Have we become too casual in our approach to the Mass?

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I would challenge anyone to wear flip flops, jeans, and a tshirt to mass for one month and follow it with a suit for one month and come back and give your opinion about what you find

Quote from GK Chesterton: “unless we live as we believe, we’ll end up believing as we live.”
 
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LisaB said:
It’s important to remember that your Sunday schedule should be planned around Mass, rather than squeezing Mass in between soccer games and other activities.
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I think you’re seeing glass-half-empty, and I’m seeing glass-half-full. Despite a profoundly busy schedule, which many people use as an excuse to ditch church altogether, a family has prioritized taking time out to be with God and His Eucharist.

As to your wedding example, a wedding is a Sacrament, which would set it apart from other Masses. Children receiving their First Communion don’t wear soccer uniforms, either.

I have no doubt that in Christ’s day through the Middle Ages, people were showing up in rags to worship. The article in the OP - which I suspect a lot of people haven’t read - addresses a casualness of heart, not a casualness of dress. Clothes may or may not represent somebody’s mindset toward the Mass. But where I’m not a mind-reader and unable to judge either way, I prefer a custody-of-the-eyes approach toward other Mass-goers.
 
Undoubtedly people in Christ’s day through the Middle Ages were showing up in rags to worship. Probably 90% of the population (or more) lived in complete poverty and only had rags. But now we buy our jeans with holes pre-made for us!
 
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blackforest said:
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LisaB:
It’s important to remember that your Sunday schedule should be planned around Mass, rather than squeezing Mass in between soccer games and other activities.
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I think you’re seeing glass-half-empty, and I’m seeing glass-half-full. Despite a profoundly busy schedule, which many people use as an excuse to ditch church altogether, a family has prioritized taking time out to be with God and His Eucharist.

As to your wedding example, a wedding is a Sacrament, which would set it apart from other Masses. Children receiving their First Communion don’t wear soccer uniforms, either.

I have no doubt that in Christ’s day through the Middle Ages, people were showing up in rags to worship. The article in the OP - which I suspect a lot of people haven’t read - addresses a casualness of heart, not a casualness of dress. Clothes may or may not represent somebody’s mindset toward the Mass. But where I’m not a mind-reader and unable to judge either way, I prefer a custody-of-the-eyes approach toward other Mass-goers.
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Ummm…the Eucharist is a sacrament as well…THE sacrament.
 
Point well taken, but do you wear a tux or wedding gown to receive the Eucharist every Sunday? (Not sure if you’re male or female . . . )
 
blackforest said:
Point well taken, but do you wear a tux or wedding gown to receive the Eucharist every Sunday? (Not sure if you’re male or female . . . )
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IF it was my first communion I would.
I thought the discussion was the way people dress that are attending a wedding…not those getting married.
Even at secular weddings you will see many wear a suit and tie.
 
Aaargh. Why would people wear evening clothes (tuxedo) to Mass? 🤣 How about just daytime formal wear. Or even business casual would be an upgrade over jeans…
 
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Loud-living-dogma said:
Aaargh. Why would people wear evening clothes (tuxedo) to Mass? 🤣 How about just daytime formal wear. Or even business casual would be an upgrade over jeans…
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You may think I’m defending my 1997-gashed jeans. (If only I still had my 1997 figure. :crazy_face:) But I actually choose to dress up for Mass. I just don’t care what other people wear.
 
  1. We have the inherent human tendency to look left and right rather than up to the perfection of God. This trait has caused many to lose their faith.
  2. Truth is lost in the argument when we judge it by the behavior of those who claim to believe it.
  3. As to your question, Fr. Benendict Groeschel† asked “Why don’t you crawl to receive the Eucharist?”
  4. A repetitive miracle loses its luster if we fail to ponder it anew.
 
My parish is on the beach, in a very touristy area. It’s normal to to see people on vacation and in shorts or t-shirts either headed to the beach or coming from the beach. I’ve seen bikers, both motorcycle and bicycles, sitting next to me in leather or spandex. I’ve seen suits and dresses, veils and hats and even the homeless but I have never once questioned their dedication to God.
 
Loud-living-dogma said:
Also, just because society has changed to become much more informal since the 1960s, aren’t we as Christians not supposed to just blindly follow our crummy culture?
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Well yes that’s true, unless following culture gives us an excuse to do whatever we want and then accuse others of judging us for it while at the same time judging them for pointing out we shouldn’t be following culture. Clear as mud?
 
Loud-living-dogma said:
Aaargh. Why would people wear evening clothes (tuxedo) to Mass? 🤣 How about just daytime formal wear. Or even business casual would be an upgrade over jeans…
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Because people can’t debate without using logical fallacies i.e. appealing to extremes. Saying someone should dress beyond a tee shirt and jeans means wearing a TUXEDO apparently.
 
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For what it’s worth, the first time I ever attended Mass before I became Catholic (it was a Sunday Mass at a regular parish), I was struck by how beautiful it was to see people voluntarily kneeling to pray before Mass. A rather ordinary thing that we are used to seeing as Catholics, but it was not done in the Protestant denominations where I came from, and it made an impression on me. There were a few people there, too, whose attitude and dress implied that they perhaps did not have a good understanding of what was taking place, although I did not dwell on that. But the fact that I saw a number of people with a simple but beautiful faith and reverence stayed with me.
 
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Yes I remember being struck by this too before I was Catholic.
 
I guess my question is whether you feel the parishioners in your church are not reverent enough for you. It sounds as if your difficulty lies in not really believing your own answer.

If what you really think is this–and this is the sense I’m getting, so forgive me if I’m off base–then say it: "Well, I wonder that sometimes myself, because I think that formality shows respect, too, and obviously God is deserving of more respect than anything or anyone else. If formality is a sign of respect, this isn’t the most respectful place in the Church. Considering how much mercy I need for my own failures and blind spots, though, I try not to judge. The Lord said the measure we measure with will be measured back to us, and frankly I know I’m going to need a good big measure when the time comes. I can’t read anybody else’s mind or heart, so I have to admit I have no idea how much respect anyone here feels for the Mass. They may be much more devoted to God than I am, but I am too blind to see it.
“But yes, I feel more edified when I go to Mass at a parish where people feel a need to be more formal. We’re talking about both the God who made everything in the universe and the God who is nearer to us than we are to ourselves. What’s the right amount of formality for that? I think I know but I know I’m forbidden from giving an answer for anyone else. I try to do as God commmands, and that is to judge only myself. The next time we go to Mass, though, I’ll try to find you a church that is more formal. There are a billion Catholics, and the range of how Catholics approach the Holy Mass is very broad. You sound as if a traditional Latin Mass would be more in line with what you expect and would help you feel more as if you could more see how the people respect God. It is a little more difficult to understand for an outsider, but it is definitely more formal. I’ll try to find that for you next time.”
Then do that. If formality is what they need for the Catholic faith to speak to them, find that for them. It is out there. Give them that chance to see the truth they’re looking for, because it sounds as if they really are looking. Who are we to judge what they need when they approach the Holy Mass? Help them find what they need!
 
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Don’t you see? Protestants are just using the “dress up” argument as an excuse to dismiss Catholicism.

I was Evangelical Protestant for 47 years before converting to Catholicism, and so was my husband (he was raised Pentecostal).

Protestants also criticize each other all the time for various practices such as how everyone dresses for church. I grew up hearing people say things like, “If he really loves Jesus so much, he wouldn’t come into our church with that long hair.” Or “If she’s really a Christian, she wouldn’t wear a such a short skirt.”

In the church I grew up in, drinking alcohol was absolutely forbidden, and it was even in our church’s Statement of Faith–“No consumption of alcohol, or wearing of apparel with references to alcohol, or items in the home that have associations with alcohol.” If someone was spotted drinking alcohol, they would receive a visit from a church deacon or elder or even the pastor, and if they didn’t pledge to give it up, they were treated as though they were not Christians.

So don’t worry about Protestants judging Catholicism by our lack of fancy dress. They’re just finding an excuse to evangelize Catholics into “true Christianity”–accepting Jesus into your heart as your personal LORD and Savior.
 
OKComputer said:
I’m just glad people are showing up for mass in the first place. We can work on behavior later.
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And yet… We know that the majority of people who are “showing up” for Mass don’t believe in the Real Presence and they receive Him without confessing mortal sins, which in itself is a mortal sin. Tough to applaud that.
 
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