Dominican friars – Dominican Life on Lotus Lane

A Visit from Fr. Fernando Fernandez, O.P., Promoter General of the Dominican Nuns

From November 3 to 5, we were honored to share an extended visit from Father Fernando Antonio García Fernández, O.P., Promoter General of the Dominican Nuns. Father gladly joined us for Mass, the Liturgy of the Hours, meals, and a special evening recreation.

Fr. Fernando with our prioress Sr. Mary Rose

Fr. Fernando took several days to visit with us. He talked to us about the importance and meaning of contemplation, and listened to us talk about our cloistered lives. He also shared with us about his visits to other nuns throughout the world. We especially enjoyed his slideshow of all of the other monasteries he’s visited.

At the end of his visit, we put on a special program for him to thank him for his time with us.

Sr. Mary Pauline and Sr. Irma Marie sing De Colores

Fr. Fernando shared with us that he loves the Dallas Cowboys football team, so as a special gift and a remembrance of us we bought him a team t-shirt.

We had a wonderful visit with Fr. Fernando. We loved talking with him about our lives and hearing about the other nuns. This visit from the Promoter helped us feel connected to our sister nuns and also to the greater Dominican order.

A Visit from the Dominican Novices, Our Brothers

We recently enjoyed a visit with the Dominican novices, friars in formation, of the Southern Province of St. Martin de Porres. Our Monastery of the Infant Jesus is in the Southern Province so we have a very close relationship with these friars. Their novice master, Fr. Francis Orozco, O.P., brought them to visit us so we can meet our new brothers in St. Dominic.

Fr. Francis Orozco with some of his novices

We love to meet the new novices. We always pray for our Dominican priests, and so it’s nice to be able to meet them in person. We had a great time talking about our lives as Dominicans and getting to know the novices personally.

Fr. R.B. Williams, our chaplain, also enjoyed meeting the novices.

We joked that maybe one of them would come back and be our chaplain someday.

God willing, they’ll come back to visit us someday as fully professed Dominicans!

A New Chaplain

Yes! And he is Fr. R.B Williams, O.P.

Father is a member of our Southern Province of Dominican friars. He hails from Nachitoches, LA, which is interestingly enough not all that far from Lufkin. (Nacogodoches, TX, its twin city, is only about a half hour drive from us.) So Father would often stop by the monastery for a fraternal visit on his way to or from home. He has also given us classes and conducted a retreat for us.

Father has had many jobs in the province, including novice master, prior, pastor, and chaplain at college Newman Centers. In fact, his previous assignment was with the campus ministry at Texas Tech in Lubbock, TX.

Father is a true Dominican–very itinerant, traveling around giving retreats and classes and preaching and visiting his many friends throughout the country. He also publishes online reflections called “RBWords”, which can be found at rbwords.com. We encourage you to check them out!

We feel truly blessed to have Father R.B. with us. We hope you’ll stay a while, Father!

We feel safer with Father around, too!

A Triple Blessing

We were so blessed (in many ways) to have a visit from three newly ordained Dominican priests–Father Gregory Dunn, O.P. from our own province of St. Martin de Porres and Father Jordan Joseph DeGuire, O.P. and Father Peter Martyr Lewitzke, O.P. from the province of St. Albert the Great. Father Greg was ordained on June 10, and Father Jordan and Father Peter Martyr were ordained on May 20. The two Central Province priests came to Houston to see their classmate Fr. Greg ordained, and then they made a little “tour” of Texas, which happily included our monastery.

Fr. Peter Martyr, O.P., Father Gregory, O.P., and Father Jordan, O.P.

We had a lovely parlor visit with them on the feast of the Sacred Heart (June 16) and then Father Greg celebrated Mass for us on the memorial of the Immaculate Heart, with Fr. Peter Martyr, Fr. Jordan, and our chaplain Fr. Ian concelebrating.

After Mass, each priest gave us a “first blessing”! What a joy!

Everyone who came to Mass had a blessing, too!

As we said above–we are blessed in so many ways by these new young priests in our midst. We are sure that many people will be uplifted and inspired by their gift of self to God through their vocations, by their desire to serve the people of God, and their love for preaching the truth! We are praying for you, Fathers! Please keep us in prayer, too!

Classes with Fr. John Sica, O.P.

Recently, Father came to our monastery to fill in for our chaplain while he had to be away–and while he was here he gave us some very good courses on the virtue of hope. This is especially appropriate for Advent, when we wait in hope for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Of course, we had to have a parlor visit with him too!

Father John is working on his doctoral dissertation now, having finished his classes. We pray it will go smoothly for him, and he will finish up with some great work! It is always a pleasure to meet with one of our Dominican brothers, and especially to enjoy the fruits of their contemplative works. Thank you, Father John!