A New Novice

The Dominican Nuns joyfully announce the vestition of their postulant, Sister Karina, on October 27, the vigil of the feast of Sts. Simon and Jude. In a simple ceremony marking the beginning of her two years of novitiate, Sister Karina received the holy habit of the Dominican Order, and her new religious name:

Sister Mary Catherine de la Guadalupana, O.P.

Please keep Sister Mary Catherine in your prayers as she sets out on this new stage of her Dominican vocation, that she may fulfill the words from the ceremony’s concluding prayer: “May you apply yourself assiduously to following our Holy Father St. Dominic so that you may be ready for the day of your espousals to Jesus Christ.”

Further Reading:

  • What is the significance of the crown of thorns? Read this entry in our fictional Vocation Letter series: Vocation Letters: Sister’s Vestition.
  • Where is the novitiate in the process of becoming a Dominican nun? Read about our Stages in Formation.
  • Do you know a young women considering a religious vocation? Let her know about us! Are you such a young woman? Learn more about our life here on our website, sign up for our vocation newsletter, and get in touch with our vocation directress!
  • Stay in touch! Sign up for our website updates in the Subscribe box below.

Infant Mary image

Novena for the Nativity of Our Lady

Birthdays are always special; and Our Lady’s Birthday is extra special, for it presages the coming of the Messiah. As we approach our celebration of the Nativity of Our Lady on September 8, today (August 30), we begin a novena to the Infant Mary to thank God for all the gifts and privileges with which He endowed her.

Image of Novena for Our Lady's Birthday
Click to open two-page PDF of holy card. Print front and back on one sheet of paper; fold in thirds; cut in half to make two novena cards.

We invite you to join us in renewing new your love for Mary and Jesus in a special way through this novena.  May God bless and Our Lady keep you!

Eucharistic Rosary Meditations

Colored pencil drawing of a cloistered Dominican nun praying the Rosary at the foot of the statue of Our Lady of the Rosary, before Jesus in Eucharistic Adoration

Decades of Contemplation

Since our monastery’s foundation eighty years ago, our Sisters have kept vigil each day as Mary’s Guards of Honor, praying the Rosary hour-by-hour before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

In honor of the national Eucharistic Congress, we have composed this booklet of Eucharistic Rosary Medita­tions. We hope they inspire you as you join us in praying the Rosary before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

Eucharistic Rosary Meditations Booklet

The meditations are below. Click the chevron symbol to the right, and set option to “even spreads” for best viewing. The final version for reading is ready below. We are still working on the final version for printing, but it should be before 2025!

Cartoon of Dominican nun praying with Scripture (lectio divina), in the chapel with the Blessed Sacrament and statue of Our Lady.

Vocation Letters: Lectio Divina

In this issue of our fictional Vocation Letter Series, Sister Mary Rosaria reflects the centrality of the Word of God in her life as a Dominican nun, emphasizing monastic lectio divina. Read more Vocation Letters here.

Ave + Maria

Dear Mom,

Greetings in Jesus and Mary! I am so happy to hear about your women’s Bible Study, and how nourishing that is for you, with the community and especially with the Word of God.

I have been reflecting on that recently in regards to our life, since pondering the Word of God is so central to our vocation as Dominican nuns. While “the friars, sisters and laity of the Order are to preach the name of our Lord Jesus Christ throughout the world,” as our Constitutions state, the nuns are “to seek, ponder and call upon him in solitude so that the word proceeding from the mouth of God may not return to him empty, but may accomplish those things for which it was sent (cf. Is. 55:10).” Of course, we do this here in a special way through meditating through the Rosary on the mysteries of the Word Made Flesh, but we also sing, proclaim, and hear His Word in Scripture in the Liturgy, and savor it in our hearts in lectio divina.

The traditional four stages of monastic lectio divina (which just means “sacred reading”) are lectio, meditatio, oratio, and contemplatio: that is, reading, pondering, praying, and resting in God. (When I first learned these as a postulant, I thought they should add a fifth stage: dormitatio!) I don’t know if you use these terms, Mom, but I am sure you are familiar with those movements, which usually flow in and out of each other rather than following a strict sequence. I am enclosing our Lectio pamphlet if you are interested in reading more.

It’s so edifying to hear the Sisters sharing at recreation about “lights” they had at lectio, passages from the liturgy that stood out to them, or Rosary mysteries that came to life in a new way. Pondering the Word is fruitful in different ways at different times for different Sisters, but always fruitful for growing closer to God and for the salvation of souls.

I look forward to seeing you soon! Please give my love to everyone at home!

With love and prayers in Our Lady,

Sister Mary Rosaria, O.P.

P.S. I found this in my papers recently. I wrote it as a postulant just a month or so after entering the monastery; it is a beautiful example of a reflection on the Word of God.


A Postulant’s Lectio

Today at Terce we sang Psalm 118.  It is a beautiful hymn of joy in God, and expresses perfectly many of the sentiments of my heart at finally being a member of the community here in the monastery.  What could be more fitting than to give thanks to the Lord, Who has called me to be His bride for the sake of His forever-enduring love?  Then I recalled with the Psalmist what He has done for me; how He came to help me when I was hard-pressed and falling, temped to doubt my vocation, how His triumphant right hand raised me.  I am delighted at being a cause of shouts (or maybe just words!) of joy and victory here in the tents of the just.  The psalm’s words were mine, as I trembled before entering, in sadness at leaving my family: “I was falling . . . I was punished, but not doomed to die.  Open to me the gates of holiness.”  I anticipated the joy of belonging to the Lord: “I will enter and give thanks.  This is the Lord’s own gate.”  Now I can cry out, pleading for and with the world: “We bless you from the house of the Lord, the Lord God is our light.”  To have entered, to have dwelt in, the house of the Lord!  I cry out in joy, but yet yearn for heaven: “Go forward in procession with branches, even to the altar.  You are my God, I thank you.  My God, I praise you.  Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; for His love endures forever.”  May His love endure forever in my heart, too.

Living with Jesus in the Eucharist

What is it like to live in the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist? What effect does such a life have on nuns who take turns adoring the Blessed Sacrament throughout each day? Ever since our monastery was founded in 1944, we have kept Eucharistic Adoration along with our Perpetual Rosary each day as a treasured observance. What would a Sister say who has lived in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament continually for even a few months, or for ten, twenty, fifty, or as many as seventy-seven years?

In honor of the conclusion of our country’s Eucharistic Revival, we asked the Sisters, “What is your favorite part about living with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament?” Here are some of our reflections:

“His POWER! His LOVE!”

“I really appreciate the daily habitual intimacy that comes from being with Him so much. He becomes part of our life in an organic way; there is a spiritual bond that comes from living together and seeing each other so frequently, in a way that allows a special growth in intimacy.”

“My favorite thing is being under the same roof with Jesus in the Eucharist. I can go and see Him any time, day or night. He belongs to me, I belong to Him. He is always there.”

“To know that He is always there, and no matter when I go through choir [the nuns’ part of the chapel] He is always there. He is with me always.”

“During my first month in the monastery, it was really striking to live under the same roof with Jesus. Our Lady also plays a huge role in bringing our gaze back to Our Lord. Growing in entrustment to Our Lady helps bring our thoughts back to Him all the time.”

“The best thing about living with Jesus all the time is that is makes concrete and real the totality of how our life revolves around Him. That encompasses everything. We share all aspects of our life. Living in the monastery we have a unique opportunity to benefit from Our Lord’s constant presence because we never leave. We always live with Him. This is a truly Eucharistic aspect of the cloistered life.”

“Being able to go in the chapel and be with Him.”

“I love that we totally take for granted the continual nourishment for our interior life that flows from living in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.  It becomes so normal for us to be immersed in this atmosphere of Eucharistic graces. Coming back into His Presence is refreshment and peace.”

O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine,
All Praise and All Thanksgiving, Be Every Moment Thine!

Statue of Our Lady with blue veil

Renewing Our Total Consecration

In the early days of our monastery, our two Foundresses led the first group of Sisters in making their Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary. All the Sisters gave themselves with zeal to growing in devotion to Our Lady in order to live more totally for Jesus and the salvation of souls. Ever since, we have continued to live out our Total Consecration, which permeates our whole life as Mary’s Guards of Honor.

In addition to renewing our Consecration individually each morning and night, we pray a Consecration renewal together as a community on each feast day of Our Lady. This beautiful prayer expresses our desire, and helps inspire us as we live out our Marian vocation.

Statue of Our Lady with blue veil

O Mary, / gracious and Immaculate Mother, I, N., / am happy to be thy devoted servant. / I consecrate to thee once again / all that I am and all that I have. / I give thee my body and my soul, / all my natural and supernatural goods, / both interior and exterior, / whether past, present, or future.

Mary, my Queen and my Mother, / I renounce my own will, / all my sins / my inclinations and desires. / I fly to thee: / I cast myself into thy Immaculate Heart, / burning with love for thy children / I love myself therein / in order to pray, to act and to suffer / always through thee, / with thee, / and in thee / for the greater honor / of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. / Amen.

Photo of Dominican nun's hands painting paschal candle.

Easter Greetings

Happy Easter! Christ is Risen! At the Easter Vigil, after blessing the new fire, the priest solemnly carves the cross and symbols into the Paschal Candle, praying:

Christ yesterday and today / the Beginning and the End / the Alpha and the Omega / All time belongs to him / and all the ages / To him be glory and power / through every age and for ever. Amen.

Then, placing the five grains of incense into the cross, he prays: By his holy and glorious wounds, may Christ the Lord guard us and protect us. Amen.

As we light the Paschal Candle at the liturgies during this Easter Season, we pray that the light of Christ shine ever more in your life and those of your loved ones each day.

Mother Mary of the Sacred Heart, O.P. and Sisters

Novena to St. Joseph

Join us in our annual Novena to St. Joseph for his feast day, approaching on March 19.

O Glorious St. Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, to you do we raise our hearts and hands, to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the benign Heart of Jesus all the helps and graces necessary for our spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death, and the special favor we now implore.

Mention intentions here.

O guardian of the Word Incarnate, we feel animated with confidence that your prayers on our behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.

  • O Glorious St. Joseph, through the love you bear to Jesus Christ, and for the glory of His name, hear our prayers and obtain our petitions. (Repeat 7 times)

Let us pray. O Glorious St. Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, obtain for us pure, humble, and charitable minds, and perfect resignation to the divine Will. Be our guide, father and model through life, that we may merit to die as you did, in the arms of Jesus and Mary. Amen.

Help us, Joseph, in our earthly strife / ever to lead a pure and blameless life.

Christmas Dominican nun Newsletter header

Christmas Newsletter 2023

Christmas Dominican nun Newsletter header

In the beginning…”  As we begin Advent, Holy Mother Church calls to our minds the “Proto-Evangelium” found in Genesis 3:15 where God promises to send a Savior to redeem mankind after the Fall.  This year we got a head start by listening to lectures on the Pentateuch by Dr. Brant Pitre.  It has been a fascinating study and a wonderful preparation for Advent.  “In the beginning…” presents the perennial questions about life – where do we come from and where are we going?  Why is there evil in the world and what is the solution to the evil?  It is also here, “in the beginning…” that we find these answers.  God created us for eternal communion with Him, which man rejected, but which Christ has come to restore to us.

One of the traits of a good Dominican is the desire to study.  This means, of course, that one must have a good library full of books.  For some time our library has been overflowing with books.  Many solutions were proposed but finally we hit on the perfect one: a do-it-yourself round bookcase that fits perfectly at the end of the shelves and still allows one to pass by easily.  Even better is the fact that it holds many more books than the regular book shelf!

During the month of the Holy Rosary, Our Lady sent us a young lady to be one of her daughters and Guards of Honor.  On her Feast, Mater Admirabilis (October 20th), Sister Karina from Texas entered our monastery as a postulant.  She brings with her a sparkling joy, a great sense of humor and an avid desire to learn.  Please keep in her in your prayers as she begins her journey.

Photo of postulant sister

Advent is a beloved time for us in the monastery, with many small practices that remind and point us toward the gift of Jesus, Who is coming to live among us, to live with us, to live in us.  Advent is short this year, so it is even more important to pay attention, and try to be alert and ready to welcome our Divine Bridegroom when He arrives.

Fra Angelico's painting of Dominican Saints with nuns and friars

We like to think of those first Dominican nuns in the monastery of Our Lady of Prouilhe, founded by St. Dominic in 1206, to be the heart of the Holy Preaching in southern France.  St. Dominic and the Friars used the monastery at Prouilhe as a home base for their preaching.  This special charism has endured throughout the centuries, so we are delighted when Dominican Friars visit our monastery in their work of preaching.

Mother Mary of the Sacred Heart, O.P. and Sisters