New Cardinal for the Order of Preachers

Today on this feast of Blessed Fra Angelico, the Dominican Order shared in the joy of the elevation of the new Cardinals in a special way. Our brother, Dominik Jaroslav Duka, O.P., Archbishop of Prague, Czech Republic was one of those given the red biretta, the sign that one day he may be called to suffer for the Faith.

And in fact, Archbishop Dominik already has during the years of Communism in his native country.

Dominik Duka was born on 26 April 1943 in Hradec Kralove. He joined the Dominican Order, making his temporary profession on January 6, 1969, and was ordained priest on the 22^nd of June the next year.

For five years he worked in several parishes in Prague, and made his solemn profession in the Order on January 7, 1972.

In 1975 he was deprived of authorization to exercise his priestly ministry, and was forced to work as a designer in a car factory in Plzen until the fall of Communism in 1989. Meanwhile, he worked in secret as master of novices and professor of theology. He was imprisoned in Plzen between 1981 and 1982.

From 1986-98 he was Provincial of the Dominican Province of in Bohemia. He was elected president of the Federal Conference of Major Superiors and, from 1992 to 1996 was vice-president of the Union of European Conferences of Major Superiors.

From 1990 to 1999 he was a professor in the faculty of theology of Palacky University in Olomouc. On June 6, 1998, Pope John Paul II appointed him bishop of Hradec Kralove. He was ordained bishop on 26 September 1998. On 13 February 2010, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as archbishop of Prague.

You can read more about our Brother-Cardinal HERE.

Cardinal Dominik has been close to our monastery in Prague since the beginning. Recently, he helped the nuns acquire land so that they can build a proper monastery and currently they are working to raise much needed funds.

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To God Be the Glory: Sr. Mary Amata's Vocation Story

As a solemnly professed nun, Sr. Mary Amata takes her turn as hebdomadarian. She officiates at the Office and in the refectory for a week.

We prevailed on Sr. Mary Amata to share her vocation story with you. If you are a long-time reader you might remember these previous posts:

Welcoming!

Fourth Novice

Because the gift of my Solemn Profession has been a top item on our blog, a few people have requested my vocation story.

Before God could call me to religious life, He had to get me into the Catholic Church!  Through a personal friend, who became my RCIA sponsor, I was baptized at the Easter Vigil in 1992.  This friend has been with me all along my journey and flew in from South Carolina for my Solemn Profession.  In between these two events is my story.

There was/is a small monastic community of Dominican Sisters in a small town in Michigan.  These Sisters decided to start an association with single women to develop their spirituality.  They invited six of us to come for a visit and discuss starting this association and it began to take form.  There was no mention that this association was to be a vehicle for vocations to their community and religious life never entered my mind.  This happened about six months after I was baptized. Three or four months later, I thought God was calling me to religious life, much to my surprise, and the Prioress at the monastery confirmed it.

I entered the monastery and received the name Sister Mary Catherine of Jesus and made my First Profession in 2000 and three years later, I made Perpetual Profession.  Later, however, it seemed God was calling me away from that monastery.  Through the help of a Dominican Friar, he confirmed God was calling me to another community.  He contacted a couple of monasteries of Dominican Nuns and Sister Mary Catharine of this monastery said to come for a one-month visit.  Two weeks into that visit, the community and I felt comfortable to start the five-year transfer process according the Constitutions of the Dominican Nuns.

My friend and I drove here and we arrived on my birthday in 2007.  For obvious reasons, within a week, I received a new religious name:  Sister Mary Amata of Jesus.  I lived in the Novitiate for the next year and a half, completing my Visitation year and my second Conical Novitiate.  I moved 'downstairs' into the Professed dormitory to integrate into the community for the next three years.  With Solemn Profession, I am now officially a Nun of the Order of Preachers.  To God be the glory.

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Family Celebration

When a nun in our monastery makes profession the day is usually taken up with guests, reception and then clean-up! Lest the community be left out of celebrating we have a special day after the big day just for us!

Yesterday was a full day of recreation (outside of the hours of prayer, of course) to celebrate the wonderful gift of Sr. Mary Amata's Solemn Profession. We enjoyed the rare opportunity to relax and chat, go for a walk, play a game or two...or three, and feasted on the scrumptious things that the kitchen sisters provided.

At the last minute the novitiate sisters got together a hilarious skit for our entertainment. Weaving together fact and legend and placing it in several centuries and places at once we learned the REAL story of how the Order of Preachers and Order of Friars Minor came to be! What added to the hilarity is that Sabina immediately ate up a prop that was thrown to the ground (a "bird made of kleenex!)and one novice (who? We're not telling!) was enjoying the skit so much she forgot to come out with her ONE LINE that was the punch line! We suspect that there will be more "Dom and Frank" skits in the future.

The day ended with an old custom on community feast day celebrations--Bingo, monastery-style! This probably started long ago because after an entire day of talking we pretty much have run out of things to say by evening! Monastery Bingo is always led by the prioress (!) and each sister has a card given her when she entered. These cards are at least 50 years old if not older. We also receive an old aspirin bottle of buttons! While the game is fun it's the repartee, quick retorts and mis-heards that make it worth playing. Besides, you don't have to think too hard!

The day ended with thanks and praise to God and to our Blessed Mother for the gift of Sr. Mary Amata's definitive commitment, asking for the grace of final perseverance for each of us!

St. Francis and St. Dominic try to convince each other that HIS order is the answer to the reform of the Church! (No that is not Sr. Maria Teresa's real hair!)

Jeeves with a bowler hat serves ale at the (Summit) Beacon Hill Tavern to St. Francis and St. Dominic!

Meanwhile the cooks provide their own entertainment! Could that be Sr. Joseph Maria?

When Sr. Judith Miryam cooks you know it will be good. Our Wednesday abstinence was suspended and we enjoyed a succulent rib roast! Hmmm! Thank you, Sr. Judith Miryam!

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Sr. Mary Amata's Solemn profession, continued

Some of you asked to hear the audio of the Profession. The Mass and Profession is a huge file so we posted just an excerpt starting with the Laetabundus Sequence and ending at the completion of the profession rite. The quality isn't that great because we had only a Sansa to record and Sister (who will remain nameless!) placed it in a not so very good spot. Oh, well, we'll be better at this the next time! The nuns singing in the choir isn't very clear but everyone could hear them much better than it seems!

However, you can hear the profession and Bishop Cruz's homily very clearly.

We'll post the program booklet later when we get the problems figured out! When we make a PDF file all the elements move!

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