Laundry

As I write, I am waiting for my clothes to dry.

One of the facets of human formation is simple human cleanliness. Perhaps it is shocking, but even after having graduated from high school, some men have not yet mastered the basic principles of hygiene. If you have ever walked through a college dormitory for boys, you know that I speak the truth. If you have mothered boys through their teenage years, I am probably telling you nothing new. Some guys fail to bathe regularly. Some don't launder their clothes. Many haven't mastered the art of hair-combing, and unless my observations are inaccurate, nearly all college boys reject shaving the very moment that they are able to grow something resembling a whisker.

I suspect that most of these young men have mothers who did everything in their power to teach their sons how to be presentable. But, college is a time of newfound freedom, and many young men feel compelled to determine for themselves the standards of acceptable hygiene. Seminarians are not exempt from this phenomenon.

I recall my days in the minor seminary when inevitably, the rector would have to "remind" the community to bathe each day, to brush our teeth, to comb our hair, and to shave. It was expected that each of these tasks would have been completed before arrival in the chapel for Mass at 6:45 AM. While some men mastered the art of accomplishing these tasks in their entirety in a period of about ten minutes, for the most part, compliance was hit or miss. Nevertheless, progress was made. By the time a man had finished his initial period of formation in the minor seminary, he was well formed in these practices.

Now that I am in the major seminary, I am happy to report that the men have already acquired these skills (except for the shaving bit - even now some feel compelled to execute experimental beard growth. Few attempts are successfully completed.).

So, as I wait for my clothes to dry this evening, I am grateful that most of the men are out and about. Tonight, I don't have to compete for time in the laundry room. And I won't have to do laundry again for another week.