COVID-19 and St. Catherine of Siena — UPDATED

Like many of you, we\’ve been monitoring the ongoing coverage of the spread of COVID-19. Of course, as cloistered nuns we don\’t get out much! But we do have public Mass every day, and people who work for us, and who help us with things like shopping. Above all, we want to take a calm middle path: not too hysterical and not too flippant. This is difficult, because as C. S. Lewis reminds us in his book The Screwtape Letters, the devils are constantly trying to push us to one extreme or another. However, we have an outstanding patron we can turn to at this time, and she just happens to be not only a Dominican saint but also patron of nurses and co-patron of Italy. Yes–St. Catherine of Siena!

St. Catherine nursed all kinds of people through the plague in Italy during the 14th century, including many of her own young nieces and nephews, most of whom unfortunately died. She also nursed other people with serious and/or chronic conditions during her short life. She had no fear of infection, and she never got sick. 
If St. Catherine was among us, she would be the first to remind us that no matter what happens, we are always in the hands of God. If we put our trust in Him, we will not be disappointed. Let us take precautions, but always rely on God.

St. Catherine of Siena, pray for us!

UPDATE: The Master General of the Dominican Order, fr. Gerard Francis Timoner, has issued a letter concerning COVID-19 and the Dominican response. We encourage you to read it here.

"The Power of Prayer" — another look at our monastic life

Recently, one of our local TV stations came out and did a story about our monastery for their weekly feature, “The Power of Prayer”. This is a great way to hear about all the ways people in East Texas are praying and praising God–and the director of the segment, Lane Luckie, doesn’t limit himself to Christianity. He reaches out to all people of good faith. While we don\’t believe in relativism (you have your truth and I have mine) we do believe there are many ways we can come together on the serious issues facing our time. Hope you will enjoy this! We will also post it on our new website (coming soon!) and if you find it interesting or uplifting or whatever, please “like” it. Thanks and God bless!

Sister Mary Veronica is 90!

Sr. Mary Veronica with her cake. Note the delicious Blue Bell ice cream, a treat from a generous donor!
We have a tradition in our monastery of making a nun’s eightieth birthday special–with ice cream, cake, and other delights in the community room. And when you turn ninety…that is really a celebration! Especially when you are still in good shape, taking a turn cooking meals, cultivating a garden, and sweeping the breezeways. This sounds like a cliche, but Sr. Mary Veronica truly is one of a kind. Her excellent memory, abundant kindness, and generosity to all she encounters has made her a legend here. And it goes without saying–she is a prayer warrior! We are so happy to have Sister among us and hope God will grant her many years of continued good health and vitality. God bless you, Sister Mary Veronica!

Are You Out There?

Have you had some trouble lately contacting us by email?

We are in the process of switching to a new system. We will keep our current domain name (nuns@lufkintxnuns.com) so you won\’t have to worry about bookmarking a new one. We hope to have this done very soon, and will let you know when the process is complete. Thanks for your patience! You are always welcome to contact us the old-fashioned way, too, by phone or letter.

And…as some readers of our blog and newsletter may recall, we promised a while back that a new website was on the way. We’re happy to announce that this dream will soon be a reality! Keep checking back with us for updates. And–just like our email–the address will remain the same: http://www.lufkintxnuns.org.

Stay posted!

A Rainy Day in Lufkin…

There\’s an old saying: “You can\’t see the forest for the trees” — suggesting that we are looking at an issue from the wrong perspective, focusing on of all the trivial problems we have instead of remembering the the much greater good we also have. And sometimes, the situation is reversed. Everything looks so gray and dismal, so cold and hopeless, that if we are not mindful of our surroundings, we will miss the beauty waiting right at our feet.
May we all keep our eyes open for these little signs from God today!

A St. Valentine’s Couple Visits Our Monastery

A very good friend of our community got married on Valentine’s Day! Although we were invited to the ceremony, we were of course unable to go, but Judy asked us to sing two of her favorite songs for use in the ceremony. A professional came out to record our singing one morning, and so our presence was felt on many levels. And between the wedding and the banquet, the happy newlyweds came to visit us!

Our dear friend Judy and her husband Earl on our front porch

 

They generously brought us each a wedding favor, and the second tier of their wedding cake. And we were able to wish them much joy in their life to come. 

They are planning a honeymoon in Holland in the spring, when the tulips will be blooming! Sounds wonderful to us!

We pray that they will have many happy years together. May God bless you and keep you both!

Happy Trails!

We are truly blessed to live here in Lufkin, where we have all the conveniences of modern life mingled with the beauty of the east Texas piney woods. And since our monastery was founded almost 75 years ago, we were fortunate enough to buy a lot of land. Most of it serves as a kind of “buffer zone” which helps provide further enclosure, but we have enough land within the walls for a long paved trail that circles the outskirts of the main monastery buildings, which joins to a second paved trail that goes down to the cemetery. Many of us love to walk, run, ride bicycles and even skate on these trails. Well…we did, when the roads first got a good pavement set down, about ten years ago. Since then, nature has been gradually reclaiming the trail, as  you see:
Many sisters were concerned about tripping on the uneven asphalt…
…and when we had funeral processions and had to walk carrying music, candles, and such, we all prayed hard no one would miss a step!
But now our trails have been re-paved, through the goodness of Alexander Concrete and Asphalt Paving here in Lufkin!
The only thing to worry about now is pine needles on the way… 
Wow–what a difference!
This small roadway into Sr. Marie Augustine’s garden has never been paved–but now it is!
And the road to the cemetery…smooth all the way
We are always so grateful to the many people of Lufkin–and east Texas in general–who are incredibly generous to us in so many ways–and we pray for you all every day! God bless you!