On Nov. 21, the Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Church celebrated “Pro Orantibus” (For Those Who Pray) Day. Pope Pius XII established this World Day of Cloistered Life in 1953.

Now in 2025, we have a new book, with spiritually rich insights and lavish photographs, that uniquely captures life within a cloistered monastery.

Joy Within His House: A Cloistered Nun’s Reflections on Following Christ comes from a Dominican nun at the Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary in Summit, New Jersey. Dominican Sister Mary Magdalene of the Immaculate Conception Prewitt, who presently serves as novice mistress, has given her readers a great gift that, by God’s grace, will touch their hearts to give thanks to God for the gift of consecrated life in the Church. 

In the introduction, Sister Mary Magdalene shares her vocation story: how a girl from Kansas ended up as a cloistered nun in a monastery in New Jersey. Between its introduction and conclusion, the book offers 13 chapters as stepping stones of daily life in the cloister that range from monastic elements to devotion to Our Lady. 

Sister Mary Magdalene sets out treasures from an enormous storeroom: Sacred Scripture, the Church’s ancient monastic traditions, the legislation of the nuns of the Order of Preachers, local customs of her monastery, the saints, vignettes of world literature, and stories from the lives of her sisters. She has a knack for sharing things she’s contemplated in ways that, at times, are utterly delightful and other times piercingly convicting. 

She writes:

More than one sister has been asked by a little kid, ‘Are you a princess?’ To which the natural reply is, ‘Yes, I am a Bride of Christ.’ The habit is a daily call to live up to what it means to belong to Christ and, at the same time, a testimony for others to the love of God.

In the traditional rites of being clothed in the habit and making one’s First and later Solemn Profession, the prioress asks the sister: “What do you seek?” The sister responds: “God’s mercy and yours.” Dominicans have been seeking mercy for more than 800 years. 

Sister Mary Magdalene shares the following reflection on mercy: “Throughout my life, my biggest mistakes and darkest moments have often strengthened my faith because they made me realize how desperately I need God’s love and mercy. God is always so generous. In Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, Portia says to Shylock, ‘The quality of mercy is not strained. / It droppeth as the gentle rain from Heaven / Upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed: / It blesseth him who gives and him who takes.’ We all need to stand under the rain of mercy; it is there we learn to be merciful and thus through mercy both the giver and the receiver are blessed.”

Focusing on work, Sister Mary Magdalene insightfully asks: “How many of us can say we did something stupid (or sinful) simply because of boredom? How many bad habits start because of boredom?” She continues, quoting St. Thomas Aquinas, who cites St. Gregory the Great, “Whether in a monastery or out in the world, we are all the stewards of our time. Better to imitate God, who is pure act, and whose love ‘is never idle.’”

When she turns to recreation, Sister shares her monastery’s custom: “In the refectory on Sunday evenings, instead of hearing the lectures or having a reader, we listen to classical music or Gregorian chant. This provides a rest for the mind and is an invitation to appreciate what is authentically beautiful. The value of this simple undertaking cannot be underestimated.” She bids her readers to take the time to enjoy what is beautiful in the Lord.

The book’s photographs, taken by various nuns and the award-winning photographer Jeffrey Bruno, offer radiant images that can transfix the viewer. In one photo, a heavy curtain is pulled back so that we see the monstrance’s Blessed Sacrament enthroned below the crucifix on the nuns’ side of the chapel. In another photo, we see what is in a nun’s cell: a small bed, a small desk, a small radiator and a large crucifix. In many photos, we catch the cloistered life’s rhythms of the day, seeing nuns at prayer, at work, and in community recreation.

As the Dominican priest who is the vicar of the Master of the Order — the successor of St. Dominic, for this monastery — I wholeheartedly recommend this book to all, as these nuns pray for us all. 

Sister Mary Magdalene writes, “Our community’s motto is Orate Semper, ‘Pray Always.’ We see the words written in big letters outside our choir, reminding us of the needs of others each time we process through the doors throughout the day.” 

Thanks to her book, we who are outside the monastic enclosure have a stunning look into what the life of those dedicated to prayer is all about: Joy Within His House.

 

Dominican Father Andrew Hofer is professor of patristics and ancient languages at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C.