tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3682550116445790117.post3685922551372861874..comments2024-03-23T09:59:53.293+00:00Comments on LINEN ON THE HEDGEROW: Being a nun is no longer habit formingRichard Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10826907710570316952noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3682550116445790117.post-52816701131582026592011-09-03T16:33:14.765+01:002011-09-03T16:33:14.765+01:00That's a wonderful story. And a sad comment on...That's a wonderful story. And a sad comment on the bishop who said he travels on the train in mufti so that people don't start talking to him.Gentyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05569143943867323153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3682550116445790117.post-45416378179251170762011-09-03T08:22:01.901+01:002011-09-03T08:22:01.901+01:00A friend of mine has an aunt who is a nun who wear...A friend of mine has an aunt who is a nun who wears a full-length traditional habit. On a train for London from Edinburgh she found herself sitting opposite a young woman who was clearly distressed. After a while they struck up a conversation and it transpired that the woman, the mother of a young family, was at the end of her tether with caring for her children with little support from a husband whose devotion to the whiskey bottle was greater than his commitment to supporting his family.<br /><br />Sister continued to listen and to encourage her companion and, to cut a long story short, by the time the train reached Kings Cross the young woman had decided to catch the next one back to Scotland and return to her family.<br /><br />The young woman made it clear to Sister that it was only because she was wearing her habit that she felt able to confide in her.<br /><br />Enough said.Mater marihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16589638988003289809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3682550116445790117.post-36076627222394865762011-09-03T00:55:16.424+01:002011-09-03T00:55:16.424+01:00Funny you should bring this up today Richard. I w...Funny you should bring this up today Richard. I was looking at the very kind ladies who make up the order who staff our hospital. None wear a habit, even though their founder did. There isn't a young woman among them. Some of the sisters are nurses and still care for the sick on a daily basis, while some of the others have other roles. But again, not a woman under the age of 60 among them. And no prospects.<br /><br />I'll open a another can of worms a bit and say that priests who go out in public in civies have, in my opinion, no right to voice an opinion on the habits of nuns. One of the worst offenders I know is full of criticism of nuns but leaves his cassock and collar home when going out to dinner, etc.TLWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05699746979019393620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3682550116445790117.post-68112897002720222242011-09-02T20:45:28.727+01:002011-09-02T20:45:28.727+01:00"...in the main, largely the enclosed orders ..."...in the main, largely the enclosed orders who dress and behave as nuns should."<br />That is the point- they are the contemplatives for whom there is always a role in the Church. Many of the others were founded to meet specific needs in the very different circumstances of past times. In a sense the modern outmoded dress may, in my view, point to a loss of relevance. St Therese joined the Carmelites because she recognised her own vocation in the particular contemplative charism of that order- and not in one whose primary area was that of looking after orphans or fallen women, or in nursing or teaching. In other words the ones who have "gone modern" may well have been lost alreadyPatriciushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08906131174326742939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3682550116445790117.post-82646690695014233562011-09-02T17:46:21.545+01:002011-09-02T17:46:21.545+01:00Patricius - he who hesitates is lost! Given the op...Patricius - he who hesitates is lost! Given the option of civvies or a decent habit I would opt for the habit every time.<br />Sadly, it is, in the main, largely the enclosed orders who dress and behave as nuns should.They are also the ones who appear to be staying afloat whilst those who have 'gone modern' are closing their houses down left, right and centre.Richard Collinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10826907710570316952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3682550116445790117.post-58570050075317321502011-09-02T17:36:44.098+01:002011-09-02T17:36:44.098+01:00I think Berenike makes a very fair point here. We ...I think Berenike makes a very fair point here. We have tended- perhaps mistakenly- to lump together all religious sisters as if they were all meant to be contemplative nuns when, in fact, many are, and were, pursuing a somewhat different apostolate. As to what is appropriate dress for these, as a mere man, I hesitate to be prescriptive!Patriciushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08906131174326742939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3682550116445790117.post-32938844328134224352011-09-02T16:57:36.427+01:002011-09-02T16:57:36.427+01:00Berenike - but she didn't.Berenike - but she didn't.Richard Collinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10826907710570316952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3682550116445790117.post-15684974333833046292011-09-02T16:54:14.312+01:002011-09-02T16:54:14.312+01:00If St Therese had joined, say, the Servants of Jes...If St Therese had joined, say, the Servants of Jesus, and if twin sets and pearls had been standard dress in her day, she'd have worn twin set and pearls. Many organisations of consecrated women were closer in their original form to secular institutes than to religious orders. Wearing secular clothes is something of a return to an original charism in some cases.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com