Religious Orders That Use Wedding Gowns

[OnlySunshine]

Hi, I've often been curious as to which orders use wedding gowns during profession or investiture ceremonies. I always thought it was beautiful symbolically, like St. Clare giving herself to Christ and then dressing in poor clothes. I know of a few communities that do, but I was wondering if you knew of any others?

These are the ones I know of:

[url="http://marymediatrix.com/religious-life/sisters-of-the-immaculate"]Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate[/url]]

[url="http://www.benedictinesofmary.org/page-novitiate.html"]Benedictine Sisters of Mary, Queen of Apostles[/url]
[url="http://www.fargodiocese.org/vocations/carmelmary/index.html"]Carmelite Nuns of the Ancient Observance[/url]

[SrBenigna]

The Poor Clare Colettines do. Here is a page from the PCCs of Cleveland - scroll down the page a bit. http://www.poorclarecolettines-cleveland.org/vocation_3.htm

[Chiquitunga]

[url="http://www.institute-christ-king.org/vocations/sisters/"]Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus Christ Sovereign Priest[/url]

Also, I know a lot of OCD Carmels used to at least. I'm sure some still do, but I don't know the specifics.

[laetitia crucis]

[url="http://ldominican.xanga.com/"]Dominican Nuns in Lockport[/url]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJRbB0Oahls[/media]

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='laetitia crucis' date='27 July 2010 - 08:11 AM' timestamp='1280232715' post='2148641']
[url="http://ldominican.xanga.com/"]Dominican Nuns in Lockport[/url]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJRbB0Oahls[/media]
[/quote]


Ah, yes!! I completely forgot about them!

[OnlySunshine]

Any others?

[DameAgnes]

http://www.poorclaressantabarbara.org/news.html

[Chiquitunga]

[quote name='DameAgnes' date='27 July 2010 - 10:37 PM' timestamp='1280288260' post='2148992']
[url="http://www.poorclaressantabarbara.org/news.html"]http://www.poorclare...a.org/news.html[/url]
[/quote]

I'm pretty sure all the PCCs do (in the US at least) It's great they've all kept this beautiful custom!

[quote name='SrBenigna' date='26 July 2010 - 11:58 PM' timestamp='1280206727' post='2148618']
The Poor Clare Colettines do. Here is a page from the PCCs of Cleveland - scroll down the page a bit. [url="http://www.poorclarecolettines-cleveland.org/vocation_3.htm"]http://www.poorclare.../vocation_3.htm[/url]
[/quote]

But for the sake of pictures .. here's another from Rockford, from their old site (which I like a lot better than the new one actually) [url="http://web.archive.org/web/20050419065149/poorclare.org/rockford/vnext4.html"]http://web.archive.o...ord/vnext4.html[/url]

[JTheresa]

Are there any active orders that do it still?

[Tridenteen]

JMJ
The [url="http://www.schsrsmary.org/community-life.html"]Schoenstatt Sisters[/url] do!

[Piccoli Fiori JMJ]

[quote name='Chiquitunga' date='27 July 2010 - 10:55 PM' timestamp='1280289317' post='2148994']
But for the sake of pictures .. here's another from Rockford, from their old site (which I like a lot better than the new one actually)
[/quote]

I was quite fond of it as well... it was more informational and helpful.

[linnie]

[quote name='Tridenteen' date='27 July 2010 - 11:35 PM' timestamp='1280291716' post='2149014']
JMJ
The [url="http://www.schsrsmary.org/community-life.html"]Schoenstatt Sisters[/url] do!
[/quote]

I've never met one of these sisters but their order looks like such a good one. and I love their habits!

[TeresaBenedicta]

I think I'm the oddball out on this one... buuuuuut... I'm kind of creeped by the wedding dress usage. Okay, maybe not 'creeped,' but I guess I'm just not a huge fan of it. I don't know why. I don't care for it with the First Communions either. Maybe it just seems so out of place to me. I understand the symbolism... so... yeah...

[ksterling]

I'm with you, Teresa - not a fan of this custom.

[Chiquitunga]

[quote name='JTheresa' date='27 July 2010 - 11:04 PM' timestamp='1280289854' post='2149000']
Are there any active orders that do it still?
[/quote]

These three that have been mentioned here ..

[url="http://marymediatrix.com/religious-life/sisters-of-the-immaculate"]Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate[/url]
[url="http://www.institute-christ-king.org/vocations/sisters/"]Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus Christ Sovereign Priest[/url]
[url="http://www.schsrsmary.org/community-life.html"]Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary[/url]

Then this is not exactly a wedding gown, but this is nice .. I love this community!

[url="http://www.sistersofreparation.org/Vocations/FormationNovitiateOne.htm"]Sisters of Reparation to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus[/url]

[vee]

Sorry I dont have sources but from my tiny understanding some OCD Carmels view the habit itself as both wedding gown and burial shroud. Its hard for me to explain but Ill try. They dont see their time on Earth as being already wedded but rather they are wearing the gown in prepartion for the union at death upon which they finally meet the groom. For example the mantle symbolizes the soul which they must try to present clean and spotless on their death/wedding day. Or something like that, I could be way off I should just ask them myself....

edited to add
Ok Ive sent an email containing basically what I wrote here so we shall see what they say....

Edited July 28, 2010 by vee8

[Chiquitunga]

That is interesting, vee8 .. And yes, I think they do see the habit as a wedding dress, as a lot of communities do I think. But I think most Carmelites do very much view themselves as Brides of Christ, even now. And yes, I have heard of that symbolism for the white mantle. In [url="http://picasaweb.google.com/ocdnuns/CarmelOfJesusMaryJosephValparaisoNE#5051543847235483010"]Valpariaso's little booklet[/url], which is in that picasa album, they say "The mantle symbolizes that purity with which the Carmelite wishes to adorn her soul out of love for Jesus Christ, her Divine Spouse." They put it on right before Mass where they will be united to Him in Holy Communion.

This reminds me also of that quote from Blessed Elizabeth about being the Bride of Christ .. and here she is on her clothing day

[img]http://i32.tinypic.com/2zivejb.jpg[/img]

[size="3"][i][font="Book Antiqua"]"To be the Bride of Christ!
"Bride," I must live all that this name implies
of love given and received, of intimacy, of fidelity, of absolute devotion!

To be a bride means to be given as He gave Himself;
it means to be sacrificed as He was, by Him, for Him...
It is Christ making Himself all ours and we becoming "all His!"
To be a bride means to have all rights over His Heart...
It is a heart to heart exchange for a whole lifetime...

"To be a bride" means to have eyes only for Him
Our thoughts haunted by Him,
our heart wholly taken over, wholly possessed,
as if it had passed out of itself and into Him;
It means keeping our gaze always fixed on His,
to discover His least sign, His least desire;
it means to enter into all His joys, to share all His sadness.
It means to know nothing else than to love,
to love while adoring, to love while praying, while asking,
while forgetting oneself;
to love always in every way!"[/font][/i][/size]

Beautiful!!!

Also, here is St. Teresa Benedicta at her clothing. I got this from eBay [url="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=130413094759"]here[/url] (and there's another one of her is this dress at the bottom)

[img]http://i25.tinypic.com/rrtevd.jpg[/img]

[vee]

[quote name='Chiquitunga' date='28 July 2010 - 01:46 PM' timestamp='1280342799' post='2149163']
That is interesting, vee8 .. And yes, I think they do see the habit as a wedding dress, as a lot of communities do I think. But I think most Carmelites do very much view themselves as Brides of Christ, even now. And yes, I have heard of that symbolism for the white mantle. In [url="http://picasaweb.google.com/ocdnuns/CarmelOfJesusMaryJosephValparaisoNE#5051543847235483010"]Valpariaso's little booklet[/url], which is in that picasa album, they say "The mantle symbolizes that purity with which the Carmelite wishes to adorn her soul out of love for Jesus Christ, her Divine Spouse." They put it on right before Mass where they will be united to Him in Holy Communion.

This reminds me also of that quote from Blessed Elizabeth about being the Bride of Christ .. and here she is on her clothing day

[img]http://i32.tinypic.com/2zivejb.jpg[/img]

[size="3"][i][font="Book Antiqua"]"To be the Bride of Christ!
"Bride," I must live all that this name implies
of love given and received, of intimacy, of fidelity, of absolute devotion!

To be a bride means to be given as He gave Himself;
it means to be sacrificed as He was, by Him, for Him...
It is Christ making Himself all ours and we becoming "all His!"
To be a bride means to have all rights over His Heart...
It is a heart to heart exchange for a whole lifetime...

"To be a bride" means to have eyes only for Him
Our thoughts haunted by Him,
our heart wholly taken over, wholly possessed,
as if it had passed out of itself and into Him;
It means keeping our gaze always fixed on His,
to discover His least sign, His least desire;
it means to enter into all His joys, to share all His sadness.
It means to know nothing else than to love,
to love while adoring, to love while praying, while asking,
while forgetting oneself;
to love always in every way!"[/font][/i][/size]

Beautiful!!!

Also, here is St. Teresa Benedicta at her clothing. I got this from eBay [url="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=130413094759"]here[/url] (and there's another one of her is this dress at the bottom)

[img]http://i25.tinypic.com/rrtevd.jpg[/img]
[/quote]

Yes it was exactly Valparaisos booklet that you linked to in which I read the description of the mantle. Thanks for the link to it again because I couldnt find it! And thank you so much for sharing that quote from Bl Elizabeth its incredibly ...
Im starting to think her writings will be next on my reading list.

The pics are also beautiful Ive never seen either before

[Chiquitunga]

[quote name='vee8' date='29 July 2010 - 10:04 AM' timestamp='1280415853' post='2149451']And thank you so much for sharing that quote from Bl Elizabeth its incredibly ...

[/quote]
[font="Arial"]Ha! that is so cute! You're very welcome! And I got that picture from [url="http://elisabeth-dijon.org/vie/biographie/0_chronologie.html"]here[/url], on the page [url="http://elisabeth-dijon.org/vie/biographie/14_la_prise_dhabit.html"]Prise d'Habit[/url] But also there is this beautiful book on her [url="http://www.amazon.com/Light-Love-Life-Elizabeth-Trinity/dp/0935216073"][i]Light Love Life[/i][/url], though it's out of print, very similar to that Edith Stein one on eBay, with a bunch of rare, or rather, not-as-much-seen pictures of her.[/font][font="Arial"] I love it so much! And while I'm on the subject, there's one like [/font][font="Arial"][size="2"]this on St. Therese, though much longer with even more rare pictures, [/size][url="http://www.amazon.com/Therese-Lisieux-Pierre-Descouvemont/dp/0802838367"] [i]Therese and Lisieux[/i][/url] Ah, this one is amazing![/font]

[HisChild]

I know this is off topic, but if you decide to order that Edith Stein book from ebay (or any of her other books/items), the seller, Crazy4Nuns, is a wonderful seller. She's always sending her orders with nun holy cards, and even wraps her books in nun wrapping paper. It's all so lovely! And she ships very quickly!