The Habit

••••• MEN IN••••• BLACK

Men in black.

While this moniker has been borrowed a few times by pop-culture-sci-fi-alien-chasers — or Johnny Cash — we have proudly been the men in black for centuries.

St. Benedict instructs us in his Rule that “your way of acting should be different than the world’s way” (RB 4:20). Our habit is a visible sign of this directive that, as Christ said, we are to be in the world but not of it.

In the Abbey Church this is again reflected in our fresco (at right); in the four “earthly” panels everything – the buildings, ground, creatures, trees – is a shade of dull brown with just one exception: the habit. It is what distinguishes us from the surrounding world – by clothing ourselves in it we seek to clothe ourselves in Christ — carrying our clothing as a conastant reminder of our vows.

Upon entering the monastery we are commanded to be stripped of all that we own and “clothed in what belongs to the monastery” (RB 58:26).

To be clothed in what belongs to the community means the habit we wear, but it also means to be immersed into Christ, to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us to a deeper faith in God, and a joy in the good works that flow from that.

As we receive the habit – kneeling before the Abbot as he drapes the tunic over our shoulders, he then presents us with the cincture, and lays the scapular over our head – this process is the first step into monastic life. As he presents the Rule to us and gives us our new monastic names, we undergo a spiritual transformation, a death to our former self and a new life with Christ in the monastery.

TAKING APART THE HABIT

1. TUNIC

The tunic is the base-layer of the habit and would have been a common garment in the sixth century when St. Benedict wrote his Rule. The monastic tunic extends to the ankle and covers the wrists. Early habits were crafted from undyed wool and would later be black to separate the monks from the common man.

2. CINCTURE (BELT)

The cincture or belt is wrapped around the waist. Benedctine monks use cloth or leather belts rather than ropes like other orders. The cincture signifies the rejection of impurity and the mortification of flesh for the love of Christ. For us, it is a reminder of our vow of Conversion and a call to chastity.

3. SCAPULAR

The scapular originally served as a work apron, but over time was seen as a symbol of the work of the Cross. It was increased in length and worn as a formal element of the habit. The scapular is our yoke in Christ; just as Christ said “my yoke is easy and my burden is light,” we come to rest in Him in monastic life.

4. CAPUCHE (HOOD)

Upon completing the novitiate the monk is presented with the capuche or hood. It is a symbol for God’s love for us and a protection for the most important part of the body – the helmet of Christ. The hood is one of the ancient signs of monastic life and its uses are varied according to the local custom.

5. CUCULLA

When the monk professes solemn (lifetime) vows to the community he is presented with the cuculla. This formal garment is worn for solemn occasions at the monastery, including Sunday Mass, Solemn Vespers, Solemnities and Feasts, Funerals, and Professions. It is a symbol that the monk is a fully vested member of the community with full chapter rights. We are buried in our full habit, including our cuculla. The Habit by Father Meinrad Miller

On July 10, 1985 Abbot Ralph clothed me in the Benedictine habit (above). Over the years I have grown in my appreciation of this simple act. As a 20-year-old man I was not prepared in many ways for what my future would hold. This was an act of faith in God’s providential care. That evening I began a journey that would help me understand, one day at a time, God’s will for my life.

As he began his own life as a monk, St.

Benedict received help from the monk

Romanus who St. Gregory the Great said gave him a religious habit and assisted him in all things. This does not give us an elaborate theology of the clothing, but it is significant in that it shows us that the spiritual life is something we receive. The young Benedict did not grasp the habit himself; rather someone who had followed Christ gave it to him.

This is important for understanding why

St. Benedict preferred the Cenobites (those monks who live the Koinonia in a

Monastery under a rule and an Abbot) to other forms of following Christ. For St. Benedict, the real significance was not what was on the outside, but the inner transformation into Christ. As he writes in the Prologue to his Rule: ‘Clothed then with faith and the performance of good works, let us set out on this way, with the Gospel for our guide, that we may deserve to see him who has called us to his kingdom (1 Thess 2:12).”