During the last week of June, we once again embarked on the prayerful journey of writing icons, a sacred tradition that traces its roots back to St. Luke, the first iconographer. As contemplative sisters, icon writing has been an integral part of our prayer and devotion in recent years. This ancient tradition is carried out in many monasteries across the globe, preserving a living connection to centuries of spiritual heritage. These icons, which adorn the walls of homes, churches, and institutions, serve not only as beautiful works of art but also as vivid and constant reminders of God's presence.

Please feel free to download and share copies of this poster (pdf file available here).

O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver,
the One whom the peoples await and their Saviour:
O come and save us, Lord our God!

This last of the O Antiphons is the culmination of them all. All the previous themes of the antiphons, wisdom and radiant light, kingly authority, and law, take on flesh in Emmanuel, the Incarnate King who will bring the salvation and liberation that previous antiphons have besought.

O King whom all the peoples desire, you are the corner stone
which makes all one.
O come and save us whom you made from clay.

O King whom all peoples desire – all peoples desire Him because they are made by Him as St Augustine reminds us: “You have made us for Yourself O God and our hearts are restless until we can rest in You.” In our O Antiphon today we cry out to Him to come to save us

O Rising Sun,
you are the splendour of eternal light and the sun of justice.
O come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death.

I chose this antiphon for my reflection because the image of light versus darkness is very powerful and is one to which we can all relate. I felt drawn to this image because the world seems to be a very dark place at present and I feel the need to make my home in the Word of God, so as not to be sucked in to its mindset.

“O Key of David and Sceptre of Israel,
what you open no one else can close again;
what you close no one can open.
O come to lead the captive from prison;
free those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.”

In the time of the prophet Isaiah, the king of Damascus and the king of Israel wanted to draw the king of Judah, Ahaz, into a coalition against Assyria. When he refused, the anti-Assyrian alliance attacked him and Ahaz, frightened, turned to the Assyrian for help. Isaiah opposed the request for help from the king of Assyria and exhorted Ahaz to put his trust only in the Lord.

O Root of Jesse’s stem,
sign of God’s love for all his people:
come to save us without delay!

Advent is a season of tending life and a season of becoming. That God who ’is’, who only is - who has no ‘was’, who has no ‘will be’ - now, in the Incarnation is becoming God is doing something that as God He could not do: He could not change, He could not grow, He could not become. He is the ‘is-ness’ that is the heart of being.

O Adonai, Lord and leader of Israel,
You appeared to Moses in a burning bush
and You gave him the Law on Sinai.
O come,
and save us with Your mighty power.

We don’t often think of Moses as an Advent ‘figure,’ and yet here he is on this night, a week before the birth of Christ, and we are reminded by this night’s magnificat antiphon, that Moses’ first encounter with God was in the midst of fire.

Today we begin the beautiful "O Antiphons", which call on the Lord under various titles and express our desire for His Coming.
Today's antiphon addresses the Lord as Wisdom:
O Wisdom, you come forth from the mouth of the Most High.
You fill the universe

We are pleased to announce that our new Christmas Candles are now available and can be purchased from our online shop.

The story behind our new Birthday Card.

One of our dear Sisters hails from the west of Ireland, not too far from Ballinasloe, Co. Gslway, and until she entered our monastery, lived a life of almost Franciscan love for the beauty of all that surrounded her on the family farm.

A reminder about our upcoming Vocations Discerment Weekend. Please feel free to download and share this poster.

Join us in our Novena to St Dominic as we prepare to celebrate his Feast Day on August 8.

"The foundation of Dominic’s spiritual and apostolic life was his disciplined life which he led from his earliest youth."

(Artwork: St Dominic, Detail from 'The Mocking of Christ' by Fra Angelico, Convent of San Marco, Florence, Italy)

Join us in our Novena to St Dominic as we prepare to celebrate his Feast Day on August 8.

"It belongs to our Dominican life that we dare to speak truthfully, with discretion and sensitivity and respect. This has nothing to do with being a scholar. It is seeking to live with the clarity of Dominic."

(Artwork: St Dominic, Detail from 'The Mocking of Christ' by Fra Angelico, Convent of San Marco, Florence, Italy)

Join us in our Novena to St Dominic as we prepare to celebrate his Feast Day on August 8.

"This year, our Province commemorates the 800th anniversary of the Dominican presence in Ireland, so I would like to share with you about the first Irish Dominican brother I met thirty-five years ago in in Minsk (Belarus), my friend Father Damian Byrne."

(Artwork: St Dominic, Detail from 'The Mocking of Christ' by Fra Angelico, Convent of San Marco, Florence, Italy)

Join us in our Novena to St Dominic as we prepare to celebrate his Feast Day on August 8.

"Any gardener will tell you that keeping roses is no small affair; from choosing the “right roots” to pruning judiciously, it is a labour of love and an arduous one. Of course, no one who has seen a well-tended rose garden in full bloom will argue that it is not well worth the effort..."

(Artwork: St Dominic, Detail from 'The Mocking of Christ' by Fra Angelico, Convent of San Marco, Florence, Italy)

Join us in our Novena to St Dominic as we prepare to celebrate his Feast Day on August 8.

"St Dominic was enterprising man, a tireless preacher, and the founder of the Order of Preachers. Yet, he was also a simple man with a deep inner life, great equanimity and compassion."

(Artwork: St Dominic, Detail from 'The Mocking of Christ' by Fra Angelico, Convent of San Marco, Florence, Italy)

Join us in our Novena to St Dominic as we prepare to celebrate his Feast Day on August 8.

"The genius of St Dominic was the inspiration to found an Order of Preachers, Friars, Nuns, Sisters and Laity who would by their lives, their prayer and their study, 'rekindle the fire of charity which was being extinguished in the world...'"

(Artwork: St Dominic, Detail from 'The Mocking of Christ' by Fra Angelico, Convent of San Marco, Florence, Italy)

Join us in our Novena to St Dominic as we prepare to celebrate his Feast Day on August 8.

"My reflection was originally going to be on something else entirely, but then I was struck by the text of today’s Mass Readings - the way they seem to be speaking of the current state of the Church and the world and also the links to how St Dominic responded to the crisis of his own time."

(Artwork: St Dominic, Detail from 'The Mocking of Christ' by Fra Angelico, Convent of San Marco, Florence, Italy)

One of our sisters has just finished a major work of restoration on the statue of Our Lady and the Child Jesus that resides in our chapel and we thought we would share with you her wonderful work. Have a look!

We will begin our Annual Retreat tomorrow, Saturday the 11th of May, and will conclude it on Saturday the 18th of May.

Join us in our Novena to St Catherine of Siena as we prepare to celebrate her Feast Day on April 29.

"In her writings, St Catherine speaks eloquently of this union between Christ and each individual baptised person in the state of grace. She compares it to “the fish in the sea and the sea in the fish” and keeping our vessel in the fountain so that it will not be emptied while we drink."

(Artwork: St. Catherine of Siena by Fr. Henry Flanagan, O.P., Monastery of St Catherine of Siena, Drogheda)

Join us in our Novena to St Catherine of Siena as we prepare to celebrate her Feast Day on April 29.

"How is it that advice given to a young teenager could have such a profound influence on her heart and spirit as to turn her gaze and thoughts to spending the next seventy years in a cloistered monastery?"

(Artwork: St. Catherine of Siena by Fr. Henry Flanagan, O.P., Monastery of St Catherine of Siena, Drogheda)

Join us in our Novena to St Catherine of Siena as we prepare to celebrate her Feast Day on April 29.

"St. Catherine's life is replete with extraordinary circumstances, and Our Lord's particular love for her was manifested in countless ways."

(Artwork: St. Catherine of Siena by Fr. Henry Flanagan, O.P., Monastery of St Catherine of Siena, Drogheda)