Ash Wednesday 2019

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, a time of penance, reparation for our sins and  participation in the Paschal Mystery (life, suffering, death, resurrection) of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
It is a graced time when our Faith becomes very Incarnational – tangible, physical. It is a time when we put into special practice the three great acts of religion going back 3,000 years in our Judeo-Christian Faith tradition. Those acts are —

Prayer – connect with God through extra times of prayer
Fasting – deny yourself something you like in order to grow in self-discipline and openness to spiritual realities
Almsgiving –  give of yourself to meet the needs of other people

Unfortunately, many people today have walked away from this rich experience of community. Perhaps you might invite a friend or family member to join you for one of the special Lenten Masses, Stations of the Cross, or other activities at your Church. Without faith, people become lost and isolated. This is an anointed time in which Catholics, and all believers in Jesus Christ, around the world make an extra effort to open themselves to God and to grow in His Spirit and His Grace.

May you have a Blessed Lent!

A Mini-Vocations Workshop

We participated in a mini-Vocation Director Workshop yesterday. On Tuesday, Fr. Francis Orozco, OP, arrived to speak with us about working together for vocations. We visited with him in the Parlor Tuesday evening. Then, on Wednesday we had two -1 ½ hour sessions with Father Francis about the characteristics of recent generations, as well as  initiatives to take in order to seek out and assist young people looking for their calling in life. Father Francis has been ordained a priest 3-4 years.  He ministered for 3 years in Lubbock, TX at Texas Tech University. He has been our Southern Province’s Vocation Director for the past year. He was very interesting and has had much experience with our wonderful young people.

A Relaxing Weekend

This past weekend gave us a number of enjoyable moments as we keep looking for Spring to come. Flowers and trees are blooming, but the temperature is still low.On Saturday, one of our Sisters turned 89 years old. To celebrate, a long-time friend sent a “flower-cake”. Perhaps you have seen them, but we had not. Some Sisters thought it was a real cake with flowers as decorations. However, closer inspection revealed that it really was just flowers … which was perfect for our Sister-Gardener!

On Sunday, our Birthday-Sister cooked dinner and treated us to some “Southern comfort-food” – her delicious sweet potatoes. Can you find the various ingredients? It\’s simple: sweet potatoes, cinnamon, honey and pineapple.

After dinner, two of our Sisters who live in the Infirmary wanted to take a walk out to the cemetery. Even though the sun was bright and warm, the air and wind were nippy and chilly. Our Infirmarian bundled them up  and helped them on their way. A little bird told Sister-Photographer what was taking place. So she caught up with them as they prepared to return to their warm and cozy rooms.

May your Sundays be restful and prayerful!

A Happy Birthday!

Our Sister Mary Sybillina celebrated her 92nd Birthday last weekend! In honor of the occasion we had a little party with ice cream and cake in our Community Room. She cleverly “blew” out her TWO candles with one of those blow toys for a party.

Sister loves those little “solar” toys that move in the light. She has flowers, bees, and the cutest koala bear surfer. She is wonderfully alert, fun loving and creative. Sister Mary Sybillina is our last living founding Sister from the Dominican Monastery of the Blessed Sacrament in Detroit, MI.

AD MULTOS ANOS!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

All of us in the Monastery had a beautiful Christmas Day and will continue to celebrate the great mystery of God\’s love for all human beings through the Incarnation. We wish each of our readers and their loved ones every grace and blessing for a faithful and fruitful Christmas Season which continues until February 13, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.Below is an “un-panorama” of our sanctuary looking from right to left:   The photos were taken immediately after our Christmas morning Mass. All the candles are still burning.

The Advent wreath has become a “Christ-candle” tree.
At center stage is Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
On the left, where the children (young & old) can contemplate the manger scene.Merry Christmas to one and all!

Advent becomes Christmas

Our unique Advent Wreath of the stump of Jesse has sprouted and begun to bud forth into Christmas.

As is our custom, we have the nativity scenes in the Community Room and Refectory blessed on Christmas Eve after the First Vespers of Christmas. This year our newly arrived substitute chaplain, Fr. David Seid, OP, did the blessings for us. Father currently teaches at St. Joseph Seminary College in Saint Benedict, LA. Previously he had been on mission to China, working principally in Macao. Father is himself Chinese, from Mississippi.

In the Community Room, Father David Seid has just finished blessing the creche.