Catholic church lays down dress code

[JReducation]

People need to use common sense. I see way too many people wearing shorts and sandals. I don’t expect teenagers to know better, but I do expect men in their 40s, 50s, and even 60s to have a brain and not to dress this way. It is disrespectful. Not everyone needs to wear a suit, but shorts and sandals are not appropriate attire for a supposed adult to wear to mass. These people need to grow up.

It’s intesting to hear you say this. We live in FL. It’s very hot right now. Some of our Life Teen boys wear those long shorts, but they always wear them with sox and sport shoes. It doesn’t look bakd on a high school boy. It’s look absurd on a 50-year old. The boys rarely wear sandles. I have seen more sandals on the boys when they wear long jeans. That looks age appropriate to me. Our older young people (18 to 30) may wear jeans and polos. But they wear shoes. and the look like young people, not slobs.

Now the young ladies are in a different world. We have too many whose mom’s and dads ought to get the Banana Sunday Award.

How can you allow your daughter to leave your home to go to Church in spaghetti straps, shorts and sandals. I don’t mean long shorts. But then I look around and grandma is wearing Capri pants with spider veins on her legs.

You don’t have to dress expensively, but if we begin dressing to look our age and our role in the community, that would be a good beginning. Just like I don’t expect my girls to come to my high school in spagheti straps and I actually make the parents deliver clothing to the school or pick up their child, I expect the same from them in church.

I’ve always believed that the more you teach, the more you learn. Maybe the adults and the children can learn together.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[Katrina5]

Actually, we have three hooks behind the door of our cell for anything that hangs and a draw under the cot for the fouldables. Our cells are not that large. They are 6 x 9. They were smaller, but after Vatican II the Council alllowed us to be a little more comfortable, as long as we did not sacrifice the original spirit of Francis and become attached to the place where we live. Therefore, every Franciscan obedience does this differently but the effect is the same. Usually you are reassigned every three years. My my community, we don’t get reassigned as often. However, we change cells every month. You put everything you have into a shopping bag or cardboard box and move to your new assignment. It’s a lot of fun trying to guess whered you’re going to go.

We do have one fashion observance, I guess. Every Franciscan friar wears the same habit, even if it has been torn. You patch it up and you put it on. One day a friar was going to communion with a patch hanging down from the hem of his habit. The lady behind him was focussing so hard on her devotion that she was stunned when she stepped and heard a large tear. She had stepped on the hanging patch and tore it and a little more. The poor brother had to wait until the tailor could get to him, which was about a week later. So he went everywhere with a habit that had a piece missing from the back. Fortunately the only thing that showed were his ankles to his calf. I can’t remember why he didn’t wear his other habit. Maybe he had destroyed that one too. Br. N. was notorious for being very hard on clothes. He was a professiona skateboarder turned Franciscan. He often borowed boards from the kids in the neighborhood for do tricks at the skate park. But he wore his habit for this. He is good too. We even had a skateboard competition between three Franciscan friars of three different obediences. The Franciscans of the Immaculata won the tournament. They’re good. But the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal kick butt in basketball, in long skirts and veil too. The Sisters of Life are awesome at basketball. It must be NY thing.

The only thing about Franciscan intermeurals is that you have to sit next to the brothers or sisters in the same habits that they wore to play during mass. You better hope it’s not the Easter Vigil.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

You could write a book! Thanks for adding some levity to this getting-way-too-serious debate!

 

[Katrina5]

I don’t think I was chastising her for her person or size but simply the inappropriateness of the choice of her wear. I was addressing the actual tightness of her pants that seemed a few sizes too small and would not condemn that alone but did take note of it as I have to think from the looks given her by others who also seemed to share the same thought.

In actually I perhaps should have just stayed with my own feeling about how I felt without subliminally measuring it up to another.

Hopefully when they looked at me they might just have simply seen a comfortable lady who just wanted to look nice. And, in the end I did.:blushing:

I know what you mean, Lynn! I often wonder “What was she thinking” when she got dressed that day about some of my people. I try to give them the benefit of the doubt, like maybe they didn’t have time to plan ahead, didn’t get the laundry done in time, gained a few pounds from last week, or they have a mirror that makes them look better than they really do…
I worked with a woman who came in one day in what was obviously something borrowed from her teen daughter’s closet. Tongues were wagging. She never did that again, and I found out later (from her!) that she had been on a trip and lost her luggage. She never quite lived it down.
I am one of the last people who actually irons my clothes. But when it gets smashed into the closet, it wrinkles and I am embarrassed by that!

 

[Lynn-D]

I know what you mean, Lynn! I often wonder “What was she thinking” when she got dressed that day about some of my people. I try to give them the benefit of the doubt, like maybe they didn’t have time to plan ahead, didn’t get the laundry done in time, gained a few pounds from last week, or they have a mirror that makes them look better than they really do…
I worked with a woman who came in one day in what was obviously something borrowed from her teen daughter’s closet. Tongues were wagging. She never did that again, and I found out later (from her!) that she had been on a trip and lost her luggage. She never quite lived it down.
I am one of the last people who actually irons my clothes. But when it gets smashed into the closet, it wrinkles and I am embarrassed by that!

Oh my dear, if I have anything that needs ironing I give to the local charity. Haha!
Everything I buy is ‘NO IRON’. I all too well remember those days when every night was spent over the ironing board at least an hour.

This lady is actually so very nice. I think maybe I should have just ignored what I and others saw and just concentrated on the the 1st and 2nd readings and the gospel to come rather than allow my eye to wander. I need to remember that and not forget the real reason why I am at mass shouldn’t I?

 

[GRATEFULONEjim]

People need to use common sense. I see way too many people wearing shorts and sandals. I don’t expect teenagers to know better, but I do expect men in their 40s, 50s, and even 60s to have a brain and not to dress this way. It is disrespectful. Not everyone needs to wear a suit, but shorts and sandals are not appropriate attire for a supposed adult to wear to mass. These people need to grow up.

My priest wears sandals!
Keep the faith,
G1j

 

[mkingdomlvr]

People need to use common sense. I see way too many people wearing shorts and sandals. I don’t expect teenagers to know better, but I do expect men in their 40s, 50s, and even 60s to have a brain and not to dress this way. It is disrespectful. Not everyone needs to wear a suit, but shorts and sandals are not appropriate attire for a supposed adult to wear to mass. These people need to grow up.

Oh well, guess I’m doomed. I wore sandals with my khaki pants this weekend.

 

[Katrina5]

Oh my dear, if I have anything that needs ironing I give to the local charity. Haha!
Everything I buy is ‘NO IRON’. I all too well remember those days when every night was spent over the ironing board at least an hour.

This lady is actually so very nice. I think maybe I should have just ignored what I and others saw and just concentrated on the the 1st and 2nd readings and the gospel to come rather than allow my eye to wander. I need to remember that and not forget the real reason why I am at mass shouldn’t I?

Nobody’s perfect! If someone wears something to call attention to themselves,(either intentionally or unintentionally) how can you ignore them? It’s hard to be comfortable and look nice and make everyone happy.

 

[Lynn-D]

Oh well, guess I’m doomed. I wore sandals with my khaki pants this weekend.

Nothing wrong with sandals. Ok, I paint my nails and think just fine showing them off but that is me.

 

[Lynn-D]

My priest wears sandals!
Keep the faith,
G1j

Our priests dare not wear sandals in fear that all the kids and parishioners he is greeting after mass might step on their feet.

 

[Katrina5]

Our priests dare not wear sandals in fear that all the kids and parishioners he is greeting after mass might step on their feet.

We have a visiting priest who wears sandals with socks. No one is sure why, since he isn’t an “order” priest. Maybe it just feels better than shoes.
At Christmas he wore one red sock and one green sock. So, yeah, we were distracted during the homily. After mass of course everyone had to say I bet you have a pair just like that at home, haha. He told me his mother gave them to him. I said “How long will you be wearing those ‘liturgical colors’?” He said until January 6th!

 

[JReducation]

One of our brothers was just looking over my shoulder as I read the posts. We were laughing hysterically. We have diceded to compile the American Franciscan misdirectory. It would be a booklet adivcing friars not to visit, lest they distract the congregation.

How cool would that me for the congregation and the friars?

Have to go right now. Some one needs the computer for few minutes.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[Katrina5]

One of our brothers was just looking over my shoulder as I read the posts. We were laughing hysterically. We have diceded to compile the American Franciscan misdirectory. It would be a booklet adivcing friars not to visit, lest they distract the congregation.

How cool would that me for the congregation and the friars?

Have to go right now. Some one needs the computer for few minutes.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

Always good to laugh, at least once per day! You are welcome at my parish, and as long as you will meet and greet in the narthex after mass to answer questions about your “taste in fashion”, come on down!

 

[JReducation]

Always good to laugh, at least once per day! You are welcome at my parish, and as long as you will meet and greet in the narthex after mass to answer questions about your “taste in fashion”, come on down!

Subscript is mine.

Hold just one moment. I love our order, but I did not choose the habit for my particular obedience. It is far from handsome and as my son said when I first joined, “The only place whee you can hide in that outfit is at a KKK revival meeting.” It’s a light shade of gray, with a capuche and cord around the waist, a rosary on the other side and a scapular over it that gives it that streamline look.

Other than that, I’d love to be your guest, as long as it does not distract everyone at church. I’d had to be the cause of someone’s distraction, unless they’er holding a gun on someone else then you do wha St. Max did, you through the offending individual with th enexpected.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[Ghoti]

How can you allow your daughter to leave your home to go to Church in spaghetti straps, shorts and sandals. I don’t mean long shorts. But then I look around and grandma is wearing Capri pants with spider veins on her legs.

The lady behind him was focussing so hard on her devotion that she was stunned when she stepped and heard a large tear. She had stepped on the hanging patch and tore it and a little more. The poor brother had to wait until the tailor could get to him, which was about a week later. So he went everywhere with a habit that had a piece missing from the back. ** Fortunately the only thing that showed were his ankles to his calf.** I can’t remember why he didn’t wear his other habit. Maybe he had destroyed that one too. Br. N. was notorious for being very hard on clothes.

I deduce Brother N has nicer legs, devoid of spider veins?

 

[JReducation]

I deduce Brother N has nicer legs, devoid of spider veins?

Trust me, some legs should neve be worn in public.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[Katrina5]

Subscript is mine.

Hold just one moment. I love our order, but I did not choose the habit for my particular obedience. It is far from handsome and as my son said when I first joined, “The only place whee you can hide in that outfit is at a KKK revival meeting.” It’s a light shade of gray, with a capuche and cord around the waist, a rosary on the other side and a scapular over it that gives it that streamline look.

Other than that, I’d love to be your guest, as long as it does not distract everyone at church. I’d had to be the cause of someone’s distraction, unless they’er holding a gun on someone else then you do wha St. Max did, you through the offending individual with th enexpected.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

I’m sure the younger members of our parish would zero in on the “streamline look” of the scapular.
No, you didn’t choose the habit per se…you chose it when you joined the order. We always assumed St Francis wore a clean, deep brown habit because the holy cards in the 1950’s depicted him that way. He also had blue eyes that gazed toward heaven and a bird on one hand. And of course the stigmata, which sometimes had “rays” coming out of them.
I am sooooo off topic here, and way too tongue in cheek.

 

[JReducation]

I’m sure the younger members of our parish would zero in on the “streamline look” of the scapular.
No, you didn’t choose the habit per se…you chose it when you joined the order. We always assumed St Francis wore a clean, deep brown habit because the holy cards in the 1950’s depicted him that way. He also had blue eyes that gazed toward heaven and a bird on one hand. And of course the stigmata, which sometimes had “rays” coming out of them.
I am sooooo off topic here, and way too tongue in cheek.

Actually, we’re not as off-topic as we think. You know those rich brown habits that St. Francis wears on holy cards? That image of St. Francis was a projection of he friars and Franciscan women religious. Many had changed habits in the hope of looking like St. Francis. They had adopted a "cleaner " image. That’s the immage that you see in pics. Now, with the availability of visual recording devices, we can take and scan everythng.

In the late 1800s, Pope Leo XIII, who was also a Fransicscan, decided to add something to the Rule of St. Francis, a unified dress code that made us look similar and less sloppy. In came Pius X, Pius XII, and John XXIII who were also Franciscans, followed by Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI who are not Franciscans. Six almost consecutive popes released he Fanciscans from the new dress code designed to give them a crisper and more dignified look and allowed us to return to the basics.

As you can see the dress code for Franciscans in the Church has taken more than100 years to get it going back to its prestine time when Fancis thought that everyone kenw him and experienced what he exprienced.

This was one of several steps in the salvation of the salvation of he Franciscns. We’re back to being crticized, especially by the laity, who tends not to understnad that we are Franciscas above all things. Even Franciscan bishops have bypassed the rules that govern clerical dress in canon law for the rules in the Rule and Constitutins as written by Francis and erected to the status of a Papal Bull.

The point is that special Sunday clothing is very dependent circustances. We have to pray that we will always give to God what he asks of us and accept the circumstances that he gves us. Simplicity is the best policy,

Fraternnally,

Br. JF, OSF

 

[Katrina5]

Actually, we’re not as off-topic as we think. You know those rich brown habits that St. Francis wears on holy cards? That image of St. Francis was a projection of he friars and Franciscan women religious. Many had changed habits in the hope of looking like St. Francis. They had adopted a "cleaner " image. That’s the immage that you see in pics. Now, with the availability of visual recording devices, we can take and scan everythng.

In the late 1800s, Pope Leo XIII, who was also a Fransicscan, decided to add something to the Rule of St. Francis, a unified dress code that made us look similar and less sloppy. In came Pius X, Pius XII, and John XXIII who were also Franciscans, followed by Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI who are not Franciscans. Six almost consecutive popes released he Fanciscans from the new dress code designed to give them a crisper and more dignified look and allowed us to return to the basics.

As you can see the dress code for Franciscans in the Church has taken more than100 years to get it going back to its prestine time when Fancis thought that everyone kenw him and experienced what he exprienced.

This was one of several steps in the salvation of the salvation of he Franciscns. We’re back to being crticized, especially by the laity, who tends not to understnad that we are Franciscas above all things. Even Franciscan bishops have bypassed the rules that govern clerical dress in canon law for the rules in the Rule and Constitutins as written by Francis and erected to the status of a Papal Bull.

The point is that special Sunday clothing is very dependent circustances. We have to pray that we will always give to God what he asks of us and accept the circumstances that he gves us. Simplicity is the best policy,

Fraternnally,

Br. JF, OSF

In our narrow closets, we had one for everyday and one “cleaner” one for Sunday. Life really was simpler back then, never had to think about what to wear.

 

[Ghoti]

In our narrow closets, we had one for everyday and one “cleaner” one for Sunday. Life really was simpler back then, never had to think about what to wear.

Hee hee — I just thought of a Franciscan sister seeing another at a church gathering, and thinking, “We are wearing the same thing! I’m so embarrassed!”

 

[Siddhartha]

Baptists are regularly shocked and scandalized whenever visiting a Catholic Mass: the dress code sends the average Baptist into anaphylactic shock.