Ashes, Dust and Love

Penance. Suffering. Ashes and dust. It’s that time of liturgical year again. So what is the season about? Is it merely to inflict pain and punishment, to make us feel bad about ourselves and our sins? To bring gloom and doom down on us as we are reminded “you are dust, and to dust you shall return”? Certainly if we were a people without faith in a God of mercy and love, without hope for life with Him in heaven, then Lent would indeed be very dark. But we are ultimately an Easter people…

Liturgy, PrayerDominican Nuns O.P.February 25, 2020ash wednesday, liturgy, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, penance, lentComment

Mary, Our Patroness

Since Jesus told the beloved apostle, “Behold your mother,” at the cross, Christians have gone to Mary, as she is our mother in the order of grace. But Dominicans have a special devotion to Our Lady as she is our Patroness and was instrumental in bringing our Order into existence, sustaining it and causing it to flourish.

Go to Joseph!

This is the advice given by many saints, and Dominicans are no exception.

Prayer, saintsDominican Nuns O.P.April 30, 2019saint joseph, feast, liturgy, prayerComment

Lust, Love and Angelic Warfare

His mother was appalled by her young son’s choice of life vocation - he had the world at his fingertips and he would throw it away to be a poor friar?! His brothers scoffed, kidnapped him, and locked him in a tower of the family castle until he changed his mind. His sisters begged and cajoled, but the young man converted them to his way of thinking. Then his brothers decided to try a different approach. He was a young, vigorous man, after all. So they sent into his room a beautiful woman of ill repute to seduce him.

The Story of a Princess Dominican

One day, a Dominican friar came to the monastery to preach to the Dominican nuns. The community invited him to stop the night and give them a second sermon the next day. The friar refused; he had work to do and could not spare the time. Leaving the parlor, he went in search of his horse and trap, for King Bela had evidently built a bridge from the mainland to the island. Margaret was very anxious for him to remain; when, however, she saw that he was determined to go, she made no comment but betook herself to prayer.

Dominican Friar, Master of the Order, and Patron Saint of Lawyers

This Dominican saint found a new use for his cappa - sailing across the seas! Sound incredible, read on to learn more about this humble and saintly lawyer-turned-friar.

Dominican family, saintsDominican Nuns O.P.January 7, 2019Dominican saints, liturgy, Dominican familyComment

The Gift of the Fourth Wise Man

How many Magi visited the Holy Family? We don’t actually know, because Scripture doesn’t specify exactly. Tradition tells us there were three because Scripture mentions three gifts they brought: gold, frankincense and myrrh. But legend speaks of a fourth. Here is his story.

PrayerDominican Nuns O.P.January 6, 2019epiphany, liturgy, prayerComment

Alleluia! Our Paschal Lamb Has Been Sacrificed

Alleluia! He is risen! Though we may prepare for Easter with forty days of fasting, we celebrate our new life in Christ by His passion, death and resurrection with fifty days of feasting!

PrayerDominican Nuns O.P.April 8, 2018Easter, liturgy, prayerComment

Loving to the End

What would you do if you knew today would be your last? That during the night, one of your closest friends would betray you to others who would see that you suffered a cruel and painful death? Would you gather with your friends for one final farewell? Would you have one more adventure, one more thrill? Would you throw up your hands, cry out to God? Would you try to seek out your betrayer before you were betrayed? What would you do?

PrayerDominican Nuns O.P.March 29, 2018Holy Week, liturgy, Holy Thursday, EucharistComment

—ordo praedicatorum—

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