Get into the habit of wearing the habit!

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It’s in keeping with the spirit of VII dontchya know. :rolleyes:

Time for an exorcism, methinks.
 
What they will say is that they don’t want to appear to be any better than anyone else or that they find the habit too hard to work in or it has too many bad connotations from the days when sisters were harsh to school children, etc., etc.

In reality, they just don’t want to wear a habit out of some misguided notion that it is a symbol of female oppression or an old-fashioned sign of self-punishment, etc. Apparently, they have adopted the spirit of the age instead of adopting the humility of Jesus and Mary.

A cute story: I knew a Carmelite hermit who wore the full habit. He went to a convention of religious where a “sister” wearing make up, a fashionable suit, and the latest hair do approached him and asked him why he wanted to look like, as she sneeringly put it, “a 16th century nun.” He turned to her and said, “Well, don’t you think one of us ought to?” She left him in a huff. LOL!
 
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Della:
In reality, they just don’t want to wear a habit out of some misguided notion that it is a symbol of female oppression or an old-fashioned sign of self-punishment, etc. Apparently, they have adopted the spirit of the age instead of adopting the humility of Jesus and Mary.
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You mean it’s better to wear the habit?:confused:
 
Paris Blues:
You mean it’s better to wear the habit?:confused:
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Well, would you like to wear the form of dress worn by ladies at the time of the Civil War? Most of the old habits were the typical form of dress worn back in the earliest days of the Church and in the middle ages. A lot of Nuns today wear ordinary modest dress and a large medal or some other insigna of their order. Some have updated their habits to be much less cumbersome with more streamlined dress and a simple veil. I have to admit that as an old geezer some sort of habit appeals to me more than ordinary everyday dress, but then I don’t have to wear one. Even in business today many employess no longer wear suits as was required when I started work in the 60’s. I am comfortable as long as they dress as required by their order. If one wants the very old style, well one can pick an order that still does that, if one prefers street clothes well that is their choice as long as they are modest and some sign of belonging is evident.

I can remember the Sisters who taught in our school as late as the early seventies, they wore a full habit and we expected them to live in the un-air conditioned convent with tiny cells that was the second floor of the school. Prisoners in our jails have it better. I ask myself today,“How could we do this to these women who did so much for us and our children?”
 
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rwoehmke:
Well, would you like to wear the form of dress worn by ladies at the time of the Civil War? Most of the old habits were the typical form of dress worn back in the earliest days of the Church and in the middle ages. A lot of Nuns today wear ordinary modest dress and a large medal or some other insigna of their order. Some have updated their habits to be much less cumbersome with more streamlined dress and a simple veil. I have to admit that as an old geezer some sort of habit appeals to me more than ordinary everyday dress, but then I don’t have to wear one. Even in business today many employess no longer wear suits as was required when I started work in the 60’s. I am comfortable as long as they dress as required by their order. If one wants the very old style, well one can pick an order that still does that, if one prefers street clothes well that is their choice as long as they are modest and some sign of belonging is evident.

I can remember the Sisters who taught in our school as late as the early seventies, they wore a full habit and we expected them to live in the un-air conditioned convent with tiny cells that was the second floor of the school. Prisoners in our jails have it better. I ask myself today,“How could we do this to these women who did so much for us and our children?”
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They chose to not live comfortably to bring them closer to God and Christ. That’s the theology behind monasteries and convents. To sacrifice comfort to draw yourself closer to God. Many saints did this. That’s one reason they are saints. 😉
 
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rwoehmke:
Well, would you like to wear the form of dress worn by ladies at the time of the Civil War? Most of the old habits were the typical form of dress worn back in the earliest days of the Church and in the middle ages.
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And for those who are cloistered the full length robes are no problem, but are, in fact, a way of showing their total devotion to God as contemplatives.
A lot of Nuns today wear ordinary modest dress and a large medal or some other insigna of their order. Some have updated their habits to be much less cumbersome with more streamlined dress and a simple veil.
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Our parish has a few sisters from India who wear a modern habit with calf length habit and scapular and a veil that covers most of their head. But, we also have some who wear no habit, but do dress modestly. Frankly, I don’t see why the American ones can’t wear the updated habit of their order so they would at least look like a nun. Before I got to know who they were, I asked one older lady if she had grandchildren. :eek: But, how was I to know she was a nun? By the large cross she was wearing? Anyone can wear one of those. No, nuns should look like nuns as the Vatican has directed them to do as “witnesses to the Gospel in the world.”
I have to admit that as an old geezer some sort of habit appeals to me more than ordinary everyday dress, but then I don’t have to wear one. Even in business today many employess no longer wear suits as was required when I started work in the 60’s. I am comfortable as long as they dress as required by their order. If one wants the very old style, well one can pick an order that still does that, if one prefers street clothes well that is their choice as long as they are modest and some sign of belonging is evident.
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Nuns aren’t mere employees. They are representatives of their order and witnesses of the Gospel. They ought to dress accordingly. After all, police and fire wear uniforms, and doctors and nurses wear them too. They’re all professional people who symbolize authority as those who we look to for aid and security. Symbols are important, as you yourself cited when you admitted the habit appeals to you. That’s because the habit is meant to appeal to you–as a symbol that the Gospel is alive and able to bring God’s grace into our lives.

[quoteI can remember the Sisters who taught in our school as late as the early seventies, they wore a full habit and we expected them to live in the un-air conditioned convent with tiny cells that was the second floor of the school. Prisoners in our jails have it better. I ask myself today,“How could we do this to these women who did so much for us and our children?”
[/QUOTE]

And no one is asking these active sisters to wear habits that are unhealthy and unwieldy. But, they can wear the more modern ones. I can see no good reason why they shouldn’t.
 
Well, if I were a sister and had to wear the habit, I would love to wear the kind Mother Angelica and her nuns wear!😃
 
And we are truly blesst today in that we have many orders with different modes of dress and a woman can freely chose which she wants to join. I don’t think it is up to us, especially as men, to force all nuns to wear a mode of dress they find uncomfortable or unweildy. As for dress being signs of committment etc. the three nuns killed in San Salvador(I think it was), Ita Ford and her companions, were not wearing old time full habits and I would find it very difficult to say they were not fully committed to Our lord.
 
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rwoehmke:
And we are truly blesst today in that we have many orders with different modes of dress and a woman can freely chose which she wants to join. I don’t think it is up to us, especially as men, to force all nuns to wear a mode of dress they find uncomfortable or unweildy. As for dress being signs of committment etc. the three nuns killed in San Salvador(I think it was), Ita Ford and her companions, were not wearing old time full habits and I would find it very difficult to say they were not fully committed to Our lord.
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And you have missed the point. No one is saying sisters must dress in the older style habits, but they ought to dress in some sort of habit to be identified as nuns because the Vatican has directed them to do so.

Habits are a sign of commitment, but they are not commitment itself, and no one is saying that they are. So, no matter who dies or doesn’t die wearing one has no bearing on commitment, but on obedience, which is, believe or not, just as important in the eyes of God.
 
I, myself, have more respect for a nun wearing a habit than one that dresses in regular clothes. They should be proud to say they “live for Jesus”!

Vatican II did not say that they could go without a habit, it encouraged modernization, but each religious community interpreted the new instructions differently.

There is so much misunderstanding about V II.

Pope Benedict XVI will gradually get things set straight…the key is to listen to him. 👍
 
Greetings Paris! (I will write you - haven’t forgotten - I just lost your e-mail for awhle)

I think many order’s habits started out as an adaptation of the commoners clothing, or that of the poor/widowed/etc for the age and location in which they were founded. I don’t think the point of habits was to witness to the Gospel that the wearers were special and set apart for service, but rather to witness the Gospel by solidarity with the marginalized and “non-special”. Time and changing fashions kind of turned that upside down!

I guess personally, I appreciate it when religious women and men wear some outward sign of their commitment to the Gospel, their charism, and life of service. But for that matter, I appreciate it when ANY Christian wears some outward sign of their call and commitment to Christ. Particularly you married men: wear your wedding bands!

On the other hand, though, I’m not terribly fond of long veils and “trippy” dresses. Guess it’s just not my thing. Actually, if I started a new religious order of young people, I think we should wear sneakers, jeans, and plain grey hoodies with a crucifix on a necklace. It just seems so simple, powerful, and down-to-earth. 👍
 
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Della:
And you have missed the point. No one is saying sisters must dress in the older style habits, but they ought to dress in some sort of habit to be identified as nuns because the Vatican has directed them to do so.

Habits are a sign of commitment, but they are not commitment itself, and no one is saying that they are. So, no matter who dies or doesn’t die wearing one has no bearing on commitment, but on obedience, which is, believe or not, just as important in the eyes of God.
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OK Della I see and accept your point. At least a simple but distinct habit would be very good. Don’t need a program then to tell the players and the wishes of Rome are honored.

As an aside I was wondering if a ChemicalBean is any relation to the Supreme Bean the Dominican Nuns taught about when I was in First Grade.
 
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rwoehmke:
As an aside I was wondering if a ChemicalBean is any relation to the Supreme Bean the Dominican Nuns taught about when I was in First Grade.
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Ha ha!! No…but it came about in a similar confusion of words. Now it’s just kind of a family joke.

Country Kitchen restaurants used to serve a soup called “Calico Bean”, and Mom used to get it every time we’d go there. I liked it, and so once (I suppose I was about 4 yrs. old or so) I ordered some for myself, proclaiming “I’d like some Chemical Bean soup, please!” Well, my folks thought it was funny (digestion of beans can cause some “chemical” reactions…), but I had just been listening to Dad talk about using chemicals at work, so I guess that’s what I thought it was. I keep it as a pseudonym because I’m studying chemical engineering in college.

[EDIT: My apologies to the mods…I’m probably breaking a rule here, but it was fitting to share my story.]
 
Orders that wear the habit are usually younger and growing, while the ones that don’t are not. Usually orders that don’t wear habits are the ones who aren’t faithful to their order’s original calling and instead are into social justice, environmental justice, New Age, etc.
Some great orders of sisters that DO wear habits you might like to check out are:
the Dominicans of Nashville
the Daughters of St. Paul
the Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker
 
For those who don’t know me (and there are many many many) I am a woman.

I am also discerning a vocation–I am a “late” vocation.

I grew up hearing stories of the nuns who taught her, and when I finally had occasion to visit her hometown, her parish, and her school, there were none (excuse the pun) to be found.

Recently we suffered 2 deaths in our family…a beloved aunt and our matriarch, our grandmother. Both funerals were in the hometown Catholic Church, which has been revamped…the “nuns” on the photos in the parish hall are without their habits and we would not know they were nuns but for the captions beneath the photos. I could go on about the liturgical abuses, but it might make me cry.

Just as an aside, the nuns at her parish were the School Sisters of Notre Dame, which does a great disservice to the foundress of the original order of the Sisters of Notre Dame, St.Julie. (Julia). I believe the SSND is an offshoot of the original order.

In any case, for those who question this, look around, really do some research…and you will see that the habit-less nuns are falling in number. They are graying, they are holding on not to Christ, but to feminist ideals.

I am a woman. I am a feminist…I have worked myself almost to death to compete with men in male-dominated fields and I have overcome. But when it comes to religion, and when it comes to really exemplifiying what being a woman is all about…I have to say that those orders who use the lame excuses not to wear a habit…well, what a bunch of wussies. I’d use the more derogatory term, but I don’t like that word. It’s anti-female, but unfortunately, it fits them.

Regarding the nuns in places such as El Salvador…they are under different circumstances. The Church does not ask us to committ suicide. We can do better work alive than dead, but in the US this is not an issue. To refuse to wear the habit here is a denial of Christ. PERIOD.

EDIT

The orders which are habited are growing without bounds. The ones without habits are dying, praise God. Let’s hopw that those who are left will see the Truth before they die. Pray for them, please.

Paris, look to the orders such as the Sisers of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, and the LA Carmelites (forget their name), and in Wisconsin, the Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus.

And if God calls you to do so, start your own, but wear the HABIT!

Personally, I don’t see any point in giving my life to God if I can’t be a visible example to everyone I meet. Wearing the habit means that one has to mind one’s P’s and Q’s. That kind of accounability produces saints.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve never seen a Saint who was a nun out of the habit.

Something to consider.
 
A link to the carmelites that Phoenix mentions (I’m assuming that LA means Louisiana, and not Los Angeles). Actually there are a few different listings when I google Louisiana Carmelites. These are down the road from me, though.

lafayettecarmelites.org/

My best friend from HS (public) is a Poor Clare in Langhorne, PA. Here’s a link to them… poorclarepa.org/ They wear habits, and you can see that they’ve had 2 professions in the last 2 years (look under ceremonies and celebrations)

Apparently, not all Poor Clares follow the same disciplines. I notice the ladies in Saginaw have no habits. poorclare.com/obs-c.html
 
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