A New Guild

The Monastery of Our Lady of Grace establishes the Aquinas Guild.

Story by Karen A. Avitabile

Earlier this year, on the feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas, and at the close of the triple jubilee marking his canonization, birth and death, the Monastery of Our Lady of Grace, a Dominican community of cloistered contemplative nuns, established the Aquinas Guild with St. Thomas as its patron.

“St. Thomas is our brother in the Dominican Order,” says Sister Maria of the Angels, O.P., prioress of the Monastery in North Guilford. The nuns follow the Rule of St. Augustine but that is given further specifics in the Dominican Constitutions. These refer to St. Thomas Aquinas as “our best master,” she says. 

“The Constitutions also tell us that the nuns should nourish their faith especially on the mystical teaching of our Fathers, as well as of other theologians and authors, in particular those of the order,” Sister Maria adds. “In the study of St. Thomas, let them find their best master, whose doctrine the Church always commends and the order has received as patrimony.”

Known for his love of sacred truth, St. Thomas Aquinas, an Italian Dominican friar and priest, is also the Church’s foremost scholastic thinker and one of the most influential theologians in the Western tradition. 

“The Guild was formed as a way of organizing our friends, new and old, and by offering them the opportunity to share in some of the aspects of our contemplative life, such as liturgical prayer and devotion to learning,” Sister Maria says. 

Several people have been reaching out to the Monastery in various ways, she adds. A group of volunteers runs the Monastery Gift Shop and others have offered their help with yard work, wood stacking and growing some vegetables for the poor.

“One of the options that I am personally and particularly excited about is having some garden space (outside the enclosure) that would serve as a sort of community garden where people can grow vegetables for the poor,” Sister Maria says. 

Since the Guild was initiated, more than 100 people have registered. Members of the Guild who live in the area will be invited to participate in events to share in various aspects of Monastery life. 

One of those events, “Evenings with a Friar,” will take place on May 27, when Father Dominic M. Verner, O.P., who will address the topic, “Glory and Honor in the Christian Life.” The evening will begin at 7 p.m. in St. Catherine Center, on the Monastery property. A crucifix reliquary that has relics of several saints, including St. Thomas Aquinas, will be on display. 

Another event will take place on the following evening, May 28, at 4:40 p.m., when the nuns invite all their friends to the celebration of Solemn First Vespers of the Ascension. Their chaplain, Father Brian Mulcahy, O.P., will preside and give a homily. Solemn vespers offer a beautiful way to enter more deeply into the mysteries of the faith, in this case the mystery of the Ascension. 

“Through the Guild we show our gratitude for their friendship and ongoing solicitude, which enables us to live a hidden life in the midst of the Church for the salvation of souls,” Sister Maria says. “Members of the Guild will share in the spiritual fruits of our life through the Holy Mass and by our prayer and penance.”

To enroll as a member of the Aquinas Guild, to register for the evening with Father Dominic M. Verner or to see the schedule of future Guild events, fill out the form online by visiting dominicannuns.org/aquinas-guild.