The Conventual Sisters of St. Dominic

PRAYER

The Prayer-life of the Conventual Sisters of St. Dominic is:

contemplative

and

liturgical

To contemplate and to give to others the fruits of contemplation - this is one of the treasured mottoes of the Dominican Order. It sums up the goal of a spiritual son or daughter of St. Dominic. To attain this goal, we centre our life around the two great spheres of prayer - Contemplative Prayer and the Sacred Liturgy.

Each day our prayer includes the Hours of the Divine Office sung in Choir - Matins, Lauds, Terce, Sext or None, Vespers and Compline. The Liturgy is described in our Constitutions as "amongst the principal functions of our vocation", the Hours of the Office flowing both into, and from, the sublime peak and heart of the Church's liturgical action - the Mass.

Our life of contemplative prayer comprises periods of Mental Prayer and Lectio Divina, which are nourished by our study of Truth as found in Scripture and in the Church's sacred teaching and tradition

Dominican prayer is both interior and externally expressive. True to the ways of prayer favoured by the patriarch St. Dominic, it is "incarnational" - showing forth interior devotion by strong bodily gestures.

The glory of God and the salvation of souls is the central intention of Dominican prayer, which is firmly rooted in the Church and attuned to its needs. Devotion to the souls in Purgatory is a special feature of Dominican prayer not only daily, but on the special anniversaries observed throughout the year, and weekly in the "Libera Me" procession.

Devotion to the Mother of God is reflected in our Dominican customs - the daily recitation of the Rosary in common, the solemn "Salve Regina" procession each night and the sung Litany of Loreto each Saturday - the day especially dedicated to Our Lady.