And I agree that it’s not just at Church that we ought to dress with dignity…but in all walks of our daily life. Remember the old commercial, “Curlers in your hair! SHAME ON YOU. ” .
And I was born post Vatican II with no first hand knowledge of wearing a veil
“And the eyes of them both were opened: and when they perceived themselves to be naked, they sewed together fig leaves, and made themselves and his wife, garments of skins, and clothed them.” (Genesis 3:7,21)
Why else did He make tunics for Adam and Eve to replace the fig leaf aprons? (The Latin Vulgate uses the word “tunicas”)
I think one of the many reasons women get confused is because we don’t understand how easily men are visually distracted to 6th and 9th Commandment issues-sending their minds in the wrong direction and their feet into the Confessional to fix it. (Cf St. Matthew 5:28: “But I say to you, that whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart.”) And when we gals wear things that are “sexy” and knowingly cause other men to “look” at us, we share in the man’s sin. AND since all sins of impurity are grave (the Church defines that as mortal sin-as long as a person realizes it is grave and does it anyway)….YIPES!
And just because we’re dressing modestly doesn’t mean we’re dressing like a frump. That was my concern, too…and one of the reasons I wrote “Dressing with Dignity”. (Shameless plug:
I won’t restate the Vatican’s guidelines for dressing with dignity as others have already done so, but I’ve put together a practical “Outfit Guideline” for us to ‘test’ what we’re wearing and see if it follows Rome’s rules:
I’m currently in the final stages of making a sign to hang in the back of churches to remind people that–when they’re in God’s House–out of respect for God and those present, a certain dress code is required.
Seeing a Priest writing on this issue is wonderful. Watching the attire go downhill at a rapid rate to the current anything goes has bothered me for years.
I guess the thing that bothers me the most about the super casual dress is that almost every single one of those individuals has something appropriate in their closets that they are more than happy to pull out for a wedding, funeral, attending First Communion for a child, or quite possible to go to work. Sometimes the outfits are so distracting to me that I can no longer focus on the Mass without a quick prayer and hope of God’s Grace to leave the distraction behind me. ily enjoyed the option of a weekly Latin Rite Mass when we lived near Delaware
How we choose to dress can definitely affect our own mindset. If I went looking like I just rolled out of bed or am dressed for activities occuring after Mass, then I would be showing what really is important to me. Too bad that many not only dress in a manner that shows little respect, but they also treat Mass on Sunday as an obligation to get through rather than the extreme privledge it is to be attending. Both issues are ones I am currently working with my boys to understand and NOT fall into the trap of saying “at least I’m going to Mass.”
If you were invited to a lunch at the Buckingham Palace, would you dare to come check my blog in a smelly snickers and wearing t-shirt? How about a state dinner at the White House? Why in the world you come to the house of God dressed disrespectfully? To incur His wrath? Think well on it.
