Silent preachers amid nature’s song

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eVeryone getsa blessing—including the littlest—during the dedication of the Queen of Peace chapel and monastery, august 8, 2012, the feast of Saint dominic.

the Queen of Peace dominican nuns built their new monastery in British columbia (opposite page) to enjoy and share with others the area’s natural beauty.

A small group of Dominican nuns hope that the monastery they built in mountains of western Canada will become the voice of Jesus to anyone who stops to listen.

iN 1999 seVeRAL DoMiNiCAN NUNs took a chance on something new. They responded to a call from church leaders to leave their original communities and form a new Dominican monastery in Western Canada. They started out in a house in the city of surrey, British Columbia. Two years later they were able to acquire a location in the country. When they outgrew that space, they relocated north of Vancouver in the Upper squamish

Valley, where, with the support of many benefactors and friends, they began to build Queen of Peace Monastery, with a vision of creating an environment

“that communicates the vastness and the beauty of God.” They realized their vision in August 2012 with the completion of a chapel, residence, and small guesthouse specifically designed to showcase their glorious mountain surroundings. Although their daily life of prayer, labor, and periods of silence rarely takes them outside the monastery grounds, these nuns are networkers. They invited leaders from the First Nations (native peoples) to join them in blessing the land and built a walking path to welcome the public to enjoy their spectacular

views of the Canadian Rockies. They have hosted open houses for local residents, and as a group, the sisters received an honorary doctorate from nearby st. Mark’s College for their “prophetic work” and “authentic and sustained life of charity, contemplation, and service to the world.”

Queen of Peace prioress sister Claire Rolf, o.P. sees their quiet life of prayer as well as their outreach to the wider community as a form of silent preaching and a way of quenching the spirit. “We all thirst,” she said at a groundbreaking ceremony. “We are all thirsting for life, goodness, beauty, truth, love. We are thirsting for God, and God is thirsting for us. . . . May all who come to our monastery perceive the voice of Jesus, like the voice of [nearby] Pilchuck Creek, crying out or gently singing, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me. Let anyone who believes in me drink.’ ” =

the community eStaBliShed a hiking trail (above) to allow visitors to experience the beauty of the area and encourage all to let their “eyes be lifted to heaven” (Genesis 15:5).

SiSter miryamanastasia, o.P. (left) at her candle-making. the nuns work every day to support the community.

at SUnriSe anDDUSK (opposite page, top) the community prays together, in total six times a day, including eucharist.

PrioreSS SiSter claire rolf, o.P. (opposite page, bottom) takes part in a blessing of the land with Henry Williams of the first nations (native peoples).

FrOMMiD-MOrninGuntil 4:30 p.m. the nuns work at organic gardening (right), sculpture, baking, and making soap and candles.

nearBy PilcHUcKcreeK (below) provides a contemplative setting.

SiSter miryam anaStaSia (kneeling, opposite page) makes “simple vows,” a step in the process toward permanent membership. with her are Sister marie tersidis, o.P. (center) and Sister claire rolf, o.P. (left).