I had the good fortune to have a meeting close to St. Patrick's Cathedral in NYC today. It is my favorite refuge in New York....knowing all the hustle and bustle which is just outside the doors, yet inside, enjoying quiet and God's Holy Spirit amidst the grandeur and beauty of this gothic architectural masterpiece.

Anyway, as usual, I headed to the chapel of Our Lady which is located exactly behind the great altar. Just as in the rest of the Church, there are always many faithful present from all walks of life, praying and contemplating. Today, a small group of nuns, which I think were Philipino, came in. It was delightful to see how young they all were! They wore long straight black skirts, white cotton medium sleeve blouses and short cropped hair with no headdress, save for one nun that wore a white lace mantilla (sp.?). Anyway, I thought that their dress was pretty 'cool': extremely modest, yet also very wearable.

I guess that I am thinking about this having just come back from Greece, where I think that nuns' habits are almost a form of suffering. They wear black from head (tightly around their face) to toe, and trust me when I say that the bright, white sun there has no comparison anywhere on this continent. I can't imagine how hot they must be.

I don't think that there is any harm in slight deviations of monastic garb, and that in some cases it may even make the monastic life easier to be called to (there aren't many young nuns in Greece, for instance)...ofcourse, many Roman Catholic nuns in this country have taken that to a shamefully secular extreme.

Just some thoughts.

In Christ,
Alice

My cousin was married in that chapel - thank you for reminding me of the place!

Incognitus

Dear Alice:

I've been out of my native country for almost 20 years now and, therefore, I have not seen any Filipino nuns in their natural habitat. Neither have I seen Filipino nuns here in the U.S.!

That as a backgrounder, I still remember Filipino nuns, like their counterparts in Greece, fully garbed from head to toe despite the hot and humid year-round temperature in the Philippines. The only exceptions were foreign-born nuns, especially the Americans with the Maryknoll Sisters, who showed a portion of their hair and wore a little shorter skirts.

If these Filipino nuns you saw in St. Patrick's were garbed as you described, it could be the "liberality" of American-based religious congregations as far as "habits" are concerned. Or, these "nuns" are novitiates or "sisters" waiting to profess their vows?

At any rate, these Filipino "sisters" you saw are probably not cloistered. We normally distinguish women religious as either "nuns" (who are usually cloistered or "praying nuns") or "sisters" (who are non-cloistered or "working nuns").

Thanks for your post.

Amado

Dear Amado,

I always forget to make the Catholic distinction between cloistered and non- cloistered 'religious' (now there is a general word that won't get me in trouble next time! ).

In Greek all women 'religious' are called monastics AND/OR sisters, so I often get confused.

I wondered if the girls were novices..perhaps they were, but I really liked their monastic garb, never the less. There was absolutely nothing offensive about it, and I think that they were absolutely beautiful girls inside and out! They also knelt prostrate on the floor for a while, which I thought was lovely, and which seemed to puzzle one 'local' woman looking to get my attention with a 'what in the world are they doing' look on her face, but I ignored her.

I have never been wrong in distinguishing foreigners, and quite frankly, their lovely dress, demeanor, and religious respect and devotional practice could teach some 'religious' in this country a thing or two.

Anyway, please forgive me if I offended you by something I said!

In Christ,
Alice

Dear Alice:

I am not offended at all!

In fact, I am pleasantly surprised to learn that there are Filipino nuns/sisters here in the U.S., which could be a case of a "reverse" missionary assignments. There are between 8 and 10 million Filipino-Americans nationwide (U.S.) and at least 80% of us are Catholic.

It used to be that American and other foreign Catholic missionaries were stationed in the Philippines!

Now, with around 70 million Filipino Catholics, women religious (I have met many Filipino priests here in Chicago) are now "exported" to the U.S. and to other areas of the world? I know for a fact that Filipino missionaries (both men and women religious) are sent throughout Asia. The first bishop (one of the priests who started the mission) of the newly organized Catholic diocese in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, is a Filipino, elevated by Pope John Paul II in 2003! See news story at:

http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=39790

I am really thankful for your anecdote. It lessens my crippling nostalgia of home!

Amado

Yes, isn't it interesting?
Missionary countries in short time become missionaries themselves; often to the very nations that evangelized them.
Around here [Ohio] there are several representatives of the African order The Apostles of Jesus, the first African missionary order. They are a growing order, and now sending missionaries to the USA and Europe, the countries which first evangelized them.In my experience they are evangelical and orthodox, refreshing in their enthusiasm. In many ways they are reminiscent of the Celtic missionaries who [re]evangelized Europe after the fall of Rome...
-Daniel [revealing my Roman roots]

Dear Incognitus,

That must have been a most lovely wedding!

I was pleased to see what seemed to be a new innovation in the Cathedral since the last time I visited (perhaps six months or so ago). I don't know if it is out of reverence or if it is for security reasons, (or perhaps both), but they now have the area behind the main altar cordoned off with guards standing by the ropes. I said that I wanted to pray at the chapel of Our Lady, and they let me through.

People cannot just roam freely back there anymore.

In Christ,
Alice