On the Feast of Christ the King, November 20, it was our great joy to celebrate the clothing of Mica in the habit of the Dominican Order! She received the religious name Sr. Marie Angelica of the Incarnation, a variation on her full baptismal name. The beautiful clothing ceremony in our Chapter hall was followed by the Sunday Eucharist, and a festive meal. It was a day of great joy for all. The reception of the habit marks the beginning of novitiate, which lasts two years and is a time of deeper spiritual formation in Dominican monastic life.

Another recent joy for our community was welcoming the Master of the Dominican Order, fr. Gerard Timoner III, for two days in October. He was accompanied by his assistants frs. Alain Arnould and Juan Manuel Hernández O.P. We had a wonderful time of sharing together, and heard of many of the joys and challenges of our brothers and sisters around the world. Our brothers joined us for the liturgy (and even the dishes!), and in between we showed them around our monastery’s forest, gardens and workshops. We continue to carry our brothers and sisters in prayer, especially in places such as the Ukraine and Nicaragua which are suffering so much from violence and conflict.

As November unfolds, our monastery’s work begins to shift indoors. After two snows, and several heavy frosts, the garden beds are tucked in for the winter under their blankets of fallen leaves. The sturdier vegetables, however, are still going strong, and we look forward to eating them well into December.

Finally, our latest entrant is settling in well and quickly becoming accustomed to Dominican life. It might be a while before the bestowal of religious name and mystery, but this new arrival is already dressed as a Dominican (one might say it’s a natural). Living in our infirmary, this quiet and gentle member of our community provides some extra companionship for our infirm sisters, and has already mastered monastic silence (again, one might say that it’s natural). Without further ado, we will let this smallest member of our community introduce himself: