Category: Uncategorized

Behind the Scenes of the Monastery Photo Shoot

In anticipation of updating our website and brochure, we recently had professional photographers come and take pictures of the nuns, our monastery, and many of our activities. They were only here for a day, so we had to cram a lot in and make sure that the photographers went everywhere and got shots of everything we wanted. We’re very happy with the final pictures. They’re beautiful and show a lot of our monastic life. Even some parts that we hadn’t planned on showing…

We wanted a new group photo of our community, as well as updated individual portraits. The photographers thought natural lighting would be best, so we all went outside and dutifully posed for the pictures. It was a beautiful day, but also quite windy, so we had to help each other smooth down our veils and capes so the photographers could quickly snap good pictures of us.

It was a windy day for an outdoor shoot!

Then Sr. Mary Rose and Sr. Mary Therese showed the photographers around the monastery, both to take pictures of the building and also to get “action shots” of nuns at work. Sometimes there was no one else around, though, so they ended up having to pose in quite a few of the pictures.

Sr. Mary Therese and Sr. Mary Rose pose in the infirmary…even though neither of them has ever worked in this department.

Sr. Mary Rose in deep conversation with Sr. Miriam…who’s working on her word find puzzle.

Yes, nuns still listen to tapes. We’re old school.

Sr. Mary Rose pretending to ring the bell, while trying very hard not to actually ring it. Don’t want to confuse anyone!

“I haven’t put the flag up in years. How does this thing work?”

“I know the tray is only half full, but we need a picture of us using our huge dishwasher.”

Sometimes they were able to find someone else to pose.

Sr. Maria Cabrini in the library

Fr. Thomas exposing the Blessed Sacrament…which completely obscures his head

Our community room looks ginormous with the wide-angle lense.

In the afternoon, we gathered everyone in the community room for some posed group pictures. The community was very cooperative and we got some great pictures, although when we got the photos back we noticed some unintentional things.

Fr. Thomas came in so we could get pictures of him teaching philosophy class. Since it was just a pretend class for the photographers, instead of teaching, he told us jokes.

Philosophy is so funny!

Then we did had a fake recreation, quickly doing a bunch of different things for a variety of photos.

Putting a puzzle together…with Fr. Thomas and his chalk board in the background

Sr. Mary Rose tries to adjust her cape before the picture is taken.

“Let’s gather ’round the piano and pretend to have a sing-along!”

After the quick photo shoot in the community room, we went outside to get pictures of the grounds and action shots of the nuns at play. Unfortunately, the outdoor carpet guy was also working, so he got in some of the shots as well.

Playing basketball…with carpet equipment in the background

Rollerblading…with the carpet guy in the background

Riding a bike…with a photographer in the background

Driving the golf cart…with a photographer on board!

“Look up! A photographer is taking our picture!”

A classic monastic image: nuns solemnly walking away.

We had a really good time with the photographers. They were very nice and gave us good direction on how to pose for the best pictures. (We think they had a good time visiting the monastery too.) We look forward to sharing all of our new pictures with you!

Classes in the Monastery

One of the four pillars of Dominican life is study, and so we’re always looking for ways to continue our education. Recently, we’ve been having many interesting classes in our Monastery that have been fun and challenging.

Our chaplain, Fr. Thomas Schaefgen, is a philosophy professor, so we asked him to give us monthly classes.

He’s teaching us logic, particularly how to form a sound argument. We’ve had fun coming up with propositions and seeing if we can make a valid syllogism with them. In the new year, he’s going to teach us philosophy of the human person.

One of the most important things we do as nuns is sing, whether it’s singing hymns at Mass or chanting the Liturgy of the Hours. So we asked Dr. Deborah Dalton, a retired music professor, to give us voice lessons.

She works with us both as a group and individually, especially with correct breathing techniques, projection, and enunciation. We’re all working very hard on our singing and appreciate her expertise.

We’ve also started having art classes from Mrs. Faustina McPherson, a retired art teacher. She’s offered to teach us all kinds of creative art, such as pottery and painting.

First, she taught us how to make coil pottery, a special technique that uses rolled lengths of clay to make designs that come together to create a pot.

She gave us a special type of clay that doesn’t require a kiln. We just let it dry and admired our finish pots. We had fun learning something completely new and getting to work with our hands.

We are very grateful to everyone who is teaching us all these new things. We love having the chance to expand our minds and our talents.

A Day of Thanksgiving in the Monastery

This year Thanksgiving in the Monastery was a day of food, fun, and community celebrating.

At noon, we gathered in the community room, where our Thanksgiving feast was laid out.

We sang our traditional Thanksgiving grace, giving thanks to God for everything he’s given us.

Then we all sat down at our decorated tables to enjoy a wonderful meal.

In the afternoon, we gathered in the community room to watch The Boys in the Boat, an inspirational film about the U.S. rowing team at the 1936 Olympics.

After supper, we went outside to enjoy our traditional Thanksgiving fireworks.

The sisters had to bundle up on the cold Thanksgiving evening.

Sr. Mary Christine and Sr. Mary Pauline set off impressive fireworks.

Sr. Mary Rose and Sr. Mary Margaret enjoy hand-held sparklers.

Sr. Mary Pauline and Sr. Mary Jeremiah had fun with the firework lighters!

After the fireworks display, we went back inside to enjoy some of the annual dog show on TV.

As usual, this Thanksgiving was a day of community fun. We had good food, good laughs, and some great fireworks! We give thanks for God, our community, and for all of our benefactors who make our life here possible. Happy Thanksgiving!

A Visit from Fr. Fernando Fernandez, O.P., Promoter General of the Dominican Nuns

From November 3 to 5, we were honored to share an extended visit from Father Fernando Antonio García Fernández, O.P., Promoter General of the Dominican Nuns. Father gladly joined us for Mass, the Liturgy of the Hours, meals, and a special evening recreation.

Fr. Fernando with our prioress Sr. Mary Rose

Fr. Fernando took several days to visit with us. He talked to us about the importance and meaning of contemplation, and listened to us talk about our cloistered lives. He also shared with us about his visits to other nuns throughout the world. We especially enjoyed his slideshow of all of the other monasteries he’s visited.

At the end of his visit, we put on a special program for him to thank him for his time with us.

Sr. Mary Pauline and Sr. Irma Marie sing De Colores

Fr. Fernando shared with us that he loves the Dallas Cowboys football team, so as a special gift and a remembrance of us we bought him a team t-shirt.

We had a wonderful visit with Fr. Fernando. We loved talking with him about our lives and hearing about the other nuns. This visit from the Promoter helped us feel connected to our sister nuns and also to the greater Dominican order.

A Fairy Tale Feast Day for the Prioress

We celebrated the feast day of our prioress, Sr. Mary Rose, with a fairy tale theme this year.

The decorated community room windows

The day began with the sisters singing a feast day song, written by Sr. Mary Margaret.

Sr. Mary Rose greets Sr. Miriam

The day began with a “Fairy Quest”, fairy tale-themed games played in teams.

Sr. Mary Rose’s team do a picture find.

Another team does a word find.

A third team puts together a puzzle.

“Fairy food”–special fairy tale cookies

At the end of the games the nuns were given treats–fairy tale cookies, wand pens, and lollipop rings.

In the afternoon, we gathered in the community room and Sr. Mary Rose opened her many gifts.

The gift table, full of presents the nuns have made over the year

Sr. Marie Augustine embroidered a beautiful pillow

Sr. Mary Christine cross-stitched a tablecloth

Sr. Irma Marie made many beautiful rosaries

In the evening, we had a fairy tale themed talent show, with songs and dances, jokes and skits.

Sr. Mary Therese gave “fairy tale facts” between the acts.

Sr. Mary Pauline and Sr. Mary Giuse performed a beautiful Vietnamese dance, complete with rose petals.

“Grandmother Goose” (Sr. Maria Cabrini) told funny stories about getting older.

Since it wasn’t just Sr. Mary Rose’s feast day but also her birthday, we gave her a “fairy” special birthday cake.

At the end of the day, we all sang happy birthday to Sr. Mary Rose.

The festivities continued the next day when we watched the movie Disenchanted, a fairy tale movie we all enjoyed.

Prioress feast days are always special days for the community to get together and enjoy each other having fun. This year’s day was full of laughter and special surprises for Sr. Mary Rose, and we were able to show her how much we appreciate all she does for us as our prioress.

A Festive Columbus Day

Every year we celebrate Columbus Day with a big picnic day, full of games, food, and community fun.

We began the day gathered around the flagpole to pledge allegiance and sing patriotic songs.

Some of us wore patriotic hats and leis to begin the celebration.

Sr. Mary Veronica and Sr. Marie Augustine pose with some pumpkins a benefactor kindly donated to us.

We put some of the pumpkins outside to decorate the monastery.

Since the weather was so nice, some of us decided to explore our grounds (which encompass 80 acres, only some of which are actually within our enclosure). We’re putting up a new fence around our perimeter, so it was fun to see the progress the workers are making.

We encountered some workers putting up the new fence.

Sr. Mary Margaret drove around to inspect the part of the fence that had already been put up. It looks great!

Afterwards, we gathered in the community room to play games. We have our regular favorites, and this year some of the sisters tried their luck at Jenga.

Sr. Mary Magdalene considers her next move while Sr. Mary Rose watches.

Sr. Mary Margaret very carefully makes her next move.

Sr. Mary Margaret very carefully tries to remove a piece.

As usual, we had a lot of fun (and ate a lot of great food!) as we celebrated our country and our community, for both of which we’re very thankful.

A Retreat with St. Catherine of Siena

We recently welcomed Fr. Thomas McDermott, O.P., to the monastery to give us a week of talks on St. Catherine of Siena.

Fr. Thomas McDermott

St. Catherine of Siena was an Italian mystic who lived in the 1300s. Although not a nun, she lived as a Dominican mantellate, a lay woman who embraced Dominican spirituality.

Fr. McDermott is a Dominican priest with the Central Province, who did his doctorate and wrote several books about St. Catherine. He taught us all about her life, spirituality, and visions, and the things she did to try to make herself more in conformity with Jesus Christ.

We enjoyed the talks and meeting with Fr. McDermott. We love learning more about our Dominican heritage, and St. Catherine of Siena is a model to us all in how to live our Dominican life.