Eugene had come to Rome to request official approbation of the Oblates by the Church – a process that was not easy and needed to be organized. When he was not meeting people he tried to visit as much of the city as possible.
I spent almost the whole morning in my room organizing what I must do during my stay in Rome. I visited several churches, stopped at the Ambassador’s home, saw Father Antommarchi, ex-general of the Servites, and on the way back admired the superb Trevi fountain which so abundantly supplies water to all the lower portion of the city.
Roman Diary, 1 December 1825, EO XVII
The following day he visited with an old acquaintance, a religious sister who had been the superior of the convent where he had celebrated his first Mass on 25 December 1811. I could not help but smile at his candid diary entry on what he thought of the religious garb that she was wearing:
On my return, I visited the convent of the Basilian nuns, whose superior is M. Baudemont. Their religious habit designed, I believe, by the good abbé Sambucy, their founder, seemed to me to be to be as ridiculous as it was ugly.
Roman Diary, 2 December 1825, EO XVII
“If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor.” Albert Einstein
This morning has brought me to thinking of the various ‘habits’ worn by religious (men and women) and the hierarchy of the church. I remember many years ago there was a comedy on TV called The Flying Nun, and the nun’s habit, well the head piece was so big that it could act much the same way as do a plane’s wings to help her get off the ground and fly. Eugene would have laughed and probably would have been quite vocal about what he saw.
In this time and place, much of what Eugene wore as a Bishop looks to me to be too fancy and frilly, over the top and not particularly becoming. It is the same with much of what the hierarchy of the church wear today – and – with what is being put forward in the world as high fashion for both men and women. I look back to what I wore 40 years ago and I am really not impressed – what was I thinking? I think of the line from the Bible about the lilies of the field and how they don’t need any gilding. I am no different from anyone else, I want to stand out, be noticed (for whatever), be seen in the best light. Want my uniqueness to stand out above the others.
Recently on TV there was an add of a young woman caught by her father in the act of climbing out her bedroom window. She says that she is going to the library to study and then a couple of over-the-top dancers come out (to distract) and there is a poorly made sound and light show. The idea behind all of it is – the plain truth – don’t try to fancy it up with what it isn’t, just tell the plain unadorned truth and don’t hide anything.
This morning I am left with the question what is the truth and how do I try to adorn it? Do I speak it plainly or try to dress it up?