Texas OP Nuns

Solemnity of All Saints

\”This life of the saints, in its superabundant and inexhaustible fruitfulness, is at the same time a life of the richest variety and fullness. The one Spirit of Jesus, their head and mediator, is manifested in his saints in all the rich variety of their individual lives, and according to the various measure in which every single soul, with its own special gifts and its own special call, has received and employed the grace of God. The one conception of the saint, of the servant of Christ, is embodied in an infinite variety of forms. The litany of the saints takes us rapidly through this \’celestial hierarchy\’. And while every name denotes a special gift, a special character, a special life, yet all are united in one only love and in one gospel of joy and gladness.\”

–from The Spirit of Catholicism by Karl Adam

Into the Desert…

We will be making our annual community retreat from the evening of October 26 to the morning of November 4. Please be assured of our prayers for you and we hope you will be praying for us, too! Our retreat master will be Fr. R.B. Williams, OP, a longtime friend of our community. Please keep him in your prayers as well so that the retreat will be a grace-filled time for all of us. Thank you!

Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us!

The rosary is a prayer cherished by Dominican nuns. We pray the rosary every day for all the intentions recommended to us, and even for those we don\’t know personally–we pray for the whole world and all its needs.

You are welcome to join us in praying the rosary, either by coming to our chapel or by uniting your prayers with ours wherever you are. We pray the rosary as a community in chapel Monday through Saturday about 2:40 PM (Sundays we all pray the rosary privately). We pray a third part of the rosary (five decades) together, but many sisters pray additional decades throughout the day.

Joyful Mysteries: Monday and Saturday
Sorrowful Mysteries: Tuesday and Friday
Luminous Mysteries: Thursday
Glorious Mysteries: Wednesday and Sunday

Let us be united in prayer under the patronage of Mary, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary!

More Bird Watching…

Recently we have been visited by a heron–a great white egret. Normally it flies over our property and stalks around our small lake, hunting for fish and frogs.

But one day it decided to explore the monastery grounds! If you look carefully, you can see it walking alongside our main building:

It came up to the window and peered in at the delighted nuns (who were enjoying a bit of noon recreation), and then began to explore further:

Finally it returned to the pond, where it took off for its next destination…

We are blessed to live in a place where nature comes so close to us and we can see God\’s marvelous creation without ever having to leave the enclosure. May God be praised for all the wonders He has accomplished in this world!

St. Francis and St. Dominic

Did they ever really meet? Chances are, they didn’t…but if they did, it must have been an interesting conversation! We greet all our Franciscan cousins on this feast day of their founder and keep them in our prayers as we sing the Antiphon to St. Francis and St. Dominic, as we do every year on the feasts of both St. Francis (October 4) and St. Dominic (August 8):

Our apostolic father Dominic, and our seraphic father Francis, have taught us your law, O Lord!

The Archangels: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael

“God defends his chosen ones in the Church, in troubled times he is himself their shield, and through the watchful care of angels he protects them. He presents the angels to his own as servants and messengers, to further their salvation, to report their needs, and to carry their prayers. Even though he himself sees and understands the situation of each person, he still wishes to be told of it by his angels, in order to make known and show more clearly his love and consideration for humankind by his use of such worthy and beloved messengers.”

— From a commentary on the Song of Songs by Richard of St. Victor

Happy Birthday, Sr. Mary Agnes

Sr. Mary Agnes recently had her 88th birthday, which we celebrated with a rare treat of ice cream and cake in the refectory (dining room).

Sr. Mary Agnes admires her delicious cake (made from scratch!)

Sr. Mary Margaret lights some unusual candles, and–

Wow! What a display!

We don\’t usually celebrate birthdays in the monastery–we\’re more inclined to celebrate a sister\’s feast day instead–but when a sister reaches a \”certain age\” it does seem that she is entitled to a little extra celebration. Sr. Mary Agnes, we wish you many more Happy Birthdays in the years to come!