Did anyone here ever know a nun?
I knew one; she was very nice
shareWas taught by nuns for 12 years. Some good some bad
share
MovieChat Forums > The Nun's Story (1959) Discussion > Did anyone here ever know a nun?
Wish I had an Sister Luke...
shareEvery year the local convent throws open their doors and holds a fair as a fundraiser. I have volunteered for several years now and became good friends with one of the sisters. Sister Mary Joseph was a no nonsense,strong personality type.( she could get donations out of the tightest of skinflints.) She also had a wonderful sense of humor and an acceptance of people that made everyone around her feel welcomed and loved. RIP Sister Mary Joseph, you have left a big hole in the lives of the people who knew you.
shareI am a faithful catholic who attends Sunday mass weekly and feel Pope Francis is bringing light into the Church.
60 years ago I was traumatized by a Lay Teacher in the Catholic Elementary school I attended who later became a Nun. What she did to me was so evil that 60 years later I still shudder. I was a good Boy and what she did to me still
panics me. I wonder how many others she hurt. Her behavior has impacted on how I view Nuns. However there must be some good One's
Hi Anderson. I, too, am a practicing Catholic who attended catholic school from kindergarten thru 12th grade. Just wanted to verify that the nuns I knew and who taught me were fair, decent and just trying their best. I, on the other hand, was a spoiled brat. Thanks goodness I no longer am a brat, I promise... :)
All that to say, I was more than a handful bordering on un-teachable but I was treated with care, concern and my parents were called in to assist in gleaning understanding. I wasn't expelled and finally by the 11th grade, I settled down. I bet every nun was glad to see me leave but they never let it show.
I hope my endorsement of good nuns is a comfort to you.
Best...
June
Do you think it appropriate to ask a young boy who was not at all a troublemaker to ask that boy to sit in the trash can in the classroom all morning, then ask him to go to Lunch with his classmates and then after Lunch
ask him to sit in that trash can until school was finished? Harrowing. And mind you this was the mid 1950's and it was close to Ozzie and Harriet as far as temperament. She later became a Sister of Charity.
My Mom and Dad kept me home from school and my Mom went to the School and demanded to know the reason. There was none and today a teacher/ witch like that would have been fired and sued.
I remain a faithful Catholic due to the Gospels.
Anderson Whitbeck
This is a bit OT, because I have had no experience with Parochial Schooling. One thing I CAN say, is that the Public School system was a frequent dumping ground for "educators" who were often on the edge of psychosis! My second grade teacher was sadistic, my third grade teacher was a bully and my fourth grade teacher was a "Conspiracy Theorist" (This took place in the early 1960s)
I was lucky, because by the time second grade came around, I had been warned by my older brother. The teacher HATED LEFT HANDED KIDS. I was mostly sent to the Principal's Office for "Defiance": Teacher would take away my pencil, and put it in my right hand, and I'd change it back. My best friend wasn't so lucky. She'd broken her left wrist. She was bullied and shamed in front of the class, because her right handed writing was so bad. Fortunately, the Sadist 'resigned', and in the middle of fourth grade, my friend and I moved on to better things. She, to New Mexico and me, to a "Progressive" School..., where critical thinking was more important than the quality of Cursive Writing.
I do hope he won't upset Henry...
Glad you survived a tyrannical hag. That is how I view that rotten teacher. Just wonder how many others that witch who shamed me also terrorized others.
Years later in college had a superb nun who taught Biology. Sister from the get go stressed evolution as the genesis of our human kind. A great Lady. A great teacher, a Great Nun.
Anderson,
No, that was definitely not appropriate. She sounds like a sadistic bully in addition to being a weirdo!!
Your last sentence in the post I responded to wondered if there must be some good nuns, so I can only tell my experience with nuns in the Maryland, Washington-DC area in the 60s.
Best,
Juneten
Anderson,
So sorry about your trauma. I was never paddled by a nun or hit with a ruler, but some of my friends were. Once when I was in the sixth or seventh grade Sister someone burst into the classroom demanding that we put all the money in our possession in these envelopes she was going to pass out because it was going to the poor. I knew about the ten percent thing, so I tithed.
I've known many nuns, sweet, scary, funny, musically gifted. When my mom was a girl there was one who took an intense dislike to her. There paths crossed again at a banquet my parents attended and Sister Meanie was there.
I hope you all realize though, what being a nun really means. It doesn't mean that these ladies are perfect. It means that they entered into a life that would require them to strive to be their humble best. They may have failed in some ways or with some people, but you don't know how much less of a failure they might have been if they hadn't been a nun. To me, the fact that these women---even "Sister Meanie" as you put it, became nuns is proof that they try to do their best to honor every single day. Their best may not be good enough for you, an imperfect human being yourself, but they are living to please God and help others, and that is to be commended, whether we take a shine to them (or they to us) or not.
Please excuse typos/funny wording; I use speech-recognition that doesn't always recognize!
Sorry to hear (or see) this. While I'm not Catholic, I kind of have some insight as what it's like being a kid under these circumstances and not knowing what the heck is going on. Very difficult when you are led to believe you should trust your elders, and they end up being very flawed persons.
shareI know several as they come to the opticians where I work. They are all lovely ladies who mostly have a wicked sense of humour and are very kind.
The Long Walk stops every year, just once.
Just by some work. My mom worked with some and I have worked with a few. Some are a delight and some are quite prideful.
shareYep I was "taught" by quite a few. Raving lunatics most of them and none of them looked like Audrey Hepburn, I can tell you that !