Monastery to Matrimony
A Woman's Journey
by
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The most significant and dramatic ritual of the Final Profession Ceremony was going under the pall. The funeral pall, a heavy black cloth, large enough when unfolded, spread over . . . our prostrate figures stretched out on the cold terrazzo floor in front of the altar. Going under the pall . . . symbolized our death to the world. If that was not symbolic enough . . . , we wore a crown of thorns as Jesus did at his death.-.-Excerpt from Monastery to Matrimony, a Woman’s Journey
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About the Book
MARY ANN WEAKLEY, who was first a nun, then an ex-nun, searched for spirituality in and out of the convent. She found empowerment in courageous decision-making when starting her life over.
Weakley, a small-town country girl, sought a life of adventure when she entered a convent at seventeen. Though not the adventure she anticipated, she adjusted to the life of strict customs and silence away from the temptations of the world. Over time, she experienced contentment and spiritual growth in the peaceful environment. After twenty years, when confronted with a conflict, she made the wrenching decision to leave.
Once outside the sheltered confines of convent walls, she faced the challenge of survival. Convent life is one of poverty, but it is also void of anxiety about food, shelter, and income. Monastery To Matrimony: A Woman’s Journey provides an ex-nun’s view through humorous situations incurred when dropped into a changed society where she had no adult history. At thirty-seven, with no severance pay, a minimum wardrobe, and a unique resume, she felt like an oddity to the world.
Anyone faced with a painful life change, whether domestic, religious, or occupational, will find encouragement in this story of a woman who overcame fear of an unknown future with a valiant spirit.
To learn more about Mary Ann Weakley, visit her Website at www.maryannweakley.com
“Mary Ann Weakley has written about a journey grounded in faith, hope and love. It is a
unique and deeply personal account — but every reader will relate to elements of her story.”
— John Seigenthaler, Founder, First Amendment Center
“Mary Ann Weakley’s memoir has the authenticity of twenty years lived as a nun. Her stories of convent life are sometimes humorous and sometimes tragic, but always
revealing. Those faced with making life-changing decisions will find inspiration.”
—Lisa Patton, bestselling author of Whistlin’ Dixie in a Nor’Easter and Southern as a Second Language
“Ms. Weakley’s book is much more than a memoir. Monastery to Matrimony is an intimate account of the empowerment of women who espouse the religious life, and their coming of age after the Vatican Council II of the Catholic Church. It is a most revealing look at the evolution of compliant women of the cloth who reevaluated their purpose and vocations in the modern world, and the many human factors behind those once mysterious convent walls.”
—Nona Kilgore Bauer, award-winning author of Dog Heroes of September 11th
“Monastery to Matrimony, from the first stirrings of hope through convent stories and marriage, will touch your heart.”
—Marie Therese Gass, author of unCONVENTional WOMEN
About the Author
MARY ANN WEAKLEY was born and raised in rural Central llinois. Her story is written from the authority of her twenty years lived as a Benedictine nun. She received a BA in Education at Marycrest College, Davenport, Iowa, and earned her M.Ed. in Business at the University of Illinois, Urbana. Weakley writes from The Villages in central Florida, where she lives with her cat, Sammie.