Newsworthy Nashville Dominicans

So as you might have figured out by now, I am enamored with the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, aka the Nashville Dominicans, and am blessed to know them. They've been in the news quite a bit this year, and most recently in an article by the Washington Post. I wanted to make sure you're all aware of a religious order at the "tip of the spear" in the New Evangelization. Holiness is HERE!

Washington Post Article
Sydney Morning Herald
Salt+Light TV Canada
Catholic News Service
Tennessee Register
The Boston Globe
Facebook Group/Fanclub

Pray for this order and for a renewal of consecrated life in America and the world. Pray for those discerning a call, that they might have the courage to stand up against the culture of death to give their lives entirely to Christ for the sake of the Kingdom.


"The Church is alive. And the Church is young."
~Pope Benedict XVI

Thankful to be Catholic

I'm spending Thanksgiving with my family in New Orleans, my hometown. I mean, I was baptized here, this is where it all began! As with most traveling, I used MassTimes.org to find daily Masses to go to while I'm here. Typing in my grandmother's zip code, it came up with nearly 20 daily Masses within just a couple of miles. Now granted, I am in a very Catholic place here in southeastern Louisiana, but still. The Catholic Church. Universal. One, Holy, and Apostolic! It blows my mind sometimes. My Lord is here. He is here, in New Orleans, just the same as He is in Nashville, or any other tabernacle all over the world. As it says above the tabernacle in the Chapel at the St. Cecilia Motherhouse, "Here God dwells among men." Such beauty; our Lord is forever with us until the end of time--just as He promised us.

Today, quite simply, I stop a minute and realize how thankful I am to be Catholic. To know that the keys of the kingdom were laid in dear St. Peter's hands, and have been passed from generation to generation through the Papacy. To know that these popes have commissioned bishops, in line with the Apostles themselves, to consecrate priests to serve the kingdom and provide the Sacraments to the people. And of course, in the line of Melchizedek, to continue to offer the eternal sacrifice in the Holy Mass, the memorial of the Last Supper, where we encounter the perpetually incarnate Christ in the Holy Eucharist: body, blood, soul, and divinity.

There is such an incredible comfort knowing that I don't have to church-hop or get the right pastor to know the Truth. I can go to any Catholic Church all over the world and encounter Truth face to face. And even then, it is no more work on my part to know Him than quieting my heart and listening to Truth speak to me, in Its mere presence. As St. Teresa of the Andes once said on prayer, "my heart can say nothing; I can only adore."

Among the gifts of the Church, we also have the Communion of Saints, celebrating all those in Heaven, especially those recognized for their work on earth. Today is the feast day of Saint Cecilia, one of the early martyrs. Her story deserves its own post, which might come later. Until then: Saint Cecilia, pray for us!

Praised be Jesus Christ and His Holy Church!


"I will go peaceably and firmly to the Catholic Church: for if Faith is so important to our salvation, I will seek where true Faith first began, seek it among those who received it from God Himself."
~St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

For all my life...

I found a great article recently written by a man who spent some of this summer filming the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia here in Nashville for a video they are making. He got to attend some of their summer ceremonies, including the Final Profession of Vows. Below is an excerpt from his article:

Sunday was the Mass for the Rite of Perpetual Religious Profession. This was when 11 Sisters were going to take final vows – it was their wedding day! I was impressed as I panned the camera across the row of Sisters making their final vows. Some looked nervous, some looked calm, and others looked in ecstasy; eyes rolled up to the crucifix that hung above the altar of St. Henry's Church.

As a cameraman you're always looking for an interesting picture composition – be it lighting, framing, emotion, etc. I was not disappointed during the Mass! I think it was the third Sister to make her profession. I had a tight shot on her hand as she placed it on the bible and began her profession of vows.

"To the honour of Almighty God and under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of our Holy Father Saint Dominic, I make to God in your hands, Reverend Sister…"

And then I heard her voice crack.

I didn't even look up, but immediately re-framed to the Sisters face, checking to make sure it was in focus, and locking off my camera in a tight close-up.

Sister composed herself.

"…I make to God in your hands, Reverend Sister Ann Marie, Prioress General, the simple vows…."

She was struggling to continue.

"… of poverty, chastity, and obedience for all my life…"

Tears were welling up in her eyes.

"…according to the Rule of Saint Augustine…"

Tears were rolling down her cheeks at this point.

"….and the Constitutions of the Dominican Sisters of this Congregation of Saint Cecilia."

Poor Sister offered an embarrassed smile to Mother Ann Marie and apologized for being overcome by emotion.

If everything else failed during my trip, I would have been satisfied just to have filmed that moment. It was incredibly touching. It was beautiful beyond words. It was genuine emotion that couldn't help but pierce your soul. It wasn't a Sister shedding tears of regret, but it was a Sister shedding tears of love.

Absolutely stunning. I just finished reading Fr. Thomas Dubay's book "...and You are Christ's" about the Charism of Virginity and the Celibate Life in the Church. These women are truly a witness to the love we all hope to experience in Heaven--some just get called to live this love sooner than others.

The springtime of the Church is upon us, and women like the Nashville Dominicans are living symbols of that. Praised be Jesus Christ!


"Eternal God, receive the sacrifice of my life for Your Church. Accept my heart and impress upon it the face of Your Son."
~St. Catherine of Siena