In a lot of ways going to a Catholic school was pretty much the same as Uni, but there were a couple of things that were really weird. One of the main things was that they were always trying to push religious vocations on all of the kids, wanting to get the girls to become nuns and the boys to become priests. In fifth grade our big field-trip was a religious vocation field-trip -- all of the boys were going to a seminary while all of the girls went to a convent.
When we got to the convent, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. First we took a short tour and got to meet a lot of the nuns who lived there, and then we talked about becoming a nun. I didn’t think at this point I would be a nun, but I decided to keep an open mind for the trip. Anyway, by the time we were done talking, it was time for us all to go to the nuns’ daily mass with them.
I was really tired when we walked over to the church, as it was like 1:30 and we hadn’t eaten lunch yet. About ⅔ of the way through the service however, I started to feel really bad. Nausea washed over me as my lightheadedness grew even more acute, compounded by the fact that we had been kneeling for what felt like hours. I decided the best course of action was to close my eyes for a couple of seconds to regain my strength. What happened next however, I will never forget.
I vividly remember waking up lying flat on my back, confused and uncomfortable because of the cold, hard ground. When I opened my eyes I saw between five and ten nuns surrounding me, looking down. In this moment, I assumed I had died and was now in heaven, but was strangely unbothered by this fact I thought to be true. As the nuns moved to help me get up, however, I remembered where I was and what must have happened. My blood sugar must have dropped and I fainted right there, in the middle of mass!
One of the nuns led me out of the church and sat me down on the bench outside. First, she checked for a concussion, but once she was sure I was okay, she left. She soon came back with a paper cup full of grape juice. I sipped on the juice and contemplated how I was going to face any of my friends after this embarrassing moment. Luckily I later found out that no one had actually seen what happened, so now it’s just a funny story I like to tell from time to time. I know for sure now though, I am NOT meant to be a nun.
I laughed aloud at the part when you woke up surrounded by nuns. This post was fun to read, because I always love hearing about your church experiences from an outsider perspective. I know I'm not meant to be a nun either.
ReplyDeleteThis post is pretty funny. I laughed at the part where you woke up surrounded by nuns. This is such a cute post. You have the best stories from St. Matts!!
ReplyDeleteThis is a very funny story. It's lucky no one mistook your fainting for religious ecstasy.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up on the north side of Chicago, I lived on the same city block as the Catholic church my family went to. When I was little there was a small convent attached to the church, so there were often nuns in full habit walking around my neighborhood. I found them fascinating and used to love to play nun by pulling a white turtleneck over my hair and putting my bathrobe on. I thought I looked just like a nun (except that my bathrobe was electric blue with groovy flowers all over it so, as pictures attest, I actually did not). I became less interested in nuns when I learned that most of them didn't really wear full habits anymore.
I love this story! I find it really funny that you were woken up by a bunch of nuns and just assumed you had died and shrugged it off. I would probably have the same reaction.
ReplyDeleteI remember going to Catholic schools as well and I must say, it does seem kind of like they're trying to get you to become a nun or priest at least 25% of the time. Well, I feel like they try to anyway (mainly in subtle ways). Did you have to wear uniforms at your school as well? I never really liked them, but they helped me decide what to wear in the morning. Good blogpost!
ReplyDelete@chloepollockm
ReplyDeletealso, I liked this line: "In this moment, I assumed I had died and was now in heaven, but was strangely unbothered by this fact I thought to be true."