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!

The Presentation of the Lord

Like almost all the events of Jesus\’ earthly life, there are any number of paintings, mosaics, statues, and other portrayals of the Presentation of the Lord in the temple. We usually think of it as a peaceful, tranquil thing; in part because of the artistic conventions surrounding the Holy Family, and perhaps because we prefer to keep this family in a safe place, where no one ever gets upset, no one is ever confused, no one is ever sad. This image offers a different point of view:
This South American illustration seems to capture more of what the reality may have been. Mothers–if a weird old man suddenly came up to you, grabbed your baby away, and began saying all kinds of crazy things, how would you react? Fathers–what about you? The only calm person in this picture in Jesus, Who understands everything and knows that it has to be this way to fulfill all that has been told about Him.
The Holy Family was not a trio of people who saw the future coming and accepted everything without surprise. Mary was conceived without sin, but she was still troubled to hear that a sword would pierce her heart. Joseph was a just man, but he could not understand everything his foster Son did. Like us, they had to take one day at a time, learning and growing as they remained firmly in touch with God. Instead of thinking, “Well, they were the Holy Family–of course they had no problems!” let’s remember that, well, they did have problems. Their Son was lost a second time when he was twelve, and they were upset and confused about that. He was lost a third and apparently final time, and then appeared gloriously triumphant over death on Easter morning. But before that Mary became the Mother of Sorrows. She did not understand, but instead pondered everything in her heart, and so she prepared herself for that final great realization foretold so long before by Simeon in the temple.Let us, too, ponder the events of our lives in our hearts, allowing time for God to share His understanding with us, remembering that in His plan everything works for good.

Tet 2020 — The Year of the Rat

Every year we enjoy celebrating Tet, the Vietnamese variation on the Lunar New Year. It\’s an occasion for our community to be together in a fun way, celebrating the cultural backgrounds of two of our sisters and giving thanks for a New Year all over again. And, it does involve Vietnamese food, which makes it all the better! 
 
According to tradition, we play several games created by Sr. Mary Christine. Sometimes they are incredibly easy…and sometimes not. This was a year for “not easy”.
Sr. Mary Thomas trying in vain to get her rat (ping-pong ball) into its hole
Sr. Mary Veronica feels more confident

We have three sisters who were born in the Year of the Rat: Sr. Miriam, Sr. Mary Jeremiah, and Sr. Mary Giuse.

From L to R: Sr. Mary Giuse, Sr. Miriam, Sr. Mary Jeremiah
We wish all of you a Blessed New Year and pray it will be happy, healthy, and holy!

Something new…

Recently, it\’s come to our attention that although we\’ve made numerous changes to our website over the years (and wait, more are coming!) we really haven\’t done anything much with this blog. So, this being January, the beginning of a new year and a new decade, we decided to try something new.Cloistered nuns don\’t always appreciate new things, tending to stick with the good old adage, “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.” On the other hand, there are times when you need to step out of your old comfort zone and try something different, take a little risk. We like this new look, and hope you will, too.

If you are baffled because you can\’t find the old sidebars, never fear. They are still there! Just click on the gray triple horizontal bars in the upper left hand corner and those sidebars will slide right out.

Keep checking back here for more updates! We will post more news, spiritual musings, and let you know how the new website is progressing.

Special thanks to all who have encouraged us to keep moving forward on this project, especially our friends, family, and our Dominican brothers! We keep all of you in our prayers.

A Pig at the Airport

Two of our Sisters had to make a trip to California with a lay-over in San Francisco in mid-December. It turned out to be very memorable. While they were waiting for their connecting flight a crowd gathered taking pictures of someone or something. When the center of attention approached our Sisters, they saw the subject of attention and were immediately interviewed by a reporter from the local NBC TV station.

A week later they received a few telephone calls and emails about being seen on the national TV evening news. Below is the video and after it you can see a few screen shots. Enjoy.

A New Year’s Day Tradition

Every year on January 1, we gather about 10:30 am to draw our special patrons and intentions for the year. The ceremony begins with a Sister standing in the middle of the gathering and singing an ancient chant for the Nativity of Christ. Then, after everyone sits, the Prioress gives a talk. This year Sister Mary Margaret gave a very meaningful reflection of the meaning of the name, “Emmanuel”.

Afterwards, the two “youngest” Sisters distribute special prayer cards made for the occasion. Each Monastery seems to have this tradition, but it is done in slightly different ways. For example, one monastery may have one Patron for the entire community, while here in Lufkin, each Sister has a Patron and intention.

Each Sister receives a special title of Jesus or Mary, plus another saint, such as St. Joseph or a Dominican saint. Then we usually have a beautiful quotation upon which we can mediate throughout the year. Finally, at the bottom of the card is an intention for which each Sister pray during the year. Of course, on the front is always a lovely image and quote. Below you can see a sample of our card for 2020.

 
We then take turns reading our patrons, message and prayer intention.
left to right: Sister Mary Gabriel; Sister Mary Christine; Sister Marie Augustine; Sister Irma Marie sharing their cards
The ceremony itself concludes with singing Psalm 117: “Praise the Lord, all you nations…” and the Sister who leads the prayers that week says the closing prayer.
The remainder of the time is spent wishing each other a “Happy New Year.”
And, may you, our loyal reader, have a
VERY HAPPY NEAR YEAR IN 2020!

A Surprising Santa Sighting!

On Christmas Eve we hand a surprise visit from Santa and another person – either Mrs. Santa or an Elf. He called her his wife, while everyone else said she was an elf, Santa\’s helper. You can judge for yourselves. Maybe it’s not either/or, but both/and…

In the background you can see that our chaplain, Fr. John, came to join in with the festivities. Also present was a friend of “Mrs. Elf”.

They went right to work, not wasting a moment in handing out gifts to everyone. Three of the Sisters received special gifts: the prioress, the cook, and the Bursar, or treasurer. Unfortunately, the prioress, received a handful of coal!!!

But, don\’t worry, it was just chocolate candy wrapped in black paper.

We were able to snatch of photo to show that he really did come. Above, Santa is pictured, from left to right, with: Sr. Mary Thomas, Sr. Mary Rose, Sr. Mary Margaret, and Sr. Maria Guadalupe.

Merry Christmas to all!