okay last night i couldnt sleep.... so i was coming up with ideas for a new topic...but i thought about things that make certain orders different from the rest....ofcourse every order is different in its own specail way...but it seems that the same missions are everywhere...

so what makes a community different......
what symbols make them standout??/ ie what they wear or stand for...
what mission are different that no one else can do except them??
and what community is it that you are talking about.


the only communities i can think of is the Daughters of St. paul, their habits are blue and their necklace is a open book in the shape of a cross...and they proclaim the gospel in all forms of media......
and a few tohers but i'm sure someone else will mention them.

This is the symbol that the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist wear.

the link didnt work...sry

(ignore)

Neat idea, Sixtina.

This is the medal that all PCPA postulants and novices wear worldwide.

Front:


Back


The traditional Franciscan greeting is...


And the traditional Franciscan cross is the Tau cross. It symbolizes renewal.


Oh wait. That's the Texaco logo. Here we go.

Also, there is the Franciscan cord that many wear. It has the three knots for the three vows: poverty, chastity and obedience.

Oh course! I had forgot about that. In this picture you can clearly see the cord on Sister Mary Gabriel (a fellow Houstonian btw, woot!).

Sixtina, sorry about hijacking your thread and making it a Franciscan symbol love fest...NOT.

hey dad, nno dont worry about hijacking the thread....thanks for saying thats its a great idea...people wonder why certain communities are different from others...this is one way we can show that they are...and the pics do help!!!!!!!! Dad, from your experience with Sr. lauren entering this will help others who dont know too much about the cloistered life and the community that she entered into.


I love the pics.....is that Sr. Lauren's ahnds holding the medal of teh postulants...cuz i noticed a rosary ring on her finger...i have that same one!!!!!

thats a good one...what about the carmelites and communites who dont wear the rope, they wear a black belt...it symbolizes strength.....

and speaking of things that they wear...i'm surprised no one has mentioned the habits or garments that religious wear...it kinda obvieous but they all symbolize their dedicated to christ alone and to those wearing them.....its a simple reminder of their vows and their dedication as well....

I'm going to see if i can find pics of things that symbolized during vows...

i thought the belt symbolized obedience? i don't know, i'm trying to check on it.

Yes, that is Sr. Lauren holding the medal.

The rope is dope.

idk i cant remember what Sister G. said to us that day we left.....i was stilllaughing about teh care bear part.....lol!!!! and her note!!!

the rope's proper name in carmel is the cincture, and its for chastity.

Are saying Michael, that these nuns float like a butterfly and sting like a bee!!

Donnamarie, you and I are about the only people old enough around here to even get your joke.

Yeah I know but I couldn't resist your post!!

Dad, you're the greatest!


By the way, I have a friend of mine who says that the rope means
no honey
no money
no way

"No money, no honey, and a boss."
- Fr. Andrew Apostoli, CFR

I heard the Carmelites telling me that!

What about personal religious items?

I wear the cord of St. Joseph. I wear around my waist and it has 7 knots that remind us of the Seven Sorrows and Seven Joys of St. Joseph. It is a wonderful Saramental and devotion to St. Joseph.

Any Augustinians on this forum that know about this cord? We have this cord due to an Augustinian nun who in poor health asked St. Joseph for his intercession for healing. She would honour him through recalling his seven joys and sorrows. The good sister was healed.

Now, I know there are other cords such as to St. Philomena. Anyone else wear one of these cords?

fwiw, Sr. Lauren FINALLY called home last night (her former home, that is) . I asked her about the rope and what they called it. She said that it is called a cord and that the term cincture is used to describe the cord that the priests wear.

its known as the cincture in carmel.

there are tons of cords for the laity - most notably St Joseph St Philomena and St Thomas Aquinas as well as St Francis.

all are available online.

Blessing Of A Cincture To be worn in honour of Saint Joseph

[Approved by the congregation of Sacred Rites, 19 September 1859.]

The priest, vested in surplice and white stole, says;

V. Our help is in the name of the Lord.

R. Who made heaven and earth.

V. The Lord be with you.

R. May He also be with you.

Let us pray.

O Lord Jesus Christ, who inculcated the counsel and love of virginity, and gave the precept of chastity, we appeal to Thy kindness, asking that Thou bless and hallow this cincture as a token of purity. Let all who gird themselves with it as a safeguard of chastity be enabled, by the prayers of Saint Joseph, spouse of Thy holy Mother, to practise that continence which is so pleasing to Thee, and to live in obedience to Thy commandments. May they also obtain pardon of their sins, health in mind and body, and flnally attain everlasting life. We ask this of Thee who lives and reigns with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, forever and ever. R. Amen.

Let us pray.

Almighty and everlasting God, grant, we pray, that those who revere the inviolate virginity of the most pure Virgin Mary and of Saint Joseph, her spouse, may by their prayers be pure in mind and body; through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.

Let us pray.

Almighty and everlasting God, who committed the boy Jesus and the most pure Mary, ever a Virgin, to the care of the chaste man Saint Joseph, we humbly entreat Thee that those who are girded with this cincture in honour of Saint Joseph and under his patronage may, by Thy help and his prayers, persevere in holy chastity for all time; through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.

Let us pray.

God, the lover and restorer of innocence, we pray that Thy faithful who are to wear this cincture may, by the prayers of Saint Joseph, spouse of Thy holy Mother, have their loins girded and hold burning lamps in their hands, and thus be likened to men who wait for their Lord when He shall return for a wedding, that when He comes and knocks they may open to Him, and be found worthy of being taken into everlasting joys; through Thee who lives and reigns forever and ever. R. Amen.

Then the priest puts incense into the censer, sprinkles the cincture with holy water, saying:

Sprinkle me with hyssop, Lord, and I shall be clean of sin. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

After this he incenses the cincture, and then continues:

V. Save Thy servants.

R. Who trust in Thee, my God.

V. Lord, send them aid from Thy holy place.

R. And watch over them from Sion.

V. Lord, heed my prayer.

R. And let my cry be heard by Thee.

V. The Lord be with you.

R. May He also be with you.

Let us pray.

O God of mercy, God of goodness, Thou are pleased with all good things, and without whom no good work is begun, no good work is finished; kindly hear our prayers, and defend Thy faithful, who are to wear this blessed cincture in honour of Saint Joseph and under his protection, from the snares of this world and all its lusts. Help them to persist in their holy resolution and to obtain pardon of their sins, and thus merit to be numbered amongst Thy elect; through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.

I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to say you were wrong. I was just curious what the Poor Clares called their rope. She said cord but since it doesn't rhyme with dope I like rope better.

With that my friend....I can that "You are the Greatest!!"

Yes, I will stop this running joke now

On thing Michael, in the picture of Sr. Lauren, are nuns cutting her hair or are they getting ready to place a veil on her head?

The jokes on me. :D

They are putting on her veil. Her hair is in a bun. The tonsure comes this December, on the 8th.

You're all invited!

i never corrected you i just wanted to say that not only is it for a priest, but for carmelite nuns, and augustinians and dominicans as well.

i'm definitely going to be there. i love olam- i've been there 5 or 6 times already.

An Alter Server and Acolytes also wear cinctures.

The Holy Spirit Adoration sisters have the symbol of the holy spirit on their ring and of course the greatest of their symbols is the PINK habit (actually rose colored), which is where they get their nickname the Pink Sisters.

I have the St. Philomena cord Some Sisters made it for me

i have heard of religious sister having the pink like color as a habit but i have never seen it. do they have a website??? jw

Mount Grace Convent

That's the link to the Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters in St. Louis. We all call them the Pink Sisters. They are cloistered, and when they are in the cloister, they wear a pink habit. When they were out for the Papal Mass in 1999, they wore a grey habit, but pink scarves so that people knew who they were.

Not only is that the coolest chapel (in the picture section), but the habit is dope. I love it!

The TONSURE! Waitaminute! No one ever told me I'd have to get a tonsure!

So, Dad, is she going to give her hair to locks of love? My hair is almost to the middle of my back. Another year???? Yea, it might be long enough to donate it.

I love the Monstrance the vowed PCPA sisters wear. That's a true symbol for them. . .and how they, when they are solemnly professed, receive and wear a simple wedding band on their right ring finger. Right. . .to symbolize their countercultural commitment to Jesus.

hmmm and what about those orders who wear the scapular of our Lady? What a symbol that is!

Denise,

Yes, she is going to donate her hair to locks of love. It sounds like her hair is about the same length as yours. You can kind of get an idea here.

Well, God bless Sister Lauren. I'll have to remember her, after I enter, in case we ever meet.

While my hair is long and curly, I'm afraid there might be a wee bit of grey in there, so I don't think Locks of Love would accept it.