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Our Pillars
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prayer
We know the far-reaching power of prayer.As Dominicans, we strive to knit our active, everyday lives with our contemplative lives—knowing this interdependent relationship builds wholeness of mind, body, heart, and spirit and fosters wisdom. As a Catholic community, we come together for Mass regularly, observe holy days of obligation and Dominican feast days, pause before class to pray or say the Rosary at lunch. Because of our Dominican heritage, we also recognize there are many forms of prayer. Our students define and relate to God individually: some read their Bibles in Spanish or study the Torah after school, others meditate in Peace class, take yoga in the afternoons, or visit the Prayer Garden for moments of solitude. No matter her path, we encourage each student to pause and connect within herself.
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study
We study with a higher purpose.Honoring the principles of Catholic social teaching, our entire community questions and debates the significant, many times controversial, issues present in our world today. Together, we seek individual understandings of veritas—the truth—within each discussion or investigation, every subject area or assignment. As seriously in physics or philosophy, in theology or orchestra—we challenge our students to think critically to make connections across disciplines to grasp the concepts behind their assignments, and to be able to converse in-depth about anything they're studying. We question the unquestionable.
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community
We share our greater responsibilities.Our students celebrate the essential worth of their peers and learn to see themselves in sisterhood, responsible to and for one another. From that foundation, our students also begin to promote awareness of modern-day slavery, women's rights, or racial and sexual discrimination in the Houston community.When our community comes together—whether serving our neighborhood, singing at Mass, or dancing at a pep rally—we each move toward understanding something larger, together: God is in us.
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preaching
We preach God's love throughout our lives.True to our heritage as the order of preachers, at St. Agnes we preach often, and only if necessary, use words. Preaching at St. Agnes puts living veritas—our truth—before giving lectures. Our students learn to demonstrate radical hospitality and respect for all people. They advocate for the marginalized, for their communities, and for their planet. And they continue to do so long after they graduate. Through their lives and throughout their lives, Academy women take action, inspire change, and boldly demonstrate love and compassion.
