The Afternoon of July 27, 2013
The Reception of the Habit ceremony began a series of steps and rituals that continued throughout the rest of the day.
The first step was when all of us postulants entered the main chapel, in the presence of all the Sisters, to receive our habits from Mother Superior. I watched with nervous interest as my fellow postulants and friends received their white robes and new religious names.
Sister Courtney became Sister Francesca; Sister Lucia became Sister Felicity.
I liked her new name, but I was a little sad about Sister Lucia becoming a novice. Her long auburn hair, flecked with red and gold highlights, would soon be chopped off and replaced with a plain white veil. How I would miss seeing those beautiful colors during morning and evening prayer!
Sometimes the sacrifices we make can be sacrifice for others, too.
Sister Anna nodded in my direction: it was my turn. I stepped up to the right of the altar and knelt before Mother.
“Sister Mary Joan, what do you desire?” Mother Superior asked me before all the community.
“The mercy of God and yours, and to be received to the Holy Habit of Saint Dominic,” I said, repeating the words I’d memorized in novice class.
Sister Anna held a neatly folded pile of white and black garments—my complete Dominican habit. As the ceremony proceeded, she passed each piece to Mother, who in turn handed them to me.
“Sister Mary Inez,” Mother said with a warm smile. She spoke the name with a Southern accent, rather than its traditional Spanish pronunciation: "Eye"-nez. Receive this white robe, the emblem of innocence…”
She handed me the tunic I had sewn that summer, and I happily received it.
Sister Mary Inez. That’s my new name. The name the Sisters chose for me.
“Receive this scapular, the maternal pledge of the protection of the Blessed Mother of God…”
I smiled as I received the next piece of my habit.
Sister Mary Inez. It’s short. It's sweet. I love it!
“Receive this veil, the emblem of humility…”
Wow. Once I put the veil on, I was really going to look like a Nashville Dominican. No one would mistake me for anything but a sister after that.
“Receive this Rosary, the emblem of prayer, by which your soul will be united to God.”
Mother draped a long wooden Rosary on top of my white garments. The beads had a unique blue and tan coloring to them. I wasn’t sure whose rosary it had been before it came to me, but I liked that it came with a history. That someone had prayed with these beads before me.
Becoming a Novice
After I received my habit, my angel Sister Joanna whisked me away to the novitiate Common Room. I had my new habit now, but there was still a lot to be done. My postulant vest, shirt, and jumper went into a large basket, to be thrown away. After a year of daily use, my two postulant outfits were not fit for reuse.
Next, Sister Joanna led me to the small room by the kitchen to cut my hair. She used big scissors for the front, and a razor for the back of my neck, which would be visible beneath my veil.
I had dreamed about this moment, when my hair would be heroically cut off just like in Mulan. Now that it was actually happening, I felt more scared than brave.
I'd said “Yes” to receiving the Dominican habit and becoming engaged to Christ. But that “yes” had released a series of events, one following the other in rapid motion, without time to process or understand them. My postulant clothes and hair were gone. A white cap covered my head. The back of my neck was shaved and bare.
No going back now.
“Next, you’ll go to the sewing room,” Sister Joanna whispered. “Mother will help you put on your robes.”
Mother smiled at me as she helped me into my tunic, collar, scapular, and sleeves. The veil went on last. Then she gave me a hug and her blessing.
“Thank you, Mother,” I whispered, before leaving the sewing room in my new robes.
Later, my group stood in a line outside the chapel door, as usual. Except this time, we were wearing our new habits and veils. Except this time, we were novices.
But now, thus says the LORD,
who created you, Jacob, and formed you, Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name: you are mine.
-Isaiah 43:1
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After we were officially presented to the community as novices, we gathered together in the infirmary. Sister Anna wanted us to introduce ourselves to the sick and elderly sisters.
The other new novices stood by the Infant of Prague statue, where Sister Anna was flipping through a long list of names. Her eyes darted over the crowd of sisters before landing on me.
“Sister Mary Inez!” Sister Anna gestured me towards her, her dark eyes bright with excitement. “I wanted to give you your new house duty. Beginning tomorrow, you will be cleaning the infirmary with Sister Danielle.” She said this with a big smile.
“Oh. Thank you, Sister.” Since I had her attention, I asked her my burning question.
“Do you know who my new patron saint will be?”
Sister checked her list. "Let's see...your patroness is Saint Agnes of Rome. So your feast day will be…January 21.”
I blinked, then nodded. I had requested Saint Agnes of Montepulciano, a Dominican saint from the 13th century. I didn’t know very much about the original Saint Agnes, except that she was a young virgin martyr.
Well, she has chosen me for her patronage, I thought. So now I'll be getting to know her much more.
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Thank you so much for reading! Join me soon for the last installment of my convent memoir on this site! Much more about novice life, as well as my first spaghetti dinner in a white habit! 😦
Also, be sure to visit my website for the latest Life After Convent posts:
Author's Note: This post is primarily based on my memories from 10 years ago. I apologize if there are a few errors in the specific ordering of events. Some of those details might be off, but my lived experience that day - how I felt and acted -- those moments are authentic and real. :) Thank you for your understanding!