This May we were blessed to have Fr. Don Goergen, O.P., give us a retreat on Dominican spirituality.
Fr. Don Georgen, O.P.
This year for our annual retreat we invited Fr. Don Georgen, a Dominican friar of the Central Province, to give us some conferences. Right now he’s the chaplain at our sister Dominican Monastery of Mary the Queen in Girard, IL. He gave us some very interesting talks on spirituality and contemplative life and we greatly enjoyed our time with him.
Every year for the entire month of May we have a daily procession out to our statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
We sing the litany and pray for her intercession.
At the end of the month, we have a special May crowning, in which we crown Mary with a fresh floral crown and sing a special song to her.
This year, Sr. Mary Christine made the crown and Sr. Mary Veronica, our oldest nun, crowned the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Blessed Virign Mary is very important to us in our lives as cloistered nuns, and we like to honor her with this special tradition.
Sr. Martin Marie of the Eucharist, O.P. (Carolyn Mill) was born on March 28, 1946, in Philadelphia, PA. She studied psychology, reflexology, and homeopathic medicine, and also worked as a prep and short order cook at Howard Johnson’s.
After she converted to Catholicism in 1976, she joined the Dominican Nuns of the Perpetual Rosary, Monastery of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Lancaster, PA, in 1978. She served the monastery as community secretary, sacristan, librarian, cook, and sub-prioress. Skilled in calligraphy, painting, metalwork, sewing, embroidery, counted cross stitch, and crochet, Sister Martin Marie took artwork orders for the community and sewed altar linens. She had a remarkable capacity for friendship, attested to by her voluminous correspondence.
When the Monastery of the Immaculate Heart of Mary closed in 2021, Sr. Martin Marie asked to come to the Dominican Monastery of the Infant Jesus in Lufkin, TX; formally transferring to this monastery in 2022. She went to her eternal reward on May 13, 2026.
Rosary for Sr. Martin Marie will be held at the Monastery Chapel at 7:00 PM on Sunday, May 17, 2026. The funeral Mass with be celebrated by the Most Rev. John Gregory Kelly at 10:00 AM on Monday, May 18, 2026, at the Monastery Chapel with internment in the Monastery cemetery immediately following the Mass.
For Mother’s Day this year, the community celebrated with an Alice in Wonderland themed tea party. We had special tea and treats, Wonderland-themed games, and watched the Disney cartoon version of Alice in Wonderland in the evening.
In the (golden) afternoon, we gathered in the community room to enjoy a delicious tea party. After we got our treats, the Mad Hatter Twins (Sr. Mary Gabriel and Sr. Mary Therese) crowned our prioress, Sr. Mary Rose, as Queen.
Then we divided into three teams to play the Wonderland games.
Then the sisters enjoyed a variety of games that led us to the Wonderland Tea Party. For each game, we won stickers that we enjoyed displaying on our capes!
The first game was to find the key to unlock the door into Wonderland. Sisters from each team searched the community room, finding many small heart keys but only one large rose key.
Can you see the key hidden under the tea pot banner?
Sr. Bernadette Marie finally found the right key!
To get into Wonderland, the sisters had to follow the White Rabbit down the rabbit hole.
Sr. Mary Pauline throws the bean bag rabbit into the rabbit hole.
Sr. Maria Rosario was so close!
After going down the rabbit hole, the sisters had to pin the grin on the Cheshire Cat so he could give them directions to the tea party.
Sr. Mary Therese ties the blindfold on Sr. Mary Margaret.
Good try!
Sr. Mary Giuse gives Sr. Mary Rose directions for where to pin the grin.
Sr. Mary Pauline got very close!
Sr. Mary Jeremiah and Sr. Mary Therese give their best Cheshire Cat grins.
Once at the Wonderland Tea Party, the sisters played musical chairs to see who could get a seat at the table.
“The Unbirthday Song” was the soundtrack. Sr. Mary Giuse won!
We all had a wonderful time eating delicious tea treats, playing the Wonderland games, and collecting stickers. We also greatly enjoyed watching Alice in Wonderland after spending an afternoon in our own wonderland world. Happy Mother’s Day!
Palm Sunday: 7:00 AM
Holy Thursday: 7:15 PM
Good Friday: 3:00 PM Liturgy
Holy Saturday: 9:00 PM Easter Vigil
Easter Sunday: 10:15 AM
Sr. Miriam of the Precious Blood, O.P., died on March 19, 2026. Born Patricia Gliatto in Chicago, IL, in 1937, she lived 68 years of her adventurous life as a religious.
Sr. Miriam was a trained nurse, but feeling drawn to the religious life she joined the Maryknoll Sisters in 1958. She soon decided to become a contemplative nun, and initially joined the Dominican Monastery in La Crosse, WI, in 1960. She always loved helping people and had a missionary heart, despite her cloistered calling, and helped at the Corpus Christi Monastery in Nairobi, Kenya, from 1978-1981. After that experience, she joined us in Lufkin in 1981. In 1999, she again went on a mission, helping to found the Queen of Peace Monastery, which is now in Squamish, Canada. She always used to say, “Join the cloister. See the world.”
Throughout her time with us, she served in many roles, including sacristan, librarian, helping in the Guild, and as organist. But we’ll mostly remember her for her joyful personality. She was known to charm everyone she met.
A rosary will be held for Sr. Miriam in the Monastery Chapel at 7:00 PM, Monday, March 23, 2026. The funeral Mass with be celebrated by the Most Rev. John Gregory Kelly at 9:30 AM on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, with internment in the Monastery cemetery immediately following the Mass.
We were doubly blessed to receive a lovely visit and conference from Father Timothy Vaverek, a priest of the Diocese of Austin who is currently serving as pastor for Assumption Catholic Church in West, TX.
After receiving Father Timothy’s book As I Have Loved You: Rediscovering Our Salvation in Christ from his brother Father Gavin Vaverek, we enjoyed it so much that we were eager to meet him and invite him to share more with us.
Thank you, Fr. Timothy, for taking time out of your busy parish schedule and making the long trip from West to Lufkin! Your presence and insights were greatly appreciated.
Dominican Life on Lotus Lane 