Happy Easter

In this woodland

In these peaceful retreats

In the shadow of these forests

What benefit we find,

What silence and yet what language.

 

   ~ Hymn #15,  Saint Louis de Montfort

 

 

From the silence of Wisdom House, we send greetings in the language of resurrection!

Happy Easter!

The Chosen

Those who are chosen empty themselves along the way.  They live a consistent ethic of life. . .   They choose life despite all odds.  Suffering and pain are no strangers to them. They gamble on the mercy of God and throw their lot in with the vulnerable and the misunderstood.

 

Jo-Ann Iannotti, OP; Remember, Return, Rejoice: Journeying from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday; Litchfield, CT: Wisdom House; 2012; p.26.

The Ethiopian Misereor Hunger Veil

In the early Middle Ages, it was a practice during Lent to divide the Sanctuary from the other part of the church by means of a veil.

This veil was removed on the Wednesday of Holy Week only. The deep significance of this liturgical practice is that the faithful should experience the fact of not seeing the Sanctuary of the Altar during Lent as an act of penance. A few centuries later, people began to adorn the plain linen veil with pictures and symbols of the Passion. In the design of this Misereor Hunger Veil, the Indian Christian artist Jyoti Sahi has depicted the destitution and bitterness of the life of his countrymen interwoven with the hope in the changing power of faith and solidarity with the Christians of his time. This veil will be hanging in Wisdom House until  March 27.

American Veda, April 12-14 at Wisdom House

Long before the Beatles met the Maharishi and the practice of yoga became a lifestyle choice, the spirituality of India influenced Western culture and thought. It already had made its way into the libraries of John Adams and Ralph Waldo Emerson and forever changed how artists, intellectuals, and scientists viewed our world, our minds, and our bodies.

The dynamic program, "American Veda," presented by author, spiritual counselor, and meditation teacher Philip Goldberg of Los Angeles, CA, will explore this spiritual legacy with the help of videos of leading historical figures. Participants will experience spiritual practices they can take home with them to enrich their spiritual lives. This workshop will take place from April 12-14 and is for anyone intrigued by or interested in Vedic wisdom.

For fees and further information please call:  (860)567-3163, email programs@wisdomhouse.org or visit: www.wisdomhouse.org/program/calendar.html

 

Wisdom House Retreat and Conference Center is an interfaith center which presents programs in spirituality, education and the arts and offers hospitality to the not-for-profit community.  The center is rooted in Judaeo-Christian Wisdom tradition which supports the center's commitment to sustainability and concern for contemporary issues.  The Center is a ministry of the Daughters of Wisdom.

Lenten Retreat Evening

Recently, Sr. Jo-Ann facilitated a Lenten evening of reflection at St. Dominic Parish in Southington, CT, based on her recent book, “Remember, Return, Rejoice: Journeying through Lent to Easter Sunday.” Photos here are courtesy of Paul Dinnean of St. Dominic Parish.

Waking up via our ears

 "We grow into being able to listen. . .  

When a breakthrough takes place and we hear someone or something for the first time, we seem to wake up from a long sleep. . .

The experience of awakening throws us into another reality.  The whole experience borders on conversion as we now pay attention, in a new way, to sources that have always been."

 

     ~Jo-Ann Iannotti, OP; Remember, Return, Rejoice: Journeying from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday; Litchfield, CT: Wisdom House; 2012; pp. 31-32.

 

Where words fail, music speaks!

In late February, Rev. Christopher Caton from Word of Life Family Church in Middlebury, CT,  took some private retreat time at Wisdom House. He took time to pray and read, take short hikes at the local state park, and being an avid student of bag piping, so took time to practice some new and old favorites. Of his experience, he said, "It was just what I was looking for."




For information about personal retreats or any of our other program offerings, visit www.wisdomhouse.org/program/personal_retreats.html.