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(More customer reviews)A remote convent in the Spanish sierras in the early 20th century is the scene of a spiritual reckoning. When a newborn infant is discovered at the 16th century convent of Our Lady of Mercy, Mother Superior Sister Maria Inez knows at once that God has answered her lifelong prayer, the baby boy a "miracle", a divine gift. There are only six nuns remaining in this once-thriving holy enterprise, women who devote the hours of the day to prayer and work, isolated in a decaying convent surrounded by a dense forest. Save the secret gramophone one sister plays in her room, the sound muffled by a stocking, and the loving ministrations of the elderly Sister Carlota to stray dogs, the brides of Christ are reasonably content. The arrival of the child changes the delicate balance of a world designed to eliminate conflict, to honor the contemplative life. What might have been simply resolved becomes a charged conflict, emotions flaring when Sister Maria Inez declares she will keep the child and care for him.
Karnezis pokes beneath the placid layers of prayer and obedience to the deeper shoals of guilt, remorse and God's judgment. What Sister Maria Inez sees as her personal miracle, Sister Ana knows for the Devil's work, as convinced in her outrageous interpretation as Sister Maria Inez. Even the occasional visit by Bishop Estrada has not tempered the willfulness of a Mother Superior who consecrates the host in the absence of a priest, tacks a picture of her long lost beloved among her holy images and becomes obsessed with protecting her "miracle" from harm. Unsettled by the shining eyes and fierce devotion of the nuns on his monthly visit, Bishop Estrada is unaware of the storm brewing.
Embraced by the sheltering walls of Our Lady of Mercy, entry here eradicates each sister's history, a new name celebrating the spiritual path. Actions, burdens, guilt, lie dormant in the exercise of humility and service. Order prevails until the serpent arrives in the Garden of Eden in the guise of an innocent baby boy, unleashing the demons of fanaticism, fear and ambition, a child become the battlefield on which a tragic war is waged. Guilt is a heavy burden for the servants of God, mercy a scarce palliative, a drop of water on a scorched soul. Indeed, the shapeless habit of a nun gives form to her vocation, the sins of the flesh muffled by prayer. Yet the mind is cunning, fanaticism a sly conceit, aberrant child of pride and humility. It is here the true battle is joined: "I am human and nothing that is human is alien to me (Terence)." Luan Gaines/2010.
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