernimiento con nuestra comunidad para ver si ha sido llamada a la vida en comunidad. Paz ha expresado el deseo de iniciar este proceso de discernimiento con las hermanas. Ella ha decidido compartir sus pensamientos acerca de esta transición en este blog. Es importante para una mujer en discernimiento tener la libertad para escuchar el llamado de Dios en su vida. Los invitamos a …

Sister Joanne and retreatant looking together at prayer books used for daily prayer

Building community through shared Benedictine values

Lynne Smith, OSBBuilding Community, Living in Community 1 Comment

Sister Joanne will be quick to tell you that Benedictine spirituality does not exist in the abstract. It only comes alive as people embody it. It is learned and passed on person to person through relationships. Having lived this life for over sixty years, Joanne embodies the Benedictine values of the monastery in her unique way. Joanne is passionate about passing on the Benedictine way of life to everyone with whom she comes into contact. You have probably experienced the values of hospitality, respect, simplicity and beauty through Joanne. She embodies Benedictine values in the way she greets guests, in …