On Monday last, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, and World Day for Consecrated Life, we paid a visit to our sisters in Siena Monastery, Drogheda. They are contemplative Dominican nuns, following St Dominic above all in their sustained openness to the Word of God, in Scripture and the Eucharist. Their main work is Eucharistic adoration and the praying of the Divine Office, and their prayer is the engine that keeps their brothers going!

It’s always a joy to be with our sisters – they are an example to us of the priority of prayer in the Dominican way of life. We Dominicans are called to be preachers, but we can only preach Christ if we come to know him intimately in prayer. And because the Dominican nuns are so radically focussed on the Lord, their wordless preaching is more powerful than any homily.

The sisters are playing a big part in the fascinating new project, ‘The Rise of the Roses’. This is a project led by Catholic lay women (married and single), who want to shine a light on female religious life, to show the beauty of a life promised to God. There’ll be a summer tour as part of this project, visiting ten convents and monasteries around Ireland. The Dominican nuns in Drogheda will be acting as hosts on 4 July. Have a look at their website for more information – and if you’re a woman, why not come along and find out more about these daughters of St Dominic?