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Sister Maria Augustine is preparing a small one here in the photo below. She drying him /her off after a good bath.

A friend of ours in Groves, TX down by the Gulf, sent us two large “Bread” Turkeys. Very clever, beautiful and so soft and yummy …

We would like to share some lovely thoughts with you on this special day of gratitude for God’s gifts.

Oh, Heavenly Father,
We thank Thee for food and remember the hungry.
We thank Thee for health and remember the sick.
We thank Thee for friends and remember the friendless.
We thank Thee for freedom and remember the enslaved.
May these remembrances stir us to service.
That Thy gifts to us may be used for others.
Amen.

Today is Pro Orantibus Day in the Church. The phrase Pro Orantibus means “for the pray-ers” or “for those who pray”. This special day was inaugurated by Pope Saint John Paul II in 1997 to encourage everyone to take at least one day to pray for the contemplative men and women throughout the world who dedicate their lives to praying for YOU.

Eternal Father,
We praise and thank you for those sisters and brothers who have embraced the gift of the cloistered and monastic life. Their prayerful presence is indispensable to the Church’s life and mission, and is the foundation of the New Evangelization.
As we celebrate World Day of Cloistered Life, let us honor the holiness and glory of the Blessed Virgin. May she, who was presented in the Temple, intercede so that many young people might dedicate themselves entirely to Your divine service by hidden lives of contemplative prayer and selfless sacrifice.
May all of us be mindful of the spiritual and material needs of those who commit their lives to
seeking God by fixing their gaze on those things which are eternal.
We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Padre Eterno,
Te alabamos y te agradecemos por las hermanas y los hermanos que han abrazado el don de la vida
claustral y monástica. Su presencia en oración es indispensable para la vida y misión de la Iglesia, y
es el fundación de la Nueva Evangelización.
Al celebrar el Día Mundial de la vida de clausura, honremos la santidad y la gloria de la Santísima Virgen. Que ella, quien fue presentada en el templo, interceda para que muchos jóvenes puedan dedicarse enteramente a Tu servicio divino con vidas ocultas de oración contemplativa y sacrificio desinteresado.
Que todos nosotros estemos atentos a las necesidades espirituales y materiales de los que comprometen su vida a la búsqueda de Dios, fijando la mirada en las cosas eternas.
Te lo pedimos por Nuestro Señor Jesucristo, Tu Hijo, que vive y reina contigo y el Espíritu Santo, un solo Dios, por los siglos de los siglos. Amén.

Today is the Feast of the Dedication of the Church of St. John Lateran in Rome. It is the Cathedral Church of the diocese. The importance of this feast is to remind each of us that when we are baptized and in the state of grace, the Most Holy Trinity dwells within us!!!

BUT, for us nuns here at the Monastery, today is also the day we celebrate the dedication of our foundation, 73 years ago, today! On a day like today, we have special treats in store. And they begin with a beautiful uplifting Mass and breakfast afterwards. Today in East Texas it’s a “normal” Fall-wintery day, meaning cold and rainy.

While the nuns were having breakfast they had an extra surprise treat! 8-12 mourning doves were sitting on the sidewalk across from the Refectory (dining room). They looked like they were waiting for breakfast, too. They were very still, puffed up to keep warm, and very patient.

One of the nuns had pity on them and filled the bird feeder hanging outside the refectory window. She also put a lot of seeds on the ground for the doves who are too large to sit on the bird feeder. We wonder if some of these doves are those born in our car-port. In the past 5 years, we had a dozen doves born each year.

Father John when he first arrived just a year ago.

He was rushed to the hospital and the doctors found he had “multiple blockages”. The Dominican Provincial decided it would be best to go to Houston for surgery. There are a number of Dominican Friars there and he is assigned to Holy Rosary Priory there. It was difficult to get him stabilized but he was eventually transported to a hospital in Houston where he had triple-bypass surgery yesterday.

This emergency has left us without a chaplain. It also occurs at a straining point in our diocese. Our Pastor celebrated Mass for us a number of times. But he has been transferred to the Cathedral in Tyler and is no longer in Lufkin. Fortunately, we had the joy of “meeting” him and visiting for an hour before he left. Father Hank Lanik has only been in Lufkin for 8 months; but the Bishop needs him elsewhere, so we are all trying to cooperate. Father Hank is originally from San Antonio and has lived all over the state of Texas. The people are very sad to see him go. He has truly endeared himself to everyone. He promises his replacement will be here in a week.

The Dominican provincial has also been trying to find a replacement for our chaplain. Every day we never know who will be in chapel to say Mass for us, or what time the Mass will be.

Our Lady of the Rosary giving the rosary to St. Dominic and St. Catherine of Siena in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel at Santa Sabina.

It is also the travel day for Sister Mary Rose to return home from Italy and the important meetings she attended. We share with you a few concluding photos of this important event.

A group picture of those attending the International meeting of Dominican Nuns.

The English-language group at the Macro-Meeting.

Sister Mary Rose “officiating” at the organ for the Liturgy.

Spiritual Power-House — Dominican Nuns take to the streets!

A peek into a courtyard at Santa Sabina (Dominican Headquarters). According to tradition, St. Dominic brought the orange tree  to Rome from Spain. Many places throughout the world now have cuttings from “St. Dominic\’s Orange Tree”… including ourselves.