woman at the well

Whew! humidity is up again. I'm still managing my morning walk, however, and on the weekends I do longer walks. The little dog and I walked up past Mount DeSales Academy, a Catholic girl's school about 2 miles away. One of the reporters at the newspaper had mentioned to me that it nearly closed about 10 years ago, but the Nashville Dominicans had come in and saved the school. It is a beautiful, park-like setting, with the school high up on a hill. Just wonderful. So, I'm slugging by and two cars from Tennessee pull up to the gate. I speculate that new students are coming for the school year, which, in retrospect is silly. Anyhow, as I go by, two women, dressed in full habit - the Dominican flowing white robes and black veils - get out of the lead car and I say "It's the Sisters!" Just for a moment, I felt like I'd had a brief glimpse of holiness. It really brightened my day. Just think what a wonderful witness this is - it seems to me that, as long as men and women are willing to fully commit themselves to Christ and show it where ever they go, the world isn't doomed. Contrast this witness to that of the "progressive" liberal orders where the priests don't even wear clericals, much less a monk's robe, and the women just look like middle-aged women in sensible shoes! A recent examples of how the liberal orders have given up their witness in the world come to mind: The Review photographer went and took a photo of a Religious Sister and a priest as they walked around a property - but it looked for all the world like a lumpy middle-aged woman and just some old guy on a walk. Blah. I said to the photographer: Just imagine what a story this photo would tell if they were in their religious garb. Yup he answered. Now, I know that many of these in-the-world orders do wonderful work, truly tackling the world's problems, but my experience with women who wear the habit is in direct contrast to those who don't. By this, I mean that the women in a habit, like the Benedictines in Colorado, are delightful women, at peace with themselves and the Church - whereas, the liberals in the parishes are generally agitated and unfulfilled. It was most ironic one time when a liberal Sister complained to me that she and the others of her ilk were not introduced at a meeting - my goodness, the moderator couldn't tell they were there! Talk about a "self-inflicted wound." Yes, a person might take a risk that someone would be mean to them if they were openly identified as a priest or nun, but I also recall when we were on the trip to France, and people just came right up to the priests and wanted to talk or ask for a blessing. Bishop Ricken said it happens to him all the time. We are truly a people seeking spiritual guidance.