Posted on 11/28/2014 10:28:21 AM PST by NYer
Floods of tears; ecstatic, frankly romantic visions of Jesus; low points and high drama — you’re either reading St. Therese’s autobiography “The Story of a Soul” or you’re watching “The Sisterhood: Becoming Nuns.”
Of course, one of these is a classic work of spirituality by a Doctor of the Church, and the other is a Lifetime reality show (premiering Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 10 p.m. ET/PT), but they’re both the stories of emotional, expressive young women dealing with the notion of becoming a Bride of Christ.
Granted, Therese would never have done anything like “twerking,” as does one of the five young women discerning religious life in the TV show, but, as one sage Carmelite sister points out, these girls are “products of their environment.”
It’s in the nature of reality shows to want to cast people who wear their hearts on their sleeves and express their feelings, because that makes good TV, but there are many eye-rolling moments in the first two episodes that Lifetime made available for screening online. But under the sobbing, hand-fanning and near-panic-attacks, the souls of each of the twentysomething women begin to emerge.
Like A&E Network’s cheesily-named but not-bad “God or the Girl” back in 2006, in which four young Catholic men went on separate journeys to discern the priesthood — one, the right one, in my opinion, applied to seminary, but didn’t wind up going through with it, continued as a lay missionary and is now back in the business world — the power of the Catholic faith has a way of peeking through TV cliches to reveal something honest and real.
“The Sisterhood: Becoming Nuns” (OK, they’re actually discerning becoming religious sisters, but that’s apparently too fine a distinction for secular television) could just as easily be called “God or the (Other) Boy.” But, as the five women visit three different convents over the TV-imposed six-week discernment period, the daily lives of real sisters — including wise, sometimes witty, fully habited Carmelites in the first two episodes — get as thorough an airing as as is likely to be seen anywhere outside of EWTN.
The women are:
Christie Young, 27, of Glendale, California, a Charismatic Catholic who has visions of “dancing with Jesus,” flirts with boys (but stays chaste) and has a hard time adapting her highly personal style of faith to the rigors of religious life.
Eseni Ellington, 23, an aspiring model from the Bronx, New York, deals with issues with men stemming from her father’s infidelities but also has a boyfriend she’s loathe to abandon — even if she still feels “broken” inside.
Claire Halbur, 26, a parish music minister from Joliet, Illinois, who was homeschooled in a devout Catholic home, considers herself the most mature of the group (but that observation doesn’t sit well with all her compatriots).
Francesca DiPaola, 21, a recent college grad from New Jersey who hits a rough patch almost immediately on being told she can’t cover up her acne with makeup and later has to face harsh family realities while visiting a Carmelite home for the elderly
Stacey Jackson, 26, an aspiring actress and dollmaker (including her interpretation of Michelangelo’s Pieta), who seems to be one of the more level-headed members of the group.
But be warned, two of the executive producers are Shannon Evangelista and Eric Evangelista of Hot Snakes Media, which did “Breaking Amish” and its two spin-offs, “Breaking Amish: LA” and “Breaking Amish: Brave New World,” so their focus has been more on people who’ve left their faith behind than those who stay in it. Judging by the first two installments of “The Sisterhood: Becoming Nuns,” none of the young women seems particularly well-suited for religious life (although Claire evidently thinks she is) or is necessarily anywhere near the point of making an actual decision.
So, don’t get your hopes up of anyone becoming a novice by the end of the six episodes. But if we know one thing about Christ, He can work miracles — and we are coming into a season of miracles — so never say never.
Here’s a preview …
The Sisterhood: Becoming Nuns Premieres November 25 Preview
Ping!
It's funny that the authoress considers herself qualified to make this judgment.
Re-finger nails. I have the feeling the sister was hinting at the young lady cleaning off whatever was on them and leaving her nails in a natural state.
Being that it’s on the Lifetime network, I’m guessing they picked a bunch of soon-to-be nuns who are social liberals, as in, “I’m personally opposed to abortion but think it should be legal.” But by golly, we need to feed, clothe and shelter all those illegal immigrants, damn it.
It’ll be interesting to see how many actually end up becoming nuns. Guessing zero.
They must have picked one of those very leftwing order of nuns we hear about
Actually, this is a full habit Carmelite community.
then the girls are plants, hired for the part
All I need to know about this show is in this picture, plain as day.
Could not have said it better myself. It is just wrong.
Oh great another trashy reality show count me out
If I am going watch Trashy reality show I watch Real Housewive francise on Bravo
CatholicVote.org is a good website.
However, the article could have gone a long way towards telling us what order of nuns and their location.
For this kind of show, how could they not pick an LCWR outfit of nuns.
Since daily prayer and personal reflection probably wouldn’t make for good television, the show takes a different approach to revealing what monastic life is like. Over the six weeks, the five women from the Lifetime series will visit three religious communities: the Carmelites for the Aged and Infirm in Germantown, New York, the Daughters of St. Mary of Providence in Chicago and the Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker in Walton, Kentucky.
‘The Sisterhood’ Reviews: Nuns React To Lifetime Reality Show’s Debut
The first program was at the Carmelites for the Aged and Infirm
Ping to my post #13.
This is silly.
It is silly, but seems harmless, even good publicity for some excellent apostolates. Many people know nothing about religious life other than stereotypes, so seeing the Carmelites taking care of old people would be very informative.
My thoughts, exactly. What was most striking in the first episode, was having to acknowledge the impact contemporary society has had on young women. Granted, these girls approached the possibility of religious life for different reasons, the most glaring aspect was the young black woman whose boyfriend drove her to the convent and dropped her off at the bottom of the driveway so that they could share a few last kisses and embraces. This is the same girl who had nail extensions. She was drawn to the possibility of religious life as a result of a happy relationship with the nuns during her childhood. (My childhood was also filled with nuns but my memories were in sharp contrast with hers ;-) Of the 5 women, I picked out one (Claire) who is in her late 20’s and is sincerely interested in pursuing this lifestyle.
These young women are just on a “come and see” program. They’re not novices or even applicants to the orders. There’s nothing wrong with following up an interest in religious life, even if you find it’s not for you.
If nothing else, they’ll see another way of life. Who knows what seeds might be planted, if not of religious vocations then of more virtuous lives in the world, or even just a kinder attitude toward those who are doing something different.
Good point.
I watched the first episode and will be watching the rest. The girls weren’t made into plaster saints but were shown to have problems and struggles like other human beings. “Claire” is quite devout and seems like nun material. Pray for “Eseni”. She comes from a home filled with “drama” and had to sit down and then leave the first Mass because of what seemed like a panic attack. Life can be quite difficult when you come from a screwed-up home. I can’t agree with the assessment in the comments that they’re “plain”. Two or three of them are quite attractive.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.