Soothing The Sisters

Off to the annual Board Meeting with the Little Sisters of Poverty and Pain, a charitable convent which I and selected others support. The Sisters do excellent work in rehabilitating abused women, as well as tending to the bootless and unhorsed with kindness and compassion. The good Sisters are atheists, but they have found that this in no way works against their mission. In fact, they encourage religious belief when that belief provides comfort and solace. They themselves, however, find that a belief in an 'imaginary friend' acts as an impediment to their work. In any event, the Sisters often succeed where others fail. Hence my support.

The meeting was well-attended, and chaired by Sister Esther, Mother Superior. I got along well with her, and thought the name 'Esther' well-chosen. (It is the only Book in the Bible that does not mention God.)

Looking over the crowd, I noticed Father Martin in attendance. He was incognito, and I was not surprised. The convent was in his parish, and should really have been affiliated with his church, Our Lady of the Sorrowful Chains. And while Father Martin thought well of the Sisters, his Bishop did not, and was constantly looking for ways and means to get rid of the entire operation. Certain forces, however, had been brought to bear on HIS superior, the Archbishop of the diocese, and the threat of closure was a distant one.

The meeting got under way. The first item of business was addressed by Mother Superior herself. An outline of the year's activities was given, involving the number of women taken in, the types of programs used, and their outcome. This was all positive stuff, but one item mentioned stood out. According to Mother Superior, more and more Muslim women and girls were reporting to the convent, fleeing from abuse, arranged marriages, and running afoul of family  "honour", something that could, and indeed has, lead to death.

This latter situation, Mother Superior stated, was better addressed by the convent's outreach program, entitled "CAN DO," and she invited Sister Hera, who is in charge of that program, to give her report. This program involves teaching timid women to achieve success in martial arts, to strip motorcycles prior to becoming proficient at their use, to become adept at handling firearms, and to  learn to fly Cessnas. (Two had been purchased for precisely that purpose.).

This program was proving enormously successful, with the women emerging confident, self-assured, and ready to cope with whatever life had in store. So successful, Sister Hera stated in concluding her report, that two more Harley-Davidsons were needed, as well as five more Smith & Wesson J-Frames.

Well, I thought, at least they didn't want another Cessna.

The next report dealt with fiscal matters and was presented by Sister Athena, who acted as the convent's chief financial officer. Funds, she reported, were adequate for the convent's existing program, but some future needs had been identified. She referred to Sister Hera's request, and then went on to mention a request from an American convent whose members wished to become part of the program. Apparently the American sisters had been castigated by several bishops who said they were paying too much attention to the poor, and not enough to the real issues stressed by the Pope -- abortion and same-sex marriage.

Seems to me that Holy Mother Church was in danger of forgetting what The Founder was all about.

In any event, monies were found to enable the requests, aided and abetted by certain gains in the sugar beet market. So all ended well, the Americans will be welcome, and in this area, the best is good enough.

Discuss among yourselves.