I used to teach in a school run by the Sisters of Mercy. They were bright, cheerful & a kindly lot, not at all like some of the nuns who make an appearance in the memoirs of catholic girls. But this was not a convent school & it was open to girls of all religions & none – I cannot be certain but I think Roman Catholics may have been the (substantial) minority among the Pentecostals, Muslims, Hindus …
And then there are the personal resonances …
I like the music too
from Sisters of Mercy
Oh I hope you run into them, you who've been travelling so long.
Yes you who must leave everything that you cannot control.
It begins with your family, but soon it comes around to your soul.
Well I've been where you're hanging, I think I can see how you're pinned:
When you're not feeling holy, your loneliness says that you've sinned.
… If your life is a leaf that the seasons tear off and condemn
… And you won't make me jealous if I hear that they sweetened your night:
We weren't lovers like that and besides it would still be all right
Oh I hope you run into them, you who've been travelling so long.
Yes you who must leave everything that you cannot control.
It begins with your family, but soon it comes around to your soul.
Well I've been where you're hanging, I think I can see how you're pinned:
When you're not feeling holy, your loneliness says that you've sinned.
… If your life is a leaf that the seasons tear off and condemn
… And you won't make me jealous if I hear that they sweetened your night:
We weren't lovers like that and besides it would still be all right
