Retro Reads discussion
This topic is about
In This House of Brede
Group Reads
>
In This House of Brede, November, Spoiler Thread
date
newest »
newest »
message 51:
by
Susan in NC
(new)
-
added it
Dec 03, 2020 09:40AM
It’s very interesting, when I was a little girl attending Catholic school in Chicago, our nuns all wore habits, taught at school, and lived in the convent together. My son, who is 25 now, attended Catholic schools all through the years, and nary a nun until he was in high school, where he had two fabulous nuns, one teaching chemistry, the other Dean of Students. Both older (60s-70s), no habits, highly educated and respected among the students. They were wonderful women, made a real impression on him, and most of the kids I imagine.
reply
|
flag
Karlyne wrote: "I don't think I've ever even met a nun! I have had friends who were or are Catholic, but nary a nun among them."I’m not surprised, Karlyne, they are dying off and not being replaced- vocations are a real concern, I know, and have been for decades. The abuse scandals, of course, did not help.
When I was a child, one of the hospitals in Pretoria was managed by the Catholic Church and known as the Little Company of Mary. When you visited anybody who was sick, there would be nuns in their habits around. It has since been taken over by a private hospital group and there are no more nuns in sight. I took my mother there to see her neurologist a few weeks ago and there are still statues and little decorative elements which hints at its history. I did know a man who decided to become a monk in his twenties.
There is a monastery/convent about 100 miles north of us, who are famous for their Raspberry Festival in August (gorgeous place), and several missions in the northern section of the state which are remnants of the first non-native people through there, fur trappers, explorers and the "black coats". As you say, from the pictures I've seen on their Facebook page, the nuns do seem to be elderly. I don't think I've ever seen a young woman in any of their photos.
Carolien wrote: "When I was a child, one of the hospitals in Pretoria was managed by the Catholic Church and known as the Little Company of Mary. When you visited anybody who was sick, there would be nuns in their ..."That's interesting, Carolien! When my second son was born, the best hospital in northern Nevada (where we were living) was St. Mary's. I have no recollection of nuns being anywhere around (I was busy...), but I do remember the chapel as being beautiful! And in Idaho now, we pretty much only have St. Luke's and St. Alphonsus hospitals and care centers. It's not a particularly Catholic area, but they do dominate the illness scene!
Karlyne wrote: "There is a monastery/convent about 100 miles north of us, who are famous for their Raspberry Festival in August (gorgeous place), and several missions in the northern section of the state which are..."I know at my son’s Catholic high school, they had yearly visits from nuns/monks to give a talk about vocations, but I only know of one young man who went to seminary. But then my son ran into him after college at a local bar, and the young man, though friendly, didn’t explain why he was no longer a seminarian! And we weren’t close enough to the family to ask what happened...I think they try and be very rigorous about the commitment being made, ferret out any who do not truly have a vocation- in many cases, I think it was often family tradition that drove people into the priesthood/nunnery.
Susan--family traditions sure can be an impetus, but the vocation must be sincere. My mother's mother was born in the late 1880s and was one of a dozen or so children of a German Catholic farming family in north Texas. At least two of her brothers became priests and several of her sisters became nuns. One of my mother's brothers became a priest. My generation of 30 or so first cousins produced one priest, no nuns.
My great aunts were teaching nuns; my great-uncles and my uncle were all Benedictines, based at an abbey in Arkansas.
Barb in Maryland wrote: "Susan--family traditions sure can be an impetus, but the vocation must be sincere. My mother's mother was born in the late 1880s and was one of a dozen or so children of a German Catholic farming ..."
My first thought on reading this was, "What a great wall of prayer we've lost over the last few generations". I hope that it's not really so, but it's not something we can ever know, is it?
Barb in Maryland wrote: "Susan--family traditions sure can be an impetus, but the vocation must be sincere. My mother's mother was born in the late 1880s and was one of a dozen or so children of a German Catholic farming ..."
Wow! I had a distant cousin who entered the seminary, but ended up leaving to become a stockbroker in his dad’s firm - not sure what happened there, my mom had her suspicions, but didn’t want to hurt her dear cousin (the mother of the young man), by asking prying questions.
Mod
I was expecting this to be Phillipa's story, but one thing you learn with Godden is that she doesn't go in the direction you expect!
saying that, Dolores Hart's story has some interesting parallels...
https://allthatsinteresting.com/dolor...
message 61:
by
Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ , She's a mod, yeah, yeah, yeah!
(last edited Dec 06, 2020 10:33AM)
(new)
-
rated it 4 stars
Mod
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanbro...
I read a few articles last night & I know one of them said that it was costing six thousand pounds a month to heat the original Abbey & another said that the nuns got a lot less than their original asking price because of the poor state of the building - lots of essential maintenance hadn't been done for many years.
The original abbey now a luxury hotel - don't know if I agree with all the decorating choices but at least the beautiful building has been preserved.
https://www.google.com/travel/hotels/...
Christmas Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "The real Brede & its fatehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanbro...
I read a few articles last night & I know one of them said that it was costing six thousand pounds a month to heat the origi..."
Thanks for this information, Carol. I couldn't help but smile at all the bathroom photos of the current hotel and compare it to the nuns' situation!
Mod
Hana wrote: "Haha! Those bathrooms really were an improvement! So was the high tea :)"Absolutely!
Mod
Barb in Maryland wrote: "Small change of subject. I did not expect to tear up as much as I have (and I still have several chapters to go...). Need to stock up on tissues, as I've already gone through quite a few!Philippa'..."
the story of how Philippa lost her son was absolutely heart-breaking and I feel like that piece of her past is what will stick with me the longest out of everything in the book.
Others have mentioned reading the Cadfael series which I also have enjoyed: but despite being Benedictines, I don't recall music having anywhere near as much importance in their lives as it does at Brede. the schedule of services (or, what would they be called?) during the day and the way life is built around the changing of the seasons is the same, however. after I finished this book, I googled to see what monasteries are out there accepting applicants: did anyone else have the urge - if only temporary - to join? just a daydream, of course, I'm not even a Christian! but the sense of community sounds so good, and the idea of having such order in your life.
Susan in NC wrote: "Finished yesterday, I know I’ll want to find a physical copy to revisit- I feel like you could read it through, or dip in and out for spiritual refreshment! I found myself wanting to slow down, or ..."This is exactly how I read it, over the years. After many years of hanging on to a library copy I remember how thrilled I was when my brother bought me my own.
Karlyne wrote: "I don't think I've ever even met a nun! I have had friends who were or are Catholic, but nary a nun among them."Convent school till 8th grade, nuns galore
Jay wrote: "Karlyne wrote: "I don't think I've ever even met a nun! I have had friends who were or are Catholic, but nary a nun among them."Convent school till 8th grade, nuns galore"
"Nuns galore" paints such a picture! I laughed out loud!
Karlyne wrote: "Jay wrote: "Karlyne wrote: "I don't think I've ever even met a nun! I have had friends who were or are Catholic, but nary a nun among them."Convent school till 8th grade, nuns galore"
"Nuns galo..."
It does, made me laugh!
Jay wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Finished yesterday, I know I’ll want to find a physical copy to revisit- I feel like you could read it through, or dip in and out for spiritual refreshment! I found myself wanti..."How nice, and thoughtful!
Jackie wrote: "Others have mentioned reading the Cadfael series which I also have enjoyed: but despite being Benedictines, I don't recall music having anywhere near as much importance in their lives as it does at..."I think you would refer to it as the Liturgy of the Hours, or Divine Office. Yes, I understand that feeling! My mom and I discussed it years ago, we agreed probably every little Catholic girl, at some point, thinks they’d like to be a nun! It usually wears off, but if one has a true vocation, it won’t be denied, I think.
Interesting link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liturgy...
I went to Villanova University (outside of Philadelphia) for graduate school in Library Science. I not only had a priest for a professor, but there were several nuns in my class because they were librarians in their respective Catholic schools. Overall that graduate program taught me a lot besides the obvious library topics. I met Koreans, a Greek Orthodox, a couple of Ukrainian women, who were just so thankful to be in the U.S.
Karen wrote: "I went to Villanova University (outside of Philadelphia) for graduate school in Library Science. I not only had a priest for a professor, but there were several nuns in my class because they were l..."What a wonderful opportunity for all of you - my son went to a Catholic high school, and there was a wonderful blend of students and faculty from different faiths and nations. They strove to inculcate a respect for everyone, amid an atmosphere of academic excellence. He complained for the first couple years of college that his high school was tougher!
The Morville Hours by Katherine Swift is about a garden developed in the grounds of an old Shropshire Monastery, each chaoter named after one of the Hours of the Office.
Jay wrote: "The Morville Hours by Katherine Swift is about a garden developed in the grounds of an old Shropshire Monastery, each chaoter named after one of the Hours of the Office."Of course I had to trot off to check out The Morville Hours. And now I need to trot off on a used book tour in order to find it. Or I could just order it; it's now on my list... (Sounds fascinating, Jay!)
I see Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy and Black Narcissus both deal with nuns. I would be interested in reading these, but maybe towards the middle/end of the year.
Karlyne wrote: "Jay wrote: "The Morville Hours by Katherine Swift is about a garden developed in the grounds of an old Shropshire Monastery, each chaoter named after one of the Hours of the Office."Of course I h..."
It is. I have a black thumb and therefore fulfil my gardening urdes onle by reading!
Happy New Year all
Carolien wrote: "I see Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy and Black Narcissus both deal with nuns. I would be interested in reading these, but maybe towards the middle/end of the year."I have both of them, too, and all three are about as different as different can be. I seem to remember that Godden was rather embarrassed by The Black Narcissus, because she knew little about nuns when she wrote it. Anyhow, yes, I'd love to read them again.
Karlyne wrote: "Carolien wrote: "I see Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy and Black Narcissus both deal with nuns. I would be interested in reading these, but maybe towards the middle/end of ..."I must ask, did you see any trailers last month, I think, for a modern remake ofBlack Narcissus? Sorry, I don’t even know what channel it was going to be on, but the bits of trailer I saw looked almost like a psychological thriller, definitely sexier than I would have associated with Godden. I wondered if you had seen the trailers and if it bore any resemblance to the book...
Susan in NC wrote: "Karlyne wrote: "Carolien wrote: "I see Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy and Black Narcissus both deal with nuns. I would be interested in reading these, but maybe towards th..."I didn't see them, but the book is definitely more of a "thriller" than a contemplative novel!
Retro Reads
Books mentioned in this topic
Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy (other topics)Black Narcissus (other topics)
Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy (other topics)
Black Narcissus (other topics)
Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy (other topics)
More...
