Dateline Tonight At 9pm

[jkaands]

[quote name='Sr. Mary Catharine' date='May 16 2007, 12:42 PM' post='1275094']
I received this from the Trappistines in Wrentham. Thought you'd all appreciate reading this!

"Thank you for your email. We were disappointed in the segment as it seemed to zero in the sensational. They actually filmed here for five whole days and that is all that came out of it. Another aspect which was pure TV bias was that of the seven women who came to that weekend five have taken steps from there - they totally omitted that and all they had was the two walking away to continue at Harvard and Yale!!!! They did show Catherine who entered Carmel but one is now here as a postulant, the other comes next Sunday, one enters in August, Francis comes as an Observer soon and one joined our Cistercian Lay Associates.

As you say she did her best and that is all any of us can do."



Trust television to get it wrong.

[EJames]

a video synopsis..after the commercial,,
Pax
[url="http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=3165662"]http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=3165662[/url]

[Gemma]

I'm not surprised that they didn't get it right. The time has not come for the cloisters to be explained properly. Once we get the Cloisterites founded and trained, then the cloistered life will be shown to the world in the way it needs to be done. Such is the Cloisterite charism.

Blessings,
Gemma
[url="http://cloisters.tripod.com/cloisterites/"]http://cloisters.tripod.com/cloisterites/[/url]

[Sr Mary Catharine OP]

[quote name='Gemma' post='1278393' date='May 21 2007, 08:11 AM']I'm not surprised that they didn't get it right. The time has not come for the cloisters to be explained properly. Once we get the Cloisterites founded and trained, then the cloistered life will be shown to the world in the way it needs to be done. Such is the Cloisterite charism.

Blessings,
Gemma
[url="http://cloisters.tripod.com/cloisterites/"]http://cloisters.tripod.com/cloisterites/[/url][/quote]

I doubt even then they'll get it right! It's very difficult to explain this life naturally. It's a supernatural life. Without Christ as the center of one's life the contemplative life looks repressive and well, slightly, nuts!

Even for those of us who live this life here is an element of mystery. It can be entirely explained or understood!

Gemma, I hope you are recovery nicely from surgery and that your family is being good to you!

[AlterDominicus]

[quote name='Sr. Mary Catharine' post='1272155' date='May 12 2007, 09:11 PM']We watched the 20/20 segment tonight at recreation.
It really wasn't that bad at all. It was much better than I thought it would be, all things considered.

I didn't think the Sisters were giggling that much! The questions would have sent us into laughter, too! I mean, it's the way she asked the questions!

I had to laugh at the slow motion walking nun! HAH!

I was suprised about the Trappistines and not being able to read anything secular. We read good, classic novels, poetry, essays, books that feed the mind so as to feed the soul. But every tradition is different.[/quote]


Classic novels? Such as?

[SisterAli]

What order was that; that they were first showing? In the little segment that EJames posted???

[Chiquitunga]

Hey guys, I was just watching this on YouTube. It's a fuzzier version than the ones on ABCNews site, but it's longer - [url="http://youtube.com/watch?v=Tm_8MUct7VA"]Part 1[/url] - [url="http://youtube.com/watch?v=yQRMHkMzOO0&mode=related&search="]Part 2[/url]

It was great seeing Mother Mary Francis! Also, Mother Teresita from the [url="http://s192610042.onlinehome.us/"]Chicago Poor Clares[/url] is in the first part too! She's the one who spoke of cutting all their hair off as giving Our Lord their crowning glory.

I'd give the whole segment about a B- report - OK - actually, it was pretty good for the secular media - not unlike the video segment on [url="http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/index.php?showtopic=67903"]Sr. Jeanette Marie[/url] (link to the thread on it :j) The worst line though was, "Celibacy in 2007!?" ... ???!! Also, use of the discipline hasn't been [i]banished[/i].

I like how the one Poor Clare answered the question about celibacy though.

SrAli, I believe they were first showing [url="http://abbey.msmabbey.org/"]Mount St. Mary's Abbey[/url] & then went right to the [url="http://religiouslife.com/vocsearch/search.phtml?view=d&my_id=68&criteria=d"]Poor Clares in Roswell, NM[/url], with their midnight Office.

[quote name='Graciela' post='1271620' date='May 11 2007, 08:49 PM']Could anyone tell whether it was Danvers Carmel that the one young woman entered? I don't have a TV but I have a radio that I can listen to the TV channels- so I had no visuals! Maybe abc will have the full segments on their web page later. Right now it's only shorter bits are available.[/quote]

Yes, I'm pretty sure it was [url="http://www.carmelnuns.com/Danvers.html"]Danvers Carmel[/url] as they said it was near St. Mary's Abbey, and from seeing it on the video on YouTube. God bless her!

Edited August 8, 2007 by Margaret Clare

[Chiquitunga]

[quote name='Margaret Clare' post='1352957' date='Aug 8 2007, 11:24 AM']Also, use of the discipline hasn't been [i]banished[/i].[/quote]
Although, it was probably a better off that they said that, as the rest of the cloistered life is probably already enough for secular society in general to understand.

But regarding the discipline in cloistered life, at some of the monasteries I visited that have it, they told me it is not taken to any extreme at all. It is a community penance, usually done on Fridays, in remembrance of Our Lord's Passion.

[DameAgnes]

I give it a C. I was thrilled to see Mother Mary Francis, and thought she was wonderful, but I wonder about the "giggling" Poor Clares. I suspect that beyond the giggling, there were answers to Sawyer's questions, and probably profound ones, but the nuns are completely at the mercy of both time constraints and the editing of the piece. Part of the problem with media is that you see what a reporter/editor team wants you to see, not especially what "is." To me the Roswell nuns seemed joyful and reverent.

What disturbed me more than anything was Sawyer's "baffled" mannerisms. Monasticism has existed for 1600 years - more if you look at the desert hermits - and she was acting like it could have no basis in reason. Also a lot of harping on the sex issue ("but CELIBACY, but living without sex...") Just once I wish some religious would respond to that question with a question back: "Ms Sawyer, when you talked to the Dali Llama, did you ask him how he can stand to live without sex?"

Somehow to these "enlightened" people in the West, celibacy is wise and profound and mysterious but respectable in Eastern religions, but "baffling" and "impossible" in Western ones.