Missions Resources - Bibliography
Flirting with Monasticism
Authors: Karen E. Sloan
ISBN: 978-0830836024
Publisher: IVP Books
Number of pages: 162
Type of cover: Soft Cover
Summary:
When seeking romance, no one scopes out a monastic order. Or do they? Karen E. Sloan’s encounter with a tall, dark and handsome friar in training starts her on a love story most thought only existed in The Sound of Music. In Flirting with Monasticism, Sloan, a Presbyterian pastor, tells of her attraction to a Dominican novice named Fran, and her resulting love affair with the monastic style of worship.
The book follows her year of visits to Fran (turned “Brother Emmanuel”) through his monastic community’s liturgical prayer meetings. Each of these encounters increases her curiosity about the Dominicans and leads to her search for God in ancient Catholic worship.
Sloan informs, “Dominicans are generally unaccustomed to explaining the rhythms of their lives to others.” This adds to the awkwardness of many of her encounters as a student of the monastic faith—which she readily admits. Sloan’s honesty permits her to write with a fresh humor; she tells her stories in humility and pokes fun at stereotypes. In a sidebar that explains how friars wear their rosaries hanging from the left hip as a weapon of spiritual warfare, Sloan gives the heading, “Ugh, what is it with men and swords?”
Yet for its occasional humor and playful title, Flirting with Monasticism is respectfully written with a true intrigue and appreciation for monastic worship. The book covers the majority of important topics that concern a Dominican community, like liturgical prayer, vestition (wearing the habit), commitments and community living. Sloan compares many of her observations to her community experiences in college (e.g. prayer meetings and Christian accountability). Yet, she writes, the level of commitment in such groups “was not as clearly articulated as a vow, and that ambiguity resulted in numerous tensions.”
While the monasticism’s deeper levels of sincerity and honor truly move Sloan, there remain key pieces of the Catholic faith which stand in the way of her conversion. Yet the author still shares with her readers the more intimate details of her “flirting” relationship when she admits to inexplicably heartfelt encounters that lead her to attempt Catholic practices, like praying the rosary or asking Mary to intercede on her behalf.
Sadly, the love story portion does not have the same happy ending that Julie Andrews gave her viewers. At the close of the book, Sloan comes to grips with the inconclusiveness of her attraction to a Dominican novice and of the majority of her encounters with Catholic practices, like the Eucharist. The one conclusion she is able to make shows up repeatedly throughout the book: “Does the visible presence of the Blessed Sacrament actually mean that Jesus is more present and available than other times in our days? I don’t know. What I do know is that the structure of this practice enables me to be much more present to, and focused on, our Lord.”
Flirting with Monasticism comes highly recommended for those seeking to learn more about a monastic lifestyle—it serves as an encyclopedia on the Dominican friars, with sidebars on extra information from terminology to the awkwardness of wearing habits. And for those who have little to no interest in the Catholic faith this book is also recommended. Flirting offers the eyes of a Presbyterian pastor, through which evangelicals* are invited to observe the more intriguing aspects of Catholicism they might otherwise dismiss as stuffy religious tradition.
Best of all, this helpful information is wrapped up in a bit of a love story that reminds us how a life of faith is both a discipline and a matter of the heart.
by Shannon Whiting
*The terms evangelical and Protestant are used interchangeably in this article.
Print
Email
Comments
Be the first one to add a comment.
To post a comment, please login or register