S: Sisters Generally Also Known as Nuns (of all Religions)

This week the Vatican finally dropped its war against American nuns. As I wrote back in 2012, "Talk about a case of misplaced priorities and ignoring the cancer right in front of its nose, instead choosing to pop that irritating pimple that just won't go away...the pimple of faithful women who work day in and day out for social justice, serving the poor and disadvantaged across the world." 

Brian Doyle's uncommon prayer for nuns parallels much of what I wrote back then: "What kind of message is the Vatican sending by bullying the nuns instead of disciplining those who have forsaken human justice and compassion by protecting their own in lieu of protecting innocent children?"

Prayer for Sisters Generally Also Known as Nuns (of All Religions)

With my favorite nun, my husband's late
Aunty Gena, at her 50th Jubilee

Because those are the coolest bravest most humble most relaxed and funny religious people there are. Fact. Because they are in my experience the most humble and amused religious people I ever saw.

Because they have never been charged with thousands of rapes worldwide. Because they generally abjure power, as far as I can tell.

Because they have happily changed with the times and they come out from their convents and cloisters and stay focused on Jesus' original mission statement better than any other religious people I ever saw.

Because they are generally brilliant but do not think they are cool. Because the best of them have said to me, when I ask about the precipitous decline in vocations among them, it's not a disaster, it's a great opportunity for new work!

Because it seems to me we Catholics trust and admire nuns more than any other religious people I know. Because like priests and brothers they took the original mission statement so to heart that they swore and vowed their lives in service to it, which is amazing and astonishing and we do not sing and celebrate that enough.

But let us do so, this morning. And so: amen.

Here's more information on why I chose this focus for the A to Z, and you can read all my 2015 A to Z posts here. I hope you enjoy the celebrations of the miracle and muddle of the ordinary! 

You can buy the book at Brian's favorite local bookstore, Broadway Books, at Powell's Books, or on Amazon. Brian's work is used with permission of Ave Maria Press.