February 1 – Donning the Habit

One month in cloister and in community . . . let’s see how we are doing.

Are we managing to fit worship and prayer into the framework of each day? If not, don’t worry; we will find a way. As we hold on to every monastic desire, we will discover that they become our pursuits in time, and then they materialize. It’s like looking at new cars . . . don’t keep going to the showroom if you can’t afford the display! We will make that work for us the other way around!


Is there a “conversatio” change taking place in all our lives? Are we leaving that one fingernail un-bitten?

As to purpose and privilege, once again, today, let us remember our high calling. If we understand nothing more than that we have been called to walk with God, to know Him even as we are known, then our understanding will be perfected in all things.

God has an agenda, and we are part of it. That is the reality that monks and nuns accept and embrace, and we can, too. Those who are married will make their marriages a happy cloister, prayerfully closing their union in with the Lord and His nearness. Those who are in ministry will minister out of their seclusion with Jesus Christ and into the bedlam of the lives around them. Together, we will become a house of worship and prayer. Each will bear a part; all will be strengthened.

In the days ahead, we are going to move into the rudiments of monastic life, and put on the habit that is specially designed for each. Welcome to the second month of the rest of your life in Cor Unum, the monastery of the heart.



"Why Should Nuns Have All the Fun?"
by permission