We are in the middle of a “clothes crisis.” Every day we seem to dress more and more casually and to become more and more desensitized to the issue of modesty. When I bring us the issue in conversation, however, the response usually is: God doesn’t care how we dress. It is simply secondary. After all, didn’t Jesus say “do not be anxious a...

John Cassian surprisingly begins his Institutes, which describes the life of the desert Fathers in Egypt, with clothing. The monks must dress to fit their vocation, for the monk will be known like the Prophet Elijah, “by the description of the character of his clothing.” We are sacramental beings and express ourselves outwardly in our demeano...