Dress Code for Mass

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I’m thinking of a student whose wardrobe doesn’t contain much more than jeans and T-shirt or jeans and nice blouse. If this is ‘their best’, then that is what they should wear, until they are in a financially better position to buy something more appropriate even if that is from a charity shop.
 
Ehh, what happened to the fellow who didn’t have a wedding garment when the king brought him to the feast?
 
When I was a young person, I went to church with my mother, and it took us a long time to get ready in the morning. Especially her. Back then, women wore dresses, high-heeled shoes, hose, and hats with flowers and short veils on them. I would wear my best dress and my best shoes. We both wore clothes that were our best and that we wore only to church.

That was in the 50’s and 60’s. Today, I’d be the adult wearing high heels (which I simply can’t) and hose (which I hate), along with a dress and a hat, and I don’t even know where you can buy that kind of hat today.

Learning that we could wear more casual clothing was such music to my ears when I wanted to come back to church after decades of not attending at all. I think a lot of women feel as I do. Who would want to go back to those times and all those fussy rules and the expense of having another complete wardrobe that was for church only? It’s a relief to go to church in regular clothes that I feel comfortable in.
 
Shasta-Rose said:
Who would want to go back to those times and all those fussy rules and the expense of having another complete wardrobe that was for church only? It’s a relief to go to church in regular clothes that I feel comfortable in.
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Me. I have one set of clothes for mass only. The exception is my shoes. Our parish doesn’t have carpeted floors, and my one pair of dress shoes makes noise on a hard floor, so I wear the only other pair I own. Our missal gives the 4 purposes of mass: Adoration, Thanksgiving, Atonement and Petition.
 
As style conscious as I am (if I had it to do over, maybe I’d do something in the fashion industry) I give little to no thought about what others are wearing to Liturgy. I like to dress up somewhat, but that’s my choice. If someone wears a skirt, that’s her choice. If someone wears jeans, that’s his choice. I just don’t pay attention to it that much.
 
I guess I wouldn’t be allowed in…🤷‍♂️

I always wear khaki shorts in the summer.
 
Yeah, well maybe you are misunderstanding me. I was responding to the part of the thread about whether the Lord would care about clothing. I cited a parable where the type of clothing worn is very important. I was not saying that one would wear wedding clothes to weekly Mass.

I will grant you that wearing one’s finest without a good interior disposition is not beneficial, but no one was actually disputing that. Maybe, just maybe, there is more than one sense in which the cited parable can be understood, and to disregard that actual literal meaning does not make sense.
 
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choose_to_love said:
Ehh, what happened to the fellow who didn’t have a wedding garment when the king brought him to the feast?
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That was clearly a parable referring to us not being ready at the time of judgment. Do you really think God condemns people who shows up in rags? That sounds more like a Pharisee tbh.

If you want to take it literally, it would refer to someone who can’t be bothered to dress up out out of apathy.
 
Hold on now. I “need to remain free of judging others who are not dressed as you”? Identify where that occurred, please.
 
I am just glad Jesus had really no dress code to impose as people gathered around him to listen to his Word.
 
“Do I really think God condemns people who show up in rags?” Maybe you could point out where I said that? Of course I do not think that, if that is all one has.

As I stated above, I think it is likely that the parable has two meanings, one must be interiorly prepared, but proper attire is a reflection of what is proper for the situation. Does that mean the carpenter who just got off work cannot go to the 5 p.m. Mass on the way home b/c he doesn’t have a change of clothes? No, of course not.

I actually agree with most of what you state in your posts - - if one ‘can’t be bothered’ to dress properly, that is a problem, but dressing fancily out of vanity is a problem too. Nor could nice attire make up for a lacking interior disposition.

But, as to the proposition that God doesn’t care what what we wear, I don’t think that’s accurate either; still, some common sense has to be applied, per CRV’s posts in this thread ( posts 178, 187, and 189, I think).
 
Lea101 said:
Do you really think God condemns people who shows up in rags? That sounds more like a Pharisee tbh
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Oh, absolutely! It’s an incredible sign of disrespect, and everyone hearing the parable understood it as such. This isn’t about the poor not being able to afford Armani. This is about the rich choosing to dress down.
 
Court – Not sure depends why I’m there I guess. I’ve never been to court before, especially in the summer.

Job Interview - Probably not. I assume companies that I’m applying for have at least a “business casual” dress code.

I nearly always where khaki shorts and a golf polo to church in the summer.
 
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Yup. Like I said.

FWIW, totally loved the Fatherless trilogy by Brian Gail, even if he got a little weird at times.
 
But you do know that there could be people looking at what you’re wearing and not thinking it’s the very best you should do, or they may think the clothes are not that great looking. You never really know what’s going through other people’s mind. Overall it’s just best to keep ones eyes on ones own paper.
 
DeniseNY said:
But you do know that there could be people looking at what you’re wearing and not thinking it’s the very best you should do
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You are arguing against a position that nobody holds. It’s like being passionate and willing to fight to the death that space aliens be carded before entering a liquor store.

A person who deliberately dresses-down for mass is deliberately being disrespectful, and calling out for attention. Children who do that need a father who will step up. Parishioners who do that…
 
You’re arguing and are passionate for a position the Church (as whole) does not hold. There is no one uniform dress code.

What I’m trying to point out is that you’re arguing about what you think is dressing up with your set of liturgy clothes , and others might not think it’s dressing up at all. There is not one standard that is acceptable. The side eye you may be giving to folks may be coming right back at you and you just don’t know it. That’s what I’m trying to say. This is all subjective and it is best to be concerned with yourself and your own interior disposition.

And children have mothers too. Any reason why you singled out fathers?
 
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