Comments on: 7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 19)

By: Gregaria

Gregaria — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 06:51:00 +0000

Re #2: You should read “Happy Are You Poor” by Thomas Dubay. It doesn’t talk about habits for laypeople, but it does talk about frugality and simple lifestyles.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 23:33:00 +0000

Jennifer – Thanks for commenting back over at TheMomJob.net! I don’t know if you noticed, but I made a typo in my link to your site. I’ve corrected it from “conversation diary” to the Conversion Diary. I should know better than to try and feed two children and blog simultaneously! Silly me. Good thing the kids were fed though!

By: Martha

Martha — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 21:29:00 +0000

Jen,
I am happy to tell you that since you want to consider homeschooling, you are in luck with the habit idea — it’s the denim jumper and white keds. (seriously – go to a homeschool convention sometime and count how often you see that. A LOT.)

By: odat_kim

odat_kim — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 17:00:00 +0000

I have to agree with you on the clothing thing, although for me, I’ve always wanted to wear a jilbab and sari.
Kim

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 16:40:00 +0000

RE: #2 – I have thought about the habit for years. My reasoning is (in no particular order) 1. simplification, 2. not having to decide what to wear or shop, 3. having a visible sign of commitment and 4. taking away the power of having to dress ‘right’ for any given occasion. I think a habit would make it necessary to be careful about arrogance – either in my heart, behavior or others perception.

I too am a member of the Daughters of the King (from my former Episcopalian life before I came home to the Catholic church), and wear my distinctive cross daily. If I had not made those vows, I would make my ‘habit’ a small crucifix, worn daily.

I think the most comfortable, attractive and flexible ‘habit’ would be a form of dress worn by some people in India – the tunic to just below the knees, over loose and expandable ankle length pants, with a scarf around the neck. You could clean house in that, hike a trail, or go to a social occasion! But I think my family might lock me up if I started wearing that!

Dawn

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 07:28:00 +0000

Did you invent 7 quick takes? So handy. By the time Friday rolls around I have given up on in depth recaps and resourted to any quip that will jog the memory in the future.

By: Rachel Gray

Rachel Gray — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 06:28:00 +0000

“I like the idea of having only a few simple items in your closet, of removing yourself from temptation to seek status or indulge in vanity through dress, of not getting to choose what you wear, and of recognizing other laypeople who had taken the same vows when out in the world.”

That’s funny– I’m thinking of being a nun and my gut reaction to this was “If I have to live in the world, as least let me wear cute clothes!” I don’t know what that says about me.

The Missionaries of Charity Brothers don’t have matching habits but they all wear plain pants and shirts, usually plaid. You wouldn’t know they were religious unless they were all in a group and you noticed they were similarly dressed. A layperson could do something similar…

By: annabenedetti

annabenedetti — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 02:08:00 +0000

“For those of you who are as fascinated by the simple beauty of cloistered religious life as I am…”

Have you ever seen Into Great Silence?

By: pastprologue

pastprologue — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 01:49:00 +0000

Closest thing I had to a habit was my Catholic school uniform. In high school, it was a simple navy blue jumper. You had a choice for shirt colors – white, blue, yellow, green, pink. Sometimes when I’m trying to decide what to wear to go to work, I REALLY miss that uniform.

By: Amy

Amy — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 23:17:00 +0000

RE: #2: Yes, I think about a habit. Not a habit exactly, but I am drawn to the plain dresses of the Old Order German Baptists that are in my area of Ohio– cape dresses, simple headcoverings. Their dresses are made of the fabric of their choosing, so they’re not exactly alike, but still simple and conservative. I think that would be nice, to not worry about clothing (modest? trendy? price?) and to also set yourself apart from society just a bit, while still living with modern conveniences like electricity, cars, and shopping at Target.