This is a part, a big part, of why they have always worn habits, along with monks attire and priests. They all have distinctive dress for a reason. These religious orders are not jobs, they are vocations. You don't do nunning, you are a nun. It is a whole life dedicated to God, and it is a recognition of who you really are. To think that you could be a nun or priest in the afternoon, take off your uniform and be someone else like you were getting off your shift at Taco Bell is a completely alien concept.
So when you see these new nuns in civilian clothes, the natural question is to ask is are they really nuns? And the answer, especially from experience since the 1960s, is that the clothes make the woman.
Very well said.
I remember well the Franciscan sisters who taught me through 12 years of Catholic school. Dedicated, holy women. Sadly, their order these days seems to have gone the way of the Dominican “pro-choice” harpy pictured here.
Love your post Vince. The habit is the outward affirmation of her commitment to Christ. Wearing the habit eschews the trappings of the material world and it’s influences. A nun in habit represents and communicates to the world the wonderful vocation, work and mission of her order. I recall as a young girl those who chose Holy Orders were proud to wear the clothing, that habit that so defined them.