Furthermore…

When I was in grammar school in the 50s some of the nuns were more inclined to tell us stories than were others. When we found out that a particular sister liked to tell a story, we would importune her for more stories to the extent we could,  without crossing the line into being obstreperous. Someone ought to collect these nuns’ tales, which in some respects remind me of today’s ‘urban legends.’

One that comes to mind involved a man on a trip who stayed at an inn. He consumed a meal, but neglected to eat his bread. The inkeeper urged him to eat it, but he demurred, saying it was not particularly appetizing. The next day he left to continue his travels.

Some time later (was it weeks, month, years?) he stopped at that inn again, and ordered a meal.  However, the inkeeper confronted him with the old uneaten piece of bread, now horribly stale and moldy, and demamnded that he first eat this before receiving  any proper food!

I think some of the tales were drawn from the lives of the saints; perhaps this one was.  It has a kind of imbedded call to self abdegnation and humble appreciation of God’s gifts. I’m probably not doing it justice: I wonder if Sister ever wrote down any of her stories?