Visiting Friars: Fr. Charles Bouchard, OP

We have been privileged to have Fr. Charles Bouchard, OP, from the province of St. Albert the Great (the Central Province) visiting us this week. Fr. Charles gave us some excellent lectures…on the Ars Moriendi and the Spirituality of a Happy Death, Catholic Preaching, and Suffering and Sanctity. In between lectures, he has been giving talks at some of the local hospitals here in town, since he is an expert on medical ethics. 

Father enjoying a parlor visit with the community
Father requested a photo of himself with the community, so we got one for ourselves, too! This is most (but not all) of us. 
We hope to see Fr. Charles again some time soon! Thank you for visiting us! 

2015 Retreat with Fr. Jorge Rativa, OP

We just finished a beautiful retreat on mercy with Fr. Jorge Rativa, OP. Father presented a lot of very profound information in an informal, upbeat style, using PowerPoint slides and eliciting participation from the nuns, using prizes as incentive! The conferences were held in our community room and led us all to meditate deeply on the mystery of God\’s mercy. Father skillfully tied in the Jubilee Year of Mercy as well as our own Dominican Jubilee to bring his points home. We also had a very moving healing service one afternoon in the chapel. The retreat was really amazing and made us all humbly grateful for the gift of mercy God gives to each one of us at every moment.
 Father brought us a Dominican jubilee candle from the New Orleans celebration, which we used as part of our prayers before and after each conference.
 Fr. Jorge with one of his many PowerPoint slides
Most of the community with Fr. Jorge after the last conference
Thank you so much, Fr. Jorge! We hope you will come back again some time soon!

Christ the King, 2015

Christ is not a king who dominates us, he doesn’t treat us like subjects, but elevates us to his own dignity. He makes us reign with Him, for as the Book of Revelation says: “He has made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father” (1:6). But reigning like Him means serving God and our brothers and sisters, a service that flows from love. To serve out of love is to reign: this is the kingship of Jesus.
–Pope Francis, Solemnity of Christ the King, 2015

Presentation of Mary / Pro Orantibus Day, 2015

Led by the Holy Spirit, the holy Maid without spot is taken to dwell in the Holy of Holies. By an angel she is fed, who is in truth the most holy Temple of our Holy God. He has sanctified all things by her entry, and has mad godlike the fallen nature of mortal men. 

Anne the all-blessed cried out rejoicing: \”Oh Zechariah, take her whom the prophets of God proclaimed in the Spirit, and lead her into the holy temple, there to be brought up in reverence, that she may become the divine Throne of the Master of all, His Palace, His resting-place, and His dwelling filled with light.\”
–from Great Vespers, Orthodox Liturgy for the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple
Today the Church prays in a special way for all those men and women called to the contemplative life. May many more come to join us in this way of life!

Annual Retreat 2015–Pray for peace!

St. Dominic, pray for us during our retreat and always!
It\’s time once again for our annual community retreat! We\’ll begin this evening and end on the morning of Monday, November 23. Our retreat master will be Fr. Jorge Rativa, OP, of the province of St. Martin de Porres (the southern Dominican province). We look forward to his conferences!
We are keeping the people of Paris, France in our prayers in a special way at this time. Every day our community prays in a special, specific way for peace among Muslims and Christians in our world and we feel this prayer is more urgently needed than ever. May God grant us the peace we so long for, and keep us all safe from further terrorist attacks!

Opening of the Dominican Jubilee

November 7 was a cold and rainy day in Lufkin, but the Monastery chapel was filled with light and music and joy as we celebrated our opening Mass for the 800th Jubilee of the Dominican Order! The chapel was filled with guests and many stayed to continue the celebration afterwards with a lovely dinner and then recreation with the nuns. 
The chapel all decorated for Mass and general celebration
We were delighted to have all the branches of the Dominican family present at the Mass! There were friars (represented by our chaplain, Fr. Marcos Ramos, OP), several members of our local chapter of the Dominican Laity, active sisters represented by the Dominican Sisters of Our Lady of Fatima (who come from Puerto Rico and are currently working in our diocese), and of course the nuns! The first three groups formed a traditional Dominican procession and processed into chapel as the nuns sang the Jubilee Hymn, \”Laudare, Benedicere, Praedicare\” accompanied by organ, guitar and African drum. And of course everyone joined in the singing! 
Mass. From left: Deacon Jesus Reyes, Fr. Marcos Ramos OP, Fr. Ron Foshage MS, Fr. Bill Manger, and Fr. Gavin Vaverek
There was a beautiful ceremony involving lighted candles, symbolizing Dominican preaching:

Fr. Marcos hands a lighted candle to Sr. Maria Guadalupe
The four branches of the Dominican family: a friar, a sister, a lay member, and a nun
After the Mass and dinner we met again in the Gate Parlor to share about Dominican life and how the Dominicans have influenced different people. It was a beautiful experience!
 Some members of the Dominican Laity in the Gate Parlor
The Dominican Sisters of Our Lady of Fatima were all talented musicians and they played and sang several songs for us!
It was truly a blessed day and a wonderful start to our Jubilee year! Thanks so much to all who came and prayed and celebrated with us. And if you missed it this time, don\’t worry…we\’ll have other special celebrations throughout this Jubilee year! 
You can see a few more pictures of this eventful day on our website, here.