"The Convent", "The Monastery" on BBC2

[jmm08]

One of the interesting things I got to do in England (summer vacation) was to watch some of their TV shows. And there were also some past shows available on the Internet.

I had heard about “The Convent” and “The Monastery” which were reality TV shows.

BBC:

The Convent follows four women on a unique spiritual journey as they join a convent for 40 days and 40 nights.

You can find out more about the show at bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/convent/

"The Monastery followed five laymen on a spiritual journey in a Benedictine monastery to discover if the 1,500-year-old monastic tradition has anything to offer a new generation.

You can find out more about the show at bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/monastery/

Anyway, I got to watch all the episodes of “The Convent” on the Internet and it was very very interesting. Perhaps it was even more interesting to me because I too am on a journey and also have many internal struggles.

One of the four women especially caught my attention. She had internal struggles with finding herself worthy of love. And as a result she would not go forward to receive a blessing at Mass. After awhile this seemingly small matter became so much of a focus of the show. Would she go forward this time? And of course I’m sure many viewers were praying that she would. I’m sure that Catholic viewers were paying attention to and praying for each very small change in each of the four women’s lives.

Mother Abbess Angela Lyden of the Poor Clares, says: "When first approached about making The Convent we experienced many misgivings, at the thought of opening up our home and our lives to the viewing public. After much discussion, however, we took courage and thought that perhaps this might be a wonderful opportunity to dispel the myths and stereotypes about convent life and let people see that convents are full of human beings like themselves!
“Believing passionately that, as followers of St Francis and St Clare, we have something priceless to offer our contemporary society, and wanting to make available to women what Worth Abbey had offered to men in The Monastery, we decided to take the risk and give our wholehearted consent to the making of the programme and all it involved.”
The series gives viewers a unique window into the previously unseen world of the nuns’ community, and is set to be emotionally charged, tense and ultimately moving.

 

[DILCIA]

I saw all the episodes and actually wnet to visit the convent as it is about 15 miles from where I live.
Two of the girls were there on the day and some of the people who made the film. the girls were the friends, I’ve forgotten their names, but the one who lived with her husband and boyfriend- don’t know how that turned out, and the girl she made friends with.
We got to talk to all the nuns and were told that the BBC gave them some funds so they could employ a couple to answer the hundreds and hundreds of letters and emails.
Some were asking for help and as one nun put it “made you weep”.

 

[asteroid]

Great programmes. Reality shows with a bit of meaning, and not aimed at the brain-dead (or the brain-completely-tired-out) like so many others.

I went past Worth Abbey in the summer. But since my dad was driving and my mum was in the car and they’re not into such things we didn’t drop in to see the church and gardens.

I would have loved to - and would also have loved to be able to spend time with the Carthusians whose place we also drove past in the summer.

 

[PseudoHermit_22]

Ha! My wife and I have always said something like this would make a great reality show or maybe something that follows some priests in their daily lives (and gives them a fair shake in the media for once.)

Since US TV and especially US reality TV takes a lot of its ideas from the Brits maybe they will do a US version soon.

 

[Dale_M]

Since US TV and especially US reality TV takes a lot of its ideas from the Brits maybe they will do a US version soon.

Yep, its already filmed and about ready to show. It will be on The Learning Channel and was scheduled to air starting October 8th, but it looks as if it was bumped back to October 22nd. Thats for monks.
For nuns, filming for it ended early this year and it appears that it will show in January.

The male monastery featured is the Monastery of Christ in the Desert which is in New Mexico. The female monastery used is Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey which is in Iowa.

 

[PseudoHermit_22]

Wow, that’s awesome! Thanks for the info – me and my wife are really looking forward to this. We are always so curious about what goes on day to day in their worlds.

 

[Dale_M]

Yes, I am also looking forward to those shows. I’m close enough to Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey to go for a visit, but being male I will have to depend on the TV show to get a closer look at life there.

Its shows like this one which keep me from tossing out the TV.