Category: Uncategorized

Today is the Feast of St. Rose of Lima – the first person canonized in the New World.

Unfortunately, none of our rose bushes are blooming right now because of the heat. But, we do have a special and unique rose…..

…our very own Sr. Mary Rose. Happy Feast Day!

She is standing next to what some of us thought was a cosmos, but it is just a weed. As you notice from the above photo is it very tall. In fact, it’s about 8 inches beyond Sister’s fingertips.   Can anyone tell us about this plant???

Today we celebrate the Queenship of Mary, for she is the Queen-Mother of Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe. It is also the Feast Day of our sister, Sister Mary Regina.

Each year near the Feast of St. Dominic on August 8, our local Dominican Laity Chapter of St. Thomas Aquinas has a special Mass at which various members move to the next stage in their formation. This year they had a big crowd, with people in each of the three categories.

Linda began her official time of formation as a “novice”. She had already been attending the monthly meeting for quite a while.

Then 5 people concluded that first phase and pronounced their Promises to  live by their Laity Constitutions  for three years and further explore the Dominican way of life. From left to right, below: Brian, Bruce, Debbie, Maria, and Jose.

A father and son team (Deacon Jesus and his son, Chuy) concluded their initial formation as members of the Dominican Laity by pronouncing their Final Promises for their entire lives. The Laity Chapter President, Dr. Matt Rowley, stands as a witness.

We met with them briefly in our Gate Parlor after Mass so that we could congratulate them and meet members of  their families. After we left, they had a special breakfast together.

Sr. Mary Rose in the parlor with her parents who are now both members of the Dominican Laity.

Then, in the afternoon, we had a brief party with Sr. Ana Christina. She had come to us a year or two ago and is preparing to return to Mexico on August 10. Sister is very talented in the areas of computer, crafts, sewing, and cooking. It has been a wonderful joy to have her with us.

In the photo to the right, Sister Ana is preparing to play a game especially created for her, using riddles to find the prizes.

In the photo to the left Sister is modelling one of her prizes. A knitted cap made by one of the Sisters.

During the past month, we received various visitors. There are two events we would like to share with you.In mid-July Father Emmerich Vogt, OP came for a long week end from the Holy Name Province based in California. He had been with us last year for our annual retreat. He gave about six lectures on different aspects of Community Life and how to create a spirit of peace and harmony. We found the talks excellent and very practical. Besides a lot of note-taking there was also a lot of laughing. He gave down to earth examples of how Jesus calls us to “die to ourselves” so that we may be more transformed into His radiant image.

We hope and pray everyone had a safe and happy July 4th celebration. We had a very peaceful and relaxing day. As always we begin the day with our Patriotic duties: Pledge of Allegiance, patriotic songs and a prayer. This year there was a light rain so we omitted the raising of the flags on the flagpole. Instead, we went into our main building where we have 3 flags: Texas, American and Papal.

After our songs and prayer, most Sisters stop by the snack tables before settling into a game or an adventure outside. Rain was forecast and it showed up 2 or 3 times. However, it did not last long, just enough to cool the temperature down a bit.

Several Sisters grilled our picnic dinner in the morning. They grilled enough for dinner and supper: hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, corn, shish kabobs (some with beef and others with shrimp). Everything was delicious.

There were games as usual, and just enjoying one another\’s company. Ping-pong and Sequence were the favorite activities this year.

This past Sunday afternoon about 1:20, two little puppies appeared at our Novitiate door, looking for someone to play with. They were very friendly and cute. Both females, they looked young and had lovely markings. One was light brown with four white feet and a white line on her forehead. The other, shyer one, was dark brown with dazzling, almost blue eyes.

Sister Mary Dominic took to the dogs right away. They looked like chihuahuas. Sister and her mother had had a chiweenie named “Peanuts”. Sister set them up in one of our courtyards with a little house and some water until we were able to give them to the proper authorities about 3:00.

Since our buildings are more or less at the center of our property, it must have taken then some time to find us. They looked well cared for, but had no collar or tags.

About 5 or 6 Sisters saw them. Someone eventually called the Animal Rescue who came and picked them up. One of the people who came said she knew just the right elderly gentlemen for one of them.

The dogs had a great time “playing” … or was it “praying”?!