Lebh Shomea House of Prayer:
Significant Persons in Our History
Lebh Shomea began as a House of Prayer in June 1973. (To review the sequence of events that brought the Kenedy Ranch headquarters to this point in its history see Sarita Kenedy East.)
The “Big House” at Lebh Shomea viewed from
the wilderness to the south.
(Note the deer in the foreground.)
Initially, the property willed to the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate by Sarita Kenedy East served as a novitiate. When the novitiate closed, a proposal was made to use the property as a House of Prayer. The House of Prayer proposal provided the Oblates with a convenient and obvious "religious purpose" for an otherwise huge empty facility. Thus, after the last class of novices made their vows in the summer of 1973, Father Hervé "Tom" Marcoux, OMI, took over as director of the fledgling enterprise and immediately took off around the country, trying to discover what other Houses of Prayer are/do. That summer, Brother Danna Gauthreaux, OMI, also joined the Oblate community at La Parra as treasurer and general overseer of the vast and complex physical plant. It was principally Tom Marcoux who came up with the name for the House of Prayer: “Lebh Shomea.” He was inspired by Solomon's response to the Lord: "Give your servant lebh shomea [a listening heart] so as to be able to discern" (1 Kings 3:9).
Tom Marcoux and Danna Gauthreaux opened the House of Prayer to any group or individual who came seeking spiritual renewal. They tried Charismatic Prayer Retreats, Cursillos, Marriage Encounters, A.A. and 12-Step Retreats, etc. Yet, nothing worked on a long-term basis. La Parra was too remote, too hard to find and too untamed for most city-dwellers. Moreover, Corpus Christi and the Rio Grande Valley had their own renewal centers which they could barely fill. Why add another? Thus, within a few months Tom Marcoux came to the conclusion that this beautiful oasis surrounded by such a vast wilderness was not much good for anything except encountering God in silence and solitude; in other words, contemplation. And so it remains.
Tom Marcoux, a recovering alcoholic with a couple of years sobriety at the time, could see the handwriting on the wall; that is, the intensity of the silence and the solitude could drive him to drink again. As for Danna, he was hoping for an Oblate community with more camaraderie and interaction. Both men went on to other ministries after approximately a year-and-a-half.
With the passage of time, a number of Core Members have come and gone. Three, however, have remained: Father Francis Kelly Nemeck, OMI, Sister Marie Theresa Coombs and Sister Maria Elizabeth Meister. Kelly joined Tom and Danna in November 1973 after a five-year stint in Canada and France. Marie Coombs arrived in March 1974. She was a Presentation Sister in temporary vows from Newfoundland, Canada. Maria Meister arrived in September 1976 from the Poor Clares in Omaha, Nebraska, via Zambia and Chicago. She was also in temporary vows. Each Sister discerned eventually an eremitical vocation, and in the early 1980’s they became canonically recognized hermits with a special association with the Missionary Oblates.
Lebh Shomea House of Prayer
La Parra Ranch
P.O. Box 9
Sarita, TX 78385-0009
Tel: 361-294-5369 ~ Fax: 361-294-5791
e-mail: info@lebhshomea.org