My first grade teacher was Sister Theresa; the year was 1971; the place, Marine Park, Brooklyn, NY. Sister Theresa was a sweet, blonde, chubby cheeked Irish nun who wore a crisp white habit including the head veil. She had a knack for calling us to attention with a Spanish word or phrase (even though there was not a Spanish speaking kid in the class) and she would sing to us during the day. She was evangelizing us. She was in the world, not of the world and she joyfully witnessed to Christ in her own simple beautiful way. We all loved her.
The Flying Nun: Grace flows from good deeds
One of my favorite TV shows as a child was “The Flying Nun”, probably because of Sister Theresa. Sally Fields played a reformed rebellious teen who chose to make a positive difference in the world by becoming a nun at an orphanage in Puerto Rico. She sang, taught class, played the guitar, and best of all, she could even fly when the wind was just right.
Initially Sally Fields’ character was emblematic of protesting teenagers in the 1960s. However, she chose to make a positive difference and put her ideals into real action. There was a great message in that show for the angry disenfranchised youth in the person of Sister Bertrille. Matthew 5:16 comes to mind, which encourages us to do good before the world so that they can see our “light” (our good deeds) and give glory to God. I interpret our “light” as grace, faith and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit and walk in a “State of Grace” doing good we are giving glory to God and are influencing others to do likewise.
I mulled over in my mind Matthew 5:16 and doing good deeds as a person of faith versus an unbeliever. What is the difference? It seems that good deeds done by unbelievers are meritorious but lacking. Matthew 5:16 explains the spiritual element to believers’ good deeds is for God’s glory. I liken those good deeds of nonbelievers to a church with no tabernacle, no Blessed Sacrament reposed. It is missing something. It is the same with good deeds done without God, nice, but empty. The invisible difference is Grace. That is why the Flying Nun series is such an important statement about the connection between faith and good deeds. It intentionally or unintentionally highlighted the fact that Grace flows from doing good works as believers. The series could have been about a Flying Social Worker, or Congresswoman or doctor but it explicitly was about the Flying Nun. It preached without being preachy.
Sister Act: Making a difference and welcoming others
The movie “Sister Act” was and still is in many respects a reflection of what is happening to the Church today. Beautiful churches built 100 years ago are falling down and congregations are scant. The outward signs of the Church in many respects are old, decrepit and appear to be dying on the vine. Sister Act reflected that and presented a cure in the character of a show girl, played by Whoopie Goldberg who finds herself in the witness protection program in, of all places, a convent.
Whoopie, under the alias of Sister Mary Clarence, her true identity known only to the Mother Superior was admitted to the congregation of sisters and has to try and blend in. Her quirkiness, joy and outgoing nature are attractive to the other sisters who are cloistered from the dangerous world beyond the convent fences.
Sister Mary Clarence chose to make a difference while undercover in the convent by doing what she knew best, music and entertainment. Whoopi whips the broken down choir into shape. The singing from the nuns carried out the windows of the church and was so enticing that it attracted neighborhood kids hanging out on corners to enter into the church. As the kids warily enter through the doors of the church they are welcomed joyfully by the pastor at the pulpit who beckons them in with a wave of the hand and a smile. What if anything in those of us who are faithful, practicing Catholics is attracting people outside the church building to come in and see? If by chance they do come in “looking to see” are they being greeted by a smiling pastor waving them in, a joyful congregation, love, hope, warmth?
Eventually, Whoopi, the other nuns and the neighborhood kids clear away the rusted chained fences, garbage, junked cars and graffiti all around the church. Obstacles removed! Is it up to the faithful to make straight a way for those seeking the Lord? As we enter Advent this makes me think of Saint John the Baptist crying out in the desert “Make straight a way for the Lord!” We must remove obstacles for others with love.
The Church needs to leave the sanctuary once in a while and meet the people who should be in those empty pews next to us. We need to leave the comfort and safety of the sanctuary and meet our brothers and sisters where they are and sometimes where they are may be a scary place.
The state of the Church today is very much like the Church during St. Francis of Assisi’s time. St. Francis was praying in the decrepit church of San Damian before a crucifix. Jesus spoke to him from the crucifix telling him to “rebuild My Church which you can see is falling apart.” Francis took that literally, thinking Jesus wanted him to actually rebuild that decrepit church. He went around town begging stones to rebuild the church building and was ridiculed, called crazy, physically attacked by people who actually threw stones at him and ultimately disowned by his wealthy and influential father as an embarrassment. Jesus is calling to us today, maybe through the movie Sister Act and not through the San Damiano Crucifix to “rebuild His Church” again.
Too often it seems that our parish offices, rectories, priests, nuns and parishioners have laid out a door mat before the church with a big GO AWAY message and that’s not what we are all about. Pope Francis has made that point many times but sadly, from my experience; it seems that many parishes didn’t get that memo. All it takes is a smile and a welcoming gesture. The days when the Catholic Church is painted as a cold and unwelcoming place should be a thing of the past. It starts with the Pastor, but even if he is not where he needs to be on his journey, we can certainly take a cue from other Christian communities that are more welcoming. Perhaps it should start in the pews. I have been making a concerted effort to meet and greet the people around me at mass and to welcome everyone I meet coming through those church doors as family. The phrase from that song Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me has become for me let the Church be a welcoming loving place and let it begin with me. A visiting priest to our parish once remarked in his homily that if we are saved we should inform our faces. I think he got it from Pope Francis. He is right.
The Voice: evanglizing through talent and joy
The Voice is a talent show that gives an opportunity to amateur singers to perform anonymously before industry professionals. In Italy, the program is known as Il Voce. One show featured a young Italian nun from Sicily who sang an Alicia Keys song. The crowd went wild. When the judges saw that the singer was a nun in full habit singing joyfully and powerfully, they went wild too. Sister Cristina was evangelizing the world by her Light using her God given talents and reminded me of Sister Theresa, the first singing nun in my life who made a lasting impression on me. These powerful women (real and imagined) taught a valuable lesson to the sour saints who walk around with drawn faces and no joy. They taught us that if we want to evangelize the world we have to leave the sanctuary, get out into the world and meet people where they are. We are called to be the light of the world and we should let our light shine before all so that they may see the good that we do and give glory to God.
