God Is Bigger Than Elvis

[EmilyAnn]

I'm watching it now and it's fascinating. I've never seen intiction used in Western rites before.

AND THEY HAVE A LLAMA!!

[AccountDeleted]

Yes, this topic is about the video, but it has raised other points which I feel happy to contribute an opinion to - but it is only an opinion, as is everyone else's - God made variety in nature and in us.

As for the theatre, I will check with the nuns here but I don't think the RL nuns act in the theatre, they have other people come and use the theatre and they supervise the practical aspects of it - just as a guestmistress supervises the physical and practical aspects of the guest houses. I can see several reasons for the theatre there - one is that there are people in the vicinity and in nearby cities who do have this talent (actors and actresses from NY and other places, stage managers, writers, producers etc) who are friends and benefactors of the Abbey and want to contribute in some way that they know how. I would assume that the admission price of the tickets not only covers costs but also contributes financially to the Abbey. And this activity probably also encourages other benefactors to come who might not otherwise ever set foot inside a monastery. I don't know but I would like to research further.

And also, I am sure that hospitality (not a Franciscan charism, but definitely a Benedictine one) means that sometimes the nuns have to go beyond their own comfort zone to extend a welcome to others. I know that here at OLR we have had so many guests in the past few weeks and I can see that the nuns get tired of having so many people coming to their 'home' all the time, even if they don't set foot inside the enclosure. Guests are a responsibility and they take energy and effort. Today I will spend much of the day washing sheets and making beds after the last group that left, and the nuns will be stocking up supplies and organizing other things for the next guests who come through. And all summer this goes on here. Yes, they are cloistered, which means no one goes into the enclosure, but their charism of hospitality requires that they put the needs of others ahead of their own and this means that sometimes they can't simply sit inside the enclosure and avoid contact with the 'outside world'. They try to receive each guest as if they were Christ, and this sometimes means they have to go a little beyond what they might want to do, which is to withdraw and pray alone somewhere. God knows what they need though and is taking care of them, and they take care of others. Sometimes guests abuse the nuns' hospitality believe it or not, but this doesn't make the nuns shut their doors and refuse the next person because of it. They just keep offering more hospitality. I didn't understand this before I came here, but these women put others before themselves. They still have to pray the Office and keep their own residence functioning, but the guests are a high priority because St Benedict valued hospitality so highly. It is not a Carmelite charism or a Franciscan one - but it is the Benedictine way. I am sure there are Benedictine Abbeys that don't place such a hig emphasis on hospitality, but even within the Carmelite community, there are differences in the way they interpret their charism.

I do understand some of the concerns because I had them myself before I became so familiar with the way the RL and OLR monasteries live out their Benedictine spirituality.


PS - I was an actress too at one point in time so I do understand the temptations, but anything God gives us can be purified and offered to Him. A musician may enter a convent and offer up their talent, but then God might use that talent within their convent or monastery. I have seen this happen, even in Carmel. We had one novice who had a masters in music and she could have been a concert performer, and her family was very upset that she gave it up to enter a cloister. Later when she was professed, God used her talent in many ways, through performance and writing music. And think of all the writers who used their talents for God. Actors don't have to be all ego, believe me, it may seem like a pre-requisite to the job, but the finest actors in the world are some of the most humble, but they are actors and not just celebrities. Now, only you know if acting would be bad for you, but not everyone who acts would suffer for offering this talent to God. Just my opinion from my own experiences. But once again, I don't think it is the nuns who do the acting - I will check on this.

Edited May 2, 2012 by nunsense

[AccountDeleted]

I found an article about the theater...
[url="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/30abbeyct.html?_r=1"]http://www.nytimes.c...beyct.html?_r=1[/url]

In it, Mother Dolores says,


“Acting was what I thought I always wanted to do, and there was nothing about it I didn’t like,” she said. “I loved the idea of playing different parts, of learning about other people’s lives. But then I came to visit the abbey and realized I belonged here.

“Like the theater, the monastery gives people a different view of life and inspires them to come alive, to fully live their story.”

To help give people that needed “context to come alive,” Mother Dolores called on friends and the actors James Douglas and Patricia Neal in the early 1980s to help her start a local theater company and build a 200-seat open-air theater on the abbey grounds.

Made up of both new and veteran actors, the company performs at the abbey each August, [u][b]with the nuns acting as stage hands, parking attendants, ticket sellers and in other behind-the-scenes roles. All profits go to the abbey[/b][/u].

[u][b]“I don’t miss a show, though I try to stay in the background[/b][/u],” Mother Dolores said. “It’s wonderful to see people’s faces as they get caught up in the story.”


One of the reasons I want to clarify this matter is because I was very prejudiced against RL myself before I really learned about it, and sometimes I think we make snap judgments based on very shallow and insufficient information - or at least, I sometimes do. So hopefully a little more information will help others to see why they do what they do.

Edited May 2, 2012 by nunsense

[Kayte Postle]

I had been looking for a full version of this everywhere, thank you so much for sharing it!!

[savvy]

Thanks for sharing this video. I noticed they also have David Cameron's ex in it!

Edited May 2, 2012 by savvy

[ACS67]

[quote name='Lisa' timestamp='1335966916' post='2426049']
ACS, you've obviously thought about why it wouldn't be a good idea for you, but I think it might be a bit much to say that no religious should ever take part in the activity.

[/quote]
I didn't say it....St. Francis did. He said it to the laity! How much more would have had said it to his monks and nuns! I agree with him on this, wholeheartedly (but I won't go into details!). However, to be fair I understand Mother Mary Francis PCC (RIP) wrote a play and the sisters performed it yearly. I think it was the Wolf of Gubbio or something similar. I wasn't assuming the sisters at Regina Laudis acted in the plays. My beef is being involved in theatre at all, on stage or off.

Edited May 2, 2012 by ACS67

[AccountDeleted]

[quote name='ACS67' timestamp='1335984155' post='2426133']
I didn't say it....St. Francis did. He said it to the laity! How much more would have had said it to his monks and nuns! I agree with him on this, wholeheartedly (but I won't go into details!). However, to be fair I understand Mother Mary Francis PCC (RIP) wrote a play and the sisters performed it yearly. I think it was the Wolf of Gubbio or something similar. I wasn't assuming the sisters at Regina Laudis acted in the plays. My beef is being involved in theatre at all, on stage or off.
[/quote]

And you are certainly entitled to your opinion.

[Pax_et bonum]

Hildegard von Bingen wrote the first musical ever, Ordo Virtutum, which the nuns in her convent performed.
You already pointed out that Sr. Mary Francis wrote plays, Candle in Umbria, that the nuns performed.
The Passionist Nuns in Whitesville, KY perform their own little skits, a little different but still, [url="http://www.passionistnuns.org/blog/2010/11/16/celebrating-passionist-vowed-life/"]When Technology is too Smart[/url] [url="http://www.passionistnuns.org/blog/2011/06/26/bile-dem-cabbage-down/"]The Dulcimer Chronicles: Passionist Nuts Meet Mad KY[/url]
The Sisters of Saint Francis of Perpetual Adoration wrote and performed a play about their foundress, [url="http://ssfpa.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=161"]Through the Stain Glass Window[/url]
I think that, like many talents, acting has a place in religious life. Just as a music major would be in charge of the choir or playing music for Mass, etc and a chef would be sister cook and a beautician would get the postulants ready for investiture, an actor could provide entertainment for a special day. The key is to give our talents to God with everything else to be used as He wants. Maybe God will have a use for my juggling talent in religious life? I've seen a Poor Clare on roller blades and a fully habited nun on a bike, think they'll let me ride a unicycle?

[marigold]

Oh I'm so moved by the love story between Mother and Don. I can't bear how sad it is that he never moved on from her - and that they still have a close relationship after all these years.

[Totally Franciscan]

Mr. Robinson passed away last November. Here is his obituary.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?n=donald-john-robinson&pid=154855384

[marigold]

[quote name='Totally Franciscan' timestamp='1336095040' post='2426762']
Mr. Robinson passed away last November. Here is his obituary.

[url="http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?n=donald-john-robinson&pid=154855384"]http://www.legacy.co...n&pid=154855384[/url]
[/quote]

Oh my. Thank you for passing this on!

[Immanuel]

Oh, this was so wonderful. Thank you so much for posting this film. I also am moved to tears.

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

i like the parrot toto/toby, and the alpaca... this nunn proves prayer keeps us grounded and open to gods call whenever and wherever and whatever that may be, even if your rich and famous,

Edited May 5, 2012 by Tab'le Du'Bah-Rye

[loveletslive]

why the heck is one of the novices wearing a NOSE RING?!?!?!?!

[Chiquitunga]

oh my goodness, just saw that .. hmmm


p.s. to give the benefit of the doubt though, maybe she has to still wear it for a while or it will cause complications

Edited October 29, 2012 by Chiquitunga