On May the 26 , we voyaged to Summit New Jersey to discover more about the lives and experiences of Dominican nuns in a cloistered monastery. A cloister is a closed and secluded community which maintains a contemplative and spiritual life filled with prayer and penance. Although we were only able to get an account of two extern sisters we were able to relate to the livelihood of the Dominicans by praying a decade of the Holy Rosary in the chapel.
We were also able to view the shroud of Turin replica which was transformed from a ordinary mimic to a blood stained treasure which makes this monastery unique. This replica was commissioned in April 1624 by Maria Maddalena of Austria, the Grand Duchess of Tuscany and the wife of Cosimo de Medici.
The replica is treasured and venerated because of a mysterious occurrence when it came into contact with the original shroud, especially the wound on Christ’s side.
When the replica was removed from the shroud, the wound had become damp as though with blood. This effusion stained the copy.
In 1987, scientists from the Association of Scientists and Scholars International for the Shroud of Turin affirmed that the stain was from human blood of the same blood type as that on the shroud.
This encounter was especially entertaining because after seeing the monastery we hiked a couple blocks and visited the church called St. Theresa of Avila where afterward we sang songs and ate lunch together.
