A Morning Habit

I sometimes forget that the monastic habit is not something one puts on once and for all and for ever. Of course it isn't.

Nuns and monks dress anew in their habits every morning, usually turning even the act of dressing into an opportunity to renew their consecrations to Christ.

'Vesting ourselves each morning in the habit is a prayer and a renewal of our commitment,' wrote the Passionist Nuns of St. Joseph Monastery. Anyone interested in prayer, habits, or cloistered life (yes, I'm smiling) will surely enjoy the Sisters' article "The Clothing of a Nun" (click here to link).

And what about those of us who do not wear the pieces of a habit?

I find great richness in the following morning prayer:

    'As they begin to dress, they will make the sign of the cross and say:
    Cover me, Lord, with the cloak of innocence and the robe of love.
    My God, do not let me appear before You stripped of good works.'
    (St. Francis de Sales, Spiritual Directory)