As we commemorate the 8th Centenary of the Dies Natalis of Saint Dominic, we remember the prayerful and charitable spirit of Our Holy Father. Saint Dominic had great filial love and fatherly care for the nuns as he often came to the monastery of nuns to teach and share the fruits of his contemplation. Today, Dominican monasteries continue to be a place for the friars to visit and share with us their spiritual food, and to recuperate physically, spiritually, and emotionally in their life as contemplatives. Thanks be to God; our monastery has been blessed throughout the years with the presence of the friars who are imbued with Saint Dominic’s spirit as they continue to carry on this tradition of our Holy Father.

This past summer, Providence brought us Father Dominic Joseph Bump, O.P. from the Province of Saint Joseph. For the past three years, Father Dominic has been studying the art and theology of Fra Angelico. With great enthusiasm, he came to our monastery and gifted us with an Icon Workshop based on the theology of Fra Angelico. He taught us how to beautifully transform the fruits of our contemplative life into sacred art using oil painting techniques.