Cloister Garden

You need to rest, Sister. Five a.m. comes way too soon around here. But try as I might, sleep eluded me.

A couple days after Christmas, my family drove down to Nashville for a four-day visit.

"The Sisters should have a tree with a classic, formal look," said Sr. Joy. I stifled a sigh. It was classic, alright. And boring.

“What does it mean?” Sister Lucia climbed up beside me. “It means you don’t have to worry, Sister. God is taking care of everything."

I woke up with my alarm an hour and a half before the time agreed upon for leaving, hoping to start to the airport a bit earlier than...

I’d never spent Thanksgiving in a convent full of Sisters, all of whom seemed more excited about the St. Cecilia antiphons than the turkey.

The weekend before Halloween, a sign went up on the novitiate whiteboard: Meet outside the Oratory tonight for the “Secret Secret”.

“Taco night,” whispered Sr. Marisa, “and that means toppings.”

The sisters chanted the Magnificat from the other side of the grille. “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord”. Yes, my spirit was...

During my first few outdoor recreations, I felt a little nervous. Was this going to be a repeat of my sixth grade gym class?

"Serving coffee to the Sisters is like the eighth work of mercy," the novices liked to joke. After a few invigorating sips, I had to agree.

The morning bell broke the convent's silence with bold, inescapable tones. Ding-ding, ding-ding, ding-ding, ding-ding…

In 2010, on Saint Clare’s feast day, I entered the Dominican Sisters. In 2016, on Saint Clare’s feast day, I entered the Dominican...

"Don't think without Him." For a place that was so physically peaceful and quiet, I was astonished by all the noise inside my head.

The reality that my family was about to go home and I was going to stay here, permanently, made everything else seem trivial in comparison.

I took a deep breath. This was it. I was leaving my old life behind, and entering the cloister.

Do you really mean it, Mary? The Lord seemed to be asking. Will you really give up everything, even marriage, for Me?

The words sprang from the depths of the novice's hearts, proclaiming their longing for the Lord: "While the music played, Cecilia sang..."

When a Dominican nun takes a solemn vow of poverty, she “loses the capacity of acquiring and possessing” (Canon 668.5). She relies upon...

I wasn’t ready yet. I couldn't see the road ahead. But what did that matter, if Jesus wanted me?