Together on the Journey: A Weekly Word from Archbishop Hebda
While our brothers and sisters in St. Cloud were celebrating the feast of their patron, Saint Cloud, this past Saturday, the secular world was celebrating either International Bacon Day or World Beard Day. I don’t know who comes up with those calendars.
Thinking that too much contemplation of bacon would perhaps be a near occasion for sin, I directed my thoughts more innocently to beards. In my younger days, I stayed away from beards because a customs agent in Rome told me that facial hair made me look suspicious, which is never a good look for a priest. As a budding canon lawyer, I took some solace from recalling that up until 1983, diocesan priests were forbidden to wear beards by the Code of Canon Law. Beards were the domain of priests who belonged to Religious Orders.
Even the great saints have been divided on the merits of beards. St. Augustine saw beards as a sign of courage while St. Charles Borromeo penned a pastoral letter on the importance of shaving. Today, the seminarians at St. John Vianney Seminary are forbidden to wear beards while the seminarians at The Saint Paul Seminary are free to sport a beard as long as it’s not unruly. It was the SPS community that was thrilled when Bishop Cozzens temporarily joined the ranks of bearded clergy during the pandemic. When I didn’t get on the bandwagon, I mysteriously received a shipment of “Catholic Beard Balm” (yes, it’s really a “thing”—you can check it out on Google).
I’m told that for some of my bearded brethren, the look is intended to give honor to Jesus, St. Francis, the Fathers of the Faith and the many other saints who are often depicted with beards; for the more hardcore of my clean-shaven brethren, the absence of a well-groomed beard is a way of manifesting a rejection of the vanity of this world, even when it means that we cannot hide a weak chin or a thin upper lip.
Many of you have heard me speak in the past about my favorite saint, St. Philip Neri. While he was famous for wearing a beard (which was permitted to him as an Oratorian), he made sure that it wasn’t a sign of vanity. Once when he was invited to a fancy affair, he shaved off half of his beard, choosing to play the role of the “holy fool” rather than that of a dandy. I’m told that a couple of our priests recently donned a similar look, in part to honor St. Philip Neri and in part because of losing a wager. I pray that they will imitate St. Philip Neri in his apostolic zeal, joy and lifelong fidelity as well.
Whether you think beards should be balmed or banned, the takeaway from our holy friends is that whatever you do – body, mind and soul – let it be done for God’s glory.
Subscribe now to receive Together on the Journey in your inbox every week.
