So Bill Murray Likes the Latin Mass? Well, His Sister Nancy, a Catholic Nun, Likes Catherine of Siena

Everyone’s talking today about Bill Murray, after he said that he liked the Traditional Latin Mass.  The actor was in Toronto promoting his new comedy “St. Vincent”, and he talked with The Guardian about the recent canonizations, sacred music and the Latin Mass.

Speaking about the liturgy, Murray tells The Guardian reporter Catherine Shoard:

“…I tend to disagree with what they call the new mass. I think we lost something by losing the Latin. Now if you go to a Catholic mass even just in Harlem it can be in Spanish, it can be in Ethiopian, it can be in any number of languages. The shape of it, the pictures, are the same but the words aren’t the same.”

Isn’t it good for people to understand it? “I guess,” he says, shaking his head. “But there’s a vibration to those words. If you’ve been in the business long enough you know what they mean anyway. And I really miss the music – the power of it, y’know? Yikes! Sacred music has an affect on your brain.” Instead, he says, we get “folk songs … top 40 stuff … oh, brother….”

Despite his unconventional on-screen persona, Murray is a conservative Catholic with an appreciation for the beautiful in music, the arts and the liturgy.

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So, too, is his sister Nancy.  Or actually, Sister Nancy.

Nancy Murray, OP is a Catholic nun, a member of the Adrian Dominicans.  Like her more famous brother, Sister Nancy finds beauty in the Catholic Church–and like her brother, she is comfortable on the stage.

Sister Nancy Murray is making her mark on audiences across the country and throughout the world, bringing to life the Dominican saint Catherine of Siena, Doctor of the Church.  With simple props and a fertile imagination, Sister Nancy portrays Catherine as the colorful, strong, passionate and enthusiastic personality that she was. Thanks to Sister Nancy’s gift of transforming herself into this 14th century saint and patroness of the Dominican Order, numerous churches, schools and organizations have become acquainted with Catherine’s fierce devotion to and love for God.

Who Was Catherine of Siena?

The Adrian Dominicans include a brief bio on their website:

Originally named Caterina Benincasa, she was the 24th child born into her family in Siena, Italy, in 1347. She later became a lay member of the Dominican Order. Catherine cared for terminally ill patients, ministered to those on death row, and provided spiritual direction to men and women in search of God. Though she lacked formal education, she is known for her many letters sent to men and women of all walks of life. The letters, filled with wisdom and spiritual guidance, were the fruit of her own relationship with God. Catherine is best remembered for “The Dialogue,” which contains the intimate conversations or prayers that she and God shared with each other. Catherine died in 1380 at age 33.