In last week’s reading from Acts, Jesus commissions his followers to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth and  promises to send the Spirit upon them to empower them for this mission. In  today’s reading from Acts this promise is fulfilled. The Jesus community is has a mystical experience that awakens in us an awareness of the presence and power of God within us. This awareness gives the community courage and confidence to share Jesus’ message of the coming Reign of God with a hostile world.             We see the beginning o ..read more

Enrich your mind and spirit—visit the monastery library! June 2023 The monastery library added the following books to its collection: Hewett, Beth.  Grief on the road to Emmaus.  Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2023. Irwin, Kevin.  Ecology, liturgy, and the sacraments.  Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2023 Kim, Seung Chul.  The Center is everywhere.  Eugen, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2022 Koosed, Jennifer L.  Judith.  Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022. Lane, Dermot.  Nature praising God.  Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022 Lohfink ..read more

 5th Sunday in Easter • Acts 7:55–60 • 1 Peter 2:2–10 • John 14:1–14 • May 7, 2023 • Pluralism Sunday There’s a tree in the woods near me that I call the many-hearted tree. Since she has many forks about shoulder height, no matter what direction you approach from, you have the impression of a pair of arms raised in welcome, ready to enfold you where a heart would be. I was just passing by her the other day when I noticed the echo of today’s Gospel: “In my Abba-God’s house there are many dwelling places.” The word for dwelling places here is related to the word John uses to speak of dwelli ..read more

Submitted by Rajai Atalla Last week I summarized the evolution of the connection between Holy Wisdom and Sarthi. In 2013, when Holy Wisdom adopted Sarthi as part of its overseas mission, we had just been asked for additional support for a 5-year-old who had been abandoned by his parents who went their separate ways. We were asked for an additional $480 to support him for one year. To make a gift to Sarthi, visit the giving page on our website https://holywisdommonastery.org/support/donate-today/ and select “SARTHI” on the designation drop-down menu. Thank you! Soon after that they began a prog ..read more

Enrich your mind and spirit—visit the monastery library! May 2023 The monastery library added the following books to its collection: Koosed, Jennifer L.  Judith.  Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022. Maloney, Linda M.  Acts of the Apostles.  Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022. Nolan, Albert.  Jesus before Christianity.  Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2022. The post New books in the library—May 2023 appeared first on Holy Wisdom - An Ecumenical Benedictine Community ..read more

By: Rajai Atalla Sometimes the Holy One moves us in ways we don’t anticipate! Our relationship with Sarthi started when our son Ian was travelling in India for language and cultural studies; it was the 2005/2006 academic year. Soon thereafter he was walking the streets of Delhi and saw a young boy about six years old, with a cleft palate. He seemed quite timid in comparison to other kids his age on the streets. Ian took the boy, whose name is Akshay, to a hospital nearby and asked what it would cost to have the cleft repaired. He was told about $450. He emailed me and asked if I could raise th ..read more

Good Friday Reflection – Holy Wisdom Monastery, April 7, 2023 Nancy Enderle John 19:16-30 We pause on this sacred day to stand together at the foot of the cross. For some, this day is etched deeply into our memories as we recall attending services across the years and across the many stages of our lives.  Others of us arrived from a less traveled path, and come to this sacred day in this holy place to establish a new rhythm of listening to and honoring the passion of Christ. What each of us brings to this Good Friday is impacted by the questions in our hearts and the beliefs that have sha ..read more

Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter Apr 23, 2023 Road to Emmaus-Sandra Dugruid There have been crucifixions, too, in our town–innocents gunned down in their doorways or in school halls; or radiations black outlines, three crosses marked a sisters chest: no wonder we walk in quiet rage, musing And who, on this road, will join us, seeming unaware of the worst news in the neighborhood, but spelling out the history of the prophets and a future: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory? Could our hearts still burn within us? Will we ask the stranger to stay? Bre ..read more

Our new Monastery Chef, Brian Maki, will have his first day of work at Holy Wisdom Monastery on Tuesday, April 25. He is looking forward to serving others with you, as part of the monastery’s mission. Below is a note from him: “Hello everyone! My name is Brian and I’m very excited to be starting my new chapter as the Chef for Holy Wisdom Monastery in the coming weeks. I wanted to write a short note to you as an opportunity to introduce myself. I started my career in the culinary field as a young dishwasher and instantly fell in love with the professional kitchen. I still remember looking into ..read more

Homily preached on Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023, at Holy Wisdom Monastery, Middleton, WI One of the characters in John Irving’s masterful novel A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY calls Easter “the main event” for Christians. He explains that any fool can feel like a Christian at Christmas, but that one who does not believe in the resurrection is not really a believer. To take this even further, Biblical scholars Borg & Crossan in their powerfully written overview of Jesus’ final days in Jerusalem (THE LAST WEEK) add this: “Without Easter, we wouldn’t know about Jesus” Ok, let that soak in for a momen ..read more