The Redemptoristines of Drumcondra are the latest community in Ireland to perform the Jerusalema dance challenge, responding to a nomination from their Redemptorist brothers.
The video, which was posted to the community’s Facebook page, has been viewed over 10,000 times, and received over 2,500 likes and shares.
“The lyrics of the ‘Jerusalema’ song are in the Zulu language and express our longing for heaven and for God’s loving presence in our lives. They implore God to walk with us, guard us and express our prayer,” the video’s caption reads.
Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Sister Lucy Conway said that they did the dance for “the suffering people of the world” and “their carers”.
Describing it as a “prayer dance”, Sr Lucy said that ten of their order joined in with great enthusiasm.
“We had great fun doing it,” she laughed.
The video shows ten of the sisters dancing, with another three clapping along. At one point, two dogs feature, the nuns picking them up and including them in the dance.
“We practiced it for about an hour in total, taking 10 to 15 minutes at a time to do it,” Sr Lucy explained.
“We needed a taskmaster to help us keep time,” she said, “but it was really lovely and we had a great time doing it.”
“We were delayed by an icon retreat,” Sr Lucy said, highlighting the diverse activity a monastery engages in in the 21st Century.
Sr Lucy said they felt it was important to do as “their hearts are breaking for the world”. She acknowledged that while the first lockdown felt like a “novelty” for many, the third lockdown has been “much tougher” for everyone.
“To do the dance was a labour of love,” she said.
“We’re enclosed, but we’re very much alive in the world.”
