How does your garden grow?

We've been super busy in the garden these days preparing for our big 800th anniversary celebration on May 12th. The reception will be an open house of our monastery garden. This will be a first and probably the last time, at least for 100 years!

Everything is in bloom and so lovely. The workmen have been hard at work for months repairing benches, painting, doing yard work. We don't know what we'd do without them! They seem quite pleased with their work; and they should be!

Most evening before recreation we have music practice for the Mass which will be a votive Mass of St. Dominic. We basically have the Byrd Ave Verum under our belts and the Sequence for St. Dominic is coming along. We still have to learn a hymn in honor of St. Dominic, written by our brother, Fr. Andrew Hofer, OP. That shouldn't take long to learn. The small group needs to review the Tallis If you love me which will be sung at the Offetory. The chantresses STILL need to get together to learn the Introit, In Medio Ecclesia. It's probably obvious by now that we seem to learn everything at the last minute!

And just to make everything even more exciting we're busy preparing for the entrance of new postulants and the aspirancies of several young women. There's lots of sewing going on up in the novitiate! The graces of our Jubilee Year!