Community Life

The Dominican vision of contemplation is not an isolated activity but something exercised in community, for as God said to St Catherine of Siena, “I preferred to give different gifts to different people, so that they would all need each other.” And as our Pope insists “we cannot face future in isolation.”

By our way of life, we press forward, to that perfect love of God and neighbor. Following our Lord and Savior of all, Jesus; who offered himself completely for our salvation, we spend ourselves totally for the salvation of souls.

We observe some elements which are fundamental to us. Most of them were drawn from monastic tradition while others were engineered by St. Dominic to the first nuns in prouilhe.  Among them are; prayer, study, common life, evangelical counsels, work, silence, cell among others.

But prayer always remains “a surge of the
heart, it is a simple look toward heaven, it is a cry of thanksgiving and love
from the depths of suffering or joy” St Therese of Lisieux

The fraternal life of nuns is a God’s gift, a frail gift that is not granted forever but has to be received, “to day”, and every day. It is a space of calmness, love freedom … It is a way to grow in humility and truth, to receive forgiveness both from God and from one’s sisters, to learn how to love and to endure, and to live according to the gospel in all manners of ways. Is a place both of struggle and joy that allows to test in ordinary daily life, a truly God-centered life. It is a common sharing of everything: wealth, gifts, limits and weakness of each other, and labor and homework. “… Neither said any of them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common” Acts 4, 32.

The dynamic aspect of our community life consisting of the young, the middle-aged and the old together, continually shapes, supports and challenges each nun to continue
striving for holiness. Our community is a home – a place where we live, pray, recreate, work and encounters Christ in each other.

St. Dominic included study, ordained to the ministry of salvation, as an essential part of our Order. Our study aims principally and ardently at this: that we might be able to be useful for the souls of our neighbors. St. Thomas saw charity as the end of our study. So, the measure of our study is not how much we can explain but how much we love.

Preaching the Word is the first priority. We are actively involved in preaching not by standing on pulpit but in our prayer life. We take very seriously the honor and responsibility that comes with preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our Dominican legacy calls us to preach the truth of the Gospel first and foremost. Our live of prayer, study, and community provide the environment for Dominican preaching to grow and take root.