Retreat in Springfield, IL

 
 These five happy sisters are going to a retreat for Dominican nuns in Springfield, IL!
L to R: Sr. Maria Cabrini, Sr. Marie Augustine, Sr. Mary Dominic, Sr. Miriam, Sr. Mary Giuse
Usually, we stay inside the cloister for our retreats! But the Dominican promoter of the nuns, Fr. Brian Pierce, OP, organized a special retreat for nuns at the motherhouse of the Springfield Dominican Sisters in Springfield, IL. There will be four presenters: Fr. Brian Pierce, OP; Fr. Donald Goergen, OP; Sr. Breda Carroll, OP; and Sr. Ann Willits, OP. We are sure our sisters will have a beautiful time retreating with the Lord and their fellow nuns (as well as some of the Springfield sisters), and we look forward to hearing all about their adventure when they return on Tuesday, July 9! We have to mention that in addition to our sisters who are participating, one of our sisters here made the booklets they will use for the Liturgy of the Hours. It was quite a job!
Meanwhile, the rest of us will be holding down the fort here in Lufkin! Pray for all of us!  

Visiting Friars, Summer 2013: Fr. Austin Green, OP

We promised to let you know about some of our visiting friars, and finally we\’re able to do so! 
Our first visiting friar this summer was Fr. Marty Iott, OP, a great preacher and really nice man who stayed with us several days. We took a picture of him with some of the sisters but for some unknown reason the picture wouldn\’t show up on the computer–and hence, it won\’t appear here. Possibly a problem with our card? Anyway, he is supposed to return in July and we hope to get a picture of him then!
We do have a picture of our second visiting friar, Fr. Austin Green, OP.
 Father is 93 years old and still going strong! He celebrated Mass and had Benediction for us every day, and even joined us in the outside chapel for many hours of the Divine Office and for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Father is a wonderful preacher. We all enjoyed his humble and moving homilies. We did have to make some small adaptations in our chapel to make things easier for him, but Father has a range of motion many younger men (and women!) would envy. One thing will suffice: he can genuflect beautifully! Father is currently stationed at St. Anthony of Padua Priory in New Orleans, LA. If God wills, perhaps he will return some day! Thanks to Fr. Art Kirwin, OP who acted as his \”travel agent\” and Fr. Marty Iott, OP who picked Father Austin up at the airport and brought him to Lufkin. And thanks to Father Austin Green, for a great two weeks! We certainly enjoyed having you with us!

Making the Top 100 List…

We got an email yesterday telling us that this site chose our blog as one of the top 100 blogs by Catholic nuns and sisters. A lot of thoughts ran through our minds…mostly curiosity and bewilderment…but we decided to check out the site and it looks OK. Actually, it looks like a pretty interesting site if you\’re interested in Catholic dating–which we aren\’t personally, but we have no objections to people dating–unless you\’re a young woman and you think God might be calling you to the cloister! But since they include a list of nun blogs on their website, they seem to be open to all kinds of vocations, which is great. By the way, if you want to see our blog on the list…open the link above and keep scrolling, scrolling, scrolling…we\’re #100. Seriously. But we\’re in some good company among the bloggers. There\’s a link to our blog and even a little screenshot. Thanks!

Questions Answered

In this occasional series, we\’d like to answer some questions which come up. If you have a question, feel free to ask! 

Q: How did you come up with the title of this blog? 

A: There are actually two answers to this question. First, the simple one. Our address is 1501 Lotus Lane so we are, in fact, living Dominican life on Lotus Lane. Now the more complicated one. Many years ago the sister who does most of the writing for this blog was assigned the task of creating and writing and printing a little newsletter for prospective vocations. Since she was in the novitiate at the time, she called it \”Novitiate News\”. Maybe not the most original title, but it got the point across. Fast forward a few years. The sister in question graduated from the novitiate but was asked to keep writing her little newsletter. Since she was out of the novitiate and no longer had full access what was happening there (those of you familiar with religious life know that the professed sisters and novitiate sisters lead very separate lives despite their close proximity otherwise), she decided to call the revised publication \”Life on Lotus Lane\”. In 2010, we started this blog and of course there was the question of what to call it. \”Life on Lotus Lane\” was suggested but rejected. But, someone queried, what if we call it \”Dominican Life on Lotus Lane\”? Somehow that name stuck. And it seems to be working. 
Q: Are there any actual lotus flowers on Lotus Lane? 
A: If there are, they are not on our property. We have tried to grow them, but conditions have never been favorable. We\’re not sure about the rest of Lotus Lane as it is actually a rather long street. Anything is possible.
You can leave a question in the comments section or email it to us. Our email address is on our website.

Fortnight for Freedom, 2013

Today marks the beginning of the Fortnight for Freedom, a time dedicated to prayers for the protection of religious liberty and freedom.We invite you to join us in praying for this intention, which is so important right now! This suggested prayer comes from the United States bishops\’ conference, but any prayers would be good.

Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty

O God our Creator,
from your provident hand we have received
our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
You have called us as your people and given us
the right and the duty to worship you, the only true God,
and your Son, Jesus Christ.
Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit,
you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world,
bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel
to every corner of society.
We ask you to bless us
in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty.
Give us the strength of mind and heart
to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened;
give us courage in making our voices heard
on behalf of the rights of your Church
and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.
Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father,
a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters
gathered in your Church
in this decisive hour in the history of our nation,
so that, with every trial withstood
and every danger overcome—
for the sake of our children, our grandchildren,
and all who come after us—
this great land will always be \”one nation, under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.\”
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The Last Day of Spring

Things have been relatively quiet here at the monastery…so much so we\’ve had time to watch the grass grow…
and actually, it was getting so tall we cut it this morning! Flowers are blooming, too, despite the heat.

and of course, our friends the squirrels keep us entertained.

Despite the slowness of this pre-summer season, we are always kept busy with our prayers. We meet in chapel to pray the Liturgy of the Hours several times a day and each sister also keeps a time of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. In addition to these, we have daily Mass and rosary in common. Not to mention meditation twice a day and time for lectio divina! 
If you happen to be in the Lufkin area this summer, we hope you\’ll stop by and pray with us! Our chapel is open from about 6 AM to 8 PM every day, and yes, it\’s air-conditioned! We have the Blessed Sacrament exposed from 8 AM to 8 PM too. Please check our schedule page for Mass and prayer times. And if you\’re discerning a vocation this summer, we welcome you to send us an email, give us a call, or mail a letter the old fashioned way.
One thing we\’ve learned is that these quiet times never last long. So we\’re enjoying it while we can! Keep checking back to learn more about the excitement that\’s coming later on!

Thanks to our Fathers

Today in the United States, we honor our fathers. Usually this refers to biological fathers, but we like to extend our thanks and praise to ALL fathers–fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers, our holy father St. Dominic, the priest-fathers who have been so good to us, God the Father, and all the men who have been like fathers to us, in whatever way. May God bless you and keep you, and thank you for all your love, generosity, and providential care!
We have had an interesting summer regarding visiting friars, and we hope to bring you some pictures and tales soon. Our new chaplain doesn\’t arrive here until July 18, so we are having several of our brother friars visit to fill in the chaplain duties. We will be glad to get our regular chaplain installed, but meanwhile it is great to meet and reconnect with so many of our brothers! Thanks to all the friars who are coming this summer–we appreciate you!