Nuns Without Habits Irk Me

They do, seriously. What orthodox, solid order doesn't wear a habit? And, by this, I mean real habits, not the polyster pants and pin that non-habited nuns seem to have adopted as a pseudo-uniform. :) It just feels so... odd, somehow, out of place, if you will. Don't get me wrong, I have met and know plenty of lovely sisters who do not wear habits, it just saddens me in someway to know that these old orders, rich in history and tradition in service of the Church chucked their habits out the window like old clothes to Salvation Army.


I mean, why the heck sign on to be a bride of Christ if you don't get to wear your wedding dress everyday? There's a reason why orders with habits have lots of vocations and non-habited orders, well, don't. That's why I give these lovely brides of Christ money - don't they just look so darn happy?

That's actually an aside, and the only reason I bring it up is because the Sister of St. Joseph leading a Mom's book club today said something that really irked me. Her lack of habit was really icing on the cake. :) And before I discuss, I will also say that she said plenty of things that I not only agreed with, but thought were good ideas - having little ones sit up front, blessing our children before they leave the house, making rituals and traditions within our families, among others. Its just that one particular thing was a little too "spirit of Vatican II," and made me pause, especially when she said it more than once.

"Christianity is really a religion for adults."

As in, she was implying that being a Christian is something that children just can't "get." This was in the context of discussing children behaving at Mass, how to involve your kids more in liturgy, etc.. And, frankly, I couldn't disagree more.

Theologically, this just isn't true - look at last Sunday's Gospel; not to mention that He says we must be like little children to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Practically, this isn't true - look at the various child saints, particularly Saint Dominic Savio, who so loved our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, at age SEVEN that he said "Death before Sin" (as in, he would rather die than separate himself from the Love of God.).

Our Faith is one of Love. How old do you have to be to "get" that? Love of God, love of neighbor, love of self. Our little ones love us without even being told to, and as parents, we certainly have to teach them to love God, love His Church, love His Saints, but how naturally it comes to them!

And what a rich, sensual, sacramental faith it is - one that appeals by its very nature to the tactile, eager-to-learn sentiments of little children. The incense, the colors, the statues, the adventures of saints and Bible stories, the taste of Christ in the Eucharist, the sounds of bells, of chanting, of hymns, the Nativity, the Passion Plays, the Stations of the Cross, the beads of rosary, the wet water of new Life in Christ at Baptism, the smelly, slippery oil of chrism at Confirmation, the flowers and rings of marriage.... the list goes on and on.

Little ones so quickly can come to truly love our Lord and our Lady and all the saints in heaven! My 19 mo. old waves hello to statues of Jesus and Mary; he says goodnight to Jesus on our crucifix. We talk to Jesus, we talk to Mary, we pray in the car and before meals and before bed. When we treat God and the Communion of Saints as our family and friends, our children come to known them as such.

By becoming true domestic churches that follow the cycle of our liturgical year, by celebrating the feasts of the Church, we bring our little ones into the Faith of our fathers. Angel food cake for the feast of the Arcangels, birthday cake for the Nativty of Mary, lighting candles on the Advent wreath, the hundreds of different Advent feasts to celebrate, crowning Christ on the feast of Christ the King, attending a stations of the cross during Lent (particularly a living stations), Christmas, Easter, throat blessings on St. Blaise Day, commemorating name days, all but a drop in the pond of LIVING our faith, regardless of our ages.

Sure, it is hard for little ones to sit still at Mass - but that's not because their religion is over their heads, but because its hard to sit still at all! And, the more we take out the "smells and bells" of worship, the harder, I think, we make it for all Catholics, but especially little ones, to enter more fully into the mystery of worship, because, ultimately, it is more than an intellectual exercise. It is a full body experience - heart, mind, body and soul - and we need the tangibility of our senses to fully enter into the Mass.

Christianity is NOT a religion for adults. It is for all people, in all places, at all times, at all stages in life - from "womb to tomb;" from the moment the baptismal waters are poured upon our squishy little infant heads to the day in which our wrinkly heads and hands are anointed with the oil of the sick, we belong to Christ. He claims us at our Baptism - "Let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it." (Luke 18: 16b-17)