I picked up from The Anchoress that some Dominican sisters in New Jersey are trying to raise some money by selling… wait for it…
Soap is a good thing.
I am pretty sure this is girly soap, so I urge you all to check it out. Women seem to like soap as gifts, men, in case you are wondering about that next round of gift giving.
And the cause is good.
So… go buy some soap from the Contemplative Domincan Nuns of Our Lady of the Rosary Monastery.
The sisters are renovating their house and have posted some good photos of the work being done.
The link to their online SHOP is HERE.
They have lavender room spray too. I know someone who would like that.
There are various soaps… even Christmas soaps (whatever those are… Holly in them? A bit scratchy, maybe).
You will also see books, even their Choir Book, which looks interesting.
And did I mention the soap?
In a monial testimonial, someone who apparently has a problem with dry skin said: "I bought some in January and my hands didn’t bleed last winter. Now that’s remarkable."
Hmmm… maybe it isn’t just girly soap.
And something which really endeared them to me is that on the side bar they have links to CD’s of music they sometimes hear in the refectory, including the sound track to Master and Commander, movie based on books by Patrick O’Brian, Musical Evenings With the Captain, inspired by the same! I had those on my amazon wishlist, as a matter of fact, I have been enjoying them ever since!
If the sisters like those books, then buy some soap and help some nuns.
You can order everything online
UPDATE 1752 GMT:
They accept payment with Paypal, btw.
UPDATE 1809 GMT:
NB: These are not the sort of nuns who want to be priests. FYI
UPDATE 5 Sept 1603 GMT:
The Sister in charge of soap sales wrote me a nice note. Read it HERE.
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Cleanliness is, after all, next to godliness.
The Summit Choirbook is very interesting. Designed for use by religious, it has found a home in some parishes and has a nice mix of Eastern music.
Besides, this is one great monastery!
I think they also have more manly soaps and lotions as well that are AWESOME!
I just checked out their website.
They have something called “Gent’s Scents Seignadou Soap Trio.” So I guess it’s not just “girly soap” : )
They also have something called “Gardener’s Hand Soap” that looks nice, too.
I’m definitely going back and ordering something. Thanks for the tip, Father !
As a client and as a man, I can attest that they do have a selection of soaps in “manly” scents. If you (pl) were to purchase some, not only will you have the satisfaction of being clean, but also that of supporting a solid religious order.
It’s far wider than I originally thought.
I found the Savanarola Soap described as:
The sweet, smoky scent with a surprising hints of raspberry.
Perhaps good for … burns?
OK, this is a first. A priest blogger and a Catholic husband blogger post on soap and guys within 24 hours of each other, apparently independently. LarryD (http://actsoftheapostasy.blogspot.com/2009/09/coming-clean.html) from “Acts of the Apostasy” said:
“So back to this morning’s crisis. I was forced with a choice: do I scrub with Bath & Body Works’ Optimism: Bright Blossoms; or the Bath & Body Works’ Pleasures: Dancing Waters; or the Suave Skin Therapy: Lavender Vanilla? They all kinda smelled….girly.
It’s a moment such as this when it’s evident that men and women are equal, but not the same. See, I might use body washes if they were called “Armageddon”, or “Leonidas”, or “Led Zeppelin”. Not these flowery, aromatic spice names straight from a Martha Stewart catalog, though. Both sexes like to feel clean – but there’s a line that just can’t be crossed, and I was standing on my side of it. Most likely there’s nothing in Theology of the Body on this sort of thing – maybe there should – but situations like these can highlight deep theological truths about the nature of man and woman. Perhaps even more about husbands and wives!”
Anyway, we bought the Dominican Nuns’ soap for family presents (not for the guys, of course)this past Chistmas, and the reviews were all excellent.
In Christ,
Hooray! Fr. Z plugged that wonderful soap.
I have several bars – love the stuff. I actually went out and bought [gasp] soap dishes once I got hooked. Makes hands soft without all the chemicals in typical liquid soap. Made with prayerful hands too.
The Sister in charge of soap sales wrote me a nice note. Read it HERE.
It’d be awesome to have a site with a comprehensive list of religious communities that sell their wares online. I noticed there’s monasterygreetings.com, but it appears a tad on the commercial side.. and Seignadou Soaps and Mystic Monk coffee seem suspiciously absent.
I should say that it is true that my hands too stopped bleeding after using the soap. I discovered that the “anti-bacterial” soap was the culprit of my cracked hands and even scaly skin year-round. It has been so difficult to find liquid soap without anti-bacterial in it. And, after finding numerous articles that suggest we don’t need the anti-bacterial, I stopped using it. That helped. But my skin improved even more when I switched to the sister’s good soaps.
I’m addicted.
I just rec’d two “floral” 3-packs of the Sisters’ soaps this afternoon (ordered after I saw the entry here). Received them very promptly. They are pretty, and I can’t wait to try them. I will post about them after I’ve used them. Also am giving one pack as a gift if I like them.