Monastic Theological Studies Program 2011: St. Thomas Aquinas

The study of St. Thomas Aquinas is very important to Dominicans! We are privileged to have Dr. Margherita Maria Rossi, director of Thomistic Studies at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum) in Rome, teaching us about St. Thomas this week.

 Dr. Rossi is very animated in her presentations and difficult to capture in a still camera shot!
Dr. Rossi took us on a whirlwind tour of the theology of St. Thomas, focusing on his Biblical commentaries (which happens to be her field of expertise). 
But you can\’t have a course on St. Thomas Aquinas without speaking about the Summa Theologiae! And so we did…
Dr. Rossi also gave us a lot of solid information about the way St. Thomas lectured, disputed, and preached. This gave us tools for reading St. Thomas more effectively and easily, which we all really appreciate!

We enjoyed her classes so much! 
 Left to right: Sr. Joseph Maria (Summit), Sr. Mary Amata (Summit), Sr. Mary Dominic (Lufkin), Sr. Maria Teresa (Summit), Dr. Margherita Rossi, Sr. Mary Frances (Farmington Hills), Sr. Mary Thomas (Lufkin), Sr. Mary Gabriel (Lufkin). Kneeling: Sr. Marie Augustine (Lufkin) and Sr. Mary Christine (Lufkin)

Still Smiling after the First Week…

From left to right, back row: Sr. Mary of the Savior (Farmington Hills, MI), Sr. Mary Dominic (Lufkin), Sr. Marie Augustine (Lufkin), Sr. Barbara Green, Sr. Mary Frances (Farmington Hills, MI), Sr. Mary Rose (Lufkin), Sr. Mary Gabriel (Lufkin), Sr. Mary Thomas (Lufkin), Sr. Mary Amata (Summit, NJ)
Front row: Sr. Maria Teresa (Summit, NJ), Sr. Joseph Maria (Summit, NJ), Sr. Mary Giuse (Lufkin), and Sr. Mary Christine (Lufkin). 

Philosophy Presentations!

Last year at the MTS program, we studied philosophy under Fr. Brian Chrzastek, O.P. At the end of the class, each student chose a philosophical topic or a particular philosopher to study during the year and present this summer. Now the time for sharing the fruits of our studies has come!

Sr. Mary of the Savior, O.P., from the Monastery of the Blessed Sacrament in Farmington Hills, MI is leading our seminar. This is a historic moment as it is the first time a Dominican nun has led a seminar for Dominican nuns at a study program in the United States!

Sr. Mary Frances (Farmington Hills, MI) presented on the topic \”What is Philosophy?\” 
Sr. Mary Giuse (Lufkin, TX) chose to address the topic, \”The Emergence of Religion from Philosophy: Buddhism and Christianity\” 
Sr. Mary Gabriel (Lufkin, TX) spoke to us about the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes.

Sr. Mary Dominic (Lufkin, TX) gave a fascinating Power Point presentation on the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre.

Sr. Mary Thomas (Lufkin, TX) gestured emphatically while discussing the philosophy of Immanuel Kant. Sr. Mary Frances (Farmington Hills, MI) and Sr. Mary Gabriel (Lufkin, TX) are listening! 

Sr. Maria Teresa (Summit, NJ) explains to the seminar about the \”Materialists, the Idealists, and the Reconciled\” while Sr. Joseph Maria (Summit) and Sr. Mary John look on.

Sr. Mary Rose (Lufkin, TX) explains some of the philosophy of Wittgenstein using monastic examples.

Sr. Mary of the Savior seems pleased with our year of work! 

Monastic Theological Studies Program 2011: Scripture–Psalms

We\’ve been having a wonderful week of Scripture classes–focusing on the Psalms–with Sr. Barbara Green, O.P.

 The students, with Sr. Anna Marie (Elmira) in the background


Sr. Barbara is a member of the Sisters of St. Dominic, Congregation of the Most Holy Name (San Rafael Dominicans), from 1964 to the present. Sr. Barbara has been teaching at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in California for twenty years. Before that she taught religious studies at Dominican College in San Rafael and was responsible for their Humanities Program.

 
Sr. Mary Giuse and Sr. Joseph Maria (Summit, NJ) listen intently

 Sr. Barbara is a dynamic teacher who captivates the class and draws the students into the exploration of the Psalms! We have been learning both techniques for analyzing Psalms and also their spiritual interpretation. It\’s fantastic!

Sr. Barbara lectures while Sr. Mary Dominic and Sr. Mary Amata (Summit, NJ) take notes

The students will each choose a psalm to analyze, critically and spiritually, and then present it to our class next year in seminar (as we are doing this year with our philosophy and theology from last year–pictures are coming!). Sr. Barbara has certainly made our task easier by giving us tools and at the same time more difficult by opening for us the complexity of the Psalms! But the Psalms are an essential part of our life, so we\’re delighted to have this opportunity to deepen our understanding.

Farewell to Father J.D. Logan

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! 

Dear Father J.D., we wish you well in your new ministry! Please know that we keep you always in our prayers!

Fourth of July!

We\’ve just started the second year of our Monastic Theological Studies Program, bringing together sisters from Dominican monasteries around the country–well, from Michigan and New Jersey, and our professor this week came from California. More about that later, though! Today we celebrated the 4th of July. We had classes in the morning–but we couldn\’t let the 4th of July pass by without having our traditional flag raising and picnic!

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!!

Sacred Heart of Jesus

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.\”