Customer Reviews

One Nun's Story: Then and Now

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for sharing a very personal and spiritual journey. As a product of parochial education my world was challenged and shaped by nuns. I was awed by the habits, the strength of will and determination of the nuns to educate, and especially the compassion expressed towards growing children. I had always treasured my Catholic experience. I never realized, until reading One Nun's Story the personal sacrifice and tribulations the religious lived. The convent was always a mystery. Secrets were well guarded, unless your friend's sibling was a nun you might have a glimpse into the life of a nun. That is, until Sister Mary Jane Masterson decided to share her story. I've had the honor of meeting Sister Mary Jane, and to talk about my own discernment process into the religious. The Catholic Church will always have men and women who consecrate their life to God and Church. To them I give special prayers of thankfulness; what a special gift. Sister Mary Jane's vocation and testimony of that life in One Nun's Story, is a wonderful book to read and experience.

As someone who attended Catholic schools, I enjoyed reading Sister Mary Jane's book and have passed it on to several freinds. Her personal journey takes the reader through Pre Vatican II times up to the present day, detailing how she dealt with the sweeping changes it brought.

I found the book to be both compelling and easy to read. Sister Mary Jane writes with a freedom of style that few people possess. After reading the book, I truly felt that I "knew" Sr. Mary Jane on some level. Living in Cleveland, I am pleased to say I did have the opportunity to meet this wonderful lady after reading her book and found her to be just as delightful in person!

I found looking into the life of a nun to be very interesting. Sister Mary Jane takes you from her childhood through 60 years of living her faith. And not everything is as it appears. Like the cover of her book, the more you look at it, the more you see: an adobe building, crosses, a shadow of a nun with her hands folded in prayer and her veil being lifted as if she is a bride (a bride of Christ), and a vague image of Christ on the Cross appearing in the gated doorway. Sister Mary Jane lets you know that her vocation is to serve God as a nun, but she also lets you know that she is just as human as everyone else. I'd have to say, she is a very special person.

I learned so much about the life of a nun, especially before Vatican II. Not being Catholic, I admire the commitment it takes to promise your life to God. I love the quick chapters making it fun to read when you don't have much time to read. Sister Mary Jane provides a great story and makes me feel good that there are people out there who love what the church has to offer to the world.

As a woman who attended Catholic school all her life, I found this book to be insightful, thought provoking and very interesting. I would recommend it to any woman who spent her years in Catholic schools taught by nuns.

This easy to read, 'can't put down' book gives the reader a captivating portrait into the "THEN" life of a nun for anyone who has ever wondered what it was like. It gives an intriguing look into the beauty of the Catholic Church's age-old, cherished Traditions which have been the essence of religious life throughout the centuries.
What I loved about this book and found most interesting were the many facets in the life of a nun upon entering the convent and her formation 'under the rule' with even a sketch of how the tables were arranged for meals within the "hierarchy of the Order" It also gives the intricate details of the making of the 'Holy Habit" and the art of dressing in it. As one who was taught by nuns in full Habit in the 1960's, an experience I consider a great gift and for which I am most grateful,it is only now in reading this book that I finally have been given the answers to all those questions of 'just how did they put on all those layers of the full Habit'.
There is just something so fascinating about the traditional Habit-- which is why there are many Traditional Catholic Orders flourishing today with young nuns in full Habit, strict rule, and even "culpas" (faults), for this is something that is so attractive to every generation and, of course, Our Lord will always have true 'Brides of Christ' unto Himself throughout time.
I also found this book to give an excellent description of what happened to all the Orders of nuns before, during, and after Vatican II. This is the only book I have found to do so, in a personal way, and is a story that needed to be told and recorded so that generations to come will know the details of all that has happened to the Sisters and the True faith after Vatican II. I, myself, have always wondered what actually happend to the thousands of beautiful Sisters during that time of upheaval after Vatican II and which is the main reason why I bought this book. I was hoping that it would answer that burning question I have always had which is "Why would a nun who was formed in the True faith, who lived that True faith, taught that True faith, instilled that faith in ME and so many other students....lose that faith?" This book answered that question for me quite clearly, especially in the chapter titled "Still Confused" (and which I must say the Cover of this book reflects perfectly). This chapter is the 'turning point' of this book-- the point of no return and tells much more than meets the eye.
Teilhard de Chardin!!??? Cosmic Christ!!?? alleluia person??? Can anyone spell
D-E-C-E-I-V-E ?????? Any Catholic should know who the deceiver is and the remaining chapters reflect this as does the poem "After Vatican II". Without wanting to tell too much of the book, I recommend that anyone who has ever had any of these questions that I had to read this book. It is very enlightening and eye-opening and gives much insight as to what happened to all those beautiful religious Orders of Sisters and the true Catholic faith in the last 50 years...and how they have been destroyed from within.

I enjoyed this book, as I have enjoyed all of the books that deal with lives lived in a different way from mine. And being a twin, I enjoy hearing about other twins. But this book was a disappointment as the author reminds me of girls I knew in school. A goody-two-shoes BORING girl who is terrified of actually living life does not make for a riveting bio. Interesting to find out the behind the scenes- yes. And she seemed liked a nice girl- yes. But she leaves you cold- you only get snippets of her motivation or inner thoughts and usually they are about how she wanted to do something but was afraid to. I wanted more insight, more interesting anecdotes, ANYTHING that made her more HUMAN. So I can say the book is interesting for what is shows about joining a pre-Vatican II convent, the author is just not that interesting herself. I give it 3 stars- easy read and convent stuff is cool. Minus 2 stars for boredom.

In reading this book, Sr. Mary Jane has taken me on her 60 year journey of religious life with her. I was a child of the seventies, so I never really saw the "old" life of a nun. With this book, Sister has given me a genuine feeling for what it must have been like to be so close to Christ, to have been able to give her life to him, and yes, to be so holy. Sister said that when she was identified as a nun, even completely out of habit or without an identifying veil or pin, she hoped it was because she looked so holy. Sister, it was. And you continue to be.....holy. May God bless Sister and continue to bless her and keep her here to bless the lives of those she touched, like mine. Thank you for this book.