Non-habited Communities.

[DameAgnes]

This article is very apropos to the discussion as it respectfully looks at an order that has unhabited (Sisters of the Cenacle) and another that has modified its habit (Little Sisters of the Poor) and explains why it doesn't have to be "either/or". The issue can be "both/and".

 

Also, I know a community of Benedictine nuns (Clyde, Missouri) who are not "habited" per se (they wear dresses and skirts in black/white combos of their choices) who are wonderful community. I also know another community of Benedictines who are (imho) a little to into the new age stuff. So, it all really depends upon the community. The habit itself (and I like habits) are really a side issue.

 

Edited b/c I forgot the link! 

 

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/theanchoress/2012/08/24/old-fashioned-sisters-newfangled-nuns-numbers-and-habits/

  

 

:hehe2:

Edited May 21, 2013 by DameAgnes

[beatitude]

I've written on this before.  As a nurse, I've worked in situations where I wore uniform, and in others [clinics, mostly], where I have not.  Uniform was easier.  Just fling it on, and away you go.  No choosing what to wear, and usually, no washing and ironing [hospital laundry does it].

 

It's worth noting that even sisters with no habit aren't likely to have all that much difficulty with choice over what to wear, as they still take a vow of poverty, and they don't have much in their wardrobe. ;) The non-habited sisters whom I know have a couple of long skirts in a dark colour, a couple of pairs of dark trousers, some plain blouses, and a pullover or something for when it's colder. There isn't really much to choose from there. They also keep their hair cut quite short, so they don't need to spend a lot of time brushing and styling.

 

I think it is these things that get non-habited sisters jeered at for being 'dowdy', something I have unfortunately seen a lot in more traditional Catholic circles, where the traditional habit is commended for its beauty and elegance. I was speaking about this with a Little Sister of Jesus (the wish of their foundress was that they dress as the people around them dress), and she was aware of it. She said it can be hurtful. But she also said that it is part of their charism to live as friends to the poorest and most marginalised people in society, and on the council housing estate in inner-city London, where she lives, there are plenty of people who look 'dowdy' because they can't afford nice things and they need to take what they can get from second-hand stores. She sees the insults that non-habited sisters get as a way of sharing in their lives more completely. Then for the first time it hit me how bitterly ironic it is that any Catholic would jeer at women who have made vows of poverty for not being elegant enough. :(

Edited May 22, 2013 by beatitude

[incarnatewordsister]

Then for the first time it hit me how bitterly ironic it is that any Catholic would jeer at women who have made vows of poverty for not being elegant enough. :(

 

I don't really post here. In fact. I haven't in a long time because there is usually a thread about Sisters not wearing habits and I find it hurtful because I would rather be judged on the content on my character.

 

With that said. A few years back I decided to not come back to the board because of hurtful comments of people who have actually never made vows and who have never lived in community, never wore a habit or have done so for a very short time. To be honest, I don't even remember the comments, but at the time I was in formation and I found them confusing and not at all helpful for my life, so I decided to step back. It was a good choice at the time. However, I have always prayed for everybody here.

 

 Anyways. I do have a habit. Our habit is beautiful but highly impractical for our life. I PERSONALLY  have mixed feelings. it is beautiful but flashy. People also have mixed reactions. There are those who stay away as if their life depends on it. There are those who want to convert me because they think that I need to be saved, then there are those who hand me money or want to pay for my monthly purchases at the pharmacy (rather embarrasing!) And then there is the fact that I can not keep it clean to save my life. I like it when people come and ask me for prayer. That is always good, though.

 

So, I wear a marroon skirt and a white blouse with my black veil. it is a sign of my commitment. It witnesses to poverty but it does not call attention to itself.  I have suffered the sneer of Sisters who wear the full habit because of what I wear and the sneer of not habited Sisters for what I wear. Some Sisters in full habit have actually asked me why I joined my community if I don't get to wear the habit everyday. 

 

I only wear my modified habit for very special occasions together with the rest of my Sisters. And it becomes an occasion of celebration and joy. The rest of the time we live our life without recognition but we do our ministry with the same joy and the same love.  I love my community and I would not change it even if I couldn't wear a habit at all. What matters is that God calls one to a partocular charim, to a particular community. I have found my home here.

[elizabeth09]

Different charisms. Deal with it. Embrace it. Celebrate it.

 

Why do we have to deal with it, embrace it and celebrate it?  

 

I don't understand what this proves. Misunderstandings happen all the time. Once, while wearing my habit and veil with some other sisters on a trip we went through the drive through to buy lunch. The man surprisingly asked me, "are you allowed to drive?" He thought I was an Amish woman! We both laughed about it and moved on. People who don't know sisters ask me all the time if I am married or have children... So we have a conversation and no harm done!

Yes, misunderstanding will happen.  But the one time that my mom mistake a sister for a mom is understood.  Anyone could wear a little pin.  I do not know how little the pin was, because I was volunteering at the time.  

 

I think that the young ladies that are joining today will more likely join a order with a habit.  Just to make it clear, I will not stand in the way of someone joining an order that does not wear the habit.

[the171]

Because diversity is beautiful. The Church is dynamic. Listen, I used to be like you (Sister Marie can attest to this as can most of the pham). But you have to look at the charism and the apostolate before you judge. (Even then you shouldn't)

[elizabeth09]

Sister Marie, forgot to ask you: Do you like wearing the habit or other clothes?

[EmilyAnn]

Why do we have to deal with it, embrace it and celebrate it?  

 

Because religious life is not one-size-fits-all. The diversity in charisms and spiritualities embraces and reflects the diversity of people and it is a good thing. 

[elizabeth09]

What happens before Vatian II with the habbits?

[Sister Marie]

Why do we have to deal with it, embrace it and celebrate it?  

 

Yes, misunderstanding will happen.  But the one time that my mom mistake a sister for a mom is understood.  Anyone could wear a little pin.  I do not know how little the pin was, because I was volunteering at the time.  

 

I think that the young ladies that are joining today will more likely join a order with a habit.  Just to make it clear, I will not stand in the way of someone joining an order that does not wear the habit.

 

I know your first comment wasn't addressed to me but I do have an answer for it.  We have to "deal with, embrace, and celebrate" different charisms because charisms are gifts of the Holy Spirit.  They are not man-made but are gifts given for the whole Church out of God's love for us and through the voice of the Holy Spirit.  I guess someone can reject that gift if they want to but I don't know why anyone would not want a gift of the Holy Spirit!

 

"Communion in the Church is not uniformity, but a gift of the Spirit, who is present in the variety of charisms and states of life. These will be all the more helpful to the Church and her mission the more their specific identity is respected. For every gift of the Spirit is granted in order to bear fruit for the Lord in the growth of fraternity and mission." Vita Consecrata, 4 (The word charism is repeated in Vita Consecrata 86 times!!!)

 

------------------------------------

 

I guess I still don't understand your point with the pin story.  I don't think that that proves that there is anything wrong with not wearing a habit.  I'm open to understanding but I think I need more of an explanation as to what you mean... maybe I'm misunderstanding part of the story.  The way I'm reading it is that because she wasn't visible immediately, it was an issue.  I wear a habit and sometimes I'm not visible immediately either.  It doesn't take away from my life.  I would definitely be open to trying to understand what you mean but I would need more of an explanation.

 

-------------------------------------

 

You are right that many young women now feel called to join communities that wear a full habit.  That's great.  It's the Holy Spirit, the charism that we are called to embrace and celebrate.  However, I don't think that's a good reason for the habit.  Imagine if the disciples were following Jesus because everyone else was... there probably wouldn't be a Church now if that were the case.  Habits are popular right now in certain Catholic circles.  There isn't anything wrong with that but for me it isn't a reason to be "pro-habit." 

 

In light of that I would add that I DO wear a habit.  I appreciate all the "pros" to wearing a habit.  On a higher level, it is a reminder of who I am as a religious.  It helps me to witness to poverty (as it is very simple!).  It lets people know who I am so that I can help them.  I also like it for the mundane reasons - I don't have to worry about my hair.  I know what I'm going to wear everyday and everything I own matches already! 

 

However, if I was living out my community's charism in a situation where the habit was NOT helpful to the living of that charism I would not hesitate to take it off.  It would be for me a decision to remain true to the charism of my community and my own identity as a religious woman.  My identity is the same regardless of the clothing I am wearing.  I know that some people see this as putting ministry above religious life but I don't see it that way at all.  As an apostolic religious, what I do is very much intertwined with who I am and it is an integral part of the charism of my community.  Apostolate, prayer, and community aren't three separate parts of my life but are one and the same.  Religious who consider themselves semi-active or monastic would most likely not share that point of view because it would not be in keeping with their charism - and that's a good thing!  Prayer in that situation would be the most important because that is the gift of the Holy Spirit in that religious institute. 

 

Before Vatican II many religious communities who were really founded to be apostolic communities were forced by culture and custom to keep a lot of monastic practices - practices that don't fit into the life of an apostolic religious.  It was impossible.  When Vatican II occurred, they were encouraged to go back to their original founder's vision of their life.  They realized sometimes that they weren't living the vision of their founder and that some of those practices were getting in the way of living the authentic gift of the Holy Spirit in their charisms. 

 

We aren't all meant to be the same.  Popularity ebbs and flows in the Church and has done so since the beginning.  Jesus Christ never changes.  He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.  When I think about the mission of Jesus, the last thing I ask is, "That miracle was great and everything, but um, what was Jesus wearing?"  I hear this often in regards to religious women.  It doesn't make sense to me. 

 

Sorry this is so long! 

[the171]

There were many communities before VII that didn't wear a habit.

[Little Flower]

Well I just wanted to say thanks to all of you for your great posts. You have actually changed my mind about this. Reading through this, I realized that it is actually reasonable for a communty to not wear the habit or to wear a modified one. Especially those communites who were founded intentionally without one. But in the cases of orders who traditionally have worn habits, I think in many cases at least habits are a good thing. I believe that VII said that religious communities should wear some recognizable garb. So I guess you can interpret that as you please. And plus I would think it would be much easier to get ready in the morning when everything you have is the same!

 

In addition, I have changed my mind a lot over the past few years regarding extremely traditional habits (you know, full veil, wimple, guimpe, everything). I had really wanted to enter a comunity like that and was really kind of scornful of communites who had abandoned it. I guess I realized just how impractical, uncomfortable, and everything those habits are. Slightly modified habits really probably are a good thing.

 

I am trying to be more open minded about this whole habit thing. My pastor (he gives me spiritual direction) has told me that I should visit this one particular community that wears a fairly modified habit (modified enough that imho it is kind of ugly) and for work and recreational activities wears no habit. I really don't like that. But I am trying to be open and I am in the process of arranging the dates to spend a weekend or so with them. Its kind of scary. I have always in the past crossed off my list any orders that have any pictures on their website of uninhabited nuns, or extremely modified habits,

[Spem in alium]

It's worth noting that even sisters with no habit aren't likely to have all that much difficulty with choice over what to wear, as they still take a vow of poverty, and they don't have much in their wardrobe. ;) The non-habited sisters whom I know have a couple of long skirts in a dark colour, a couple of pairs of dark trousers, some plain blouses, and a pullover or something for when it's colder. There isn't really much to choose from there. They also keep their hair cut quite short, so they don't need to spend a lot of time brushing and styling.

 

I think it is these things that get non-habited sisters jeered at for being 'dowdy', something I have unfortunately seen a lot in more traditional Catholic circles, where the traditional habit is commended for its beauty and elegance. I was speaking about this with a Little Sister of Jesus (the wish of their foundress was that they dress as the people around them dress), and she was aware of it. She said it can be hurtful. But she also said that it is part of their charism to live as friends to the poorest and most marginalised people in society, and on the council housing estate in inner-city London, where she lives, there are plenty of people who look 'dowdy' because they can't afford nice things and they need to take what they can get from second-hand stores. She sees the insults that non-habited sisters get as a way of sharing in their lives more completely. Then for the first time it hit me how bitterly ironic it is that any Catholic would jeer at women who have made vows of poverty for not being elegant enough. :(

As always, I see you write with beauty and tact. Thank you. 

 

I am trying to be more open minded about this whole habit thing. My pastor (he gives me spiritual direction) has told me that I should visit this one particular community that wears a fairly modified habit (modified enough that imho it is kind of ugly) and for work and recreational activities wears no habit. I really don't like that. But I am trying to be open and I am in the process of arranging the dates to spend a weekend or so with them. Its kind of scary. I have always in the past crossed off my list any orders that have any pictures on their website of uninhabited nuns, or extremely modified habits,

Haha. You and me both :) I have not been discerning long, but at the very beginning I was very close-minded and didn't even bother considering that God might be calling me to a non-habited community. I was more attracted to the habit than to the community, I think - which now sounds very shameful. I met some non-habited sisters and while they were wonderful women, I never thought I'd be associated with them on a deeper level than companionship. Now I've been on retreat with these sisters and am getting spiritual direction with one of them. :) I think it just shows that it's important to be open and listen to change and to God's guidance and preferences :) Ultimately, the way I see it, if He is calling me to religious life, His preference will be with a community that is strong in faith, charism, truth and mission. This community has so far proved to be all these things, and they wear very simple plain clothing.

 

Thanks everyone for such interesting, enlightening posts!

[Sister Marie]

Sister Marie, forgot to ask you: Do you like wearing the habit or other clothes?

 

Elizabeth, I'm sorry I'm just answering this now but I missed it when I was responding to your other comments.  I sort of talked at it when I talked about why I like my habit but in the interest of really being honest I wanted to add to it.  I do like wearing a habit but I'm also grateful for the times when I don't have to wear it.  My community's constitutions, which are approved by the Church, say that our ordinary dress is the habit but that there are times and places where it is practical and necessary to wear recreational clothing.  I don't have a large wardrobe of recreational clothing but I do have some work clothes for when I am doing heavy work - power washing the windows in the summer, doing heavy house cleaning, gardening... things that get you very dirty.  Because my habit is, in addition to being a religious garment, a professional garment, I really can't afford to ruin it in these circumstances.  Not only are habits hard to come by.  They are also expensive.  I would much rather have a messy pair of sweat pants from walmart than a ruined habit.  Would you wear the same clothes to your job that you wore to clean out your garage?  I also like to run and I have two sets of clothes to wear for that.  It's an inexpensive hobby but one that is necessary for me both physically, that really provides support for me because of a condition I have, and spiritually because its sacred time I spend with God. 

 

I don't feel like anything is different about me whether I am wearing the habit or not and I think its a very practical practice for my community and one that witnesses to religious poverty for us.  I also want to mention that never do I remove the sign of my vows - my ring.  Whatever I am doing, I am wearing that symbol of my commitment to God and it is, to me, the most important part of my habit.  Each community is different though and I totally respect their decisions even when they are not for me.

[the171]

Listen, it's not about whether or not the habit is aesthetically pleasing; it's about how the sisters serve God.

[Pax_et bonum]

Listen, it's not about whether or not the habit is aesthetically pleasing; it's about how the sisters serve God.

While yes, I have practical reasons for wanting to join a community that wears a habit such as not having to worry about what to wear everyday, it's not about that or how the habit looks. It IS about how the sisters serve God, and I know God isn't calling me to serve Him how I have experienced sisters who don't wear habits do. I know not all communities that don't wear habits are like the ones I know, but even the ones (again, in my experience) that aren't dying out because all the sisters are old are not what I'm drawn to as communities. Community life is important to me, so I don't want to live in an apartment with one other sister, for example. Living with one other sister is a type of community and of course they have contact with other sisters, but it's not the type of community life I'm drawn to. There are communities of habited sisters who have similar arrangements at their mission convents, and I'm not any more drawn to them because they wear habits.

 

Whether communities wear a habit or not, or a modified habit, can tell you something about them though that would be a stupid place to stop, and what it tells you isn't that one is good and the others bad but that they're different. Someone who prefers a community that wears the habit isn't automatically narrow minded or judgmental any more than someone who prefers the Franciscan charism over Dominican. If that person goes around saying that sisters who don't wear habits, or Dominicans, aren't real sisters, that's the problem.

 

On another note, I'm pretty sure your comment is a logical fallacy--a straw man argument. You oversimplified the points of those who like habits to the only reason we like them is that they're pretty, therefore we don't care that or how sisters serve God.