Good news: you don’t need to “clear your mind.” You don’t need special equipment. This class is experiential and focuses on real-time mindfulness practice, including sitting and movement, plus time for reflection and dialogue. This class welcomes those with no experience with mindfulness practices, as well as anyone with experience. Come as you are – even thoughts, emotions and problems can be avenues for discovering more wisdom and compassion.

Schedule – All times 6:00-8:30 pm, all locations RGH 113 unless otherwise noted

The orientation session will be online, and all other sessions and Day of Mindfulness take place in-person at Holy Wisdom Monastery.

• Tuesday, Sep. 29th – Virtual Orientation Session (over Zoom) – 6:00-7:30 pm
• Tuesday, Oct. 6th – Session 1
• Tuesday, Oct. 13th – Session 2
• Tuesday, Oct. 20th – Session 3
• Tuesday, Oct. 27th – Session 4
• Tuesday, Nov. 3rd – Session 5
• Tuesday, Nov. 10th – Session 6
• Saturday, Nov. 14th – Day of Mindfulness – 9:00 am-3:00 pm (lunch included)
• Tuesday, Nov. 17th – Session 7
• Tuesday, Nov. 24th – Session 8

Optional meals: Dinner at the monastery is available at 5:15 pm each Tuesday for an additional $23. We offer buffet-style meals prepared by our chef from fresh, healthy, locally grown ingredients. With 48 hours notice, please contact retreats@holywisdommonastery.org to reserve a meal.

Instructor – Dan Tyler

Dan Tyler is a qualified teacher of MBSR through UCSD’s Center for Integrative Health, and is a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher. For nearly two decades, he has practiced and studied yoga and meditation, including periods of silent retreat.

Cost

$410/person – includes all sessions and lunch on Sat., Nov. 14

Register

The registration deadline for this series is October 4, 2026. Class size is limited to 16 and a waitlist will open when the limit is reached.

Cancellation policy – if you register but must cancel your registration, you can receive a 75% refund up until September 28th. After that, a 50% refund is available until the retreat starts.

What others have said about Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction with Dan Tyler:

“I would recommend this course to everyone. Who doesn’t deal with stress on a daily basis and who wouldn’t benefit from learning strategies to help make life more peaceful. Each person has a personal story and life experiences that are challenging to deal with throughout their life. Knowing and practicing the strategies associated with mindfulness training can help manage everything from the smallest stressors to the great ones that shake one’s foundation.”

The post Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Conversations about the season, walks on the prairie, naps, art, movement, journaling, great meals and welcoming accommodations will all be a part of what you can expect when you arrive. A renewed connection to nature and to yourself, along with joy in the plentitude and abundance of the season are what you can expect to take with you when you leave.

Seasonal Retreats

Each season this year, we will offer a different seasonal retreat. They will open spaces where each different season can offer its unique wisdom to us in the changing seasons of our lives. Each retreat is a two-day, one-night experience at Holy Wisdom with cozy accommodations, delicious meals, spacious time periods for solitude, reading and rest and contemplative conversations with other retreatants. There will also be a variety of opportunities to explore the prairies and the season and discover their gifts for you. 

Fall Fallowing Date/Times

Fri., Oct. 16, 1:00 pm – Sat., Oct. 17, 4:00 pm, 2026

Cost

$295/person ($260/person early bird registration until September 9th, 2026)

The cost of the retreat includes program, meals (Friday dinner, Saturday breakfast and lunch) and overnight room.

Register

The registration deadline for this retreat is October 9th, 2026, or when the retreat fills.

Cancellation policy – if you register but must cancel your registration, you can receive a 75% refund up until October 10th. After that, a 50% refund is available until the retreat starts.

After you register, if you would like to request a double room with another retreatant or if you have other questions about accommodations, please contact us at retreats@holywisdommonastery.org.

The post Fall Fallowing: A Seasonal Retreat appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Whether you’re a seasoned meditator or completely new to the practice, this offering provides a safe and accessible pathway to exploring mindfulness and meditation while experiencing sound bowls and frequencies in alignment with love, peace and global healing. We welcome all peace seekers ages 18 and above who desire to be in community with like-minded souls dedicated to making the world a better place.

During our time we will:

• Practice stillness and self awareness through mindfulness play.
• Reconnect with Mother Earth and our ancestors through peace and love.
• Allow our bodies and minds to rest and reorient to our own personal spaces of peace and love through experiencing crystal sound bowl healing and layers of healing frequencies.
• Illuminate the infinite peace and love in each of us individually that connects us collectively though spiritually guided meditations.
• Practice self reflection and allow space to explore and journal what surfaces as you choose peace.

Please bring the following items to make the most of your meditation:

• Comfortable clothing: breathable, flexible garments for various temperatures. Light layers are suggested.
• Blanket, pillow, yoga mat: create a comfortable space to rest by having your own items to support your body needs.
• Journal: any journal or notebook (and writing utensil) will do to capture your reflections.
• Water bottle/personal beverage: hydrate!
• Personal care items: natural toiletries, sunscreen and insect repellent (if meditation will be outside)
• You may choose your position of comfort during the meditation. Chairs are available for use if needed. Please bring any additional personal items you may require to comfortably sit or lay down for two hours.
• Open mind and heart ready and willing to explore within how we can choose love and peace in our own lives.

Schedule

• 10:00-10:30 am – Welcome and call in to reconnect with self and ancestors
• 10:30-11:30 pm – Sound bowl lifted guided meditation
• 11:30-11:45 am – Self-reflection, reenergize and peace out

Instructor – Takeyla Benton

Mystic on a mission, Takeyla, Mystic Key, has spent her lifetime unlocking her own divine potential – and now she’s here to help you do the same. With a wealth of spiritually directed studies and personal experiences, Mystic Key infuses her wisdom and passion for storytelling, holistic healing and spirit-centered self-mastery and divine love into her all areas of her sacred soul work. As a trusted guide, she offers Goddess and Ancestor guided spiritual consultations, reiki energy and sound healing sessions, empowering yoga and meditation coaching, illuminating podcasts and workshops and wherever spirt guides her to grow. Mystic Key empowers those who feel lost and locked into unproductive cycles to seek the keys to get out by going within.

Dates/Times

You are welcome to come to one session or more. Each session has its own registration form which will open about three months before the session.

Autumn Equinox | Saturday, Sep. 19, 2026 | 10:00 – 11:45 am
Winter Solstice | Saturday, Dec. 19, 2026 | 10:00 – 11:45 am

Cost

$37/person/session

$56/person/session with optional lunch at Holy Wisdom Monastery

Register 

The registration deadline for the Sep. 19, 2026 program is Sep. 12, 2026, or when the registration reaches 35 people. There is no refund for cancellations, but registrations are transferable. Registration for later sessions will open closer to the event date.

The post I Choose Peace: Sound Healing & Guided Meditation appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Submitted by Amy Alstad as an article to the May 29, 2026 issue of Weekly Wisdom.

Dear Holy Wisdom Community,

It is a real pleasure for me to feature Quinn Casey in this next installment of our ‘Community Joy’ series. Erin conceived these articles as a way to lift up what is good, true and joyful, as well as highlight community members whose contributions and connections to Holy Wisdom might not be visible to many. Quinn’s grandparents, Biby Gubler-Casey and Bob Smith, will be familiar to many in the Sunday Assembly community. For the past couple years, Quinn has been an integral member of the land care volunteer team. Because of her work schedule, she is primarily volunteering evenings and weekends. I am deeply grateful for her generous contributions of time and energy, and I hope you enjoy reading about her connection to this place.

Blue skies,

Amy

From Quinn, in her own words:

I come to Holy Wisdom weekly to work on the grounds, whether that be mowing trails in the prairie, tending to the memorial courtyard, weeding, mulching, planting, or whatever else is needed. I’ve been working in horticulture for a few years, so I have the honor of getting to drive the monastery tractor and use some of the other fun equipment to manage such an expansive and intricate area. I coordinate with the land management team but usually do my work on my own and use the time for prayer and contemplation. I’ve always felt that I connect with God most deeply when I’m working with the land. It’s a gift to have time to slow down and reflect. It makes me feel grateful for the world that I live in, for my ability to contribute to it, and witness the miracles of nature.

The first time I ever visited Holy Wisdom was for the celebration of life for my grandmother, Biby Gubler-Casey when I was thirteen. I remember the monastery being a place of solace for me, where I felt comfort while going through the tumult of my first experience with grief. We planted the serviceberries that still grow (albeit dilapidatedly) along the side of the monastery where we spread my grandmother’s ashes. Amy has agreed that we can replace these trees with something more suited to that side of the monastery someday, though I admire the perseverance of these skinny little serviceberries- growing through a harsh environment with the determination of my grandma!

My grandfather, Bob Smith, was Biby’s husband and my dad’s step-dad. He was a priest as a young man and left the priesthood in his late 20’s. The explanation for why he made this choice varies depending on who you ask – ranging from disagreement over certain church doctrines to “loving women” – all respectable reasons in my opinion. Having him as a grandfather was one of the greatest gifts in my life. He was deeply loving, intelligent, and fun, and embodied his spiritual values in everything he did. He taught me how to practice spirituality in my own way from a young age, encouraging me to focus my prayer on gratitude. Holy Wisdom meant so much to him. I think it exemplifies his idea of what a place of worship ought to be. Everything that Holy Wisdom stands for reminds me of his values and the way he lived his life.

Towards the end of his life, my Grandpa Bob got really into a song by Iris Dement called “Let the Mystery Be”. It’s not his usual type of music at all, and my family still likes to laugh when picturing him jamming out to a folky country song. The lyrics of the song are what he connected with most, here’s a snippet :

Everybody’s wondering what and where we all came from. Everybody’s worrying about where we’re gonna go when the whole things done. But no one knows for certain and so it’s all the same to me. I think I’ll just let the mystery be.

The song goes on to examine different ideas of what awaits us at the end of life. The singer concludes that her form of faith is to “just let the mystery be”. After a life devoted to the study and practice of religion, I believe my grandfather came to a similar conclusion. As a former priest and a man of his own, strong convictions, I think he practiced a religion that drew from so many inspirations but was a form all his own. Holy Wisdom was the place where he felt at home in that practice, and I’m sure he didn’t make that choice lightly. This is also where he chose as his final resting place alongside my grandmother.

As we all know, participation and membership in organized religion is absolutely tanking among young folks today. I have a hard time explaining to people of my generation why spirituality is important to me. For many, it carries a connotation of intolerance, rigidity, or dogma. As a gay woman myself I can certainly understand where these assumptions come from. But Holy Wisdom is a unique place. Here, I feel that the culture is guided by the principles of religion that my grandfather sought to live by – acceptance, kindness, gratitude, community – to name a few. When I stand in the prairie, I feel the loving energy that exudes from everyone who continues to build this place together.

I grew up in Tomahawk, Wisconsin, then went to college and lived in Washington DC for a while, where I met my wife. We spent some time in the Philippines together where I studied and taught ceramics before settling down here in Dane County. I now work as a horticulturist at Epic.

The post Community of Joy: Quinn Casey appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Join us for the Festival on the Prairie on Thursday, August 6, 5:00-8:00 pm.

There will be music by Annie and the Oakies, local food carts from FEED Kitchen with food for purchase, children’s activities, garden and prairie tours, beer and soft drinks for purchase and free ice cream. Bring picnic blankets or camp chairs. Join us to celebrate a beautiful summer night with our community. All are welcome!

Food Carts

• Sandwich Hub
• Las Islas Filipinas

Event Schedule

• 5:00 pm – Event Begins
  • Food Carts Begin Serving
  • Beer and Soft Drinks Available
  • Free Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Available
• 5:30 pm – Music Starts
• 5:45 pm – Garden Tours
• 6:00 pm – Prairie Tours

Please bring your friends and family and consider sharing this flyer with others.

Cost & Registration

This event is free to attend, but please register by July 29th, 2026, so that we may plan accordingly. Please carpool if possible.

BENEFACTOR
	Lake Ridge Bank
SUPPORTER
	M3
FRIEND
	Madison Solar Consulting
	Quercus
	Soma Sound Yoga
	Village Family Dental & Orthodontics

The post Festival on the Prairie appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Submitted by Janet Neurauter (she/her),
Mission Advancement Consultant

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Issis, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, was taught that education was the path to a secure future. “My parents instilled the values of hard work, building a stable career and being self-sufficient,” she said. As a result, Issis attended UCLA, majoring in Political Science before earning a Master’s in Public Administration. She worked as a water resources manager for a municipal utility in Anaheim, California, where she upheld the belief that water is life and conservation is critical to sustaining communities.

During a period of personal transition in 2012, Issis began exploring the art scene in downtown Los Angeles. “I was like a sponge, taking it all in. It was my first time creating art as an adult, and it became a form of meditation and play. At the time, I never imagined it would become my full-time profession.”

In 2016, Issis’s fiancé was offered a faculty position at UW–Madison, and they relocated to Wisconsin. “I fell in love with the lakes and the way nature feels so present here. The pace was much slower than Los Angeles, and that shift created a kind of space I didn’t even realize I needed.”

After moving, Issis continued her exploration of intuitive abstraction and works primarily with acrylics and oil pastels. “I had been so cerebral in the past. Abstract art is really about freedom and expression in color and texture. It is completely emotive and cathartic.” Over time, her practice deepened. In 2020, as she entered motherhood during the pandemic, art moved to the center of her life, expanding into a space of reflection, healing and transformation.

In her current exhibit, Madre Tierra, Issis honors her connection to the natural world and her Mexican heritage. “In my culture, Madre Tierra is a living presence who supports, heals and guides. This exhibit celebrates all Mother Earth gives to us and reminds us that we can always find refuge in her.” As a mother herself, Issis finds inspiration in her daughter, mother and grandmothers. “Through the artistic expression of my own heritage and matrilineal lineage, I hope viewers find a place to pause, reconnect and remember that we belong to something larger and timeless.”

Issis was named the 2025 Latina Artist of the Year and received the 2024 Micaela Salinas Artist Fellowship sponsored by Latinos Organizing for Understanding and Development. She was also a 2023-2025 Bridge Work artist at Arts + Literature Laboratory, a 2023 Forward Art Prize finalist through the Women Artists Forward Fund and is an active member of the Madison Art Guild. Her work is held in private collections in the United States, Mexico and Europe.

The exhibit is on display in the Gathering Area of the monastery from May 6-July 7, 2026. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday, 8:00 am-4:30 pm (excluding holidays) and Sunday 10:00-11:00 am.

An opening reception will be held on Friday, May 29th from 6:00-8:00 pm. Light refreshments will be served. Registration is appreciated.

The post Madre Tierra – exhibit by Issis Macias appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Submitted by Kathleen Owens (she/her), Manager of Clergy Programming and Communications for the Center for Clergy Renewal at Holy Wisdom Monastery.

James Rissler tried to prepare for his first Contemplative Renewal Immersion, and first visit to Holy Wisdom Monastery, by reading the Rule of Benedict. As a Mennonite Pastor from Georgia, he was not quite sure what to expect. He had some uncertainty about where he was heading in his vocation and a desire to explore more contemplative practices. He was concerned that St. Benedict seems to discourage humor and laughter. He wondered, “What kind of place will this be?”

On the first day, James was walking by the gardens and heard another pastor in his cohort, Amy, laughing loudly. He told Amy how much her joy put him at ease after reading Benedict’s discouragement of laughter. Amy shared her concerns over the upcoming 24 hours of silence, a practice that is comfortable for James.  This exchange confirmed for him the strength of being together in a cohort. “I’ve always been someone who appreciates processing things in relationships, so coming to Holy Wisdom and engaging in contemplative practices with other clergy from across the country and different traditions was attractive.” The diversity of the group and the way each of their gifts supported one another deepened his understanding of how important it is to be present for others, not just as a pastor, but as a person.

When it was time to write a Rule of Life in the Winter Immersion, James wrote a rule that reflected his desire to keep working not on specific practices, but on his presence. “My rule doesn’t commit me to any practices. It commits me to a kind of presence in the world. I’m clearer on a sense that who I am as a leader and a pastor is a person who tries to show up with a particular kind of presence to remain grounded in God’s love and sharing that love with those with whom I engage.”

James’ rule has a larger form, but it is the simple version that he references regularly: “I try to live with love, joy and presence.” Over five years have passed since James’ wrote this rule and shared it with his cohort and the sisters. James reflects, “Immediately and over the last five years, it facilitated, it deepened, it pointed me on a path that I’ve continued to walk…. The kind of person I am now, as a leader, was planted at Holy Wisdom and continues to grow.”

This ongoing growth comes through experiences outside of Holy Wisdom Monastery and through his monthly small group online gatherings with four members of his cohort, regular reunions with his full cohort and ongoing connection to the wider community of communities. “There is a kind of community that Holy Wisdom is as a whole, of which the Center for Clergy Renewal is an important part. But it’s a mutually beneficial relationship. I think neither would be what it is without the other. The space, the community, feels like it has a certain charism.”

Thank you for being part of the nurturing environment that can help James and other pastors find grounding in how they are being called to show up in the world.

The post Live with love, joy and presence appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Conversations about the season, walks on the prairie, naps, art, movement, journaling, great meals and welcoming accommodations will all be a part of what you can expect when you arrive. A renewed connection to nature and to yourself, along with joy in the plentitude and abundance of the season are what you can expect to take with you when you leave.

Seasonal Retreats

Each season this year, we will offer a different seasonal retreat. They will open spaces where each different season can offer its unique wisdom to us in the changing seasons of our lives. Each retreat is a two-day, one-night experience at Holy Wisdom with cozy accommodations, delicious meals, spacious time periods for solitude, reading and rest and contemplative conversations with other retreatants. There will also be a variety of opportunities to explore the prairies and the season and discover their gifts for you. 

Upcoming Retreats

• Fall Fallowing – October 16-17, 2026 (Fri./Sat.)

Summer Plentitude Date/Times

Tue., Jul. 14, 1:00 pm – Wed., Jul. 15, 4:00 pm, 2026

Cost

$295/person ($260/person early bird registration until June 6th, 2026)

The cost of the retreat includes program, meals (Tuesday dinner, Wednesday breakfast and lunch) and overnight room.

Register

The registration deadline for this retreat is July 6th, 2026, or when the retreat fills.

Cancellation policy – if you register but must cancel your registration, you can receive a 75% refund up until July 7th. After that, a 50% refund is available until the retreat starts.

After you register, if you would like to request a double room with another retreatant or if you have other questions about accommodations, please contact us at retreats@holywisdommonastery.org.

The post Summer Plentitude: A Seasonal Retreat appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Submitted by Kathleen Owens (she/her), Manager of Clergy Programming and Communications for the Center for Clergy Renewal at Holy Wisdom Monastery.

“I don’t know if burned out is the right word,” reflects Julane Nease when recalling what led her to apply to Contemplative Renewal Immersions, “but I was feeling the stress of my call. There’d been a lot of difficulties that had happened within the life of the people in the congregation.” When she arrived for her first immersion in July 2021, she realized she was not alone. “I remember at that first session being struck at how emotional it was, several people, and I think probably me, were crying when we were talking about what had been going on and all the stress points in our lives and ministries.”

Julane felt the welcome and embrace of the cohort community in the group sessions. In Centering Prayer, she found a welcome and embrace from Christ. “I remember sitting in the oratory sinking into Centering Prayer and saying to myself, ‘OK, Jesus, here I am.’ And then I saw Jesus’ eyes right in front of me. I heard him say, ‘I’m here too.’”

By the end of the first immersion, Julane knew the contemplative way of praying and understanding God was needed in her life. The encouragement to look inward helped her to see the need to care for her own spiritual health. She is an extrovert and generally tends to be outward facing in her life. Paying attention to the internal was amazing, but hard. She entered the second immersion tender and ready for care. “It was okay because it was really a soft place to land. I knew that if all I could do was cry that was okay and people would be there to support me. I’ll always be tremendously grateful for that space.”

Beyond the two immersions, it is Julane’s ongoing small group that has provided a deep ongoing connection. “They are people that will show up for me whenever I need them, and they know that I will do that for them too.” It is also in her small group where Julane continues to develop her understanding of what it means to be a contemplative person and pastor. “We talk about it in our small group because we all feel we are walking contemplatives in this world. Thinking of myself that way reminds me to pause and be quiet, because how else am I going to hear God if things are so loud? Especially in this season in our country, everything is so loud. If I can remember to take five minutes of Centering Prayer, it is enough to refocus. Remember my breath. That’s been a big change.”

In her effort to be a walking contemplative in the world, Julane incorporates aspects of contemplative practice into worship. Worship now starts with silence, a form of Statio that Julane sees as particularly helpful for bringing the community together when some are online and others are in person. Reading Psalms aloud together has also shifted. “I remember Sister Lynne talking to us about how the sisters read out loud together. It’s about listening to each other. It’s not just about saying the words. I always try to let my voice be one voice among others. Sometimes I have the sense I’m going with the waves of the way the people are reading and speaking.” Thank you for being part of the community that supports the walking contemplatives in our loud world. The deep roots Julane developed through the Contemplative Renewal Immersions are continuing to feed Julane and her congregation, bringing forth new fruit as they continue to walk together through challenging times.

The post Walking contemplative appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

In 1 Samuel, we learn that even Yahweh’s chosen spokesperson, the prophet Samuel, fails to understand what God is up to with the people of Israel. When tasked with anointing the next King of Israel, Samuel hesitates and then fails to select the candidate Yahweh desires. It isn’t until after Yahweh rejects 7 of Jesse’s sons, that Samuel finally asks Jesse to retrieve his youngest son from the fields, and David is anointed as the next king. The reason for this protracted and almost comical process? Yahweh tells Samuel, that humans see qualities that do not factor into Yahweh’s decision about leaders. Yahweh sees the qualities in the heart of a person.

In John’s Gospel we encounter other examples of misguided ideas about God from some of the Pharisees and the disciples. In this case, the writer pulls no punches about describing their lack of vision. Which is even more poignant because their failures are embedded in a story about a man born blind who regains his sight.

The mistakes start with the disciples. After Jesus and the disciples encounter the man born blind begging, the disciples begin wondering and questioning Jesus about who should be blamed for his blindness; whose sins caused his condition. Not only does this reveal what we know today to be all kinds of wrong thinking about disabilities, as well as bad theology, the disciples also miss the point that Jesus seeks to make. It turns out Jesus, doesn’t focus on blame or sins, but rather states that his blindness will serve to help reveal God’s work in the world.

Jesus proceeds to heal the man, who then goes on to endure a series of questions from neighbors and then religious authorities, to which he responds directly – I don’t know much about who or where he is, all I know is that I was blind and now I see.

After a second round of interrogations from the pharisees, the man repeats his story, and long after my patience would have worn thin, he says, ‘why do you keep asking me? I’ve already told you and you will not listen.’ He then demonstrates how and why his healing points to Jesus’ gifts and suggests perhaps they want to be his disciples. This response is shocking and offensive to the pharisees and results in the man being run out of town.

In a rather tender turn of events, Jesus who has not been present since the application of mud, hears about what has happened to the man and finds him. Interestingly and importantly, the Greek word used for “find” here is the same word used for the calling of disciples. It becomes clear that his physical healing is also a spiritual awakening. This man’s recognition and awareness of God in his midst offers a bold witness and serves as a foil for the blindness of the pharisees who cling to old ideas and misguided accusations.

Biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann writes, “The man born blind … is a model for life radically reorganized around new possibilities that are given in Jesus. Nothing here about sin and guilt. Nothing here about morality or orthodoxy. The Jesus of the Fourth Gospel is about receiving a new world of possibility wrought by the power of God, a new world which shatters all old blindnesses, all old fears, all old orthodoxies, all old deathly explanations and controls.”  The collected Sermons of Walter Brueggemann, p. 2111.

As we listen to these stories today, they invite us to consider how well we recognize God in our midst, and how we follow the way of Jesus rather than shape – or allow ourselves to be shaped by – a world view based on wrong-sighted leadership that does not recognize God’s vision for God’s children and creation.

We know something about the distortion of God’s vision in the public realm these days, don’t we? We are bombarded by a constant flow of misinformation concerning all manner of things. We are inundated with displays of wrong sightedness, particularly when the language of Christianity and the interpretation of Scripture are employed to justify cruelty and violence.

I must confess here, that I sometimes find myself paralyzed by overwhelm in the face of such blatant manipulation of the very faith upon which we come here seeking to build our lives.  This past week, in the category of ‘just when I thought it couldn’t get worse’, a friend, who is a retired military chaplain, shared an email written by an active-duty service member. Here is an excerpt: “This morning our commander … urged us to tell our troops that this (war) was “all part of God’s divine plan” and he specifically referenced numerous citations out of the Book of Revelation referring to Armageddon and the imminent return of Jesus Christ. He said that “President Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth.” 

Where is the God of love in the midst of all of this, where is the prince of peace? When will we see the bend that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of when he famously said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

I don’t have answers to all this madness. Honestly? I wish Jesus left behind an instruction manual with detailed directions so we wouldn’t find experience so many divisive interpretations. Perhaps we find a way forward as we consider what Martin Luther King Jr.  said after that famous statement: that this pursuit of justice and love will require “active, collective, and personal effort.” That perspective is also reflected in what the Center for Action and Contemplation founded by Father Richard Rohr uses as one of its core principles: “the best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better.”  

While there may not be a blueprint or instruction manual for what these best practices are, we do have an invitation to listen closely to the gospel and shine the light of Christ in places of cruelty. The reading from Ephesians this morning sets that before us with a series of imperatives and promise of grace. It says: “Live as children of light—Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness but instead expose them. Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”  There is no paralyzing overwhelm in these sentiments, it is a call to action, because Christ shines on us, not so that Christ’s light will shine on us. It is a given. It is a grace. Our place is to share that light.

What will this look like? Most likely our actions won’t grab any headlines or go viral, but they may consist of times when in the movements of our daily lives we choose to practice a loving response to the challenges we encounter. Recently historian Diana Butler Bass used a compelling phrase that challenges followers to consider “normalcy as resilience.” She shared that she realized “how everyday life, lived with intention and attention, informed by but not afraid of the news, grounded in gratitude, faith, and love, is our strongest force for goodness against authoritarianism.” The Cottage, 3/14/26 Newsletter

In addition to Dr. Butler Bass’ suggestion, there are many approaches to resilience and resistance. Some of us may feel called to move in the direction of grand gestures of resistance, some of us will protest, some of us write letters, some will deliver food, some will sing songs of hope, some will blow whistles of warning to protect the vulnerable. Through our daily actions we will as St. Francis says, be people who “preach the gospel at all times; use words when necessary.”

As we round the Lenten corner toward Jerusalem; as we open our eyes and hearts and wake up to the love that was and is so freely given by this Jesus; we have the opportunity to sharpen our vision and our resolve for what a time such as this demands. So, let us listen carefully for what is ours to do and boldly respond to the call to see with eyes of love and mirror God’s divine compassion; a gift which God shares generously and graciously with us – the least of us, those of us who feel lost, paralyzed by overwhelm, begging by the side of the road. May our eyes and our hearts be opened as we humbly practice the better. May it be so, with God’s grace and God’s help.

The post Nancy Enderle’s Homily from March 15, 2026 appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.