There was a lazy buzz as we sat around the courtyard of the Rosary Monastery at St Ann’s, replete from the lunch we had just consumed and the balmy atmosphere created by the flowers, butterflies and sound of running water.

It was the blistering hot afternoon of Thursday, March 8. There were 26 of us; 25 women and one man – eight members of the Vocations Team and 18 members of the 55PLUS team of St Charles parish, Tunapuna.

Suddenly out of that precious haze came movement. Someone laughingly said, “Take up your chair and walk.” I complied and followed the crowd to find myself under the trees, the existence of which I had not even suspected from the inside.

Sr Ann chats with some of the participants under the trees

Though we had spent the morning in the air-conditioned chapel and the atmosphere was sweltering, we were very comfortable there in the shade of the trees, the breeze gently fanning us and whispering peace through the leaves.

During the morning we heard the story of the Dominican Order – this year being a Jubilee year for them as they celebrate 800 years of existence. We had been given the opportunity to release a soul from purgatory through a plenary indulgence available to anyone visiting a Dominican Monastery in this year of Jubilee.

 Led by Sr Ann Bradshaw OP, we fulfilled the requirements by praying the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed and special prayers for the Pope. We were also taught the dynamism of praying together and that we “55 PLUSSERS” are a gift from God to the Church, especially the women with all the sensitivity and compassion, knowledge and experience they have to share.

We are dared to value ourselves since God took his complete humanity from a woman. We were advised that since we become what we eat, we should feed on the Word of God.

Under the trees, we discussed so many things of interest – “Catholicising”/evangelising the culture – being precise about what is Catholic and what is culture and blending the two before God.

 We talked about Caribbean people being sunshine and spice and as such we are called to spice up the Church and the world. The need to embrace life to the fullest, making it a perpetual prayer.

The danger of our Catholic ethic being so strong that it becomes a killjoy driving people away. We also discussed the need for vocations and pledged to pray for same.

We, the 55PLUS and Vocations Teams of St Charles, thank the nuns of the Rosary Monastery for sharing their blessed and serene space with us for the day and Sr Ann for her guidance and words of wisdom.