1947 Chronicles (7): A Living Liturgy

“It was during the Office of the Dead that the Sisters first heard the strange noise....”

The life of a cloistered nun is a living liturgy: her days are centered around participation in the Mass, the Divine Office, prayer, and study. Although the living conditions of the new monastery were still less than ideal, many of the elements that define Dominican monastic life began to be implemented into the daily life of the sisters.

The nuns’ car for running errands in town

“For the first few weeks, we were unable to do our laundry since our tubs had not been installed. Our Procuratrix telephoned a laundry in Middletown and told of our plight. They charitably offered to wash our clothes without charge; so, each Monday morning, Father Moore brought all the soiled clothing in his car. Also, Father drove into town with Tommy each morning to take our mail to the post office and to purchase groceries and other necessities. The dilapidated car with its two occupants soon became a familiar sight to the residents of Guilford and the surrounding towns. Thus, Father made many friends for us and, in a short time, he had most of the merchants in town agreeing that we should have a discount on all articles purchased.

“About a week after our arrival, we moved our refectory (three second-hand tables which someone had given to us) from a corner of the kitchen. Sister Mary Joseph was glad to have the extra room in the not-too-large kitchen, and we were delighted with our first real refectory, the porch which had been enclosed – it was a cheerful room with windows all along one side.

“On the twenty-ninth of January, Father Halohan was sent from Saint Mary’s Dominican Priory in New Haven to hear our confessions for the first time. And, for the Feast of Our Lady’s Purification, Mass was sung for the first time in the new monastery. There was no organ to accompany the singing, and only a few Sisters to sing, but all who were able, even Sister Mary Joseph and Sister Eleanor, our Lay Sisters, sang as loudly as they could, which was all Our Lady could expect of them. Father Moore blessed our throats afterward, as it was also the Feast of St. Blaise. We also recited the Office of the Dead for the first time in our new home this day. We soon realized that because of our small number, we could scarcely take time out for a cough or a sneeze if we wished to keep up the chant.

“It was during the Office of the Dead that the Sisters first heard the strange noise. It came from the cellar below us and sounded like the clanging and rattling of heavy chains – we looked at each other with consternation. Could it possibly be the poor souls attempting to increase the fervor of the prayers on their behalf? Such things had happened in the lives of the saints, and we were saints in the making. Yet, one glance at Sister Marie Louis Bertrand’s face relieved our fears, for she was smiling broadly. By making signs and moving her lips, she made us understand that it was not the poor souls, but only the cows taking a drink. The vibration of the water pipes, which ran from the barn to the cellar, was causing the strange noise.

A Dominican priest preaches at the choir grille

“February ninth was a happy and memorable day. After benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, which followed Holy Mass, Our Eucharistic Lord was exposed in the monstrance for the first time. His Throne of Exposition was a marble column placed behind the altar just a few feet away from the Sisters kneeling behind the grille. From that day on, the Blessed Sacrament was exposed daily in the little parlor chapel, the Sisters replacing each other in keeping the Hours of Adoration.

“Every evening after the dishes were washed the Sisters removed their aprons and hastened to choir to sing their evening song of praise and thanksgiving. Just before Father placed the Sacred Host in the tabernacle for the night He would raise It aloft, making the sign of the cross over the little group kneeling behind the grilles. Our Divine Lord would give us His blessing through the medium of His priest.”

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