Do you feel offended by people who come to the CC dressed as if they were at a barbeque in their backyard?

[wisdomseeker]

Poor people in ancient times, and even renaisance times did not have nice clothing. The time period has been overly romanticized by works of fiction. In truth most people barely bathed and their clothes were washed infrequently. A typical Catholic congregation would not be filled with people in victorian style clothing because most people couldn’t afford that type of clothing. You are asking people to ascribe to a cultural norm that only ever existed in the 150 years and only in limited areas of the world. The fact is that the Church only asks for culturally modest dress and any offense you take to women wearing pants, which are considered to be modest in our culture, is completely personal. You litterally invented your own standards and are expecting people to adhere to them.

but do you think that women should wear women’s clothe instead of man’s clothe at least in teh House of God?

 

[Annabelle_Marie]

we cant use the pharisees as an example for this. i am talking about about how one should behave in teh House of God. that includes dressing up in respectfull manner for our Lord. I am not talking about dressing up for you or me but for our Lord.

Forgive me but it kind of seems like you are…because you are the one that deemed that women should be wearing dresses and headcoverings. News flash…I don’t even own a dress…should I go out and spend tons of money buying dresses? Seriously? I dress for church in my best. Of course for daily Mass…I wear what I’m wearing to work…and so on casual Fridays…yes that means jeans.

I’ve only been really distracted at Mass a couple of times…once by a young women who bent over to put the kneeler down…and I got a real good shot of her thong and checks… REALLY wish I hadn’t seen that. And by a woman wearing a headcovering with a mini skirt…and only because that seemed to be such a contradiction.

Usually I am too busy in thankful prayer after communion to notice or judge what people are wearing at Mass.

 

[pnewton]

but do you think that women should wear women’s clothe instead of man’s clothe at least in teh House of God?

Huh? Pants are women’s clothes. That is why they are found by the bucketload in the Women’s section of department stores. I do not think I understand this argument at all. What constitutes mens and womens clothing has flip-flopped many times over the centuries. I do not think I have heard anyone in the last forty years make the claim that womens pants are mens clothes.

 

[Joe_5859]

I wonder if God is as offended as we are on His behalf over the conventions of fashion.

 

[wisdomseeker]

Huh? Pants are women’s clothes. That is why they are found by the bucketload in the Women’s section of department stores. I do not think I understand this argument at all. What constitutes mens and womens clothing has flip-flopped many times over the centuries. I do not think I have heard anyone in the last forty years make the claim that womens pants are mens clothes.

do you know the history of women begining to wear pants like man? do we have to wear them in the House of God? or is this a reflection of a rebellion attitude towards God?

 

[PatrickSebast]

but do you think that women should wear women’s clothe instead of man’s clothe at least in teh House of God?

There are pants designed speciffically for women. Women generally wear these and not the pants designed for men as the female pants tend to fit their body better. Pants being limited to men is cultural. There were cultures in which pant like clothing was common among females many years ago. Pants being masculine is an invented norm that has died off.

 

[wisdomseeker]

I wonder if God is as offended as we are on His behalf over the conventions of fashion.

do you think that cover up dresses in the House of God is a matter of fashion?

 

[PatrickSebast]

do you know the history of women begining to wear pants like man? do we have to wear them in the House of God? or is this a reflection of a rebellion attitude towards God?

Do you know the history of women beggining to wear skirts like men?

 

[mellowcalico]

do you know the history of women begining to wear pants like man? do we have to wear them in the House of God? or is this a reflection of a rebellion attitude towards God?

In Western society, women started wearing pants in the late 1800s–mainly for industrial work and mining (and it was considered scandalous). They started to become part of fashion in the 1930s (think Marlene Dietrich and Katharine Hepburn) and took off in the 1940s when women started working in the war industry. They fell out of style after that. They really took off in the 1960s though and became more of everyday wear in the late 1960s and 1970s. Today they are more of a norm than skirts and dresses.

Pants for men were invented in the 1760s. Although sailors wore pants first as part of their uniforms around the 1550s.

 

[PatrickSebast]

do you think that cover up dresses in the House of God is a matter of fashion?

Yes. It was unquestionably so as early as 200 years ago. Any sort of dress was a matter of fashion and a sign of nobility. Most people could not afford such clothing and had to make do with what they had. The high class member of society would wear fancy clothing to public places like Church to separate themselves from the common people. Requiring people to dress well for Church is a NEW cultural phenomenon that stemmed from the middle class gaining more wealth and wanting to imitate the upper class. The culture of dressing nicely and the “Sunday Best” did not stem from trying to impress God but to impress man. If you are worried about proper Sunday dress the best thing to embrace would be lay peoples robes, not dress clothes.

 

[PatrickSebast]

In Western society, women started wearing pants in the late 1800s–mainly for industrial work and mining (and it was considered scandalous). They started to become part of fashion in the 1930s (think Marlene Dietrich and Katharine Hepburn) and took off in the 1940s when women started working in the war industry. They fell out of style after that. They really took off in the 1960s though and became more of everyday wear in the late 1960s and 1970s. Today they are more of a norm than skirts and dresses.

Pants for men were invented in the 1760s. Although sailors wore pants first as part of their uniforms around the 1550s.

To add to that the invention of pants in the 1760’s is only partially. They were developed in their modern form then but their is evidence of clothing that was very similar in structure much earlier.

 

[LilyM]

Is it wrong to dress up your best in the House of God?

It IS wrong to assume that modesty is only something that applies (or something that somehow applies more) in some times and places than others.

Modesty is ALWAYS and EVERYWHERE important, since people can be driven to lust or other sins by immodestly anywhere and everywhere.

And we certainly shouldn’t wear Daisy Dukes or show tons of cleavage anywhere, never mind whether it’s in Church or out.

So why, assuming that we need dress modestly everywhere and anywhere, is there any difference in the need to do so at Church? Covering up in Church on Sundays - or wearing a nice suit - won’t make a lick of difference to the state of your character or soul if you dress like a hobo or a streetwalker the rest of the week, after all.

 

[pnewton]

do you know the history of women begining to wear pants like man? do we have to wear them in the House of God? or is this a reflection of a rebellion attitude towards God?

No, no and no. I have no idea the history of pants, nor do I care to know. I am not into fashion. No, they do not have to be worn in Church, at least in any Church document I have seen. And no, I do not think the are rebellion against God in the least. I especially find this last idea rather bizzare. I have never met one person with this perspective. Do you are people you know consider it an act of rebellion?

 

[St_Gabriel]

Suppose a girl has a handicap (like a rubber leg or something) and she chooses to wear dressy slacks because she fears the attention. Would that be considered immodest or disrespectful?

 

[GloriousOrder]

I wonder how many of these people would go to receive knighthood from the Queen wearing what they wear in Mass. Christ knights us all when we receive that most Holy Body, and yet here we come as if we’ve just been sitting on the couch eating crisps all night. I seriously doubt anyone from a republic or a democracy would approach his president or prime minister at a public event without formal attire. Since Christ is the very King of the Universe and the whole Mass centers around His Presence, we might at least go as far as we go for Elizabeth II or Barack Obama.

Perhaps respect for great names is just not important to most people “these days” (not that our date in chronology has anything to do with … anything!).

 

[StTommyMore]

I wonder how many of these people would go to receive knighthood from the Queen wearing what they wear in Mass. Christ knights us all when we receive that most Holy Body, and yet here we come as if we’ve just been sitting on the couch eating crisps all night. I seriously doubt anyone from a republic or a democracy would approach his president or prime minister at a public event without formal attire. Since Christ is the very King of the Universe and the whole Mass centers around His Presence, we might at least go as far as we go for Elizabeth II or Barack Obama.

Perhaps respect for great names is just not important to most people “these days” (not that our date in chronology has anything to do with … anything!).

This is why I o dress up for Mass. Not everyone has come to this understanding, so it is up to me to give my position, not to make them feel less faithful because of theirs. This is hardly an article of faith. Trust they have the right purpose of heart, and perhaps once they meditate on what the Mass truly is, perhaps they will change. But this is not something that needs to be pressed (no pun intended).

 

[LilyM]

I wonder how many of these people would go to receive knighthood from the Queen wearing what they wear in Mass. Christ knights us all when we receive that most Holy Body, and yet here we come as if we’ve just been sitting on the couch eating crisps all night. I seriously doubt anyone from a republic or a democracy would approach his president or prime minister at a public event without formal attire. Since Christ is the very King of the Universe and the whole Mass centers around His Presence, we might at least go as far as we go for Elizabeth II or Barack Obama.

Perhaps respect for great names is just not important to most people “these days” (not that our date in chronology has anything to do with … anything!).

Elizabeth II and Barack Obama are both human beings, both liable to the common human failing of judging people by what they wear, and both liable to the common human failing of getting offended by people who they feel aren’t dressed correctly for an occasion.

I’m sure Elizabeth or Barrack would find it strange if, for example, they invited us to an informal barbecue lunch at the White House or Buck Palace and we turned up in tuxedo and tophat or ballgown, furs and diamonds, no?

God, unlike Elizabeth or Barack, sees us at all time, and judges us as we truly are inside and out, not just on the basis of how we dress on the one-and-only occasion we meet them.

He sees us naked, people. On the can. In the shower. Everywhere. Having seen us in all those states, I just don’t see that dressing in fancy (as opposed to modest) duds would impress Him in the slightest.

 

[pnewton]

But this is not something that needs to be pressed (no pun intended).

You dress nice for the same reason I do. I would never comment about a persons clothing or do anything that I think would make them feel judged (I am talking style, not decency). However, I personally try to dress my best and prefer to be a silent example of the importance I place on Mass. My wife occassionally wears slacks, but no one would ever accuse her of being dressed masculine, or even casual.

 

[St_Gabriel]

How about climate? It gets awfully cold up north during the winter. Is it OK for women to wear dressy slacks then?

 

[zab]

do you know the history of women begining to wear pants like man? do we have to wear them in the House of God? or is this a reflection of a rebellion attitude towards God?

Do you know the history of men wearing pants like a man?