In this corner you have old habit-less nuns in pants suits who more or less act like social workers who don’t date. And then you have an order of nuns, many of whom are in the 20’s, in full habit and consecrated to God. Guess which one’s doing better.
Interesting story about two orders of nuns who couldn’t be more different from Catholic Pillow Fight.
This seems like a classic case of “lookin’ for luv in all the wrong places”. I’m not a sister. I’m not even a woman, but I would think that if I were consecrated as a bride of Christ, my first and foremost responsibility would be nurturing the relationship with my husband. This would mean talking to Him a lot, and receiving Him often physically into my body. The rest of the volunteer work would spring from those conversations.
The Sisters of Mercy seem to be spending so much time with the volunteer work, they rarely see their husband (at least from the text of the mission statement).
On the other hand the Dominican Sisters of Mary appear to have it ordered correctly. The results are easy to see.
Check out Catholic Pillow Fight. He’s got pictures, analysis and everything.
May 7, 2008 at 3:58 am
and receiving Him often physically into my body
I know what she means, but comparing Holy Communion with the marital act is kind of creepy.
May 7, 2008 at 5:20 am
I posted about the Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist last Monday, contrasting the vibrancy and orthodozy of their order with another Dominican Order near where I live, where they’re a bit progressive. It’s here if you’re interested.
May 7, 2008 at 5:24 am
oops – orthodoxy. Not sure what orthodozy is – a sleepy Catholic maybe?
May 7, 2008 at 8:31 am
dcs, don’t get creeped out by the comparison–it’s actually right on. The bride/bridegroom theme is one of the strongest in Scripture and in the Church’s self-understanding. In our baptism each of us are espoused to Christ, and in the Eucharist we are united bodily with him. It’s very deep–Theology of the Body exposes it even more I think.
There is a blog where one aspiring theologian I know is exploring this theme–it’s called “Will You Marry Me? God”
http://willyoumarryme–god.blogspot.com/
May 7, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Shouldn’t the title of this post be “Nuns Neglecting Their Husband”, singular?
Sorry! 🙂
May 7, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Good point. It’s not like they’re Mormon.
May 8, 2008 at 1:49 am
Are there any Fathers or Doctors of the Church who make this comparison of receiving Holy Communion and sexual intercourse?
May 8, 2008 at 11:42 pm
I don’t know if JP II counts as a Father or Doctor (yet) but he has a section about this in Mulieris Dignitatum 26 (also Theology of the Body p480-481).
It’s worth saying that such a comparison is not to denigrate the Eucharist, but to elevate the truth about married sexuality–as something sacred to God…an icon of the Trinity.
May 10, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Go read the Song of Songs. Out loud. To your wife.
May 12, 2008 at 4:00 am
Go read the Song of Songs. Out loud. To your wife.
Have the cold shower running, unless it’s phase 3 😉
Seriously folks, Holy Communion is supposed to be the most amazing foretaste of heaven, as is marital union. I hope that my communion with God contains all of the passion, intense unity and JOY that my marital life strives for. I hope most of all that heaven isn’t anything like the “I-just-sucked-a-lemon” looks we sometimes see after Communion.
Reverent is not the same as sombre for all people. Reverence can and should be joyful, passionate and expressive.