The Practice of Perfection

By Mary Frances Coady ISBN: 9781550504002 format: Paperback pages: 192 publisher: Coteau Books pub. date: 2009-05-01

Price $18.95 Quantity This item is in stock and usually ships within 24 hours.

Linked short stories provide a seldom-seen peek behind the closed doors of a convent, at the challenges and blessings of those "brides of Christ" who have dedicated their lives to the practice of perfection.

The time is 1959 and the setting is a religious convent, where nuns, novitiates and postulants - those preparing to enter the sisterhood - live and work together in the service of the church and of their god.

Under the constant guidance and the watchful eye of the mistress of novitiates, Mother Alphonsine, the new sisters begin the difficult process of separating themselves from the everyday world they've grown up in and everything in it, including material things, their friends, and even their families. They live in virtual silence and they undertake vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. "All that is in the world is vanity, except to love God."

The Practice of Perfection is rich in the details of their lives - the personalities, the rituals of the convent, the names for parts of clothing and rooms, the stock answers for any and all questions of their faith. Ultimately, it is a fascinating portrait of the search for purpose and the struggle to keep life-changing commitments that mirrors those same elements in all of our lives.

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