All Saints/All Souls • Revelation 7:9–17 • 1 John 3:1–3 • Mt 5:1–12 • November 5, 2023 Today’s readings raise some questions about Divine justice. On one level, they seem to suggest that if we didn’t get what we deserve while alive, we’ll get it in the afterlife. I want to propose that if we look more closely, we’ll find a subtler concept of Divine justice, reward, and blessing. Although scholars attribute the essence of the Beatitudes to the historical Jesus, that last beatitude originated in the early church in response to the concerns of the time. Even without being persecuted ourselv ..read more

Homily for October 29, 2023 Nancy Enderle – Sunday Assembly at Holy Wisdom Monastery Text:  Matthew 22:34-46 I would like to begin this homily with a confession of sorts. As one who has been preaching for nearly 40 years, it is fairly easy to encounter familiar texts and travel on deeply worn neural paths carved out from writing previous sermons. To further confess, my well-traveled path for these verses in Matthew, in which Jesus responds to the Pharisee’s question about the greatest commandment, typically features a bit of a bi-pass around the Love of God, straight to the love of neighb ..read more

In 2018 a group of members from the communities of Holy Wisdom gathered to discern the opportunity to apply for a one-million-dollar grant from the Lilly Endowment’s Thriving In Ministry initiative. Now five years into this work, we celebrate the vision and commitment of the Benedictine Women of Madison and the volunteers who prayed, dreamed, wrote drafts, prayed some more, wrote some more and finally received news that they were awarded the full grant which enabled this new Center for Clergy Renewal to take root within the communities of Holy Wisdom Monastery. Some highlights from the first ..read more

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time 10/22/23 Almost 35 years ago, my wife, Alison, and I packed up the kids and all our gear, and went on a camping trip to Mount Mitchell in North Carolina.  As it turned out, this excursion ended up in the “best laid plans” file.  We were rained off the mountain by the northwestern tailings of Hurricane Hugo.  All night, my son and I tried to keep the tent from floating away, and Alison and our daughter took refuge in the car.  After a day at a Knoxville, TN motel, basking in the sun and drying out the gear, we headed north and landed at a campgro ..read more

Homily for Oct. 1, 2023 Twenty-sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time Just about half-way through our second reading, from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we encounter what many scholars believe is the earliest known Christian hymn. Whether it was written by Paul or is quoted here it profoundly summarizes what Paul and the early Christian community had come to believe about Jesus, the Christ. In the translation I best remember it begins: Though he was in the form of God, he did not deem equality with God a thing to be grasped at. Rather he emptied himself…being born in human likeness. In their book ..read more

Enrich your mind and spirit—visit the monastery library! October 2023 The monastery library added the following books to its collection: Cassidy, Laurie, ed.  Desire, darkness, and hope.  Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2021. 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 Pres ..read more

A pious elder stated to a group of us twenty somethings many years ago, “God’s mercy is exceeded only by God’s justice.”  A rather lively exchange of views was going on at the time.  While theological debates of this sort may not play out much in classrooms, dorm rooms and bars anymore, our attitudes and resulting behaviors toward one another are frequently determined by what part of the equation we land on. Our scripture today gives us an entrée into these competing points of view.  In particular, I think it has application to how we balance the needs of individuals and the int ..read more

Twenty-Second Sunday, Sept 3, 2023                                         Holy Wisdom Monastery Jeremiah 15: 15-21; Romans 12:9-21, Matthew 16:21-28          Patti La Cross In each of the monotheistic traditions, prophets are seen as key to connecting and communicating between humans and the divine. It is they whodiscern the signs of the time, who guide, warn, a ..read more

Homily                   Sunday, August 20, 2023                  Holy Wisdom Monastery                       Pam Shellberg   Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost                Matthew 15:21-28 Well, this is certainly not the Jesus we are used to seeing ..read more

Sumbitted by The Religious Leader Caucus of MOSES: Sr. Joan Duerst, O.P., Patricia La Cross, Mark Petersen, Marsha Baldwridge As a community of communities, MOSES members share the core belief that each human person is precious and redeemable by all we call Holy: the Lord of Israel, Jesus, the teachings of the prophet Mohammed, and the practices of Buddhism and other non-theist spiritualities. Our whole Wisconsin network (MOSES is one of 11 WISDOM state affiliates) has been asked to broadly urge our members to join a letter campaign. This effort aims for the release of 2 individuals in our pr ..read more