Winter Storm of ’21

 It’s hard to believe now–when we are enjoying temperatures in the upper 70s and even low 80s–that last week at this time we were freezing, literally! However, that proves the old saying: “If you don’t like the weather in Texas, wait a minute and it’ll change.”

As we reported earlier, when we had a more fun snowfall in January, we realize that for many people ice storms, temperatures going down to 6 and 8 degrees Fahrenheit (and maybe lower) and such are part of the usual winter condition. But here in Texas, we’re just not used to it–and we’re not prepared for it, either! One of our sisters, a transplanted Midwesterner, kept assuring us that everything would be fine “when the snow plows come through”. We finally managed to explain to her that there are no snow plows in Texas. She was astonished!

We will have a lot more on this story–what happened and how the community coped–in our Spring issue of “Monastery Bells”. Here’s just a few items that stand out.

(To the tune of “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, with apologies to the authors)

On the day of the Presidents, our Savior gave to us:

–Hundreds of branches snapping

–Eighteen nuns a-shivering

–Several rolling blackouts

–Ten space heaters

–Seven puzzles finished

–Five free days!

–Four busted pipes

–Three inches of snow

–Two pairs of socks each

–And a great, loving community!

We can say this both of our own community and the community of Lufkin! We are so grateful to all the people who came out to help us (and there were many!) and also for everyone who helped us get our generator some years back. We never thought we would need it for a winter storm, but God provided! This was especially important for our elderly sisters, who were able to have heat in their infirmary rooms most of the time. And, we were able to have some lights–definitely necessary in our large building!

We continue to pray for the many people who have suffered more with this storm than we have, both in Texas and throughout the south. We are extremely grateful to all of you who prayed for us! We managed to avoid serious injuries and illness, and even to keep cheerful during the difficult times, which was truly a work of grace. Know that we pray for all of you, too, every day and every hour!

Tet: The Year of the Buffalo

Whew–it\’s been a crazy few weeks here! We\’ll be bringing you more news about some of our adventures, but first we’d like to step back to February 14, when we celebrated Tet. As you may know, one of our Vietnamese sisters likes to organize this celebration annually as a little pre-Lenten party, and we always enjoy it!

We have only one “buffalo gal” in our community at present–our prioress, Sr. Mary Margaret (second from right).

Sr. Mary Christine did a lot of hard work to make a wonderful Tet celebration for us, and it was so much fun!

We played a variety of original games in teams–extra fun for community-minded Dominicans!

Little did we realize that we would wake up…snowed in!! But that’s a story for later…stay tuned!

Sister Mary Therese Renews Her Vows

 

Sr. Mary Therese of the Divine Mercy, our temporary professed sister, renewed her vows for one year on Wednesday, January 27, 2021.

This is a milestone in Sister\’s vocational journey, so we had to celebrate a little!

One of our sisters made Baked Alaska in three different flavors…

 …and it tasted as good as it looked!

We had a delicious meal in the community room, with the rare privilege of talking while we ate (we usually listen to a CD or something read to us). 

Since Cor Orans, the new document from Rome detailing rules for cloistered living, specifies the renewal of vows annually for three years after the initial three-year period of temporary vows, we may be doing this a lot in the future. But for now, we\’ll concentrate on the joy of this present moment. Please continue to pray for Sr. Mary Therese as she lives her vows for another year, and pray for us, too, that we may all be faithful to the Dominican vocation God has given each one of us.

“Living For The Other Side”: A Review of the Hillbilly Thomists’ New CD

I don’t really know anything about bluegrass, except what I heard on the Hillbilly Thomists’ first CD. But I do know this: I liked this CD a lot.

“Living For The Other Side” is a more introspective CD than “The Hillbilly Thomists”. If “Hillbilly Thomists” was a revival, this is a family reunion, fun but with a serious side to it. Most of the songs on this CD are original, which offers the talented brothers a chance to preach the Word through their deft blending of Biblical and doctrinal truth with contemporary lyrics. In the song, “You Will Still Walk Down The Line”, the chorus tells us, “Now people hear talk about eternity, / they just feel doubtful or afraid. / But truth is the very best medicine. / It\’s time to get real and get saved.” Or, on a more poignant note, from “Give Me A Drink”: “Give me a drink, I am thirsty. / I have drawn this well bone-dry / with this old rope and heavy bucket of mine. / Would you put in me a well I can draw from all my life.”

I have to confess, though, that the song I can\’t get out of my head is “Bourbon, Bluegrass, And The Bible”, even though only one of those things–the Bible–plays much of a role in my day-to-day life. The chorus for this runs:”Death’s in the world, and it\’s gone viral. / Everybody’s talkin bout a new revival. / When it\’s a question of love and survival: / bourbon, bluegrass, and the Bible.” Amen, brothers!

These songs speak deeply to me as a religious, and I pray they will speak to many in the secular world as well. I encourage you to go to their new website, hillbillythomists.com, where you can see music videos, order physical CDs, and download digital copies. And you\’ll be supporting the work of the Dominican friars, too!

About Our Website

 We\’ve been meaning to tell you about some of the features on our new website, and now that things have calmed down here (for the moment) we\’d like to do it!

As you can see, one new feature is the ability to order prayer enrollments on line. We offer both our card enrollments and our perpetual enrollments. There\’s a form you can fill out, or you can email us your information–whichever is more convenient for you. You can even make a donation for your enrollment, using a check or credit card

We also now have online giving! This makes donating to the Monastery extremely easy. As with the enrollments, we can accept a variety of payment methods and it\’s very secure. You can learn more about it here. 

We\’re very pleased with our website, and we are especially grateful to eCatholic, who provides the service allowing us to design this website and keep it online. If you are interested in a website for your Catholic parish, we highly recommend them. You can read more about eCatholic here.

And while you\’re thinking about it, please stop by our website and visit us there!

Guide our feet into the way of peace

In the verses from Luke\’s gospel known as “The Canticle of Zechariah” or the “Benedictus”, Zechariah tells his young son, the future John the Baptist, that he will be a prophet of the Most High. He will prepare the way, so that when He comes, He will “give light to those who live in darkness and the shadow of death, and…guide our feet into the way of peace.”

As we embark on this year of grace 2021, it is a perfect time to ask Jesus, the Prince of Peace, to guide our own feet in the way of peace. All of us are surrounded by conflict, division, distress, anger, and even hatred. People are fearful, and this fear makes them act in ways unthinkable under “normal” circumstances. The immensity of this situation is daunting.

One might recall here the prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, asking that God will “make me a channel of Your peace”. We are not asked to solve all the world\’s problems single-handedly. We are asked to be peacemakers in the world we inhabit–that small sphere of family, work, church, and friends, or whatever your particular sphere happens to be. Every act of peace, every choice to love instead of hating, every gesture of reconciliation instead of revenge–these have an effect that reaches into eternity. It may be as small as giving someone a smile, or a friendly wave (since they can\’t see your smile while you\’re wearing your mask!). Or saying a kind word. Or not speaking when you really want to say something.

In 2021, let us make a resolution to ask God where He is asking us to bring peace. And then let us do it. May God give us all the peace we so need and desire!

Snow, Y’all!

While we do occasionally get snow in Texas, it\’s rare in Lufkin–and this was (for us) quite a snow! We got a couple of inches in most parts–enough to completely cover the grass and even enough to make a snowman (or snow nun). We realize those of you in northern climes are probably smiling at this, but most of us come from warmer regions of the world and we were delighted! Also we didn’t have to drive in it–native Texans tend to be very bad at driving in snow. We actually got even more snow after these pictures were taken!

 
 
 
Our sister from Africa especially enjoyed the snow!

The snow fell Sunday afternoon and evening, and here on Tuesday it is still covering a lot of ground, thanks to some freezing weather. Another amazing event! However, the sun has been shining and gradually melting everything, so by tomorrow our extraordinary snow will be most likely be a fond memory. This is probably our last chance for snow this year–but who knows? One year it snowed on Easter–and Easter was at the beginning of April! Let it snow!