Dress Like a Man

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I’d say – go to Church – devote oneself to praying the Mass — and Not to scrutinizing what others are wearing.
 
JimG said:
So, can we conclude that it’s okay to dress for work, for business, for fine dining, for weddings, for proms, but for Mass–just dress down, please.
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You can conclude what you like, but what I’m concluding is that in my own personal experience dressing up for work did not equate to dressing to receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I actually felt like I was dishonoring Christ by dressing in my financial monkey suit.

Your mileage may vary.

You call it dressing down, I call it choosing not to wear a certain uniform.
 
JimG said:
So, can we conclude that it’s okay to dress for work, for business, for fine dining, for weddings, for proms, but for Mass–just dress down, please.
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What do you mean “dress for work, for business, for fine dining, for weddings, for proms”? If you’re a plumber you dress differently than a lawyer who has to be in court. If you’re the CEO of a multi-billion dollar enterprise in the Silicon Valley, you dress differently then if you’re the owner and operator of a small local CPA firm. Many who dine at the finest restaurants never don a necktie and many times never a coat. Proms often have a dress code – a dress code of clothing that wouldn’t be appropriate at Mass.

The most absurd part is insisting that if one doesn’t wear a suit and tie (or at least a sports coat, slacks and a tie) then somehow they aren’t dressed like a man or that wearing such garb is even preferable to other garb.
 
triumphguy said:
You can conclude what you like, but what I’m concluding is that in my own personal experience dressing up for work did not equate to dressing to receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I actually felt like I was dishonoring Christ by dressing in my financial monkey suit.

Your mileage may vary.

You call it dressing down, I call it choosing not to wear a certain uniform.
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You’re absolutely right. I do wear a suit and tie to work and it’s just that. A uniform. How is my uniform somehow more dignified with respect to attending Mass than the plumbers’ coveralls, a student’s jeans or a teachers’ khakis? Because secular society says so? No way!
 
edwest2 said:
I lived through the last 40 + years. I clearly recall how men and women dressed for Mass. We always wore our Sunday Best because, yes, we knew we were going to be present before God. But that desire to dress in a presentable way was preserved outside of Church. Not fancy dress, but appropriate dress.

Radicals and dissidents inside and outside the Church introduced disrespectful and inappropriate music that did not elevate a person to the divine. This pop culture was introduced by those who wanted to change what was sacred and reverent to something that did not inspire worship. This started in the late 1960s and 1970s. Bad catechesis was a result of these dissidents scattering the flock, causing confusion, and putting the emphasis away from God and His word to create innovations that were wrong. The dissidents captured the media. The fashion elite captured the media. Where once the United States could call itself a Christian country, various highly coordinated groups wanted the exact opposite. This was gradual and decade by decade, eroded a respect for everything, including God.

Today, I go to the store and see people dressed as if they just got out of bed.

Men must dress in a presentable way. A suit, tie, simple shirt and appropriate shoes. The House of God requires our best - not necessarily expensive - clothes. We are going to worship God. We must reject the “anything goes” media culture that has elevated ‘radical individualism’ and replaced traditional practices with vagueness. Other changes in the media culture contributed and still contribute to this. Self-respect, respect for others and human dignity have been called useless or old-fashioned, or, “Leave me alone. I’ll do what I want.”

My brothers in Christ. If we want Catholic communities that contain dignity, respect and appropriate behavior, we need to be outward signs of these things.

Thank you to the OP.

Ed
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Says who? Popular culture? You? The Church certainly makes no such demand. The ridiculous part is that you’re defining a specific uniform as being “presentable.” Not only is your definition of “presentable” arbitrary, there are a zillion other definitions with the exact same amount of credibility.

Just what makes “a suit, tie, simple shirt and appropriate shoes” so darned special?
 
I recently retired. For me dressing up is khakis and a polo shirt compared to what I wear around home.

We have an expression in French: l’habit ne fait pas le moine which roughly translates to “a habit does not a monk make”.

Nobody should presume to know a person’s love of Christ based on what they wear!
 
I was thinking about some of the ushers at my “traditionalist” parish. Most wear suits, all wear ties. Almost all look embarrassing.

I see old suit jackets with new, non-matching trousers, short sleeve “dress shirts” with neckties, neckties that are either 6 inches wide or an inch wide, 2-3 lapel pins, white socks with dress shoes, white leaterette belts, etc. The Full Cleveland.

They dress with poor enough taste that they can actually turn off visitors. They look odd. Yet somehow magically, because they have a suit and tie on, they are golden. They are paying God the respect He deserves. Such utter nonsense.
 
I dress up. Dress pants and dress shirt. Ironed, stain free and always clean.
This isn’t just put on nice pants and a nice shirt. I wear these the way they should be, tucked in, with a belt that isn’t “loud and proud.”

Why dress up?

The Mass, and Sunday, (to a lesser extent) are an important part of our weak. They are the days we are fed and nourished by the Eucharist. We ought to make the Lord’s day a special one.

Dressing up isn’t a status thing, its demonstrating that you treasure the Mass, and that God is worthy of good, smart appearances.

That said, if you don’t have the smartest clothes, your version of “Sunday best” won’t raise any judgement from me. You do what you want.
 
CuriousMike said:
I dress up. Dress pants and dress shirt. Ironed, stain free and always clean.
This isn’t just put on nice pants and a nice shirt. I wear these the way they should be, tucked in, with a belt that isn’t “loud and proud.”

Why dress up?

The Mass, and Sunday, (to a lesser extent) are an important part of our weak. They are the days we are fed and nourished by the Eucharist. We ought to make the Lord’s day a special one.

Dressing up isn’t a status thing, its demonstrating that you treasure the Mass, and that God is worthy of good, smart appearances.

That said, if you don’t have the smartest clothes, your version of “Sunday best” won’t raise any judgement from me. You do what you want.
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Many shirts are designed not to be tucked in – as is the style today. They can look every bit as dressed up as a tucked in shirt.

You still face the problem of trying to define what “dressing up” is. It differs for everyone.
 
Like, I didn’t read all 9 pages. However, unless someone comes in looking like a hoochie or in a suit that looks like an Easter egg, I don’t really pay any attention. Maybe jeans are the only thing a person can afford. Maybe those ratty shoes that looks terrible are the only ones that person has and they wear them to work at an auto mechanic shop too.

I have always dressed nice for Mass, I dressed nice when I was a protestant, as well. Sometimes I wear a dress, sometimes it is dress pants (sometimes a girl just doesn’t want to shave:D;))

I am now in the medical field, just started last week, so I didn’t have to worry about this Mass. Most weekends I will work. My next weekend off is the last weekend this month. Can’t go to the Vigil because I need my sleep, so I will be going to the early morning Mass on Sundays. I will show up in my scrubs and tennis shoes. Let someone say something to me. I just came off of a long shift and I don’t have time for people to be snotty. :dts: And people who think snotty things will have to deal with God.
 
Draper said:
The most absurd part is insisting that if one doesn’t wear a suit and tie (or at least a sports coat, slacks and a tie) then somehow they aren’t dressed like a man or that wearing such garb is even preferable to other garb.
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While that is truly absurd, I think the most absurd part is claiming that a man who doesn’t wear a suit & tie is irreverent and lazy.

Actually, that is so far out there that the word “absurd” is totally inadequate.
 
eightydeuce82 said:
I already did in post #30
I am one of two people at my parish that receives the Eucharist kneeling and on the tong…this is our preference not to make a show of it but to encourage people to take this more seriously and you are receiving the Lord. Many more have followed and have said that doing so has increased their faith and belief in the Eucharist.
*
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This is so interesting — for me, receiving on the tongue is far less reverent than receiving in the hand. So, your example would have the opposite effect on me.
 
CuriousMike said:
Dressing up isn’t a status thing, its demonstrating that you treasure the Mass, and that God is worthy of good, smart appearances.
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For some, this is true, and they dress up. For others, this is not the case. For me, dress has nothing at all to do with my love of God and the Divine Liturgy.
 
AnnArbor said:
This is so interesting — for me, receiving on the tongue is far less reverent than receiving in the hand. So, your example would have the opposite effect on me.
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This is relativistic. It is objective truth that receiving on the tongue is more reverent. If you had gone to a Mass celebrated by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and received the Eucharist you would have had to do so kneeling and on the tongue. This, because he wanted greater faith and reverence of His Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

God Love you
 
TheSurvivor said:
This is relativistic. It is objective truth that receiving on the tongue is more reverent. If you had gone to a Mass celebrated by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and received the Eucharist you would have had to do so kneeling and on the tongue. This, because he wanted greater faith and reverence of His Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

God Love you
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No, reverence springs from the heart. For me, communion on the tongue absolutely is not more reverent.

And if you had gone to a Mass celebrated by St. Pope John Paul II, you might have received standing and in the hand.

traditioninaction.org/RevolutionPhotos/A324rcCommunionHand.html

http://www.traditioninaction.org/RevolutionPhotos/A324rcCommunionHand.html
 
Draper said:
What do you mean “dress for work, for business, for fine dining, for weddings, for proms”? If you’re a plumber you dress differently than a lawyer who has to be in court. If you’re the CEO of a multi-billion dollar enterprise in the Silicon Valley, you dress differently then if you’re the owner and operator of a small local CPA firm. Many who dine at the finest restaurants never don a necktie and many times never a coat. Proms often have a dress code – a dress code of clothing that wouldn’t be appropriate at Mass.

The most absurd part is insisting that if one doesn’t wear a suit and tie (or at least a sports coat, slacks and a tie) then somehow they aren’t dressed like a man or that wearing such garb is even preferable to other garb.
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I never mentioned a suit and tie. I never wear a suit and tie anywhere. But I do dress better for Mass than I do lounging around the house. I didn’t realize the thread was about suits and ties. I thought it was just about dressing appropriately for Mass. And in your response above you do seem to agree that there is some attire that is not appropriate for Mass.
 
Tallguy88 said:
QUOTE REMOVED
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This looks like the old Girm. The new one, I believe, says nothing about “providing the faithful with proper catechesis on the reasons.” What these reasons could have been, I can not imagine. The norm and preferred method in the universal Latin Rite is kneeling and on the tongue.
 
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