My brother who is not religious nor cares about habits, told me that he had seen “some guy” making signs over my dying father. I asked my brother if the person was a priest. My brother replied that the man was not a priest as he was not dressed like one. I concluded that my father had not received the sacraments.

I called a priest, (one who looks and behaves like one)to give my father the last rites. That made me feel better and I am sure my father felt better as well upon seeing a priest administering to him.

It was only after a while, that I found out that my father had received the last rites from the priest in jeans when a patient addressed this man in jeans as Father. I then asked him if he had given my dad the last rites and he confirmed it.

Guess where I stand as to whether priests and nuns should be recognizeable?

The modern view on habits is mixed. I spent years with the Benedictines years ago, once wore my habit to Mass at my home parish church when visiting, and was told by a priest that “This just isn’t done!” (male religious wearing habits on the street)

Have seen nuns in secular dress with tiny veils perched on bouffant hairdo’s (odd, considering that veils are worn to cover the hair) and many other habit-related oddities over the years. Interestingly, nuns who wear traditional habits (in my experience) seem to have no problem interacting with those layfolk whom they serve and work with. And yet many orders dumped the habit because it “interfered” with this interaction. The habit makes a statement, serves as a visible “witness”, unifies communities in a tangible way, and attracts people to it.

I remember priests back in the 60’s and 70’s, removing their collars when speaking to youth groups and saying things like, “Don’t call me Father Bill, call me Bill”. We liked friendly priests (and nuns) of course, but didn’t want them AS friends, in a chummy, “equal” sort of way. We wanted – needed – to have the option to relate to them AS priests and nuns. Habits, in some way, can facilitate this. They define, demarcate, and provide a sense of continuity in a Church that has gone through so much change, good and bad.

I know of a number of male communities which have had numerous new members enter in recent years… many of whom discerned that the way of life was not as they imagined it would be and soon left or were asked to leave. Most religious communities in the US in the 40s, 50s and early 60s experienced an historically unprecedented increase in numbers. Many build those large structures to house the influx only to find themselves years later wondering what to do with the oversize structures when the numbers “settled down.”

It will be an interesting time we have in heaven (God willing) when we are finally able to see clearly what we only see darkly here.

They are all growing, some of them bursting at the seams and being forced to build larger houses or expand, and they all wear habits. Even if it is just pure coincidence, it struck me. While orders that dont have the habit are slowly dwindling in numbers ( I have not seen a non habited order that is GROWING) these orders, with their habits and latin, litergy of the hours and adoration, manage to attract and keep young women. (check the web sites, they are full of young, well-educated women)

In this document, religious are called to take a religious habit: “The religious habit, an outward mark of consecration to God, should be simple and modest, poor and at the same becoming. In addition it must meet the requirements of health and be suited to the circumstances of time and place and to the needs of the ministry involved. The habits of both men and women religious which do not conform to these norms must be changed.” (a. 17) All religious congregations today adhere to this, as well as to the codes in Canon Law. How we define our habits (and we all have habits) is included in our Rule of life which is approved by the Vatican. So to suggest that not wearing a traditional habit is not living authentic religious life is to contradict what the Vatican itself has approved.

I don’t lean one way or another of wearing a veil or not. I do think it is a visible sign of God; but I also think it sets people apart as the comment of people looking at the sister in the article funny shows. The habit made sense a long time ago historically… maybe that would be a good blog article! Today the habit might not make sense for our current time.

I think our call to be a Christian means we shouldn’t be sleeping around and we should be living simply (we should live simply so others in our world can have something). Those aren’t the special call of the nun. That is the call for all Christians.

I question what makes being a sister or a nun a unique call.

Everything a sister can do, a lay person can do that I am aware of. I do question what makes it a unique call in comparison to marriage being a unique call or single life being a unique call. Many sisters I know in apostolic communities especially tend to be living in apartments by themselves. I am trying to see if I can find enough of a sustaining community outside of religious life. I’m not sure finding it inside of religious life is realistic with diminishing numbers, few young people who will be left soon, the distances sisters live from each other so they can do ministry, and sisters desires to live in apartments to name a few.

I wonder if Vatican II is really calling lay people to take a role in the church and these distinctions be gotten away from.

Is it more realistic to try to establish communities in our church and put our energy there?

I’m not sure. I struggle with religious life verses “lay” living outside an order (I put lay in quotes because I realize sisters are lay but I wanted to distinguish).

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccscrlife/documents/rc_con_ccscrlife_doc_31051983_magisterium-on-religious-life_en.html

Nice quote! And good post here. I’ve commented on the veil focus on my blog as well.

Peace,
Susan Rose, CSJP

And that describes most of the sisters and nuns I know…I know Benedictines who wear full habits, and ones who don’t. I’d be hard pressed to try to say who’s more “embodied” of their vocation. I think the line in the Rule of St. Benedict is that monastics wear clothes which are suitable to the climate that don’t discriminate them from the poor.