Another deception by the Iglesia Ni Cristo® Media of a Certain Ferdinand Mendez

A certain "Fr. Ferdinand Mendez" was featured in one of Iglesia Ni Cristo®'s Church News. And according to them, Mr. Ferdinand Mendez was a "former" Catholic priest of the "Eastern Order of Saint Basil Lady of Fatima Missions" which is nonexistent according to registered Catholic orders and congregations available in the internet.

An "eastern" Catholic wearing a "Western" priestly garments?????????????????!

According to this Tweeter user @aprilkaygardose (Nhonoy@yahoo.com), he is a member of such non-existent Easter Order of Saint Basil:

He posted his intention to MEET THE CATHOLIC POPE (FRANCIS) whom he considers HOLY!

He even followed POPE FRANCIS's Tweeter and Our Lady of Fatima Missions (OLFMissions) which are all WESTERN, not easterm.

Here are OFFICIAL LISTS of CATHOLIC ORDERS and CONGREGATIONS from Catholic-Hierarchy:

Religious Orders

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Jump to: Institutes of Consecrated Life | Societies of Apostolic Life

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Institutes of Consecrated Life

Name	Abbreviation	Nickname	Type
Agostiniani Scalzi	O.A.D.	Discalced Augustinians	Mendicant Order
Antonian Order of Saint Ormizda of the Chaldeans (Chaldean)	O.A.O.C.		Monastic Order
Antonin Maronite Order (Maronite)	O.A.M.		Monastic Order
Arrouhbaniat Albassiliat Almoukhalissiat (Melkite Greek)	B.S.	Basilian Salvatorian Order	Monastic Order
Ar-Rouhbanyat Al-Marounyat Liltoubawyat Mariam Al-Azra (Maronite)	O.M.M.	Aleppians	Monastic Order
Augustinians of the Assumption	A.A.	Assumptionists	Clerical Religious Congregation
Basilian Chouerite Order of Saint John the Baptist (Melkite Greek)	B.C.		Monastic Order
Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat (Order of St. Basil the Great)	O.S.B.M.	Order of St. Basil the Great	Monastic Order
Brothers of Our Lady of Mercy	Lay Religious Congregation
Brothers of the Sacred Heart	S.C.		Lay Religious Congregation
Camaldolese Hermits of Mount Corona	E.C.M.C.	Camaldolese	Monastic Order
Canons Regular of Saint Augustine of the Congregation of Windesheim	C.R.V.		Order of Canons Regular
Canons Regular of the Congregation of Saint Victor	C.R.S.V.		Order of Canons Regular
Canons Regular of the Congregation of the Brothers of Community Life	Order of Canons Regular
Canons Regular of the Congregation of the Most Holy Saviour of the Lateran	C.R.L.		Order of Canons Regular
Canons Regular of the Hospitaller Congregation of Great Saint Bernard	C.R.B.		Order of Canons Regular
Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception	C.R.I.C.		Order of Canons Regular
Canons Regular of the Lateran Congregation of Austria	C.R.L.A.		Order of Canons Regular
Canons Regular of the Mother of God	C.R.M.G.		Order of Canons Regular
Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross	O.S.C.	Crosier Fathers	Order of Canons Regular
Capuchin Tertiary Religious of Our Lady of Sorrows	T.C.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Carmelites of Mary Immaculate	C.M.I.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Carthusian Order	O. Cart.		Monastic Order
Chemin Neuf Institute	I.C.N.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Clerics of Saint Viator	C.S.V.	Viatorians	Clerical Religious Congregation
Clerics Regular Minor	C.R.M.	Caracciolini	Order of Clerics Regular
Clerics Regular of St. Paul	B.	Barnabites	Order of Clerics Regular
Clerics Regular of the Mother of God	O.M.D.		Order of Clerics Regular
Clerks Regular of Somasca	C.R.S.	Padri Somachi	Order of Clerics Regular
Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus	M.C.C.I.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Company of Mary for the Education of the Deaf	S. M.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Confederation of Canons Regular of St. Augustine	C.R.S.A.		Order of Canons Regular
Congregación de San Pedro ad-Vincula	S.P. ad V.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Congrégation du Sacré-Coeur	S.C.J.	Pères de Timon David	Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of Christian Doctrine	D.C.	Dottrinari	Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of Christian Workers of Saint Joseph Calasanz	C.Op.	Calasantini	Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of Clerics Regular	C.R.	Theatines	Order of Clerics Regular
Congregration of Jesus the Priest	C.G.S.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary	M.I.C.	Marian Fathers	Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of Mariannhill Missionaries	C.M.M.	Marianhiller Missionare	Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of Missionaries of the Holy Family	M.S.F.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of Saint John the Baptist Precursor	C.S.I.B.P.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of Saint Joseph	C.S.I.	Giuseppini del Murialdo	Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of Saint Michael the Archangel	C.S.M.A.	Michaelites	Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus “Little Flower”	C.S.T.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of Servants of Charity	S.d.C.	Guanellian Priests and Brothers	Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of St. Basil	C.S.B.	Basilian Fathers	Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament	S.S.S.	Blessed Sacrament Fathers	Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of Holy Cross	C.S.C.	Holy Cross Fathers	Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth of Blessed Father Piamarta	F.N.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of the Holy Spirit	C.S.Sp.	Holy Ghost Fathers (Spiritans)	Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary	C.I.C.M.	Scheutists	Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ	L.C.	Legionaries of Christ	Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of the Missionaries of Saint Charles Borromeo	C.S.	Scalabrinians	Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer	C.SS.R.	Redemptorists	Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of the Passion	C.P.	Passionists	Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of the Priestly Fraternity	C.F.S.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart	S.C.I.	Dehonians	Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ	C. R.	Resurrectionists	Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary	SS.CC.	Picpus Fathers	Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata	C.S.S.	Stigmatine Fathers	Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of the Schools of Charity	C.S.Ch.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of the Sons of Mary Immaculate	F. M. I.	Pavonians	Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregation of the Sons of Merciful Love	F.A.M.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Congregazione dei Figli dell’Immacolata Concezione	C.F.I.C.	Concezionisti	Lay Religious Congregation
Congregazione Mechitarista	C.A.M.	Mechitarists	Monastic Order
Congregazione Sacra Famiglia di Bergamo	C.S.F.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Consolata Missionaries	I.M.C.	Consolata Missionaries	Clerical Religious Congregation
Discalced Mercedarians	O. M. D.		Mendicant Order
Fathers of Mercy	C.P.M.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Fils de Marie Immaculée	F.M.I.	Pères de Chavagnes	Clerical Religious Congregation
Franciscan Friars of the Atonement	S.A.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate	F.I.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Fraternity of Saint Vincent Ferrer	F.S.V.F.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Hijos de la Sagrada Familia	S.F.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Indian Missionary Society	I.M.S.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Institut du Clergé Patriarcal de Bzommar	I.C.P.B.
Institute of Charity	I.C.	Rosminians	Clerical Religious Congregation
Institute of Schönstatt Fathers	P. Schönstatt	Schönstatt Fathers	Clerical Secular Institute
Institute of the Josephites of Belgium	C.J.	Josephites of Belgium	Clerical Religious Congregation
Istituto del Prado	Ist. del Prado	Prado Institute	Clerical Secular Institute
Knights of the Cross with the Red Star	O.Cr.		Order of Canons Regular
Little Brothers of Jesus	P.F.J.	Foucauld	Lay Religious Congregation
Little Mission for the Deaf and Dumb	P.M.S.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Misioneros de la Natividad de María	M.N.M.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Missionari dei Poveri	M.O.P.		Mendicant Order
Missionari di S. Giuseppe nel Messico	M.J.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette	M.S.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales d’Annecy	M.S.F.S.	Fransalians	Clerical Religious Congregation
Missionaries of the Company of Mary	S.M.M.	Montfort Missionaries	Clerical Religious Congregation
Missionaries of the Divine Redeemer	M.D.R.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Missionaries of the Holy Spirit	M.Sp.S.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Missionaries of the Immaculate Conception of Lourdes	M. I. C.	Fathers of Garaison	Clerical Religious Congregation
Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and Saint Mary of Guadalupe	M. S. C.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus	M.S.C.	Sacred Heart Missionaries	Clerical Religious Congregation
Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary	M.SS.CC.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (Mallorca)	M. SS. CC.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Missionaries of Workers	M.O.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Missionary Brothers of the Countryside	F.M.R.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Missionary Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament	M.C.B.S.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity	S.T.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Missionary Servants of the Poor	S.d.P.	Morsel of the Poor	Clerical Religious Congregation
Missionary Servants of the Word	M. S. P.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Missionary Society of St. Paul	M.S.S.P.	Paulist Missionaries	Clerical Religious Congregation
Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary	C.M.F.	Claretians	Clerical Religious Congregation
Montfort Brothers of Saint Gabriel	S.G.		Lay Religious Congregation
Oblates of Mary Immaculate	O.M.I.	Oblates of Mary Immaculate	Clerical Religious Congregation
Oblates of Saint Joseph	O.S.I.	Josephines of Asti	Clerical Religious Congregation
Oblates of St. Francis de Sales	O.S.F.S.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Oblates of the Virgin Mary	O.M.V.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Orden de San Jerónimo	O.S.H.	Monjes Jerónimos	Monastic Order
Order of Augustinian Recollects	O.A.R.	Augustinian Recollects	Mendicant Order
Order of Cistercians	O. Cist.	Cistercians	Monastic Order
Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance	O.C.S.O.	Trappists	Monastic Order
Order of Discalced Carmelites	O.C.D.	Discalced Carmelites	Mendicant Order
Order of Friar Servants of Mary	O.S.M.	Servites	Mendicant Order
Order of Friars Minor	O.F.M.	Franciscans	Mendicant Order
Order of Friars Minor Capuchin	O.F.M. Cap.	Capuchins	Mendicant Order
Order of Friars Minor Conventual	O.F.M. Conv.	Conventual Franciscans	Mendicant Order
Order of Friars Preachers	O.P.	Dominicans	Mendicant Order
Order of the Pious Schools	Sch. P.	Piarists	Order of Clerics Regular
Order of Imitation of Christ	O.I.C.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Order of Lebanese Maronite (Maronite)	O.L.M.	Baladites	Monastic Order
Order of Our Lady of Mercy	O. de M.	Mercedarians	Mendicant Order
Order of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel	O. Carm.	Carmelites	Mendicant Order
Order of Saint Benedict	O.S.B.	Benedictines	Monastic Order
Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit	O.S.P.P.E.	Pauline Fathers	Monastic Order
Order of St. Augustine	O.S.A.	Augustinians	Mendicant Order
Order of the Canons Regular of Premontre; Norbertines	O. Praem.	Premonstratensians	Order of Canons Regular
Order of the Holy Cross	O.R.C.		Order of Canons Regular
Order of the Hospitallers of Saint John of God	O.H.		Mendicant Order
Order of the Minims	O.M.	Minimi	Mendicant Order
Order of the Ministers of the Sick	M.I.	Camillians	Order of Clerics Regular
Order of the Most Holy Trinity	O.SS.T.	Trinitarians	Mendicant Order
Order of the Teutonic Knights of Saint Mary’s Hospital in Jerusalem	O.T.	Teutonic Order	Order of Canons Regular
Ordine Basiliano Italiano di Grottaferrata	O.S.B.I.		Monastic Order
Ordre Basilien Alépin (Melkite Greek)	B.A.		Monastic Order
Parochial Cooperators of Christ the King	C.P.C.R.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Pious Workers Rural Catechists	P.O.C.R.	Ardorini Missionaries	Clerical Religious Congregation
Poveri Servi della Divina Provvidenza	P.S.D.P.	Don Calabria	Clerical Religious Congregation
Priests of Saint Mary of Tinchebray	P.S.M.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Bétharram	S.C.I. di Béth.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Religieux de Saint Vincent de Paul	R.S.V.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Rogationists of the Heart of Jesus	R.C.J.	Rogationists	Clerical Religious Congregation
Rosarian Fathers	C.S.R.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Salesians of Saint John Bosco	S.D.B.	Salesians of St. John Bosco	Clerical Religious Congregation
Servants of Jesus and Mary	S.I.M.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Servants of the Holy Paraclete	S.P.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Society of Christ for Polish Immigrants	S. Chr.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Society of Divine Vocations	S.D.V.	Vocationists	Clerical Religious Congregation
Society of Jesus	S.J.	Jesuits	Order of Clerics Regular
Society of Mary	S.M.	Marist Fathers	Clerical Religious Congregation
Society of Mary	S. M.	Marianist Fathers	Clerical Religious Congregation
Society of Saint Cajetan	P.S.S.G.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Society of Saint Edmund	S.S.E.	Edmundites	Clerical Religious Congregation
Society of St. Paul	S.S.P.	Paulines	Clerical Religious Congregation
Society of the Divine Savior	S.D.S.	Salvatorians	Clerical Religious Congregation
Society of the Divine Word	S.V.D.	Divine Word Missionaries	Clerical Religious Congregation
Sons of Charity	F.C.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Sons of Charity	F.d.C.C.	Canossians	Clerical Religious Congregation
Sons of Divine Providence	F.D.P.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Sons of Saint Mary Immaculate	F.S.M.I.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Swiss Congregation of Canons Regular of Saint Maurice of Agaune	C.R.A.		Order of Canons Regular
Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance	T.O.R.	Franciscan Friars (T.O.R.)	Mendicant Order
Ukrainian Studite Monks (Ukrainian)	M.S.U.		Monastic Order
Vincentian Congregation (Syro-Malabar)	C.V.		Clerical Religious Congregation
Xaverian Missionary Fathers	S.X.	Xaverians	Clerical Religious Congregation
Other

Societies of Apostolic Life

Name	Abbreviation	Nickname
Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America	M.M.	Maryknoll
Clerical Society of the Missionaries of the Holy Apostles	M.S.A.
Clerical Society of Virgo Flos Carmeli	E.P.
Companions of the Cross	C.C.
Confederation of Oratorians of St. Philip Neri	C.O.	Oratorians
Congregation of Jesus and Mary	C.I.M.	Eudists
Congregation of the Lebanese Maronite Missionaries (Maronite)	M.L.	Kremisti
Congregation of the Mission	C.M.	Vincentians/Lazarists
Emmanuel Community	Comm. l'Emm.
Fraternità Sacerdotale dei Missionari di San Carlo Borromeo	F.S.C.B.	Fraternity of St. Charles
Glenmary Home Missioners	G.H.M.
Heralds of Good News	H.G.N.
Instituto Español de San Francisco Javier para Misiones Extranjeras	I.E.M.E.
Misioneros de Guadalupe	M.G.	Guadalupe Missionaries
Misioneros Javerianos de Yarumal	M.X.Y.
Missionari della Santa Croce	M.H.C.
Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers)	M. Afr.	White Fathers
Missionários da Boa Nova	S.M.P.	Portuguese Missionary Society
Missionary Society of Saint Paul of Nigeria	M.S.P.N.
Missionary Society of St. Columban	S.S.C.M.E.	Columban Missionaries
Mission Society of the Philippines	M.S.P.
Oblates of Saints Ambrose and Charles	O.Ss.C.A.
Paulist Fathers	C.S.P.	Paulists
Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions	P.I.M.E.
Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter	F.S.S.P.
Priestly Society of Saint Jacques	S.P.S.J.
Priestly Society of St. Joseph Benedict Cottolengo	S.S.C.	Cottelengo Congregation
Scarboro Foreign Mission Society	S.F.M.
Società dei Missionari di San Paolo (Melkite Greek)	S.M.S.P.	Pères Paulistes
Société de l’Oratoire de Jésus	C.O.I.	Oratorians of France
La Société des Missions Etrangères	M.E.P.
Société des Missions-Étrangères	P.M.E.
Society of African Missions	S.M.A.
Society of Bethlehem Mission Immensee	S.M.B.
Society of Precious Blood	C.Pp.S.
Society of Priests of Saint Sulpice	P.S.S.	Sulpicians
Society of the Catholic Apostolate	S.A.C.	Pallottines
Society of the Missionaries of Saint Francis Xavier	S.F.X.	Pilar Fathers
Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana	S.C.V.
St. Joseph’s Missionary Society of Mill Hill	M.H.M.	Mill Hill Missionaries
St. Joseph’s Society of the Sacred Heart	S.S.J.	Josephite Fathers
St. Patrick’s Society for the Foreign Missions	S.P.S.	Kiltegan Fathers
Workers of the Kingdom of Christ	C.O.R.C.

Here are the List of Eastern Catholic Churches

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Jump to Tradition: Alexandrian | Byzantine | Chaldean | Western | Antiochian | Armenian

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Alexandrian Tradition

Coptic Catholic Church Eritrean Catholic Church Ethiopian Catholic Church

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Byzantine Tradition

Albanian Catholic Church Belarussian Catholic Church Bulgarian Catholic Church Greek Catholic Church Hungarian Catholic Church Italo-Albanese Catholic Church Križevci Catholic Church Macedonian Catholic Church Melkite Greek Catholic Church Romanian Catholic Church Russian Catholic Church Ruthenian Catholic Church Slovakian Catholic Church Ukrainian Catholic Church

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Chaldean Tradition

Chaldean Catholic Church Syro-Malabar Catholic Church

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Western Tradition

Latin (or Roman)

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Antiochian Tradition

Maronite Catholic Church Syrian Catholic Church Syro-Malankara Catholic Church

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Armenian Tradition

Armenian Catholic Church

AP: Philadelphia’s Pink Sisters have prayed nonstop for 100 years

By Associated Press

December 28, 2015

PHILADELPHIA — For more than 100 years, the cloistered nuns known as the Pink Sisters have worked in shifts to ensure nonstop prayer in Philadelphia’s Chapel of Divine Love.

Now, to address their shrinking numbers and ensure their prayers continue for another century, the Roman Catholic Holy Spirit Adoration sisters have begun quietly reaching out, seeking to grow their order while carefully maintaining their secluded life.

In the last year, they hung a banner outside their chapel and convent as a way to let other people know about their daily public Masses. They’ve granted more interviews with news reporters. And they have begun inviting Catholic women’s organizations and schools to speak to the sisters — with all conversations taking place through the grille in the convent visiting room, of course.

There’s even a subtle recruitment flier hanging just inside the front door of the chapel. It encourages visitors to ask themselves three questions: Do you love Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament? Do you realize the power of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament? Is Jesus calling you to say “yes” to a life of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament?

“We rarely reached out for vocation promotion before the centennial. But now we want young ladies to see how beautiful the life is and how truer the joy when it is without the trappings of material things,” said Sister Maria Clarissa, 55. “We do our part in addressing these challenges, but at the same time, we leave it to the Lord. He’s the one who calls.”

The order was founded in Holland in 1896 with a focus on the perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, the consecrated bread they uphold as the body and blood of Christ. The rose-hued habits are meant to symbolize the joy the sisters feel honoring the Holy Spirit.

In 1915, nine of the original sisters left the motherhouse and came to Philadelphia, where they were invited to open the order’s second convent.

Today there are about 420 Holy Spirit Adoration sisters living in 22 convents in 12 countries. There are three other US convents — in St. Louis; Corpus Christi, Texas; and Lincoln, Nebraska.

It may come as a surprise to some that a group of 20 nuns live a contemplative, secluded life not far from Philadelphia’s famed museums, historic landmarks and government. The sisters leave the cloister only for emergencies, such as medical appointments. When they do venture out, the sisters wear gray so as not to draw too much attention to themselves.

It is a selfless life, focused on offering intercessory prayers on behalf of people they will never meet living in places they will never see. They pray most of the day, together and individually in shifts before the Blessed Sacrament, generally waking up at 5:15 a.m. to prepare for the first daily service, going to bed after the 8 p.m. final prayers.

All the sisters have jobs. Some craft Mass cards and rosaries, the sales of which support the convent. Other sisters respond to letters and answer the phones. Some callers are lonely; others are suicidal. Just listening, the sisters say, seems to make a difference.

The sisters get one hour of free time and one hour of recreation each day. They are allowed visits from family and friends three times a year.

Sister Mary Angelica, 55, said she wants people who have lost touch with their faith to know there is always someone praying for them, “no matter what their need may be.”

The sisters follow current events, but the newspapers they receive don’t include the sports or entertainment sections.

“We try to be as simple as possible so we can focus on the Lord,” explained Mary Angelica. “We are simple in everything, even meals — though on special occasions, we have ice cream.”

ALETEIA: A Habit of Visual Witness in a Noisy, Distracted World

Personally, I am in favor of religious men and women being seen in their religious habit. This article below explains it why a religious men or woman wearing his/her habit should wear it out of humility. Seeing one in the public reminds us of their presence anywhere. If someone gives them special treatment, it's not because they are wearing the "uniform" but because people recognize that "holy presence" in their habit. -CD2000

Source: Aleteia
By Elizabeth Scalia 

Photo by Jeffrey Bruno

Around 1970, when we students asked about her move from an updated habit to ordinary clothing, the teaching sister who ran our parish CCD program declared that the shedding of religious habits was a good thing because it emphasized that sisters were “nothing special, that we are all special in God’s eyes.”

This sister gave an example: “When we were in our habits, a fellow with an Italian ice barrow would always insist on giving us free ices, but why should he? Why shouldn’t we pay like anyone else? Why should we deprive him of his living because we were in a costume?”

Putting aside how unlikely it would be for an Italian ice seller to “go broke” because he gave away a few free scoops of sugar-water, it is striking, almost 40 years on, to comprehend how fully horizontal and earthbound was her thinking; it had some breadth, but neither height nor depth. As with the “horizontally focused” masses and hymns that overemphasized the humanity of the church while diminishing the transcendence of its liturgy and purpose, Sister was embracing the beam of the cross — humanity and church reaching toward each other — without considering that the stationary vertical, heaven-focused post is vital, if anyone is to be raised up.

Sister was operating under a willful delusion; she justified forsaking the habit with appeals to solidarity, compassion and humility, but her story illustrated egoism and presumption. She bemoaned a possibility of cheating a man out of his wages. In fact, she was cheating that man, but not in the way she imagined.

The ice-barrow man was never giving Sister a free ice because she wore a habit but because a man who revered (or at least respected) God saw an opportunity to demonstrate his regard in a little way that St. Therese might have applauded.

And she was cheating others too. Her habit was a reminder to the community of faith, and to everyone else as well, that we are all called to simplicity and sacrifice — that for all of our Martha-instincts to work ourselves to death and carve our identities from what we “do,” we must cultivate our inner Marys as well, and embrace the challenge to simply be. Sister might correctly say that she was “nobody special,” but her habit was a witness to “being,” and it confirmed Christ’s covenanted life among us with a reassuring immediacy.

Perfectae Caritatis, the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life, wisely counseled in favor of adapting religious habits in practical ways, but never decreed that habits should be discarded.

The religious habit, an outward mark of consecration to God, should be simple and modest, poor and at the same becoming. In addition it must meet the requirements of health and be suited to the circumstances of time and place and to the needs of the ministry involved. The habits of both men and women religious which do not conform to these norms must be changed.

The “outward mark of consecration” was meant to be a sign, but the habits were also a means of self-effacement. They were paradoxically meant to obliterate a sister’s uniqueness and make her one of many, one part of a collective hive. In truth, religious life is socialism the only way it can truly work: on a small and voluntary scale.

Taking off the habit may have (in the parlance of the day) helped sisters “celebrate their individuality” — and that is not a terrible thing in and of itself; we are each fearfully, wonderfully made — but the embrace of ordinary dress over the religious habit also made the ordinary world more ordinary. Suddenly, there were no daily outward indications that anyone was praying at all, no reminders that we could and should pray, too. Suddenly, there was nothing to make a workingman remember Christ, and share some frozen sugar-water in gratitude.

When she eschewed the habit, the ice man lost a marker that brought his awareness to God at random moments of his workday. Sister thus helped the man become substantially poorer.

Desiring fellow-kinship, humility and “unspecialness,” Sister Nobody Special ironically wound up thinking about herself quite a lot. The Italian ice was for God, after all, not for her.

Habits are not necessary to the life of a religious; sometimes, in fact, they can be a hindrence to a community’s overall mission. But perhaps when sister referred to the garb as “a costume,” it was a clue that she had lost touch with the deeper meaning of such a powerful social identifier. In doing so, she cheated herself of the privilege of reminding the world, by her mere presence, that all creation is extraordinary and beloved. She cheated the rest of us too, because we loved being reminded of that; it meant we each really were special, after all.

Habits may be worth reconsidering, now, even by the most “progressive” of communities. The scratchy and starched architectural gear of past eras is impractical to the twenty-first century, but at a time when Christian witness is either received cynically — as caricature or hysteria — or with the malice that brings persecution and genocide, the adopting of the simplest of habits would give silent testimony of lives unified in purpose, being lived in simplicity and dignity, for something greater than material or political concerns.

Such witness may well be necessary for the life of the world.