The Nun in Hell, cont.
March 26, 2014
MAUREEN writes:
Thank you so much for all you do. I find your commentary enlightening, not to mention both depressing (because you see clearly the mess we’re in) and inspiring (because I know there are others out there, holding true.)
But I have to take slight issue with your commentary on the nun performing on that TV show. I agree it’s …. low. However, I was deeply moved to pray for Sister Cristina.
You noticed that the judges look “demonic.” And I agree. I noticed that “J-ax” (really?) even had a tattoo on his collarbone of a demon, with the words “I shall triumph.” He seemed moved by her performance, [but] I’m sure it was all staged.
Yet who are we to say God has not thrown down a gauntlet here? Or that he is not working through this young woman to shine His light?
My realistic side says this young woman is being co-opted by wordly forces. My faith says perhaps not. Or perhaps not YET. As I said, I was deeply moved to pray for her, that she remain true and that she holds Christ’s light in her heart.
I will continue to pray for her. Our Lord, after all, did not pray in a cathedral while listening to Handel’s Messiah.
(And I say this as someone who ABHORS the Novus Ordo and all use of tamborines, guitars and bongo drums in anything claiming to be a “mass.”)
I know you are more knowledgable about these things than I am. And I did not find much beauty in her actual performance. But again, when I watched…I thought only to pray for her.
Again, thank you.
Laura writes:
You are most welcome.
I don’t see anything wrong with praying for Sister Cristina. But you should pray that she recovers her senses and repents of this outrage. By appearing on this obscene, ugly show, she endorsed everything about it. By singing an indecent, trite, sexual song (see how it is performed by Alicia Keys), she endorsed vulgarity and profaned her sacred vows. Why did she become a nun if she wants a stage? Every time we see a nun in dour black, we are reminded of the seriousness of life and the vanity of all things. A nun’s outward appearance, if she wears a traditional habit, speaks of higher things. Sister Cristina mocked this message.
Perhaps because she seems like a nice, sweet person, or because so few people in this crass, adolescent society believe in God, you are hesitant to condemn her. But Christ prayed in places of quiet and natural beauty — the desert, a garden, a mountain. He prayed in the majestic temples of the Jews. He exorcised devils. He did not dance with them. Throbbing rock music does not express reverence. It cannot convey God’s majesty. It is an homage to sensation and sentimentality. It cannot proselytize anyone.
Novus Ordo Watch has a long post responding to the sort of points you raise:
By her performance, Sister Cristina has mocked the consecrated life, profaned what is considered holy, paid homage to the gods of the secular world, and committed grave scandal (“scandal” being defined traditionally as something that is or appears evil and occasions another’s spiritual ruin). She has publicly sinned against the virtues of humility, modesty, purity, and piety, which she is called on to cultivate even more than non-religious (cf. Mt 5:48).
Yes, we are all sinners, but we must likewise all repent of our sins (see Lk 13:3). Hence we pray for Suor Cristina’s repentance and conversion of heart, that she would redress this terrible scandal she has caused. Until then, we will expose and condemn that which is a public scandal and therefore a great harm to souls.
By the way, the Benedictines of Mary, cloistered nuns at Ephesus in Missouri, recently released their new Lenten CD. Compare this music with Sister Cristina’s song.
