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A Visit from Fr. Nolan Lowry

Fr. Nolan Thomas Lowry was just ordained a priest for the Tyler, TX diocese–the diocese our monastery resides in–on July 17, 2010. He is currently studying moral theology at the North American College and Santa Croce in Rome. He was ordained at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Tyler, so he was able to spend a little time in East Texas afterwards getting some pastoral experience at Sacred Heart Church in Nacogdoches, TX. We were so delighted that he made some time to come and celebrate Mass for us, and then visit with us! He is a very zealous young priest and we will be praying hard for him and for his ministry in East Texas in the years to come.

Fr. Nolan and some of the community

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

“Mary’s assumption is an event that concerns us precisely because every human being is destined to die. But death is not the last word. It is the passage to the eternal happiness in store for those who toil for truth and justice and do their utmost to follow Christ.”

Pope John Paul II, Homily on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, August 15, 2001

O spem miram!

O wonderful hope, which you gave to those who wept for you at the hour of your death, promising after your departure to be helpful to your brethren!

Fulfill, O Father, what you have promised, and help us by your prayers.

You shine illustrious by so many miracles worked on the bodies of the sick; bring us the help of Christ to heal our sick souls.

Fulfill, O Father, what you have promised, and help us by your prayers.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Fulfill, O Father, what you have promised, and help us by your prayers.
Pray for us, holy father Saint Dominic!
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

We recite this prayer to St. Dominic every day after Midafternoon Prayer. We have great confidence in St. Dominic’s powerful intercession for all our needs. Truly, how sweet is the hope given to us!

Happy and Blessed St. Dominic\’s Day to all!

A Special Treat

When they first saw it, some sisters shrieked. One cried out in terror, \”It\’s alive!\” Such a thing had perhaps never before graced the counters of our Texas monastery kitchen. It was–

a LOBSTER!!

The large lobster (fortunately already cooked) was a gift from one of our sister\’s families. Some of us were put in mind of the humorous story St. Therese of Lisieux recounted about a similar incident in her monastery in France (although THAT lobster was still alive!). Like St. Therese\’s community, we are rather a large group, so we too will only receive a mouthful apiece! But we are still so grateful to have it! The nice thing is that we have a feast day coming up tomorrow (the Transfiguration of our Lord) so we can have it, along with our usual Friday fish fare. Thank you to the generous benefactors who made this extra-special treat possible!

Another Week, Another Party!

Well…a WORK party, anyway! We received a large amount of purple hull peas from a generous benefactor and set out to shell them at recreation. Appropriate, since it was the feast of St. Martha!

Notice the \”purple hulls\” on these peas, which stain your fingers (that\’s why the gloves are worn!)

Hey, we need some more peas here, please!

Sr. Marie Augustine, our cook, examines the evening\’s work.

We had some of these peas for dinner today and they were delicious! Many thanks to all those who have shared their garden produce with us this summer!

July 29: Memorial of St. Martha

Sometimes we think of St. Martha only as she appears in the story of Jesus’ visit to Bethany (Lk 10:38-42). “Martha, Martha,” Jesus says, “you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing.” He refers, of course, to her sister Mary, who remained seated at His feet listening to His words while Martha served. But there is another aspect to Martha, which is highlighted in the story of the raising of Lazarus (Jn 11:19-27). In this Gospel narrative, Martha shows herself to be a woman of tremendous faith. Martha tells Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” It is to Martha that Jesus makes one of his great “I Am” statements: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” He questions Martha: “Do you believe this?” And she answers: “Yes, Lord, I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” Today let us pray for the gift of a deepened faith, a faith that recognizes the presence of God even in the most distressing and terrible situations. St. Martha, pray for us!

A Penny Saved…

What\’s the value of a penny? Not much, you may say, but even the smallest things have value in God\’s eyes–and ours! Recently a generous benefactor gave us several large containers of loose pennies. When we receive large quantities of things that need to be handled–be it pennies, fruits and vegetables, or almost anything else–or when we need to mail out our newsletter, \”Monastery Bells\”–we have a \”party\”, a fun-filled work detail where we talk and enjoy ourselves while getting the job done. So instead of taking the pennies to a machine for counting, we got to work and counted and rolled them ourselves. After all, every little bit helps!

Sr. Maria Cabrini, Sr. Mary Catherine, Sr. Mary Gabriel and Sr. Mary Dominic hard at work counting and rolling pennies.

When everything was done, our bursars counted up the total, which was pretty good for an hour\’s work! Thanks so much to the generous benefactor who donated these pennies!