Last Friday (Feb 2), the Church observed the World Day for Consecrated Life (Vita Consecrata). SR ANN BRADSHAW OP, of the Rosary Monastery, St Ann’s describes a typical day in the life of the Sisters at the monastery.

“What do you nuns do all day long? Isn’t your life boring?”

Sister A is up and awake at 3.00 a.m. She shuffles down the steep stairway into the kitchen, puts on the kettle and leaves everything ready for those of us who would take a cup of coffee to really wake up. Day after day she willingly performs this act of service to the community.

Next she goes to the Choir (our part of the Chapel), greets our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and opens up. The Choir now ready for Divine Office, she loses herself in private prayer – for the sick, the dying, the souls in Purgatory, the intentions of people who send in their petitions.

Sister B is next in Choir. She greets our Lord and Spouse: “O Godhead hid devoutly I adore thee.” She pours out her praise and thanksgiving for a brand new day, for the world, the Church, the community, family and country. She hands Sister a note with a name and an urgent prayer petition.

Sister C and D come into the Choir next. Sister C opens up the chapel and gets everything ready for Mass. Sister D kneels, lost in prayer, “O God what will become of poor sinners?” Her spirit scans the whole world and she gathers all of God’s people in her heart. She is espoused to Jesus, His people are her people.

Sister B now leaves the Choir for the altar bread department to gather the sheets of baked bread from the previous day for today’s cutting. Like Mary she prepares a body for the Lord. It is a love relationship, not a job.

Sr Ann reaping melongenes

Sr Jacinta Lee - "Sr A"

Entrance to Rosary Monastery Chapel

Rosary Monastery community with the Vicar of the Master General and Fr Lawson

It is now 5.15 a.m. and Sister A rings the first bell summoning the community to the Prayer of the Church, the Divine Office. Monastic communities celebrate the full Office in the name of the People of God.

We are commissioned by the Church to offer this public prayer on behalf of all God’s people. The liturgy – the Mass, Prayer of the Church, the sacraments are offered to the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit with the whole Body of Christ. What a privilege! What a responsibility!

Sister A rings the second bell at 5.30 a.m. and the community now prays, “O sacred banquet in which Christ is received…” We pray the Angelus before we begin Office of readings and Morning Prayer. “O Lord open our lips and we shall praise your name.”

With psalms and hymns, readings and prayers and petitions we pray to the Father, with the Son, in the Spirit, with Mary and Dominic and all the angels and saints, and all of God’s people.

Meanwhile the worshippers come into the chapel for Mass. We have a family relationship with them, we call them “the Outside Community”.

Their concerns are our concerns and our concerns are theirs. Together we celebrate the Eucharist. Together with the whole Church we offer to the Father the sacrifice of His Son. We join the angelic hosts: “Holy, Holy, holy Lord god of hosts.” The priest dismisses the congregation: “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.”

In love we have our breakfast, then our morning meditation. We serve the Lord in all our works, our household duties, making of altar breads, counselling those who come or call with their troubles.

Looking after the administrative works, checking on the maintenance works which are unending. Then there is gardening, picking, sorting and selling of the produce.

As Dominicans we daily fuel our intellectual life with Lectio Divina, study, community discussions, keeping updated on current affairs, communicating with our other monasteries.

At 12.00 noon the bell again summons us to Choir for Midday Prayer. From Choir we proceed to the refectory for lunch.

The refectory like the Choir is a sacred place where not only our bodies but our minds are nourished by readings at meals as well as listening to taped lectures and CDs.

Presently we are listening to a retreat preached by the Master of the Order, Fr Carlos Aspiroz Costa to the Dominican Nuns commemorating our 800th centenary.

Lunch is followed by a short period of recreation so necessary for the health of soul and body. Then from 1.15 - 2.15 we have “Profound Silence”. As you can see, we have had a busy morning and the silence is to enable our souls to catch up with our bodies.    

How our world needs this discipline. People are so much on the go that their bodies are running ahead of their spirits, the result? Disintegration of the person.

Having recollected ourselves, we get back into the mode of community activity. One Sister is weeding, another sewing, one has a doctor’s appointment, another is off on the driving lawn mower, and Sister A is making Sacred Heart badges.

It is now 5.30 p.m. and Sister A again rings the bell for evening meditation. In the cool of the evening one Sister is walking up and down the garden paths praying the rosary, another is sitting out reading while some are in the Choir before the Blessed Sacrament.

At 6.15 Sister A ring the bell to call us all to Choir for community rosary followed by Evening Prayer which is always sung.

Here we gather up the whole world, all the activities of the day, the griefs and pains of our people, the wars and famines and political strife; the joy of the newlywed couple whose bridal bouquet was made by a Sister and together with the whole Church we pray with Mary, “My soul glorifies the Lord.”

From the Choir we again go to the refectory for dinner. We clean up the kitchen and go to the recreation room. Here we share what went on during the day, have community discussions and plan what has to be done. 

All too soon it is 8.15 p.m. and again Sister A rings the bell for Night Prayer. With a hymn, a psalm, a prayer and a hymn to our Blessed Mother we close the day. “Hail Holy Queen, Hail our life our sweetness and our hope” we sing, as we commend ourselves and the whole world to her care.

Sister A rings the bell once more to invite us to the Solemn Silence, which lasts until after Mass next morning. Sister A, mind you is 90 years old, still full of sap, still green.