Groveland Twp.- Obedience, poverty, and chastity.
These are the vows that Sister Mary Martin and Sister Anne Mary took, 70 years ago and 50 years ago, respectively, and that have led them in a contemplative, prayerful life of peace and happiness.
The cloistered Dominican nuns from Our Lady of Mt. Thabor Monastery renewed their vows and marked 800 years since the founding of the Dominican Order with a special Mass celebrated by Bishop Earl Boyea of the Archdiocese of Detroit on Aug. 11 at the monastery’s chapel, in the presence of 100 benefactors and friends.
Mary notes that many of the friends who could not come expressed their sentiments to the sisters.
‘We’re here and praying and don’t always know the lives we touch and will never know, but those who tell you, it encourages us and gives us a boost,? she said.
‘Our life is dedicated to prayer,? says Martin, sitting on a sofa at the monastery, next to a large window through which sunlight streams in, a few days after the Mass. ‘We pray for the Church, and immediate people in the area, and then the whole world. We carry their burdens of life.?
The sisters leave the monastery only for doctor appointments or to shop for food. They go to their on-site chapel about seven times a day to pray.
‘Everyone is our family, the whole world,? says Mary. ‘We’re not burdened with competition, or accumulating things. Our vows are freeing. They can be hard, but they’re not a burden.?
Martin agrees, and quotes St. Augustine, saying, ‘If the world knew the peace, silence and happiness within the monastic life, there would not be enough monasteries to hold the world.?