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)

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

"As when St Peter beheld the transfiguration of Our Lord and wanted to remain there with Him on the mountain, so also St Catherine could not bear the thought of being separated from her Lord, even for a moment."

(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.

“Know, daughter, that I am the one who is. You are the one who is not.”

(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.

"In her letters St Catherine often encouraged a group of followers that formed around her in Siena. 700 years later, her words are still pertinent for us today."

(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.

"Saint Catherine had a tremendous love for Jesus in the Eucharist."

(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.

"The 2nd day of our Novena to St Catherine is also the 4 th Sunday of Easter – Vocations Sunday – a day of prayer for Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life."

(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.

"There is something wonderful about saints meeting saints. From time to time, these precious occurrences seem to capture the imagination until they grow into tremendous legends."

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

We all usually hope for good things - a fine day for the wedding, the birthday present we long for, the healing of a child who is ill, the passing of an exam. Daily we are hoping for good things, things that will bring us peace, make us happy and bring us fulfilment. But if our hope is for this world only we are doomed to be disappointed. Nothing that this world has to offer is ever going to fully satisfy us.

This painting is an attempt to portray the Transfigured Christ of Fra Angelico’s Transfiguration scene in which he portrays Jesus with Moses and Elijah and the apostles Peter, James and John.

Remembering the quote from the letter to the Hebrews: ‘Let us not lose sight of Jesus,’ I try to sit with this image and let it be ‘only Jesus’ that I see while I contemplate on the love that He is about to show me personally in His passion.

O King whom all the peoples desire,
You are the cornerstone which makes all one.
O come and save man
Whom You made from clay.

This antiphon draws our attention to the relationship between God and man.

We coming from clay and burned with God’s love, become living stones in the Mystical Body of Christ.

Mary’s own mystery is so much interwoven with that of her Son. At the Annunciation the angel came and said to her:

"Rejoice full of grace,the Lord is with you... You will conceive in your womb and bear a son,

Tonight the O Antiphons continue in the theme of Our Lord’s Davidic Kingship. The “Key of David” reflects the kingly powers conferred on Jesus as successor to the throne of the David, as well as the fulfilment of God’s promise made to him in 2 Samuel 7 that he would rule over the House of Israel forever. These ‘kingly’ O Antiphons draw forth this aspect of the Lord’s character as Messiah and focus strongly on the nature of His Power.

Tonight we sing to the Lord and address Him as the ‘Root of Jesse’ who stands as a signal for the nations, and the question could arise as to how a root can be said to stand so that it is visible to our sight. But Isaiah also prophesied, ‘a shoot shall spring from the stock of Jesse.’

Thus Christ is both root and fruit of Jesse. He is the One source and foundation of existence which is impregnable, indestructible, unchanging and therefore utterly dependable.

Oh Adonai and leader of Israel, you appeared to Moses in a burning bush, and gave him the law on Sinai.
Oh, come and save us with your mighty power.

Recently I saw two photographs that have stayed with me and have inspired me to write this refection. The first was taken seconds after a healthy baby girl was born. By the expression on her face, and her little arms and fingers outstretched, it looked like she was in awe and praise of God for this gift of life. The next photo was this same baby all wrapped up snug in her mother’s arms.