Dressing reverently for mass, but not wishing to wear a suit

  • Thread starter Thread starter MJDorry
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
M

MJDorry

Guest
To me, a suit is everything that reverence is not. It is a secular, individualistic expression of one’s sartorial tastes in the pursuit of secular interests, the ultimate sign of the modern man, even though most of us have only ever known wearing a suit to mass as the appropriate thing to do. So if not a suit, what? Certainly, I can’t wear something that designates one among the clergy, such as a cassock, but on the other hand, something similar to it for the laity would certainly be a reverential kind of garb.
 
How about just dress pants, dress shirt and tie? (although there is nothing wrong with wearing a suit; men look great in them). It seems that you are overthinking this.
 
Last edited:
To that extent, I suppose you could say that God doesn’t care if you kneel. God cares about where your heart is, true, but where is your heart if you think it’s acceptable to stand before His Presence in a t-shirt and jeans? It goes both ways. The more reverent you are, the more you desire to genuflect, literally and figuratively. The mass is the true drama, so get your costume right.
 
Last edited:
I wear usually a buttoned up shirt, or at least a collared one, khakis or black slacks. VERY rarely will I wear a t-shirt to Mass. (I rarely wear t-shirts, my logic is you should always dress like you’re going to church). That said, you shouldn’t look down on people that are dressed up like that for Mass. Remember, they’re there for God himself. Nor should they look down upon you for not dressing like them. Though, I will say, that being a single male and having a woman in front of me or beside when she is wearing very revealing or tight clothes is a distraction.
 
MJDorry said:
To me, a suit is everything that reverence is not. It is a secular, individualistic expression of one’s sartorial tastes in the pursuit of secular interests, the ultimate sign of the modern man, even though most of us have only ever known wearing a suit to mass as the appropriate thing to do. So if not a suit, what? Certainly, I can’t wear something that designates one among the clergy, such as a cassock, but on the other hand, something similar to it for the laity would certainly be a reverential kind of garb.
Click to expand...
Suits, in the form we know them today, have been the standard in men’s wear since the early 20th century. What’s this “ultimate sign of the modern man?” I think you’re over-thinking this. And for that matter, not sure how “individualistic” men’s suits are. They tend to be black, grey, brown. It can be argued that suits in fact are quite non-individualistic.
 
I typically wear khakis and a polo shirt. The only time I dress up more is if I’m lectoring (then it’s dress pants and a button up shirt, no tie). I grew up in the Midwest and live in the South, if that makes a difference.
 
I’m sure God doesn’t care exactly what you wear but he does ask us to show respect for the occasion and for those around us, to dress modestly and to dress for our gender.

My husband generally wears smart trousers / shirt and a jacket but no tie.
 
MJDorry said:
To me, a suit is everything that reverence is not. It is a secular, individualistic expression of one’s sartorial tastes in the pursuit of secular interests, the ultimate sign of the modern man
Click to expand...
While you are certainly entitled to your opinion, I don’t think that is the common opinion of suits.
MJDorry said:
even though most of us have only ever known wearing a suit to mass as the appropriate thing to do.
Click to expand...
I’m not sure where you live, but suit wearing at mass is in the minority, or nonexistent, nearly everywhere I’ve ever gone to mass, and that’s in lots of places in the US and Europe.
MJDorry said:
So if not a suit, what?
Click to expand...
Pants of some type and a nice shirt, sweater, blazer, or whatever you want to wear. It’s not really that difficult. Seems like you are overthinking it.
MJDorry said:
Certainly, I can’t wear something that designates one among the clergy, such as a cassock, but on the other hand, something similar to it for the laity would certainly be a reverential kind of garb.
Click to expand...
Um, no. Not at all.
 
MJDorry said:
To me, a suit is everything that reverence is not
Click to expand...
Perhaps to you personally, but I doubt more than a very few think the same way.

There is an old American phrase: “Sunday go to meeting clothes.” Common poor folk made the effort to clean up and dress up as best they could out of respect for attending to God’s Word. They certainly were not trying to put on airs and show themselves to be important and better than others.

If you are scheduled to personally meet the Pope at the Vatican, how would you dress? Would you dress down to meet Christ in the Holy Eucharist but dress up to meet the Pope?

And yet, we are not required to wear a suit at Mass, Sundays or weekdays, and few men do these days.

Most people realize they should dress respectfully in the presence of Jesus Christ.
 
Yes he does.

But, he is speaking to a hypocrite. Not everyone is a hypocrite. Not everyone who wears a suit to Mass is a hypocrite.

We should not assume that this implies we can dress however we want.
 
I wear jeans and polo to weekday Mass. And, I dress with tie on Sunday.
 
Oh, but to some extent we all are, and the one who doesn’t admit it might just be the biggest!
 
MJDorry said:
the ultimate sign of the modern man
Click to expand...
How about this? It’s not too modern.

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

Seriously though, as others have said, dress pants and a nice shirt should be fine.
 
Last edited:
Can I get that modern outfit on Amazon?

I can fit it out with my Grandpa’s KOC sword.
 
Well, hypocrisy is relative.

Are you wearing your suit b/c you want to look important? If answer is yes, you are hypocrite.

are you wearing your suit b/c you have respect for the Mass and the events of Jesus’s life? If answer is yes, you are not a hypocrite, and your reward will be great in heaven.
 
I’m quite surprised by people’s views on dress here, I admit I grew up thinking I don’t have to dress formally for Mass like how I would dress to meet the Queen because God doesn’t care about how perfect I looked, as long it’s not culturally ‘rude’ ( no shorts, slippers, inner shirts). So most of us usually wear jeans, casual dresses, t shirts. In fact, for a lot of us, long pants are considered dressy enough (singaporeans are um…not known for fashion).

Is this a cultural thing?
 
Lea101 said:
Is this a cultural thing?
Click to expand...
The opinions you get here are not going to necessarily be representative of the type of dress you see at most parishes in the U.S. For most places, the type of dress people wear runs the gamut. I generally wear a shirt and tie with dress pants. I can’t say I pay particularly close attention to what other people are wearing. The only ones I notice that wear suits regularly are the ushers.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top