Italy’s ‘singing nun’ shows that ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’By Josephine McKenna| 3 Comments | Print | ShareNews Culture c. 2014 Religion News Service ROME (RNS) A young nun who captivated TV viewers with her performance on an Italian talent show has become a global Internet sensation — attracting more than 45 million hits online — and a record number of viewers for the program this week. Sister Cristina Scuccia, a 25-year-old nun from Sicily, electrified the show, “The Voice of Italy,” last month when she sang the Alicia Keys hit “No One” in her traditional black habit with a cross around her neck. On Wednesday (April 16), more than 3 million viewers tuned into the latest episode of the show to see the young nun perform Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” in a knockout contest with another female contestant Luna Palumbo, who was voted off the show. “I’m excited, really thrilled,” the diminutive nun said on TV. “The fundamental thing is to have fun.” Her latest performance attracted more than 300,000 hits on YouTube within 24 hours. When the show’s four judges first heard Sister Cristina singing with their backs to the stage in March, there was a dramatic revelation when they turned and discovered her true identity. Three nuns from her convent cheered enthusiastically from the sidelines. Her first “sister act” was posted on YouTube and immediately went viral, and the TV program attracted a record audience of 3.5 million spectators. Grammy Award-winner Keys congratulated her and Italians likened the nun to the come-from-nowhere Scottish singer Susan Boyle. “The beautiful thing is she had the courage to come out of the convent to bring young people this great message of love,” said her mother, Lina, during a TV interview. “She always had enthusiasm to sing.” Sister Cristina, who lives in an Ursuline convent in Milan, believes she has a duty to “evangelize” viewers. Unlike most aspiring singers, she is not looking for a multimillion-dollar record deal or designer clothes; she did, however, appear on the covers of a few Italian gossip magazines after her TV debut. The TV program has restricted media access to Sister Cristina and the nuns at her convent declined to comment when contacted by a reporter. But she told Italy’s Catholic daily Avvenire that worldwide acclaim won’t change her commitment to her vocation. “In my daily life, something has changed,” Sister Cristina said. “Now people stop me in the street and thank me for the joy that I have given them with my performance. “But the substance of my life has not changed much and in my religious community everyone supports me and is with me on this journey.” - See more at: http://www.uscatholic.org/news/2014...ust-want-have-fun’-28784#sthash.n3XXue09.dpuf
I love it. It is a breath of fresh air on TV to see her vs most of the other garbage out there and if people are talking about her hopefully they then will be thinking about God. Just think what she must be doing to the souls of all the people who see her when rock typically takes you away from God here is a brave nun entering into a dark business to bring some light. I see pure joy and love on her face when she is performing and I think she is touching and sharing the pure joy of loving Jesus with the world.
“The fundamental thing is to have fun.” Really? I don't think we bring Christ to the World by bringing the World to the World. I think the whole thing is asinine and a sad commentary most of all on her Religious Superiors. She is young and might be forgiven for going off the rails. They could not. I feel such an old spoil sport fogey writing this. But its the truth, it is quite dreadful.
Andy said...It is a breath of fresh air on TV to see her vs most of the other garbage out there . Its exactly the same garbage, just with a Bride of Christ making a fool of herself , And degrading her vocation.
I cannot help but compare the Nun with the painting of our Blessed Mother on this site. I know what image I like best.
Since this Nun and her Sister supporters, and some members of the forum think this is wonderful , can I ask do you think this is a fruit of Vatican II, or an abuse? We need to know how we got here.
What, being a girl loving Christ is not having fun? It is awful fun for me to love Christ. If you know the show they have to pick a song to sing from 3 or 4 choices so I am sure she picked one as best she could. I will completely change my mind if she ever sings something inappropriate. I guess I just see it differently than most of you and really am not in the mood to argue about it since there is more than enough of that going in these days on the board so I will leave this discussion. I stand by that her joy and smile is piercing many hearts that needed to be pierced. If her sisters and mother superior and local priest support her then who are we to pass judgement.
I liked the singing nun, but the fame ultimately destroyed her. I have mixed feelings on Sister Cristina. I see where Andy is coming from and in some way's, isn't this what Pope Francis has been saying to do? To go out of your comfort zone and bring Christ to places and people where he is no longer found? Can she do this and not succumb to this environment? If she can save just one soul and in the process not loose her own, is this not a good thing? We live in a world of pop-culture. If I could enter into this world using God given talent, save souls and not loose my own would I not do it for the Lord? I do not know her prayer life and I certainly would never judge her soul, but I will pray for her and hope she can do the will of God in a place where God is normally mocked. One thing to keep in mind, as we judge her actions, God loves those whom she is entertaining as much as he does your soul and my soul and even the soul of Pope Francis. Could you imagine how much Satan would hate Sister Cristina if she is able to drag just one soul from him? Jesus said, " I did not come to save the saved by the sinners". Well like I said, if she has extraordinary grace and can enter the lions den, save souls and not loose her own then I guess it is a good thing and we should pray for her. One last thought came to my mind. I would not doubt, since she is Italian, that the Holy Father receives her in some type of audience.
It's true I may be a sad old fart. It is also true it is one of the penalties of getting older that we get to sound more and more like our parents. I suppose one of the things this is based on is that we should reach out to the world. But I don't think we should reach out t the world by trying to be like the world. We should reach out to the world by being different than the world. Celebrity culture can really only offer failure since if everyday were Christmas there would be no Christmas's. The idea that the fundamental thing is to have fun is not new, the ancients knew it and called it, 'Hedonism'. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonism The symbol of Cross is the Sign of the Christian not representing pain and sadness but the deepest form of love, 'Agape' or self giving love. This is sometimes about love but in this sinful world sacrifice even to our lives and is very very different than being about 'fun'. The words of Jesus, Matthew 7 Judging Others 7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. ..are, I believe the most misquoted and misunderstood in all of all of Scripture. BY these words Jesus did not mean we should judge others and other things at all; this would be absurd and lead to us going through life morally blind No what Jesus meant is that we should not judge blindly. Nor act as God , never making the final judgemental evaluation of saying that a person is going to hell, never toting up the final account so to speak. We can fairly say for instance that both Hitler and Stalin were evil and that there actions were evil. This does not contradict the Words of Christ. As to arguments on the forum, true. But to discuss something like this in friendly and polite, loving terms is fine I think. But has to be in an atmosphere of love or it is a waste of space. I think.
If as you say, her motives are for self gratification then I agree. However, I cannot judge her intentions without knowing her better. What if she has extraordinary grace to be able to reach those in the depths of the lions den? Surely many saints entered places most would not stand a chance to come out a saint. Is she one?
I heard a story years ago about a young Franciscan friar . He had great charisma on the Italian celebrity circuit and ended up running about with Italian football stars , movie and pop stars and the whole elite deal. Partying on yachts, staying at wealthy mansions and being mentioned constantly on TV and the newspapers. He rationialsed this by telling himself he was reaching out to the , 'World.' The other side was his Superiors hardly knew where he was from one end of the year to the next. He hardly ever prayer or went to Church and never darkened his Friary door. One time by accident he went down to see Padre Pio who gave off to him very strongly. He saw himself as he was and went back to his Order and his faith. It seems to me the best and only way to reach out to the world is to become holy, to become saints.
To enter into a place is fine , to become part of the place, of its ethos , is not. I think in this we can be taught so much by the Words of St John in Scripture who differentiated between, 'The World' and the Kingdom of God' I think Archbishop Fulton Sheen was a superb example of this. . We went out to the world through TV but never became part of it. View attachment 1874
Yes, I recall Servant of God, Father John Hardon, saying at one of his many retreats I went to that two things you don't want to be is a rich person or a famous person, because they will spend the rest of their lives in fear of loosing their fame or loosing their riches.
1 John 4:4 Testing the Spirits …3and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. 4You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 5They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them.… 'Testing the Spirits', is not about being a boring judgemental old fart. Its about what it says on the tin, testing the Spirits.
http://www.examiner.com/slideshow/suicide-celebrities-who-took-their-own-lives#slide=1 My Abbott told me one time that the people he felt most sorry for in all the world was the British Royal Family. I was surprised at this and asked him why? He said that everyone else thought they would be happy when they were rich and famous , but that the British Royal Family were born knowing this not to be the case. This being so what did they go for? The answer of course is that we should wish to be a saint, which is what we were born for, believe it or not. View attachment 1878
I I think, in answer to your question, that this is one response, among many, to the New Evangelisation. Sr Cristina only ever speaks about her love for God and Jesus. Within the first few minutes of her initial audition, it was clear that the mentor/judge J-Ax, tatooed and hard-faced, was being touched by something (I would say it was the annointing of the Holy Spirit). We got here because The Holy Spirit will not be quenched. Where souls need saving, He will dare to tread. And people won't like it. But that's the work of the Holy Spirit.
I can add little to what Padraig said...'To enter into a place is fine , to become part of the place, of its ethos , is not.' Do you think the Holy Ghost is working through this priest also Bella?http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...e-Easter-dropping-S-bomb-live-television.html
