Monthly Donor to Enter Dominican Monastery

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Rebecca Derks (left) visits the Dominican nuns of Summit, New Jersey.

Monthly Donor to Enter Dominican Monastery

By Rebecca Derks

Our Lord gave me my first real nudge toward religious life during a Latin exam at Christendom College. The exam required me to provide insights on St. Thomas Aquinas’s commentary on John’s Gospel. In this commentary, Aquinas discusses why St. John was so beloved of Christ.

One of the reasons, according to St. Thomas, was that John’s purity as an unmarried man gave him a close friendship with our Lord. As I sat in class meditating on this passage from Aquinas, I realized that I desired the same kind of closeness with the Lord Jesus that the Beloved Disciple had, an intimacy especially achieved through a life of celibacy.

A few months after that exam, a class in monastic theology gave me a beautiful perspective on life in a monastery, a life lived totally for Christ. That same semester, I was received into the Order of Preachers as a Lay Dominican. Being a Lay Dominican gave me great joy; however, I knew that this life was not enough. I wanted to give more of myself to God.

At a party one night, I was captivated by a crucifix. Despite the music and conversation all around me, I was quietly meditating on the love of our Lord during His suffering on the cross. I realized at that moment I was meant to love Christ in return in religious life.

I began looking into Dominican religious communities. A Dominican friar friend mentioned that he enjoyed visiting the Dominican nuns in Summit, NJ. I reached out to those nuns, and after several visits, applied to enter their community. They will welcome me to the postulancy in September of this year.

What drew me to the nuns of Summit is their dedication to the saving work of the Dominican Friars, especially through praying the Rosary. At Summit, the Rosary is prayed throughout the day and night before the exposed Blessed Sacrament.

I’m grateful to be able to join the nuns in praying the Rosary using the St. Dominic relic rosary, a gift from the Dominican Friars. I will be praying daily in a special way for the success of the Friars’ mission to bring souls to our Lord.