Thanks for all the interesting information.By getting back to their founding roots, it just means that they should try to take that and apply it to the here and now,and use it as a way to bring people closer to Christ as all people have a hunger for the spritual and God.
You’re welcome. I always enjoy explaining these finer points from the perspective of a religious. I realize that many lay people, who never had to wear a habit, do not always understand the complications around it. I have nothing against wearing a habit. In fact, I wear one 24/7. I have always liked the wording that Perfectae Caritatis used to describe the habit: modest, simple, practical and becoming. OK, don’t ask me to define “becoming.” My guess is that they meant that it should be appropriate. That’s why I like the revelation that Mother Teresa had. The community was to be Indian. What is becoming in Indian culture is not the same as European culture or the other way around.
My own sisters, the Poor Clares, have a wide assortment of habits. Our Holy Mother Clare was clear that the nuns were to wear a habit. But she did not prescribe what it should be. She was a very wise woman, given the time in history in which she lived. She may as well have written Perfectae Caritatis or Vita Consacrata. She said that the superior should decide on a habit that was practical. It was interesting, to the best of my knowledge, Clare is the only founder who used the word culture and custom in her rule. She said that the habit was to be according to the culture and custom of time and place. Her only requirement was that it be simple, modest and poor.
It’s very romantic to look back at old pictures and see how beautiful some of the sisters and nuns looked in the habits of their time. But the fact is that they went through a great deal of trouble to produce and maintain them. At the time, no one thought about it, because everyone went through the same kind of work to produce and maintain clothing. All that work had nothing to do with penance and sacrifice. We have romanticized that part of it. There are people who say that religious men or religious women should go through all that work to show their spirit of sacrifice. However, the truth is that the founders never saw it that way. Our founders encouraged sacrifices that led to perfect charity and discipline. There are many things that we must do, on a daily basis, that lead to charity and discipline. They are not easy to do. Spending two hours a day over a habit is not one of them.
When I look at religious communities of men such as the Franciscans and the Dominicans, I can see why the Dominicans wear their habit a lot less than Franciscans. The Franciscan habits, regardless of which branch you belong to, are very simple. They are a tunic, with a cowl and a chord. The cowls are bigger and smaller. The colors vary. There are little details. For example, we wear a Tau over our chest. The Franciscans of the Immaculate wear a badge over the exact same habit as my community. The Capuchins and the Franciscans of the Renewal wear the same habit: one is brown and the other is grey. The Conventuals and the TOR both wear black, but the TOR has pleats sewn into it and the Conventuals do not. Notice that the pleats are sewn in, not ironed on. The point is that between our habit and that of the Dominicans, ours is very simple. You hang it on a hook way above your head. In the morning, you get up and slip under it. Tie a chord around your waste and Voila! You’re dressed. There are no scapulars, shoulder capes with cowls, belts with rosaries, an outer mantle and outer shoulder cape with another cowl. You don’t worry about being caught on anything and you don’t have to mend tears. There are no pins to hold certain pieces in place and you don’t wear anything under it. The white Dominican tunic requires a complete set of clothing under it, because it’s transparent. If you’re running to work, a pair of black slacks and a clerical shirt are much faster to put on and much easier to maintain. We, rarely wear the black slacks and clerical shirt. Most of us do not own a black suit either. It’s not necessary, except in a diocese where the bishop may require it. Those are far and few between. Bishops don’t interfere in those matters. Only once in my life was I ever asked to wear a black shirt and slacks by a bishop.
We have to keep Jesus in min in all things. The purpose of our dress is to remind us of who we are in relation to Jesus. This can be accomplished with a simpler style of clothing. I know a group of sisters, Servants of the Pierced Hearts, whose habit is beautiful and very practical. A brown jumper with a long skirt, white blouse and brown veil fastens behind the head with the hair exposed at the front. They look like sisters, but their habit is practical for the work that they do and accommodates to many climates, because it’s neither too warm not too lightweight. The Missionaries of Charity habit is very practical. It doesn’t get in the way of their work and it’s easy to maintain. It’s wash and wear.
Mother Teresa was asked why her sisters do not fast. Her answer can be applied to the use of these rather complicated habits that people love to look at, but most people would never want to wear. She said that her sisters did not fast, use the discipline or perform any forms of corporal penances because the poverty that they experience is sacrifice enough to please Jesus. She challenged the listener to continue to smile, continue to have faith, and continue to be patient in the face of so much suffering as the suffering that they see every day. The same can be said about a habit. If we live, pray and work as we should, we have enough sacrifices to make Jesus happy and to atone for sins. Sacrifice is about living and loving as Jesus did.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
This was where she had entered the convent many years ago, however the building was now being used as a retirement center for aging sisters since all of their vocations had dried up. Up until the Second Vatican Council, hundreds of young women entered every year.