...is NOT the same as back then. All those harsh rules and grueling initiation are things of the past. "Taking the veil" is not like that anymore. I have nun friends, not only do they visit their families but they talk about their past life! And they don't have to wear habits.
shareHardly seems worth it.....?
shareI was raised catholic and stayed one for 30 years but am so glad I was saved out of that superstitious and morbid system. Movies like this give people such silly romantic notions. The catholic church does not even take care of its nuns the way it used to, and you see commercials on TV about how there isn't any money for what few older nuns are left to take care of them. What a shame. Those women sacrifice their lives for next to nothing and have no clue about what God wants of them. Martin Luther was a devout monk who realized that "the just shall live by faith." He had to leave because the system was so rotten even back then. Jesus died for every one of our rotten souls, everyone is a sinner and needed His perfect sacrifice, and there is no way anyone could get to heaven otherwise. He said "it is finished," meaning it's a done deal. The catholic church teaches you can work your way to heaven, which is what nuns think they're doing. Nobody can. So the whole business of putting some outfit on and separating yourself from the rest of the world is just foolishness. Better you realize what Jesus has already done and get out there and tell everybody you meet.
shareYou are right about Jesus. But it is not a question of working your way to heaven. Faith and good works must be joined together. Matthew 25:31 through 46.
Nuns are like spiritual Marines -- it is not a question of becoming a sheep or a zombie. Every second of your life is lived with attention and focus. Most orders of nuns are very much involved in practical life. There are contemplative orders that spend their entire lives praying for the souls of you and I. That's no waste.
I'm all right, I'm alllll right!
I like your comparison with the Marines. My father was one for 35 years and, even though he is 80 years old now, and been retired for a quarter century, he still lives life much like the way he was taught when he was a teenaged Marine. Back then, they had to wear their uniforms and follow protocols even off duty.
Back to the topic, I am glad to hear that being a nun does not, in most cases, require quite the rigidity of what is portrayed in The Nun's Story. I am not Catholic and have no close friends who are, but I greatly admire the sacrifices given by those who choose to devote their lives to the service of their fellow man, through the Catholic Church.
That depends on entirely on what kind of order you join. Traditional orders like the Discalced Carmelites or the Poor Clares still live in monasteries and follow many of the original practices, including wearing the habit, abstaining from meat and living lives of strict discipline and self-denial. Members of more modernized orders may wear secular clothing, live independently, and have more autonomy in their lifestyles. There is no single experience of "Taking the veil".
share[deleted]
"Judge not lest ye be judged."
No one is in a position to call a nun's life a waste, and certainly not from a doctrinal basis. Jesus said "it is finished," but he also cautioned that it is harder for a rich man to enter heaven than a camel go through the eye of a needle, that evil should always be met through passive resistance, and that to marry a divorced woman was to commit adultery. Clearly, different sects of Christianity pick and choose what to take from his message in the Gospels--you can't latch onto one saying and then devise an entire theological system from it.
As far as I can see, nuns take their vows of POVERTY seriously and live their lives by charitably helping the helpless. That seems closer to Jesus' message than annoyingly proclaiming the importance of his mere death on the cross and its symbolic meaning. There's nothing convincing to me about "faith alone" letting everyone into heaven--even many of the most radical Protestant sects didn't teach that.
I certainly have nothing against nuns, (who could, really?) but its hard for me to understand their reasoning about becoming one. Not to say they don't do wonderful things, and should be admired for their life choices, but one can devote their life to doing God's work, can be humble and chaste...all of the things nuns vow to without being a nun. You can be all those things, and be married for that matter, marriage is holy. God created us to love, that's how children are made! I don't think that by denying yourself the perfectly natural and God-given love for another is doing you any favors. But I digress.
The Catholic faith, while I would never say is wrong, because that's not for me to say, just confuses me. None of the things they do, like pray to Mary and the saints, confess to the priest, cross themselves, are asked of us in the Bible. Jesus came to earth to get rid of all of that. I get why Jewish people stick to their ways, because they don't believe Jesus was the Christ, but Catholics do. The traditions are nice, but unnecessary. I have a friend who is Catholic, but neither she nor her family had a good answer to any of my questions! When I asked why they do certain things, they just said its because that's what you do!
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Ann - "Is this the elevator?"
Joe - "Eh, this is my ROOM."
A pertinent quote to your statement may be helpful for this discussion:
"The original 16th-century revolutionaries had the mysterious conviction that you could attack a procession of Catholic worshipers, knock the miter off the priest's head, dash the Eucharist to the ground, burn the vestments, smash the images, and overturn the altar -- yet inexplicably seize their Holy Book and declare it an infallible oracle."
--G.K. Chesterton
By the way, noteven therain, a great place to discover the answer to all your questions can be found at www.catholic.com
I apologize for the digression.
You bring up excellent points. Rather than God, the pope and church seem to be the ones to demand obedience, loyalty, and worship for themselves.
The current Pope Francis seems to be doing a wonderful job bringing people closer to God. But, who knows what goes on behind closed doors and if this direction will continue...
It is my understanding some orders of nuns are still like that (Benedictines, Carmellites), it all depends on the order.
As a single, never married, with no children Catholic, technically I could become one...though may be too old.
But still...
I don't care if it's the year 4570...you don't mess with nuns!!!
Widows can become nuns, just as widowers can become priests (heck, married Episcopal priests can convert and become RC priests).
The Mother Superior in DOUBT was a WWII widow.
You may be confusing nuns with sisters. Nuns are essentially female monks, living out of society. Sisters are teaching, nursing, and serving the laity.
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Please put some dashes above your sig line so I won't think it's part of your dumb post.
All the while watching the early part of the movie tonight, I was getting the vibe of monks and their rules and rituals that are often portrayed in sci-fi and martial arts films and TV.
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When animals forage, is it for grocery, hardware or medicine?
I have made a study of this and have many friends who are nuns (cloistered) and sisters (non-cloistered). There is a difference.
Usually the nun lives in a monastery in seclusion from the secular world, like former actress Dolores Hart.
"A stitch in time, saves your embarrassment." (RIP Ms. Penny LoBello)