Author: Texas OP Nuns

We are delighted to welcome our new chaplain, Fr. Marcos Ramos, OP! Father is a member of our southern Dominican province (province of St. Martin de Porres) and originally hails from Puerto Rico. He will be working on his doctoral dissertation while serving as our chaplain, so he may not have time for all the other extracurricular activities our chaplains usually do! Fr. Marcos is pursuing a doctorate in historical theology and the topic of his dissertation concerns St. Irenaeus of Lyons (an early Church father) and baptism. We met with Father during recreation recently and he shared some of his findings with us…really intriguing! We hope he will have time to teach us a class or give a talk occasionally. He also has a beautiful singing voice which has already enlivened our liturgies. We have been truly blessed in all our chaplains, and we are confident that this time will be a blessing as well. 

After a great year as our chaplain here at the Monastery, Fr. Art Kirwin, OP is moving on today to further adventures in his Dominican life. We will really miss him! Fr. Art has been a wonderful brother to us, celebrating Mass and other sacraments for us, visiting our sisters at the nursing home, sharing recreation with us in the parlor on a regular basis, teaching a class on Church history, and faithfully helping with our Dominican Laity chapter. In addition to this, he has been involved in prison ministry and his work preaching for a foundation which helps both young and old in poverty-stricken areas. We will miss Fr. Art, but we have hopes that he will return occasionally to celebrate Mass for us since he will not be too far away! And we are not left completely alone…we already have a great new chaplain (more on that later!). Thank you so much for everything, Fr. Art!

Sister Mary Lucy of the Incarnation, OP entered the Monastery in 1950 and made her first profession on July 2, 1952. She was professed 62 years.

Sister was an accomplished musician. She played the organ and piano, but especially loved the violin! Before her entrance, she played the violin with the Austin Symphony Orchestra. (That\’s Austin, the capital of Texas–as she loved to tell us!) 

Sister held a variety of duties around the Monastery, including librarian, infirmarian, maintenance, and bursar (in charge of paying bills, etc.) Sister was an especially dedicated worker who came to work in the Guild (her last assignment) until shortly before her death.

Sister was born on the 4th of July–Independence Day in the United States–and missed celebrating her 90th birthday by one day. She was very witty and had a great sense of humor, taking inspiration from everything around her to make little jokes.

Sister was a true community person, who loved the Dominican life and lived it to the full. She loved our life of common prayer, and also spent a lot of private time at adoration. We miss you so much, Sister Mary Lucy!

Eternal rest grant to her, O Lord, 

And let perpetual light shine upon her!

Our dear Sister Mary Lucy entered eternal life on July 3, 2014, about 4:10 in the morning. We will post the times for her rosary and funeral Mass when we know them. Please keep our sister in your prayers. 

Today we celebrate the solemnity of these two great saints, Peter and Paul. The Preface of today\’s Mass says it best: \”Peter, foremost in confessing the faith, / Paul, its outstanding preacher, / Peter, who established the early Church from the remnant of Israel, / Paul, master and teacher of the Gentiles that you call.\” Two saints, so different, so complementary, both so needed in today\’s world! 

People sometimes ask, \”How do you celebrate a solemnity? What makes it different?\” Our main celebration is liturgical, with Mass and singing of the Liturgy of the Hours for the day. But there are usually other little signs that make the day special. One example is that we have a little treat for meals. Sr. Marie Augustine made a special fruit plate for today\’s dinner (or lunch, as you may refer to it!).

Sister has several different kinds of fruit here: cantaloupe, honeydew melon, watermelon, and pineapple. We usually have fruit of some kind at our meals but it\’s not usually this fancy! 

A solemnity is a day to meditate on the saint (or on our Lord or the Blessed Virgin) and pray for a deeper conversion, to imitate those who have gone before us in faith. But it\’s also a day to celebrate our faith and give thanks for all the graces we have been given. Saints Peter and Paul give us a lot to ponder, pray over, and celebrate today!

This memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a complement to the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (celebrated yesterday) and is an encouragement to all of us to imitate Mary. She continually pondered on the mysteries of her Son\’s life: his incarnation and birth, his presentation and later his being found in the Temple, his hidden years at home, his public ministry, and finally his passion, death and resurrection. May we, like Mary, remember all these things and reflect on them in our hearts, until they become part of us!