Mother Provincial Would Like to See You....

In the chapel, the big overhead chandeliers are off at 8:30 p.m. Dim bulbs in the sconces along the side aisles give off amber-colored light. One by one, the young sisters, a few beads clicking, long habits rustling, begin to gather for night prayer at 9 p.m., gliding to their assigned places in the pews. They are tired, half asleep, having been up working or studying or praying since 5 a.m. with only a few breaks for meals and two brief periods of recreation. Many are kneeling, saying extra prayers for a happy outcome tomorrow. Tomorrow they'll find out whether they will be allowed to make their first vows. For now, after night prayer, Grand Silence and whatever privacy can be had in a room shared with three other novices.

Sister Burissima yawns and runs the rosary beads through her fingers. Someone comes down the aisle from the atrium and taps her arm. In the dim light, she can barely read the elegant, precise handwriting on the paper she's just been handed, but she's instantly awake: "Sister, Mother Provincial would like to see you in the Archbishop's parlor now." Oh, no....she's going to get the boot!

Heart pounding, she rises, genuflects in the main aisle, and eyes downcast, walks back to the atrium. Passing the final row of pews, she looks up. Sister Martha stands there laughing noiselessly. She looks at the note in her hand again. Martha's handwriting. Another of her tricks! She stifles her own snort of laughter. Bad nun!!