Is the religious habit outdated?
Long ago, when I was living in a residence for men, I saw a young man leaving our building early on a Sunday morning.
He must be going to church, I thought. But he was black and neatly dressed in a jacket and tie. So I figured he wasn’t Catholic. After all, since the Catholic laity had so gleefully accepted modernity since the 60s, no man could be seen wearing a tie at Sunday Mass in at least fifteen years.
I felt outdone by the young man. No Baptist was going to outdo me in Sunday morning attire. From that day on, I have been wearing a jacket and tie to Sunday Mass.
The clothes we wear indicate the level of respect and honor of the occasion. Oh yes, we are living in a very democratic age. We all dress the same for all occasions. Even the president of the United States appears in jeans on television. But I think we have lost something.
You wouldn’t appear in jeans and a tee shirt on a job interview. By dressing up a bit, you acknowledge a seriousness of the situation, and give honor to the person interviewing you. Why shouldn’t we dress up for the God of the universe whom we meet on Sunday morning?
The religious habit – still relevant
Since the 60s, many Catholic religious congregations have sipped the trendy dress Kool-Aid. No more religious habit. But clothes stand for something. Clothes associated with worship – with God – must signify what they stand for. Thus the vestments a priest wears at Mass speaks volumes, even to those standing in the pews who don’t understand it.
In Vita Consecrata, Pope St. John Paul II said,
Since the habit is a sign of consecration, poverty and membership in a particular Religious family, I join the Fathers of the Synod in strongly recommending to men and women religious that they wear their proper habit, suitably adapted to the conditions of time and place.
Distinctive religious clothing says a lot by those wearing them. When a priest, sister, brother or friar walk down the street, their garb tells others that there is a greater life than what we see around us. Heaven has pierced the fog around us. Some young Catholics today get this. The religious habit rocks.
Those who see consecrated persons thus dressed are either consoled, if they are believers, or baffled if they are not. They might even be angered, if they have a bad conscience. But they have gotten a glimpse into the world of eternity.
In the same document, just after he talks about the religious habit, John Paul II says,
Immersed in the things of the Lord, the consecrated person remembers that “here we have no lasting city” (Heb 13:14), for “our commonwealth is in heaven” (Phil 3:20).
Read a good article on various religious habits in the Denver Catholic, “Each Garment a Sign, a Statement, a Reminder.”
Read also our own article, “Pope to Religious – young persons want to see Jesus Christ in you.”
