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It was November 9, 1945–just a few months after the foundresses arrived in Lufkin on July 26, 1945–that enclosure was established here at the Monastery of the Infant Jesus. 

This was the original \”farmhouse\” monastery on Lotus Lane.

Today, 67 years later, things have changed a lot–at least on the outside!

But some things haven\’t changed. Our adoration of the Blessed Sacrament continues daily, as does our singing of the Liturgy of the Hours and Mass. We still continue our lives of prayer and sacrifice for the whole world. And we even have two of our original foundresses from 1945 still with us here on earth. We are so grateful to everyone who helps to make our life possible.

For more interesting pictures of the early days, check out our history page here. 

And for interesting pictures of our Dominican life today, check out the rest of our website here.

Today we remember all the members of the Dominican family who have died. Here at the Monastery we especially remember two of our sisters who died this year, Sr. Mary Catherine, OP and Sr. Mary Therese, OP, as well as our former chaplain, Fr. John Dominic Logan, OP, who also died this year. We pray that their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed will rest in peace and that they will intercede for us and for all the Dominican family still here on earth. We miss you and we live in the hope that one day we will all be reunited in Heaven!

Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them!

 

We once had a Dominican chaplain who told us when he was in the novitiate (pre-Vatican II) he had to memorize the names of all the Dominican saints! Of course that would be extremely difficult now that the number of saints has increased substantially, thanks to the canonizations of the Vietnamese martyrs among others in recent years. But today is also a day to remember all the saints of the Order who are not canonized, who probably never will be…the saints we live and work with every day. Sometimes it seems we are too close to holiness to fully grasp it when we live with it–we see all the little flaws and quirks and such, and miss the bigger picture. But if we open the eyes of faith, we can see God\’s goodness shining through all people. We give thanks to God for all our Dominican saints, those we know and love, those we don\’t know but remember today as they intercede for us in Heaven. May they intercede for all the people of the world, that we may all grow in love for God and neighbor every day!

 

Today the Church Militant (those of us here on earth) celebrates the solemnity of All Saints, rejoicing in the Church Triumphant (in Heaven). This is a wonderful feast because it honors everyone in Heaven. All of these saints intercede for us before the throne of God! In addition to the many canonized saints (those the Church assures us are in Heaven) there are countless saints we remember today: parents, grandparents, friends, benefactors, sisters and brothers, godparents, neighbors, people like Dorothy Day or Oscar Romero who are not canonized but surely must be interceding for us! And if we are not sure whether someone we love has entered the glory of Heaven just yet, we have tomorrow\’s feast of All Souls to pray for them as they continue their Purgatory! Let us ask all the saints to pray for us today, and let us live in the joyful hope that our true home is Heaven too.

Bishop-elect Joseph Strickland came out to the Monastery this afternoon to celebrate Mass for us and stayed for a lovely visit afterwards. He shared with us about his recent retreat in Subiaco, Arkansas with the Benedictine monks there and discussed the new coat of arms which he will use as bishop. 

Bishop-elect Strickland with Sr. Mary Margaret and Sr. Mary John

He will be ordained on November 28. We hope to see his ordination on television, and we look forward to seeing him come again soon–this time as Bishop! Thank you so much for your continuing service to the Church and especially to our diocese of Tyler!

Today is the first day of the Year of Faith, proclaimed by our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI! It\’s also the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. And the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Catechism. And there\’s a synod of bishops convened to discuss the New Evangelization. There\’s a lot going on, and a lot to pray for! In his apostolic letter Porta Fidei, the Pope writes that this year is \”a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Savior of the world.\” (6) He also writes, \”It is the love of Christ that fills our hearts and impels us to evangelize. Today as in the past, he sends us through the highways of the world to proclaim his Gospel to all the peoples of the earth.\” (7) These are words that resonate with us in a special way as we try to proclaim the Word and our love for Christ through this blog! Because, as the Holy Father continues, \”It is faith that enables us to recognize Christ, and it is his love that impels us to assist him whenever he becomes our neighbor along the journey of life.\” (13) We cannot keep this Good News about Christ to ourselves! Even from the cloister we must proclaim it! This is part of our vocation as Dominican women, and we are glad to preach in our own small way. 

Our prayer is that this Year of Faith will be a blessed one for all the people of the world, that they may grow in faith, hope and love and be strengthened in their lives as sons and daughters of God.

Check out the official website of the Year of Faith HERE.

October is the month especially dedicated to praying the rosary, and here at the Monastery we pray the rosary together every day except Sunday (when we have a different schedule so we pray it privately). The Rosary is a powerful prayer–in fact, today\’s feast, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, commemorates the great victory at Lepanto in 1571. Pope Pius V (a Dominican Pope) encouraged Christians to pray the rosary for victory, and Don Juan\’s Christian forces successfully defeated the Islamic Turks. Today we are still fighting all kinds of battles, and while action is often necessary, there is great wisdom in this advice: 

As contemplative nuns, that\’s what we do when faced with difficulties–our first option is always prayer. With everything that\’s going on in our nation and the world today, consider taking 15 minutes each day to pray the rosary, or some other prayer of your choice. Prayer can change the world, starting with you!