Cloistered Conversations

[salveregina]

I thought it was beautiful.

And of course nuns can get attached to a building...

Hello? Anyone seen "Bells of St. Mary's???"

Although Sister Mary Benedict (Ingrid Bergman)'s prayer is pretty awesome in the end, there. At least, I think so. (I'm biased though, it's probably my favorite movie ever)

[puellapaschalis]

Detachment is a many-faceted thing, isn't it? And then there's the balance we have to achieve - not too attached to things on one side, and on the other, not too distant or aloof. Especially for those called to the active religious life, showing compassion to people in the most desperate of situations, and yet not becoming emotionally attached.

Thank goodness for the "He equips the called; He doesn't call the equipped" bit

Love and prayers,

PP

[TheresaMF]

"Interesting . . . " so I agree with the consensus. I am skeptical, especially right now, about reading fictional accounts of religious life. It is too easy to dive off into fantasy never-never land with a romanticized idea about the life, or an over-analyzation or romanticization of my own joys and trials of discerning. Bleck, lol.

The story was a good reminder of how very AWESOME the psalms are, the psalms of the Office. Talk about stability and security--always moving in their rhythm, always bringing back to God, the familiar words fitting perfectly in the groove of memory, each time like the ever-coming waves on the beach rooting the things of God more and more deeply into your soul.

Yep.

I also understand the attachment thing. Often for me "change = bad, same = good." Somehow the crisis of the story didn't grab me very seriously, though--the psalm itself made the most impact.

And finally, it would be weird to live without recreation. Living with people for years and never speaking together except the vocal prayers of the community? (Hehe, it reminds me of the one uber-strict monastic order that let the monks speak only two words every ten years. A new monk entered. After the first ten years, he spoke his two words to the abbot: "Bed hard!" After the next ten years: "Food bad!" Finally, after the next ten years: "I quit!" The abbot replied, "I am not surprised. You have done nothing but complain ever since you got here!") On a more serious note, perhaps there is communion deeper than words. Br. Dominic Mary Legge, O.P. has an article on p. 4 of the Dominican Review (the Eastern Province Student Brothers new quarterly publication [url="http://www.op-stjoseph.org/Students/preaching/dominicanreview/dominicanreviewvol1no2.pdf"][pdf file[/url]]) that discusses friendship and the Eucharist. "We spent little time together outside the chapel. But the Lord was forging an invisible bond of friendship rooted not in some worldly interest but in Him who is the source of life and fraternal charity."

[brandelynmarie]

That joke...Oh my goodness!!!