A Visible Sign of Authority

Like most of the world, I have been watching the news from Haiti with the mix of horror and fascination that just won’t let me completely look away. I had the news on on Sunday morning as we were getting ready for Mass too see if relief was beginning to reach the people.

ABC news had a reporter standing in front of a relief truck. (I don’t know who she was, if you saw this report and know, please fill me in.) She remarked how the people were so desperate for food and water that when the truck first appeared, they mobbed around it and began to rock the truck in their desperation. Then, she reported, a single priest and a young nun walked up through the crowd and they quieted down and order appeared from chaos. They had not spoken, these “unlikely” heroes, but their mere presence was enough to bring calm.

What is it about the sight of a man in a Roman collar or a woman in a traditional habit (in this case, the Sisters of Charity), that instills confidence in the frightened and hungry people of Haiti? It has nothing to do with the people themselves, I doubt these two were well-known to the mob around the truck. It was the symbols of authority that they both wore upon their bodies. Symbols which proclaimed to all present that they were there, not for personal gain, but as the representatives of Christ Himself. The very sight of a Bride of Christ and an earthly Father spoke to the very hearts of the people. They were loved; they were cared for; God had not abandoned them in their hour of desperate need.

How much would our own nation benefit from seeing properly clad nuns and priests walking the streets of our own country? If the polyester pant-suited sisters would once again don their habits, how much more respect would they receive? How much more good could the do? If our priests wore their collars proudly in public instead of changing into civilian clothes before they went to the grocery store, how much more visible would the presence of the Church be? It is tough to be a faithful Catholic in modern day America. How much would we gain from seeing them live their vocations out loud?