Sr. Mary Magdalene of the Immaculate Conception, OP, a member of the  Dominican Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary in Summit, New Jersey,  has written a book to give those who live on the outside of the cloister a glimpse into the experience of those who live within. Called Joy Within His House: A Cloistered Nun’s Reflections on Following Christ, in it she shares the joy she finds in living the life of a cloistered nun and following Christ. Several dozen captivating photographs from inside the cloister help to illustrate the prayer, study, work, and recreation that order the nuns’ days.

Many people may have misconceptions about monastic life, especially the cloister: what nuns do all day, what they are like, why they choose this life, and what they have given up. A life of contemplation is not something esoteric, secretive, or hidden; rather, it is a mystery.

Despite facing some different day-to-day realities, you might just find one or more facets of that mystery that will enrich your own life. This book demonstrates that laypeople can also take the principles of Dominican spirituality and monastic life and use them as tools to help them grow in holiness. to encourage others to become saints, and to try to give lay people the principles of monastic life that they can use to help them live as better Christians.  At the same time, religious can glean many helpful points from it as well.

At the Dominican Monastery in Summit, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the heart of their monastic life, where they unite their lives with Christ which is then offered to the Father in a holocaust of praise for the salvation of the world. The Divine Office flows out from the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, extending their worship of God throughout the day. Flowing from their life of liturgical praise is private prayer and lectio divina. They also have the special privilege of both perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament joined with the prayer of the rosary. This they call the Adoring Rosary.

For those who would like to visit their monastery chapel, here is something amazing they can see — a 400 years old copy of the Shroud of Turin!  This Shroud replica was commissioned by the Most Serene Infanta, Maria Maddalena of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, wife of Cosimo de’ Medici in April, 1624. To give the copy greater value it was placed for a time on the Shroud of Turin. In gratitude for the generous help of the fledgling Monastery in Summit, New Jersey after World War I, the Dominican Nuns of St. Catherine’s Monastery gave it to the Summit Dominican Nuns on April 6, 1924.

To order the book, visit Amazon or the OSV Catholic Bookstore.

The book will be released on October 13, 2025, but you can pre-order to reserve a copy!

To learn more about the community: summitdominicans.org