Dress Like a Man

[Regina7]

Personally, I don’t think God cares that much about our material things. I don’t think he cares if we wear a $20,000 watch to church or no watch. I don’t think he cares if you drive a Bentley to church or walk. I don’t think he cares if you wear a suit or dress to mass or a T-Shirt and shorts. I think what he cares about is what is in your heart.

Are you at mass and receiving Him fully or is your mind elsewhere? Are you praising Him in the prayers and song with all your heart to the best of your ability, or are you thinking about what you are going to do after mass? Are you FULLY receiving Him in the Eucharist, embracing the gospel and taking that with you as you leave mass and evangelizing His work to those you live with, neighbor with, work with, shop with etc? I think that is what is most important to God. What is in our hearts, not what we wear.

If you wear a suit or dress to mass… kudos to you, but remember, it is what is in your heart and how you treat others that is more important to God.

God bless,

John

I think it says a lot about what’s in a man’s heart if he owns these nice clothes but doesn’t wear them to mass.

 

[AnneElizabeth]

Personally, I don’t think God cares that much about our material things. I don’t think he cares if we wear a $20,000 watch to church or no watch. I don’t think he cares if you drive a Bentley to church or walk. I don’t think he cares if you wear a suit or dress to mass or a T-Shirt and shorts. I think what he cares about is what is in your heart.

Are you at mass and receiving Him fully or is your mind elsewhere? Are you praising Him in the prayers and song with all your heart to the best of your ability, or are you thinking about what you are going to do after mass? Are you FULLY receiving Him in the Eucharist, embracing the gospel and taking that with you as you leave mass and evangelizing His work to those you live with, neighbor with, work with, shop with etc? I think that is what is most important to God. What is in our hearts, not what we wear.

If you wear a suit or dress to mass… kudos to you, but remember, it is what is in your heart and how you treat others that is more important to God.

God bless,

John

^Yes! Amen.

 

[Regina7]

So its a sin to not wear a suit to Mass? We should rebuke the poorly dressed, even if we don’t know whether they can afford better?

I never said it was a sin. I said the mode of thinking “That’s between that person and God” is how we’ve seen such moral decline. This is no different. And in my earlier post, I was specifically referring to people who I KNOW own nice clothes as I’ve seen them dressed up outside church.

 

[AnneElizabeth]

Regina7;12972584**:

I think

it says a lot about what’s in a man’s heart if he owns these nice clothes but doesn’t wear them to mass.

Yes, YOU think. We get that. What we are trying to tell you is that you can’t make a judgement about how “catholic” they are or not based on something so exterior. You don’t know the reasons why a person has dressed as they did. Its simply a belief you have but there is no proof you are correct.

What do you make of the Scripture passages I posted?

 

[AnneElizabeth]

I never said it was a sin. I said the mode of thinking “That’s between that person and God” is how we’ve seen such moral decline. This is no different. And in my earlier post, I was specifically referring to people who I KNOW own nice clothes as I’ve seen them dressed up outside church.

Maybe they felt and believed the nice clothes they have that you thought they should be wearing to church were too gaudy or showy for church?

You honestly believe the way someone is dressed brings about moral decline?

 

[Ophelia23]

I agree with the intent of the article: Dress nice for Mass, already!

I just think it was poorly written. Making statements such as people being “bored Catholics” because they wear khaki’s and a polo (taken straight from the article) instantly takes the purpose of the article and muddies it.

That’s all.

 

[AnneElizabeth]

I agree with the intent of the article: Dress nice for Mass, already!

I just think it was poorly written. Making statements such as people being “bored Catholics” because they wear khaki’s and a polo (taken straight from the article) instantly takes the purpose of the article and muddies it.

That’s all.

I feel the same here. It takes it too far the other way.

 

[Tallguy88]

I agree with the intent of the article: Dress nice for Mass, already!

I just think it was poorly written. Making statements such as people being “bored Catholics” because they wear khaki’s and a polo (taken straight from the article) instantly takes the purpose of the article and muddies it.

That’s all.

Exactly. I wear the best I have to Mass. If someone thinks I’m irreverent because I don’t wear a suit, I hope they would offer to help me buy one, because I sure can’t afford it after paying the bills.

Someone mentioned thrift stores. That’s where I buy most of my clothes, but I’m big and tall. I can usually only find one or two pairs of kakhis in my size there, and I’ve never found a suit in my size at a thrift store. And at the suit stores, they cost an arm and a leg.

 

[AnneElizabeth]

Doesn’t that kind of make the Gospels (and the bible as a whole) pointless since well they were pretty judgmental? …

NO, they already are at Mass… we aren’t talking gentiles here. If you are in church, hopefully you know and read the Gospels and are in there because of them already. They are already there because they want to improve. Hopefully, if they have not sinned badly, they can still hear the Holy Spirit, Who is within them, guide them.

The purpose of the apostles proclaiming the Gospel was to gather more in from the outside.

 

[Regina7]

Maybe they felt and believed the nice clothes they have that you thought they should be wearing to church were too gaudy or showy for church?

You honestly believe the way someone is dressed brings about moral decline?

You are twisting my words. I said, yet again, that the mentality of dismissing things as between another person and God is what’s brought moral decline. I never said that not dressing up has brought moral decline.

 

[agnes_therese]

I beg to differ its certainly a contributing factor…add all of them up you get where we are at today. Its people who dismiss these sorts of thing allowing it to continue because we could say the same thing about all the other factors.

So how are you going to feel when you rebuke the guy in the wrinkled shirt and khakis, only to find out he was up all night at his mother’s hospital bed?

 

[Regina7]

Yes, YOU think. We get that. What we are trying to tell you is that you can’t make a judgement about how “catholic” they are or not based on something so exterior. You don’t know the reasons why a person has dressed as they did. Its simply a belief you have but there is no proof you are correct.

What do you make of the Scripture passages I posted?

So you don’t think there is a problem with a man (who absolutely has a suit so being poor isn’t the issue) who wears scruffy jeans, a tshirts and gym shoes that aren’t even tied half the time, to mass, even as an usher, every single week? I’m not talking about when it happens occasionally. Since this man has a suit, wears it to work (so understands the importance of dressing for the occasion), you don’t think this shows his respect (or lack of) for the mass? Really?

 

[Draper]

I feel that way about the ordinary mass…

BTW the point isn’t wearing a suit the authors audience was people here in the US.

I feel that way about the EF Mass too…

 

[AnneElizabeth]

You are twisting my words. I said, yet again, that the mentality of dismissing things as between another person and God is what’s brought moral decline. I never said that not dressing up has brought moral decline.

I concur, I did twist your words. I apologize.

But it seems to me you twisted what Tallguy said about this dressing for Mass subject is 'between them and God". He didn’t say that about everything there is.

 

[AnneElizabeth]

So you don’t think there is a problem with a man (who absolutely has a suit so being poor isn’t the issue) who wears scruffy jeans, a tshirts and gym shoes that aren’t even tied half the time, to mass, even as an usher, every single week? I’m not talking about when it happens occasionally. Since this man has a suit, wears it to work (so understands the importance of dressing for the occasion), you don’t think this shows his respect (or lack of) for the mass? Really?

Whose problem is it? What are you going to do about it?

 

[revert_jen]

So how are you going to feel when you rebuke the guy in the wrinkled shirt and khakis, only to find out he was up all night at his mother’s hospital bed?

I may be misunderstanding the OP, but I don’t think he was recommending that people rebuke individuals who they feel are unsuitably dressed.

There is a difference between posting an exhortation to people to dress as suitably (no pun intended) for Mass as possible, and going around judging the dress of individuals we don’t know and over whom we have no responsibility. (I do sometimes wish parents would rebuke their teens who wear tiny miniskirts, however. )

–Jen

 

[AnneElizabeth]

So how are you going to feel when you rebuke the guy in the wrinkled shirt and khakis, only to find out he was up all night at his mother’s hospital bed?

 

[TimothyH]

***For if a man with gold rings and in fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while you say to the poor man, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? … But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. *(James 2-4,9)

-Tim-

 

[AnneElizabeth]

I may be misunderstanding the OP, but I don’t think he was recommending that people rebuke individuals who they feel are unsuitably dressed.

There is a difference between posting an exhortation to people to dress as suitably (no pun intended) for Mass as possible, and going around judging the dress of individuals we don’t know and over whom we have no responsibility. (I do sometimes wish parents would rebuke their teens who wear tiny miniskirts, however. )

–Jen

The article rebukes individuals in which the author feels is unsuitably dressed.

The exhortation is the authors guesswork, because the author does not know the real reason why these people dress in the manner in which he does not believe is correct way to be presenting themselves in front of Christ…

The article goes too far the other way.

Dressing poorly for Mass is not a sin. " Dressing poorly" is subjective.

 

[Tallguy88]

***For if a man with gold rings and in fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while you say to the poor man, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? … But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ***(James 2-4,9)

-Tim-

You win the thread. There is no need for any further posts