Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us!

The rosary is a prayer cherished by Dominican nuns. We pray the rosary every day for all the intentions recommended to us, and even for those we don\’t know personally–we pray for the whole world and all its needs.

You are welcome to join us in praying the rosary, either by coming to our chapel or by uniting your prayers with ours wherever you are. We pray the rosary as a community in chapel Monday through Saturday  about 2:40 PM (Sundays we all pray the rosary privately). We pray a third part of the rosary (five decades) together, but many sisters pray additional decades throughout the day.

Joyful Mysteries: Monday and Saturday
Sorrowful Mysteries: Tuesday and Friday
Luminous Mysteries: Thursday
Glorious Mysteries: Wednesday and Sunday

Let us be united in prayer under the patronage of Mary, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary!

More Bird Watching…

 Recently we have been visited by a heron–a great white egret. Normally it flies over our property and stalks around our small lake, hunting for fish and frogs.

But one day it decided to explore the monastery grounds! If you look carefully, you can see it walking alongside our main building:

 It came up to the window and peered in at the delighted nuns (who were enjoying a bit of noon recreation), and then began to explore further:

Finally it returned to the pond, where it took off for its next destination…
We are blessed to live in a place where nature comes so close to us and we can see God\’s marvelous creation without ever having to leave the enclosure. May God be praised for all the wonders He has accomplished in this world!

St. Francis and St. Dominic

incontro-DOM-FRA-(Berlin)[1] Did they ever really meet? Chances are, they didn’t…but if they did, it must have been an interesting conversation! We greet all our Franciscan cousins on this feast day of their founder and keep them in our prayers as we sing the Antiphon to St. Francis and St. Dominic, as we do every year on the feasts of both St. Francis (October 4) and St. Dominic (August 8):

Our apostolic father Dominic, and our seraphic father Francis, have taught us your law, O Lord!

The Archangels: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael

archangels[1]“God defends his chosen ones in the Church, in troubled times he is himself their shield, and through the watchful care of angels he protects them. He presents the angels to his own as servants and messengers, to further their salvation, to report their needs, and to carry their prayers. Even though he himself sees and understands the situation of each person, he still wishes to be told of it by his angels, in order to make known and show more clearly his love and consideration for humankind by his use of such worthy and beloved messengers.”  
— From a commentary on the Song of Songs by Richard of St. Victor

Happy Birthday, Sr. Mary Agnes

Sr. Mary Agnes recently had her 88th birthday, which we celebrated with a rare treat of ice cream and cake in the refectory (dining room).

Sr. Mary Agnes admires her delicious cake (made from scratch!) 
Sr. Mary Margaret lights some unusual candles, and–
Wow! What a display! 
We don\’t usually celebrate birthdays in the monastery–we\’re more inclined to celebrate a sister\’s feast day instead–but when a sister reaches a \”certain age\” it does seem that she is entitled to a little extra celebration. Sr. Mary Agnes, we wish you many more Happy Birthdays in the years to come!

Exaltation of the Holy Cross

images[3] O Cross, more splendid than all the stars,
Glorious to the world,
Greatly to be loved by men,
More holy than all things that are,
Thou who alone wast worthy to weigh the gold of the world’s ransom,
Sweet tree, beloved nails,
Bearing the Love-Burden,
Save us who have come together here, this day,
In choirs for Thy Praise!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
–Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander

Eat, Drink and Be Merry…

Tomorrow, September 14–feast of the Exaltation of the Cross–is the beginning of the traditional monastic fast. So to say \”farewell\” to salads, desserts, and other treats at supper, we have a \”last supper\” on September 13.
Sr. Mary Rose enjoyed her delicious bean burrito and–even a Coke to wash it down!
Sr. Mary Dominic pauses to smile for the picture!

Sr. Mary Christine and Sr. Mary Margaret enjoy a laugh!
This fast lasts until Christmas so it will be a long time before we have a supper like this again. But we will have the option of a peanut butter sandwich for supper, which for some is quite a treat. In all seriousness, this time of  moderate fasting is a time to grow in love of God as we sacrifice some of the \”creature comforts\” we have become accustomed to. Pray for us to do this as we\’ll be praying for you!