Providence Does Provide!

We had only just finished consuming the last chunk of the big watermelon, when a friend from the Dallas area showed up yesterday morning with FIVE watermelons!!!!!

Sister Mary Veronica had been praying for more watermelon; and when she starts praying … watch out!

We are constantly thanking and praising God for the way He takes care of us and provides for our needs, … even ones we don\’t know we have.

One of the Sisters went to the Laundry after dinner and smelled something strange. She did not have time to check it out because it was time for her Eucharistic adoration.

The memory of the strange smell kept coming back to her during adoration. So as soon as she finished she went to find our workman, David. He went to the Laundry and the smell was even worse. \”It\’s an electric burning!\” he diagnosed. The Sister and he began to feel the walls to find where it was. David found it with an \”Ouch!\” It had become very hot. The electrician that works on our A/C was called and quickly fixed the problem.

PRAISE GOD Whose hidden Providence saved us from a fire. Another providential moment was to realize that it the burning had happened at night, it probably would have burst into flame.

Thank you GOD,
St. Joseph and all our Guardian Angels
for protecting us from fires!

A Surprise Visit

We were unexpectedly called to the parlor yesterday afternoon for a visit with our friend Bishop Eduardo Nevares, Auxiliary of Phoenix. Bishop Eduardo is busy throughout the Arizona diocese ministering to the 30+ ethnic groups, as well as the many spirituality communities, such as Cursillo, Charismatic, Encounter, etc.

This time he surprised us with a beautiful gift in honor of Sister Maria Guadalupe\’s Golden Jubilee. You can see them both in the photo above. And Sister Mary Veronica, his \”spiritual mother\” enjoying the scene from the background.

Summmmer time

Summer time in Texas is watermelon time. And someone recently gave us a very large watermelon. We like watermelon, and have several being chilled right now.

We want to thank all our friends who have shared with us the produce of their gardens, or sent over fruits and vegetables.
We remember you in our prayers as we consume these delicious gifts of God\’s creation. 

A Monastic Funeral

With the recent funeral of Sister Mary John, we thought we would describe how we have our funerals.

Almost all of our Sisters have died here at the Monastery surrounded by the other Nuns, singing the Salve Regina and offering various prayers. Once a Sister dies, we accompany her body until burial. This is a custom which goes back centuries to the original Dominican Monastery in Prouille, France.

As is the custom here in the USA, the remains are taken to the funeral home for preparation for burial. When the body of our deceased Sister is returned to the Monastery the casket is placed in our choir at the gate where we receive Holy Communion. A Sister remains in prayer \”with her\” until the funeral. Although the Blessed Sacrament is not exposed until after the funeral, we still keep our times of adoration in the chapel and pray the Psalms for the deceased Sister. In this way, the entire Psalter is usually prayed 2 or 3 times.

Since the establishment of our Tyler Diocese, it has been the practice of our local Bishop to officiate at the services if he is in the diocese. Bishop Joseph Strickland was here for the occasion. Because Sister Mary John had been our prioress for a number of years, a large number of local friends of the community came, as well as some of her relatives.

While we walk to the cemetery with the hearse, the laity go to the cemetery from the outside. 
They can enter through a special gate, which is only opened for those who take part in the services. We keep our enclosure by standing on one side of the casket and the laity on the other. In the photo below you can see the laity have already taken their places before we arrive.
After the Mass and Committal in our cemetery, we provide a lunch for all those who come. Then we all meet in a parlor to visit and share stories about the deceased Sister.

 If possible, that evening the nuns gather in our Community Room to share about the \”big event\”.

Rest in God\’s Peace

Our Sister Mary John passed into eternity in the early morning hours of Friday, July 14.
Sister was almost 77 years of age. She had been our prioress for 4 terms, equaling 12 years in all. From the time our current buildings went up in the late 1960s, she oversaw maintenance of them. Sister filled many other assignments as well. She was cook, assistant bursar, responsible for our embroidery department in the Cloistered Workshop when we were sewing vestments. Sister learned to play the violin from one of the other nuns (Sr. Mary Lucy, who died July 3, 2014), and did it well. She not only contributed to our monastery, but also to the Association of Monasteries in North America as Councillor and President for 3 terms.
As you can tell from the photo above Sister had a good sense of humor and was even our local \”Monastic Sheriff\”!
Sister\’s funeral will be held this morning at 10:00 am in our Chapel and cemetery. We will be reporting on it in a day or so. Please remember her and her family in your prayers. God bless you.