We Have A Novice!

Our postulant Teresa Torres received the habit at last! The ceremony was held in the chapter hall of our monastery. Above you can see Teresa receiving the habit of the nuns of the Order of Preachers from our prioress, Sr. Mary John. Sr. Mary John\’s talk at the beginning of the ceremony was so lovely we decided to post it here for all to read and enjoy:
     Once again, Teresa, you have asked for the mercy of God and of the community and already you know that is is given by both. This beautiful feast of Our Lord\’s Presentation is a particularly apt day to begin your novitiate and put on for the first time the habit of the Nuns of the Order of Preachers. Like Joseph, Mary and Jesus, you have come to present yourself to be consecrated to the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ. At the same time, Jesus comes to the temple that is Teresa Torres and to the temple that is each of us here.
     Jesus was presented by his parents, his family, and you too are presented by your monastic family…It is in this family that you will, like Jesus, grow in wisdom, age and grace before God and mankind.
     In the two years of your Novitiate you will study and pray diligently to be able to give yourself generously and courageously to that same God through the vows of obedience, chastity and poverty. You will become more deeply acquainted with our Dominican charism and way of life through your classes and your daily experience of our monastic lifestyle. It will be a time to grow in the love of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, of Mary Immaculate, especially in her Rosary–our cherished Dominican devotion–in the love of St. Dominic our father and guide, in a special devotion to the name of Jesus, and to all the holy men and women of the Order, and particularly to pray for all our deceased brothers and sisters.
     There will, of course, be times of trials, but these can be the fuel that will intensify the fire of your love. If you are docile to your superiors, faithful to your obligations and sincere in your service of your sisters, your temple will always overflow with the life-giving waters of grace and mercy that spring from the heart of Jesus.

Teresa took the religious name \”Sister Bernadette Marie of the Sacred Heart\”. A beautiful name! 

Sr. Mary John, Sr. Bernadette Marie, and Sr. Maria Guadalupe 

Promoting Vocations

We live in a world filled with constant noise and activity. It sometimes seems like the only way Jesus can get our attention is by calling on a cell phone or sending us a tweet! And yet the Lord continues to call young people to serve Him just as He did over two thousand years ago. When we consider the state of the world today, the need for cloistered contemplative religious, women dedicated to serving God through prayer and sacrifice for the salvation of souls, becomes ever more apparent. The question is: how do we help these women whom the Lord is calling to hear His voice?

Pope John Paul II said, \”Every vocation is a gift of the Father and, like all gifts which come from God, arrives through many human mediations: that of parents or teachers, of pastors of the Church, of people who are directly engaged in vocation ministry, or that of the simple believer…Let every believer become an educator of vocations, without fearing to propose radical choices.\” Prayer is a vital and important part of vocation promotion, but prayer is only part of the equation. The other necessary element is the invitation. This invitation to consider religious life, especially cloistered contemplative life, is powerful when it comes from a trusted friend, a priest, a teacher, or a family member.

Here at the Monastery of the Infant Jesus, we are praying every day for more vocations for the Church and especially for our monastery, that we may continue the life of prayer, praise and sacrifice that has been going on since our monastery was founded in Lufkin, Texas in 1945. We need your help in promoting vocations to our monastery, and we have Sisters in final vows who are living proof that a personal invitation often marks the first step on the way to a life of total consecration to Christ! If you know a young woman who might be interested in our life–or if you are such a young woman yourself–we encourage you to contact us for more information, or simply check out our website, www.lufkinnuns.org. We know there are young women out there who would be great Dominican nuns–and maybe you know them, too!

Sr. Lou Ella…
…and Sr. Rosa, both Incarnate Word-Blessed Sacrament sisters from Corpus Christi, TX, are tireless in helping us promote our monastery and Dominican contemplative life!! Thank you so much for all your help and support!

St. Thomas Aquinas

What can we say about St. Thomas Aquinas? He\’s only a towering giant of a theologian and a great mystic; a Dominican who valued friendship and community even while he spent most of his time in prayer, study and writing. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so let\’s offer a sampling of images to give an idea of this great man. 

This image of St. Thomas shows him teaching while the Holy Spirit (in the form of a dove next to his ear) gives him inspiration.

This one depicts St. Thomas\’ mystical encounter with God, who said, \”You have written well of Me, Thomas. What do you ask?\” Thomas, being a saint, replied, \”Nothing but Yourself, O Lord.\” As you can see there\’s a Dominican friar watching all this in the background. This seems to be normal for Dominicans–they secretly watched St. Dominic at prayer, too! On a positive note, it means we have eyewitness accounts of experiences the saints might have been to humble to reveal…

 This image of St. Thomas shows his essential kindness and joyfulness.

Yes, a sample of St. Thomas\’ handwriting! 

St. Thomas\’ grave in Toulouse, France.

The Conversion of St. Paul

This picture seem especially appropriate for today\’s feast because in most depictions we see St. Paul lying on the ground with a horse rearing up beside him, as if Paul had just been thrown off…but there\’s no mention of a horse in Scripture! Here are some thoughts to ponder from Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman (similar to something C.S. Lewis once wrote, which is probably a coincidence. But who knows?):
     \”We cannot well forget the manner of [Paul\’s] conversion. He was journeying to Damascus with authority from the chief priests to seize the Christians, and bring them to Jerusalem. He had sided with the persecuting party from their first act of violence, the martyrdom of Saint Stephen; and he continued foremost in a bad cause, with blind rage endeavoring to defeat what really was the work of divine power and wisdom. In the midst of his fury he was struck down by a miracle, and converted to the faith he persecuted…It was a triumph over the enemies of Christ, but it was also an expressive emblem of the nature of God\’s general dealings with the race of man. What are we all but rebels against God and enemies of the truth? Who then could so appropriately fulfill the purpose of him who came to call sinners to repentance, as one who esteemed himself the least of the apostles…When Almighty God in his infinite mercy purposed to form a people to himself out of the heathen, as vessels for his glory, first he chose the instrument of this his purpose as a brand from the burning, to be a type of the rest.\” 

St. Margaret of Hungary

Margaret of Hungary, princess, Dominican nun, saint. Her story is unique: King Bela IV of Hungary and his wife promised to dedicate their unborn child to God if He would spare their country from the invading barbarian tribes. So at the age of 3, Margaret was given to the Dominican nuns of Vesprem. A few years after this, Margaret confirmed her parents\’ decision of her own free will. Several suitors sought her hand in marriage, but Margaret always refused, saying she had promised fidelity to her Lord Jesus Christ. No one in the monastery excelled her in humility and charity. She was obedient to the Holy Spirit in all things, and had an ardent love for the Eucharist. She died at the age of 28. Margaret is the patroness of peace between nations, an appropriate saint to invoke during these days of strife and conflict and war in our world! And yes, St. Elizabeth of Hungary was her cousin!
 Another view of St. Margaret:

Epiphany Celebration

January 6–the traditional date for Epiphany–was the day we celebrated Epiphany as a community! It was a day filled with joy, fun and games, and of course reflections on the Christmas season.
We began with a new take on the old three-legged race! The two sisters on each team had to wrap three packages–using only one hand each!
It wasn\’t as easy as it may sound!
The winners! 
We also played a Epiphany-themed version of \”hot potato\”, where instead of a potato we passed gifts in a circle while Christmas music played. When the music stopped, whoever was caught with a gift had to leave the circle!
In the evening, some of the sisters delighted us with a puppet show based on the story, \”The Fourth Wise Man\”. Excellent job!
The sisters with some of their puppets.
Community days like this are a way to relax, enjoy each other\’s company and grow in family spirit. We always keep up our prayers, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and necessary work (such as cooking!) on these days as well. It makes for a busy but delightful time. The Christmas season will officially end soon, so we are now taking down decorations and generally cleaning up. But we suspect there will be other opportunities for celebration before Lent begins in March!

The Epiphany of the Lord

Epiphany certainly does come fast this year! We\’re celebrating on two days–January 2, the official date, and January 6, the traditional date. For today, here are some thoughts from Pope John Paul II to meditate on:
\”Those who have already reached the faith and those who are on the path to finding it share alike in this feast. They participate, giving thanks for the gift of faith, as did the Kings who, filled with gratitude, knelt before the Child. The Church, more aware each year of the vastness of her mission, participates in the feast. How many people there still are who have to be brought to the faith! How many have to be brought back to the faith they have lost! This at times is more difficult than the first conversion to the faith. The Church, however, aware of the great gift of the Incarnation of God, cannot pause, can never stop. She has to seek continually the way to Bethlehem for all men and for all times. The Epiphany is the feast of God\’s challenge.\” –Homily, January 6, 1979