Today’s blog post is written by three former students of mine from Saint Dominic Savio Catholic High School in Austin, Texas. Since I could not attend the housewarming and dedication in Texas this past Saturday, I asked the girls to blog about their experience of the day. The three Senior girls are Ava Lynk, Emily McCauslin, and Lea Synder. Catholic high school students like these give me great hope that the Catholic Church will continue to thrive in the years to come. Whether they their vocation is wife and mother or a religious sister, these young women will bring great honor and glory to the Kingdom of God.

The foreign sound of rapid and steady hammering on the roof during school Friday shocked us all– “Is that…rain?” It had been so long since God had blessed us with a long and soaking rain.  We began to wonder what all this rain would mean for the Housewarming and Blessing for the Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist that was going to be held the following day.  The Sisters have been building a temporary mission house where they will stay to oversee construction on the new priory on their 60.4 acres of property in Georgetown, Texas.  While the house was sure to be wonderful, there was no way that all of the people coming for the blessing could fit inside.  The forecast for Saturday was more rain.  It was certainly going to be interesting to have two bishops, many priests and religious, and hundreds of lay faithful out in the rain and mud!

Saturday morning we awoke to an absolutely beautiful day.  There was not a cloud in the sky, and it was actually cool outside for a September Texas day!  As we prepared to head out to Georgetown for the Housewarming and Blessing, we pulled out older shoes that could take what we perceived would still be a wet and muddy mess.  We arrived at the Sisters’ property, and to our astonishment, there wasn’t an ounce of mud to be found!  We shouldn’t have been surprised that God would be quick to answer the persistent prayers of such a vibrant and faithful community of Sisters.  Not only did God part the clouds and dry the ground for these Sisters, He blessed them with a gorgeous day, with a break from the typical Texas heat.

Lee, Lea, Sister Maria, Emily, Ava, and Gabbie

There were around eighteen Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist present in their beautiful flowing habits, including the four founding Sisters: Mother Assumpta, Sister Joseph Andrew, Sister Mary Samuel, and Sister John Dominic.  This was the first occasion that all four foundresses were in Texas at the same time.  Bishop Joe Vasquez of the Diocese of Austin and Bishop W.M. Michael Mulvey of the Diocese of Corpus Christi were also present.  The ceremony was beautiful!  The breeze, doing such a wonderful job keeping everyone cool, interfered with the microphone, prompting Mother Assumpta to say with her sweet and holy humor that the devil must not have wanted her to say too much!

These Sisters are certainly doing something right, so much so that they have an abundance of vocations to the point that their Motherhouse in Ann Arbor, Michigan is overflowing.  The plan is to build a priory on this Texas property; it will house 120 sisters with a sizable chapel, library, refectory, kitchen, and classrooms.  As Sister Maria said, “Everything is bigger in Texas!”  The first phase of building will have space to house, form, and educate up to 50 Sisters.  They are almost halfway to where they need to be in their fundraising efforts.  Please prayerfully consider supporting their efforts!  The Sisters performed for us selections from their chart-topping CD, “Mater Eucharistiae.”  There was a huge turnout, and everyone in attendance had the opportunity to enjoy a barbecue lunch and tour the lovely temporary mission house.

The Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist are a blessing to everyone they encounter.  Their radiant joy and love for Christ draws everyone they meet closer to Him.  I have been privileged to be a student to Sister Mary Elizabeth for my past three years at St. Dominic Savio Catholic High School.  Savio is blessed to have three Sisters, and I am honored to know these and many of the other Sisters who are serving and who have served in the Austin area and beyond.  Please lift the endeavors of this fantastic holy community up in prayer that they may be blessed in continuing their mission of the New Evangelization, touching countless souls through their presence and their prayers.

To learn more about the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, please visit their website or read more blog posts from me. If you have Facebook, please consider following their page as well. You will make Sister Joseph Andrew very happy!