Month: January 2020

Tet 2020 — The Year of the Rat

Every year we enjoy celebrating Tet, the Vietnamese variation on the Lunar New Year. It\’s an occasion for our community to be together in a fun way, celebrating the cultural backgrounds of two of our sisters and giving thanks for a New Year all over again. And, it does involve Vietnamese food, which makes it all the better! 
 
According to tradition, we play several games created by Sr. Mary Christine. Sometimes they are incredibly easy…and sometimes not. This was a year for “not easy”.
Sr. Mary Thomas trying in vain to get her rat (ping-pong ball) into its hole
Sr. Mary Veronica feels more confident

We have three sisters who were born in the Year of the Rat: Sr. Miriam, Sr. Mary Jeremiah, and Sr. Mary Giuse.

From L to R: Sr. Mary Giuse, Sr. Miriam, Sr. Mary Jeremiah
We wish all of you a Blessed New Year and pray it will be happy, healthy, and holy!

Something new…

Recently, it\’s come to our attention that although we\’ve made numerous changes to our website over the years (and wait, more are coming!) we really haven\’t done anything much with this blog. So, this being January, the beginning of a new year and a new decade, we decided to try something new.Cloistered nuns don\’t always appreciate new things, tending to stick with the good old adage, “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.” On the other hand, there are times when you need to step out of your old comfort zone and try something different, take a little risk. We like this new look, and hope you will, too.

If you are baffled because you can\’t find the old sidebars, never fear. They are still there! Just click on the gray triple horizontal bars in the upper left hand corner and those sidebars will slide right out.

Keep checking back here for more updates! We will post more news, spiritual musings, and let you know how the new website is progressing.

Special thanks to all who have encouraged us to keep moving forward on this project, especially our friends, family, and our Dominican brothers! We keep all of you in our prayers.

A Pig at the Airport

Two of our Sisters had to make a trip to California with a lay-over in San Francisco in mid-December. It turned out to be very memorable. While they were waiting for their connecting flight a crowd gathered taking pictures of someone or something. When the center of attention approached our Sisters, they saw the subject of attention and were immediately interviewed by a reporter from the local NBC TV station.

A week later they received a few telephone calls and emails about being seen on the national TV evening news. Below is the video and after it you can see a few screen shots. Enjoy.

A New Year’s Day Tradition

Every year on January 1, we gather about 10:30 am to draw our special patrons and intentions for the year. The ceremony begins with a Sister standing in the middle of the gathering and singing an ancient chant for the Nativity of Christ. Then, after everyone sits, the Prioress gives a talk. This year Sister Mary Margaret gave a very meaningful reflection of the meaning of the name, “Emmanuel”.

Afterwards, the two “youngest” Sisters distribute special prayer cards made for the occasion. Each Monastery seems to have this tradition, but it is done in slightly different ways. For example, one monastery may have one Patron for the entire community, while here in Lufkin, each Sister has a Patron and intention.

Each Sister receives a special title of Jesus or Mary, plus another saint, such as St. Joseph or a Dominican saint. Then we usually have a beautiful quotation upon which we can mediate throughout the year. Finally, at the bottom of the card is an intention for which each Sister pray during the year. Of course, on the front is always a lovely image and quote. Below you can see a sample of our card for 2020.

 
We then take turns reading our patrons, message and prayer intention.
left to right: Sister Mary Gabriel; Sister Mary Christine; Sister Marie Augustine; Sister Irma Marie sharing their cards
The ceremony itself concludes with singing Psalm 117: “Praise the Lord, all you nations…” and the Sister who leads the prayers that week says the closing prayer.
The remainder of the time is spent wishing each other a “Happy New Year.”
And, may you, our loyal reader, have a
VERY HAPPY NEAR YEAR IN 2020!