Dominican Life on Lotus Lane

Our chaplain of three years, Fr. John Dominic (or J.D.) Logan, O.P., is moving on to a new ministry in Ponchatoula, LA. We are sorry to see him go!

Father J.D. came for a six month trial period–three years ago–and we have enjoyed having him as our chaplain. We were inspired every day by his homilies and Masses. 

Fr. J.D. celebrating Mass for us during Lent

On a historical note, Father J.D. is probably the tallest chaplain we have ever had! He is 6 foot 7 inches tall! 

Sr. Bernadette Marie and postulant Thuy raise the flag with a little help from Sr. Mary Margaret while Sr. Mary Thomas looks on

Hats are a good idea in the East Texas sun! Sr. Mary Christine, Sr. Maria Teresa (Summit, NJ), Sr. Joseph Maria (Summit, NJ) and Sr. Mary Dominic leave the flagpole area.

Happy Birthday to Sr. Mary Lucy, who celebrates her 87th year today!!

In this year\’s Gospel for the Mass of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, we hear Jesus telling his disciples (and all of us who listen to his words): \”Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.\” (Matthew 11:28-30) The Lord\’s fundamental call to us is not to do anything difficult, but simply to be with him, to be in his presence and attentive to his will. \”Come to me.\” What a joyful, grace-filled invitation from Jesus to live a life of love and union! He really wants you and me to be with him. Here is an explicit divine call to all humanity. His simple, three-word invitation is the answer to the deepest existential questions and longing of every human heart: to love and to be loved, to know and be known, by the only one who can completely fulfill this yearning. With St. Augustine we can acknowledge: \”Lord, our hearts are restless until they rest in you.\”

On June 25, we celebrated Sr. Mary John\’s feast day! We began the morning with the traditional feast day song (words written by one of our sisters and set to a familiar tune), and then exchanged the kiss of peace with Sister. 

Sr. Maria Guadalupe greets Sr. Mary John

Then it was time for games and snacks! We\’ve been known to play more active games, like volleyball (indoor or outdoor) but with the extreme heat it seemed best to stick to simple table games.  They were a lot of fun!

Sr. Mary Regina and Sr. Mary Dominic working against the clock…

Sr. Bernadette Marie and Sr. Mary Giuse checking answers!

We enjoyed a delicious dinner in the community room and then had a free afternoon. In the evening, we resumed our celebration with a talent show centered on folk tales. There were Mexican, African and Vietnamese tales–celebrating our diverse community heritage–and other fun things. 

Sr. Mary Agnes started the evening off with a poem about the Word of God. 

Sr. Maria Cabrini entertained and educated us with some of Aesop\’s fables.

Sr. Mary Christine performed some magic for us!

St. Thomas Aquinas once wrote on the occasion of Corpus Christi: \”O precious and wonderful banquet, that brings us salvation and contains all sweetness! Could anything be of more intrinsic value? Under the old law it was the flesh of calves and goats that was offered, but here Christ himself, the true God, is set before us as our food. What could be more wonderful than this?…In the end no one can fully express the sweetness of this sacrament, in which spiritual delight is tasted at its very source, and in which we renew the memory of that surpassing love for us which Christ revealed in his passion.\” As cloistered Dominican nuns, we are privileged not only to receive Christ in his most holy Body and Blood every day at Mass, but we also are able to adore his Body every day in our chapel.

We received a much-needed rain, which put an end to the fire danger in our area (for now). Praise God! We are so thankful! The rain came close to the solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, which is kind of appropriate since in many countries this feast is celebrated by throwing water on people (to remind them of their baptism). 

You can check out our 2010 post on this great solemnity here. 

Meanwhile, this weekend we\’ll be celebrating Sr. Mary John\’s feast day. Her real feast day falls on December 27 (St. John the Evangelist) but that\’s right in the middle of Christmas celebrations so we generally pick another day to do it when she is prioress. So keep checking back (or consider following to make checking easier) because we hope to have pictures of this happy day sometime next week!

The sun had a reddish aura because of all the smoke in the air.

What appear to be pine straw ashes were blown into our monastery from the fires!

It looked like black snow coming down. 

We pray for all people affected by the fires and extreme heat during this unusual season. 102 degree temperatures in Lufkin and it\’s not even summer yet! Please keep us in your prayers, too.

On a more cheerful note, we would like to announce that Sarah Murray (who visited our monastery back in April–see here) won the election and will represent our area on the Lufkin City Council! We are praying for you always, Sarah!