“You’re gonna make one crazy nun.”

(SPOILER ALERT - seems silly with a movie from 1966 but if you haven't seen the movie and want to be surprised by the twists/turns - skip this post).

I finally picked up “Trouble with Angels” from the library today. It’s the story of two juvenile semi-delinquents sent to a convent school who drive the nuns crazy. At one point, after the Reverend Mother nearly has them thrown out for “the last straw,” she explains to one of her Sisters why she didn’t. Rachel, she says, is a follower, not a leader. And Mary … well, Mary is willful, strong and proud … like herself. How can she be any less generous with Mary than the church has been with her?

Over the years Mary & Rachel cause lots of havoc. But over the years they also come to recognize the value of friendship, compassion and caring. We also see Mary as she begins to see the Sisters as actual people …. funny, angry, loving, hard working, silly … who are living life joyfully and serving God. You can see how she sees that maybe, just maybe, she can be part of this.

At graduation it’s announced that Mary is entering the novitiate. It seems crazy now, but there was a time when this was how it actually happened. Young girls got to know Sisters as their teachers or in other settings, and signed right up. They entered as young girls and grew up as nuns, rather than the way it is now when grown women join the community. Many of the Sisters in my community entered this way.

But even if times have changed, there are some things that never change. At the end of the movie, we witness a melodramatic scene when Rachel gets over her confusion/anger at Mary for “being a brainwashed traitor” and entering the community.

“You’re gonna make one crazy nun!”, she says to Mary. “Will you at least write me?”

“Of course I’ll write,” says Mary. “Just because I’m becoming a nun doesn’t mean I can’t write.”

My friends have been very cool about this whole "nun thing," which while totally crazy makes complete sense. But it’s hard, and many of them knowing me probably think I’m going to make one crazy nun. I certainly hope so … it wouldn’t be much fun otherwise!

This concludes my “Nuns on Film” reflection series. I’ll go ahead and create a drop down menu on the sidebar so you can check out the earlier installments.

Now that’s what I call a scathingly brilliant idea. (See the movie if you don’t know where that comes from).