Writing to Henri Tempier, who was the one responsible for the formation of the novices at Laus, Eugene speaks about the dress of the Missionaries. The gesture of receiving the cassock (soutane) marked the official beginning of the novitiate period. They \u201ctook the habit\u201d \u2013 they consciously took on the dress of the Missionary as a sign that they consciously \u201cbecame\u201d missionaries.<\/p>\n
\nThey cannot be novices without taking the habit of the missionary. Their stay among the guests will have to be prolonged, that is to say, outside the novitiate, until they have their soutane, which will be given to them the day they enter the novitiate, if they arrived without it.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
If the novice was already an ordained priest, he would have arrived wearing the \u2018rabat\u2019<\/em> around his neck. It was a square of black cloth with white borders that was the sign of the diocesan priest. The day he became a Missionary he had to remove that symbol of priesthood and wear the identification sign of the Missionary.<\/p>\n
\nWhen anyone seeks admission who already has his soutane, he should keep the rabat as long as he is with the guests and then put it aside the day of his entrance into the novitiate, because the habit of the missionary is the soutane without the rabat.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Letter to Henri Tempier, 18 January 1821, E.O. VI n.59<\/em><\/p>\n
Clerical dress has changed in the two centuries since this was written, and we are no longer familiar with the use of the rabat<\/em> as it was worn then. Eugene was underlining that the identity of the Missionary was not to be confused with that of a diocesan priest. (Interestingly, when Eugene became the Bishop of the Diocese of Marseille, he did wear the rabat<\/em> in unity with his diocesan clergy, whose chief pastor he was.)<\/p>\n
Apparently in the France of that time the rabat<\/em> was also a sign of the Gallican Church which stressed its independence from Roman supremacy \u2013 a sentiment not shared by Eugene, who was unmistakably an ultramontanist and wanted to be as fully in communion with Rome as possible.<\/p>\n
Today for the Missionary Oblate who is a priest, the Rule of Life says: \u201dThe Oblate habit is the same as the clerical dress of the diocese in which we live. When we wear a cassock, our only distinctive sign is the Oblate cross.\u201d<\/em> Constitution 64<\/p>\n
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‘As every lord gives a certain dress (uniform) to his servants, charity is the very dress of Christ. Our Saviour, who is the Lord above all lords, would have his servants known by their badge, which is love.”<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Latimer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Writing to Henri Tempier, who was the one responsible for the formation of the novices at Laus, Eugene speaks about the dress of the Missionaries. The gesture of receiving the cassock (soutane) marked the official beginning of the novitiate period. … Continue reading