“I came to bring fire to the earth…” “Is not my word like fire and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?…” “Not peace, I tell you, but rather division!” On each side, we are certain, certain, that the hammer of righteousness belongs to us alone. These Gospel words about family conflict could be read as a teaching about priorities —a call, as Saint Benedict would say, to “prefer nothing to Christ.” But wait. Doesn’t Benedict also tell us to treat everyone as Christ? Isn’t love of neighbor—meaning love of everyone—one of Jesus’s core teachings? Can this same …
Honoring who you are
Submitted by Kathleen Owens (she/her),Manager of Clergy Programming and Communications Center for Clergy Renewal at Holy Wisdom Monastery Jennifer Shimota’s hope for the Contemplative Renewal Immersion experience was that the scaffolding of the extended immersions would create space for her brain to be quiet. In her experience, “A brain with strong ADHD is always scurrying even if the body is still.” The Immersions met this need. The rhythm of the monastery gave her the scaffolding she sought to explore practices like Centering Prayer and silence that are very difficult for her. She was moved by practices such as statio. “To say we …
Jacob Lawrence Shares Reflections on Summer Internship with Land Management
(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 …
Patti LaCross’ Homily from Aug. 10, 2025
Genesis 15:1-6; Hebrews 11:1-3,8-16; Luke 12-13:9 I imagine that many of us have taken one or another trip in the past few months, and found refreshment. For those who will soon be traveling, I hope you do also! For whatever reason, in the whirl of packing and putting things in order before our own travel last month, our summer of 1992 came to mind. Over a few years’ discernment, I had hammered out a new position as pastoral associate of Our Lady of Guadalupe, with the retiring pastor, new bishop, and a feisty, quad-lingual group of 35 immigrant farmworkers and …
Vicky Tzoumerka Knoedler Artist in Residence at Holy Wisdom Monastery
Purpose: provide the quiet and sacred time and space for artists, writers, musicians and performers of exceptional promise and demonstrated accomplishment to focus, create, advance or complete their work. We use the word “artist” broadly to include those working in visual, literary and performing arts, as well as individuals whose work doesn’t fit neatly into one of those categories. Overview: Residencies occur for three to four consecutive weeks during the summer months in the hermitage of Holy Wisdom Monastery. The dates will be determined by the guest services staff the year prior. The rent and meals are included in the …
Pam Shellberg’s Homily from July 20, 2025
Genesis 18: 1-15; Colossians 1:15-28; Luke 10:38-42 In 2020 Netflix released a drama series titled “The Queen’s Gambit,” a fictional story about a young American woman named Beth Harmon and the arc of her life as she became a chess champion who faced off against some of the best chess players in the country. In the series finale there was a climactic showdown in Moscow, Russia, where she confronted some of the world’s best chess players. During those matches, a commentator remarked: “The only unusual thing about Beth Harmon, really, is her sex. And even that is not unique in …
David McKee’s Homily, July 13, 2025
Some weeks ago, I was asked if I would offer the homily today: the Feast of Saints Benedict and Scholastica. In addition, I was told that we would be celebrating the 25th anniversary of Sr. Lynne Smith’s monastic profession and the 1st anniversary of her installation as prioress of our monastery. The challenge and the honor were quite a shock at first. The shock passed–well, somewhat–but a good deal of my anxiety has persisted over the intervening days. I asked Sr. Lynne if there would be any special readings for this Sunday. Like a good Benedictine, she said that we …
Rex Piercy’s Homily, July 6, 2025
I simply have to begin today with an “honesty” warning because your homilist finds this Gospel passage to be very odd. It appears to be an amalgam of perhaps a few authentic words of Jesus mixed in with a whole bunch of strange, later additions which don’t even come close to sounding like anything the authentic Jesus of Nazareth might have said. Today’s reading comes in a whole section of Luke from the ninth to the nineteenth chapters which takes place on the journey to Jerusalem, though actually very little of the material demands the setting of a journey. Throughout …
July phenology
By Sylvia Marek 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. July Phenology “The tall grass prairie…. from the first greening of spring to the full ripening …
Reflections on 25 years as a sister at Holy Wisdom Monastery
Submitted by Lynne Smith, OSB (she/her), Prioress At the Benedictine Spirituality Workshop and Retreat prior to my final profession, Sister Meg Funk from Our Lady of Grace Monastery in Beech Grove, Indiana, described Benedictine life as having two aspects: above the river and below the river. This image has stayed with me over the years. Above the river we go to prayers and meals, share in community work and conversation, greet guests and participate in leisure activities. Under the river is where the soul work happens as we seek God in all things. Under the river, praying the Psalms has offered an …