Monday, September 24, 2007

Dominican Nuns Celebrate 800 Years

I have had a long love affair with my local order of Dominican Nuns. My mother is a third-order Dominican and as a child I spent a great deal of time at this monastery located in nearby West Springfield, MA. It is the most peaceful place I know. I don't get there very often these days but when I do, I am still impressed by the quiet that exists there, all the more noticeable in light of the noise of our world.

I was alerted to the 800th anniversary of the Dominican Nuns by an article in my local Diocesan newspaper The Catholic Observer. Unfortunately the article is not available on-line, but it did prompt me to look up the sisters' website:
http://www.op-stjoseph.org/nuns/ws/index.htm

It is interesting to view the photos and read about the sisters' lives and history. Unlike many active orders of religious, vocations to the cloistered contemplative life are increasing. That life is certainly not for everyone and it is not meant as an escape from the world but rather a special way of ministering to it. We need people in our world who dedicate themselves solely to prayer. If this is a way of life that you are considering, I invite you to explore that calling more fully.

4 comments:

Moniales said...

Thank you for this wonderful plug for our Dominican monastic life! I hope you will visit the monastery in West Springfield. It's a beautiful place!

God bless you!

Jeannine said...

Patrice, I recently rediscovered your blog, and have had fun poking around. I purchased your book when it came out, in the early times of my mothering. It was a lovely encouragement.

How happy I was to see this link to info about the Dominican nuns. I love the Dominicans -- they were our chaplains at the college I went to, and were a strong influence on my keeping my faith throughout my time at a large secular university.

My favorite Dominican nuns are from NJ. They sell beautiful soaps, if you'd like to visit.

http://seignadousoaps.com/

The Dominicans are surely a great blessing to the church...

Jeannine said...

Patrice, I recently rediscovered your blog, and have had fun poking around. I purchased your book when it came out, in the early times of my mothering. It was a lovely encouragement.

How happy I was to see this link to info about the Dominican nuns. I love the Dominicans -- they were our chaplains at the college I went to, and were a strong influence on my keeping my faith throughout my time at a large secular university.

My favorite Dominican nuns are from NJ. They sell beautiful soaps, if you'd like to visit.

http://seignadousoaps.com/

The Dominicans are surely a great blessing to the church...

Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur said...

Jeannine, Thank you so much for stopping by and for your kind words. I hope you'll be a frequent visitor in the future!

Best wishes,
Patrice

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