Biblical scholars have pointed out that the words I just read from Luke’s gospel are a combination of the Q source image of mustard seed faith and the fig tree image in Mark’s gospel which Luke changes into the largess of the mulberry tree. So I’m going to take Luke’s freeing spirit of literary license to explode that image of the mustard seed faith Jesus gives us into the theme of Jesus calling us to a mustard seed life. A mustard seed life entails an understanding that small things matter, small actions matter; small, small details of our daily life …
A new family at Lost Lake
Submitted by David Kelley (he/him), Friends of Wisdom Prairie It’s early spring. Tendrils of mist dance like sprites on the water. The lake’s surface is smooth like polished silver. Several ducks skim silently like shadows in the fog. This is Lost Lake, a relic of the glaciers, which covered much of Wisconsin until 10,000 years ago. Lost Lake is nestled in prairie and woodland just west of Holy Wisdom Monastery. You hike along the trail, which meanders around the lake. To your right oak trees rise like pillars, leaves rustling in the spring breeze. On your left emergent vegetation creates …
The monastic library’s doors are open
A few steps down the curving hall beyond the Oratory on the lower level of the monastery building, the library is open for use by all members of our communities and guests. It houses over 5,000 books on monasticism, liturgy, ecumenism, biblical studies and spirituality with emphasis on ecospirituality, contemplation and the divine feminine. In addition, we have several specialized sections. The Friends of Wisdom Prairie collection gathers popular works on ecology and nature, including field guides to flora and fauna that might be spotted while exploring the land. Magazines from Oneing to Orion and from Tablet to Time are …
October phenology
Phenology is a science focused on observing and recording biological events from year to year and their relationships to the change of seasons and climate. These are the “normal” phenology events we expect to see here and in the Madison area this month. We would love to hear about what you are seeing on the grounds of Holy Wisdom Monastery. Please comment on this post with what you are observing, where at Holy Wisdom and the date you observed the event. October phenology “Now is the time of the illuminated woods. They have a sense of sunshine even on a …
Presence
Ryan Wallace does not remember how he first heard about the Contemplative Renewal Immersions at Holy Wisdom Monastery in late 2019. He was already interested in contemplative practices and looking for a way to sustain his ministry. As he remembers, “I was in my early 30s and thinking this is what I plan to do forever. And I know that if I’m going to keep doing this, I’m going to need a way to approach ministry that will be sustainable through my entire career.” As part of the second cohort, Ryan was among those that had to navigate the pandemic …
Leora Weitzman’s Homily from Sept. 21, 2025
You cannot serve God and wealth. Not just because of divided loyalty, but because the two require entirely different mindsets. Serving God comes from a place of letting go, listening, and entrusting. Jesus was serving God. At the end, he could very likely have saved his skin by recanting all the sabbath healings and the controversial message of liberation and inclusion. That recanting was the ransom demanded by the rulers and chief priests clinging to their worldly wealth and power. Jesus did not pay that ransom. He chose to let go of his very life rather than break faith with …
Experience
Submitted by Kathleen Owens (she/her),Manager of Clergy Programming and CommunicationsCenter for Clergy Renewal at Holy Wisdom Monastery Emily Tveite is a Lutheran campus pastor from the Madison area, who now works to support Lutheran campus ministries across the country. When applying for Contemplative Renewal Immersions, Emily was hoping to learn some skills for day-to-day life to help her “wake up spiritually.” Reflecting, she says, “I imagined that it was going to be really directive and skill based. And I was pleasantly surprised that it was something different.” In 2022, Emily joined the third cohort of Contemplative Renewal Immersions. At the time she …
Community of Joy – Al Heggen, Helen Christiansen and Aman Cara
Dear Holy Wisdom Community, During these harrowing times, when the news often leads us to feelings of despair, I am determined to also keep our focus on what is good, true and joyful. Often, at Holy Wisdom, it is no surprise that what is good, true and joyful is often our community members. Please watch for articles into 2026 that highlight our community, who they are, how they are involved and what they find at Holy Wisdom. As a community of communities, I often see my job as finding the overlap on the Venn Diagram as to where the many …
Nancy Enderle’s Homily from Sept. 7, 2025
The scriptures for our consideration this morning, particularly the verses from Deuteronomy and Luke, have an instructional or didactic tone to them around their shared focus – the path of faith or the spiritual journey. In Deuteronomy, we encounter powerful verses issued at a critical time for the Israelites as they stand on the brink of entering the promised land. It is considered Moses’ farewell speech in which the Israelites receive the instruction that they have a choice to make. Faith is not imposed by a dominate deity who takes away their autonomy and agency. No. This undertaking is initiated …
Terry Larson’s Homily from Aug. 3, 2025
The preacher in Ecclesiastes & Jesus are challenging us to ask ourselves: Is life about possessing? The vanity, and yes the frustration of trying to possess life is, as the preacher writes & as Jesus says, foolish! But that doesn’t prevent us from trying to possess life rather than simply live life in the present. Maybe you live with a Godly indifference to possessing, grasping, or seizing life? I don’t do that hence these scriptures are a real gift! They so richly contrast our foolish desire to possess life instead of being rich toward God….Jesus’ words of challenge which ended …