Ah, yes, nothing like the warm light of truth to bring a soul to confession....
Last night, Sr. Helena, still denying that she was on her way to becoming a foodie, acknowledged that--were it not for her pursuing religious life and having more than enough to occupy her mind and interests--she may very well have become a pastry chef or baker or some other kind of...professional foodie. Anything that didn't involve cutting up chicken livers or dealing with raw fish. You get the picture.
(I told you so, Sr. Helena.)
By the way, Sr. Helena asked me to include a link to her web site with her funny essays. It will end up in my sidebar next time I go into the template.
3 comments:
I enjoyed Sr. Helena's story about the rollerblading. It brought a question to my mind--how often (or for what events) do you wear something other than your habit?
I read the essays, too. :)
rann,
There are limited occasions when wearing the habit would be inappropriate. In those cases, the sisters use a great deal of discretion to dress in an inconspicuous and modest way. It's actually bound to be both, due to the simple fact that we really don't have too many other items outside of our habit! When Sr. Helen ran the Chicago Marathon, for example, she did not do it in her habit. Ditto for rollerblading, swimming (which I do)--but it's always an exception, and usually connected with a form of exercise.
From my own 30+ years of experience in religious life, I have to say that I think this is a good, balanced approach. We used to be very, very rigid with the dress code, and it led to some things that, well, signaled a lack of balance and discernment!
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