Without donning habits, many sisters now work for social justice and in community building among the poor. Even when working in the world, by wearing their habits, they signify that they do not really belong to the world.Īs such, the habit-free American sisters can indicate a new stance of apostolic religious life, which emphasizes that they indeed do belong to this world. As the “consecrated” life means being separated from the secular world, so the sisters who wear habits indicate that their status is different from that of the secular world. The wearing of habits is one of the traditional ways of representing the identity of women religious in a visible way. Those nuns had lived under a very strict rule, yet were alive with a spirit of love and service. In those people’s hearts, habits were a nostalgic reminder of the good old times. The audience cried and laughed, as they were reminded of their childhood memories. An actress who wore a habit always held a ruler, as a reminder of the old days when nuns used the ruler to reprimand kids.

As a fundraising tool for retired sisters, there used to be a popular show called “ Late Night Catechism,” which aired nationally. Many Americans went to Catholic elementary schools and have warm memories of sisters. We remember films like “ The Bells of St Mary’s,” which showed women religious wearing habits and being obedient, yet also rebellious at the same time. were teaching in schools or working in hospitals their presence was obvious and visible. When they were wearing habits, most women religious in the U.S. But can we really say that sisters have lost their sign in the world just because they do not wear habits? And if so, is there also a sign of not wearing habits, of their invisibility? What, then, is the sign of this invisible but strong presence of women religious? Some even say that because of the loss of the visible sign of the habits, there is a decrease in religious vocations or even a loss of sisters’ identities in relation to the habit. Often people say that since most religious sisters do not wear habits, they are not visible. When I said, “I try to listen to clients attentively, including to their non-verbal cues,” he responded, “Actually, I pay more attention to what is unsaid because that could have a deeper meaning.” His statement reminded me of a Koan of Zen masters which states that “music is created not by sound, but by the space between music codes,” which emphasizes the power of not.įurthermore, my friend’s comment raised questions about my understanding of the invisibility of women religious in the United States. We talked about what we hear from our clients. One day, I had a conversation with a psychologist friend.

Religious habit