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The way we dress can communicate many aspects of our personality. A truly human fashion can “help express the true beauty of the human person. Everything that is authentically beautiful is a reflection of the beauty of God.”
Referring to baptism, Saint Paul says that we have been regenerated through water so that we might “live in newness of life.”[1]. To live according to the Gospel means letting the light of faith renew the way we view our surroundings and making our highest honor – that of being children of God – the deciding factor in our personal choices. We discover that everything matters to Our Father God, whether big or small, and that the faith affects all the dimensions of our life. Through love, it is possible to give a Christian tone to every facet of our existence and reflect the novelty and beauty of living the truth of faith, even in the most material aspects of life, such as how we choose to dress and present ourselves.
Faith and the splendor of the human body
Without trying to exhaust the topic, we will consider some of the functions and the significance of clothing. What comes to mind right away is its most basic function: protection from the elements and other external agents. However, clothing possesses something beyond its utilitarian purpose, because it is also a way of expressing our own personality. Our personal style marks the first image that we project to others and will probably form part of the memory that they will retain of us, even if the encounter is brief. This also explains why clothing plays a social function, and why it’s common to specify uniforms and proper outfits for festive occasions or events, to follow certain norms of attire, etc., as we see in the “dress codes” for different social situations (work, celebrations, sport, etc.).
On the other hand, clothing is a great help for protecting one’s intimacy. The way in which people dress, the cut of their clothes, the style of their accessories, are all ways of manifesting the accents of one’s personality, and directing attention towards the more truly human aspects of a person. In this sense, a good outfit thus helps to respect one’s own freedom without exposing intimacy to prying eyes, since to contemplate something is, to some extent, to posses it.
The faith completes and elevates these reasons, through what it teaches us about the dignity of the human body. The body is, in some way, the visible manifestation of a person’s soul, and therefore also reflects the image of God.[2] It is called to be a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. “The temple of God, which you are, is holy,” says St Paul.[3] Recently, Pope Francis reminded us how a correct valuing of the human body allows us to enter into a harmonious relation with the rest of creation. "The acceptance of our bodies as God’s gift is vital for welcoming and accepting the entire world as a gift from the Father and our common home, whereas thinking that we enjoy absolute power over our own bodies turns, often subtly, into thinking that we enjoy absolute power over creation.
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Peace.
Referring to baptism, Saint Paul says that we have been regenerated through water so that we might “live in newness of life.”[1]. To live according to the Gospel means letting the light of faith renew the way we view our surroundings and making our highest honor – that of being children of God – the deciding factor in our personal choices. We discover that everything matters to Our Father God, whether big or small, and that the faith affects all the dimensions of our life. Through love, it is possible to give a Christian tone to every facet of our existence and reflect the novelty and beauty of living the truth of faith, even in the most material aspects of life, such as how we choose to dress and present ourselves.
Faith and the splendor of the human body
Without trying to exhaust the topic, we will consider some of the functions and the significance of clothing. What comes to mind right away is its most basic function: protection from the elements and other external agents. However, clothing possesses something beyond its utilitarian purpose, because it is also a way of expressing our own personality. Our personal style marks the first image that we project to others and will probably form part of the memory that they will retain of us, even if the encounter is brief. This also explains why clothing plays a social function, and why it’s common to specify uniforms and proper outfits for festive occasions or events, to follow certain norms of attire, etc., as we see in the “dress codes” for different social situations (work, celebrations, sport, etc.).
On the other hand, clothing is a great help for protecting one’s intimacy. The way in which people dress, the cut of their clothes, the style of their accessories, are all ways of manifesting the accents of one’s personality, and directing attention towards the more truly human aspects of a person. In this sense, a good outfit thus helps to respect one’s own freedom without exposing intimacy to prying eyes, since to contemplate something is, to some extent, to posses it.
The faith completes and elevates these reasons, through what it teaches us about the dignity of the human body. The body is, in some way, the visible manifestation of a person’s soul, and therefore also reflects the image of God.[2] It is called to be a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. “The temple of God, which you are, is holy,” says St Paul.[3] Recently, Pope Francis reminded us how a correct valuing of the human body allows us to enter into a harmonious relation with the rest of creation. "The acceptance of our bodies as God’s gift is vital for welcoming and accepting the entire world as a gift from the Father and our common home, whereas thinking that we enjoy absolute power over our own bodies turns, often subtly, into thinking that we enjoy absolute power over creation.
Article continues within link
Peace.
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