The Cloistered life 

Convents and nuns intrigued me growing up. 

I read The Nun’s Story by Kathryn Hulme and later loved the movie by the same name. The Trouble with Angels also colored my imagination; as did The Sound of Music. 

In early 1960’s, I could readily understand why Sister Luke in the first story chafed under all the restrictions on how she wanted to . . . live. 

By the mid-60’s that Mary Clancy, a fun character in the second, would volunteer to become a nun, surprised me.

 And Me

I wonder why. 😉

Fast forward to today  and I still watch those movies when TCM shows them. 

I also understand why cloistered living for me wouldn’t work — Nevertheless,  the idea of  retreating from today’s problems  into residential worship, prayer and service  seems appealing . . . until I remember Doug and how well I follow directions.  

BUT — the examples I learned from the nuns’ stories of discipline, wrestling with their conscience, submission to authorities they might not like, regular worship, prayer and self-examination,  self-denial, service, and joy still light up my path in rocky times. 

And these are rocky times. 

Watergate scandal. And I thought THIS was big news!

Many things are hard… Life comes at you in pieces sometimes too big to avoid. ~Simon Van Booy, The Illusion of Separateness, 2013

Maybe you can relate? 

A meditation from the late Frederick Buechner was timely, and I share with love and hope — especially since a cloistered life has its own troubles. 

YEA, THOUGH I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” The psalm does not pretend that evil and death do not exist. Terrible things happen, and they happen to good people as well as to bad people. Even the paths of righteousness lead through the valley of the shadow. Death lies ahead for all of us, saints and sinners alike, and for all the ones we love. The psalmist doesn’t try to explain evil. He doesn’t try to minimize evil. He simply says he will not fear evil. For all the power that evil has, it doesn’t have the power to make him afraid.

Originally published in The Clown in the Belfry

How to live in un- cloistered times. Thank you Dr. Evans

Still on the porch painting, and now listening to a jaw-dropping bio of a queen who lived through times I thought I understood. 

Good read, especially,if you are wondering about today’s flirtation with Christian Nationalism

  Photo Source