Dominican Life on Lotus Lane

Tonight we begin our community retreat with a day or so of silence and prayer. Then our retreat master, Fr. Bob Perry, OP will arrive from his usual post at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX to give our retreat conferences. Things will be a little quiet due to retreat silence but there will be a post or two over the next ten days. We\’ll be emerging from retreat, all renewed in our love for God and His creation, on Thanksgiving morning (November 22). We keep you in our prayers during this sacred time and hope you will be praying for us, too!

We just finished another enjoyable and helpful week of lessons on singing, musical technique and the theology of liturgy with Sr. Kathleen Harmon, SNDdN! She worked with us both individually and as a group, providing us with all kinds of suggestions on how to improve the quality of our liturgy. Because, after all, liturgy is one of the most important things we do!

Sr. Kathleen instructs the Mass chantresses, Sr. Mary Gabriel and Sr. Mary Thomas

 Yes…that\’s what the music says!

Explaining the importance of the Responsorial Psalm at Mass to the community…

…and the community is hanging on every word!

As a result of Sr. Kathleen\’s expert help, we are gradually implementing changes in the way we sing the Responsorial Psalm at Mass, making it a true proclamation of the Word of God. And of course we are always trying to improve the quality of our musical sound overall.  If you are ever in the Lufkin area, perhaps you might like to stop by some day for Mass and see (and hear) for yourself! We are so grateful to Sr. Kathleen, who is definitely an active sister but has a great understanding of the cloistered monastic vocation and is such a help to us in developing a musical style which fits our life and also helps us to praise God from the heart of the Church. Thank you, Sr. Kathleen, and we look forward to seeing you next year!

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!