How would you feel if priests wore jeans & t-shirts to celebrate Mass in church?

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GloriaPatri4

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How would you feel about Catholic priests wearing jeans or shorts, t-shirts and flip flops to celebrate Mass instead of vestments? And no, I don’t mean a priest celebrating Mass on a camping trip and he’s forgotten his vestments, I mean in church.

**After reading the responses in this thread **Do you ever wear blue jeans to Sunday Mass? and recalling the responses of the many other threads on this subject I wondered how people would feel if they showed up to Mass on Sunday to see the celebrating priest in jeans and a t-shirt (no vestments) and in place of the Sacred Vessels were paper cups and napkins.

People can come up with so many excuses as to why they don’t dress up for church.

Here is a list of some of the excuses:

1. I don’t have the money for a nice outfit (but yet some of these people have the money for a computer to visit Catholic Answers on).

2. I don’t like dressing up.

3. The Lord loves me just the way I am.

4. It’s what’s inside that counts.

5. I’m dressed modestly, I’m not exposing anything that’s all that matters.

6. You should just be happy I come to church.

Feel free to add excuses that you may have heard

**Nothing is too good for the Lord of heaven and earth. **
 
Not wearing vestments or using inappropriate vessels are both serious liturgical abuses. If you are trying to compare that with lay people wearing jeans I don’t believe those are even close. People attending Mass should dress nicely, but lay people wearing jeans is not comparable to what you mentioned.

God Bless,
Matt
 
We have one of the most Historically Catholic parishes in the USA. We have even been mentioned on EWTN for the amount of Altar BOYS that we have.

Yet, we had a very Holy Priest (now moved to be Pastor of a parish in Toronto) who came to distribute the Eucharist in Sandals with socks. I’m not sure that I look at the Priest in the same way that I look at the parishioners. Understanding that the Rectory is attached to the church, Father wearing sandals to scoot in never seemed like a big deal to me. Honestly, we are just very blessed to receive by intinction so no biggie to have Father not put on dress shoes to help us out.

I do still believe that one’s “best” is in their hearts. I will dress to see “Christ Our King”. If I were so poor that I could afford one outfit, and it was just jeans, He would know that.
If I have a dress for any other time (except if that dress is a wedding or ultra formal) and do not wear it, He knows that too.

I would not want to take this so far as to say that I must wear my wedding dress to Mass cause that’s all I have!
 
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marty1818:
Not wearing vestments or using inappropriate vessels are both serious liturgical abuses. If you are trying to compare that with lay people wearing jeans I don’t believe those are even close. People attending Mass should dress nicely, but lay people wearing jeans is not comparable to what you mentioned.

God Bless,
Matt
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Matt,

I am aware that not wearing vestments or using inappropriate vessals are liturgical abuses. I’m trying to make a point with this thread even if I’m doing a poor job of it.

Just for the record I have on rare occasions seen men in nice Dockers jeans with their polo shirts or oxford shirts tucked in unfortunately, most of the time when I see people wearing jeans the jeans are old, baggy or too tight (the women and teenage girls) holy or frayed.

If nothing is too good for our Lord then why stop at beautiful vestments and Sacred Vessels I think it should be throughout the church. Why is it that people can dress up for weddings, funerals, dinner, cocktail parties and even get dressed up for their nine to five job but they can’t get dressed up for the man who died on the cross for their sins?

God bless you
 
netmil(name removed by moderator):
Yet, we had a very Holy Priest (now moved to be Pastor of a parish in Toronto) who came to distribute the Eucharist in Sandals with socks. I’m not sure that I look at the Priest in the same way that I look at the parishioners. Understanding that the Rectory is attached to the church, Father wearing sandals to scoot in never seemed like a big deal to me. Honestly, we are just very blessed to receive by intinction so no biggie to have Father not put on dress shoes to help us out.
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I too have seen priests wear sandals with socks and I agree no biggie. Wasn’t it the Francisans who traditionally wore sandals? What I’m talking about is opened toed flipflops and no, I’ve never personally seen a priest wearing them. One of the points of this thread is if the priests dress up for Mass then why shouldn’t we.

I guess I just really miss the days when going to church was a special occasion. When I was a little girl the whole family got dressed up for church. Dresses, gloves, hats, suits, ties. Why is it that the Church that believes in the REAL PRESENCE is the one where the people dress the most casually (at least here in California)?
 
netmil(name removed by moderator):
I do still believe that one’s “best” is in their hearts. I will dress to see “Christ Our King”. If I were so poor that I could afford one outfit, and it was just jeans, He would know that.
If I have a dress for any other time (except if that dress is a wedding or ultra formal) and do not wear it, He knows that too.

I would not want to take this so far as to say that I must wear my wedding dress to Mass cause that’s all I have!
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Very well said. There are those of us who do have a hard time getting by and a pair of dress pants and shirt are somewhat of a luxury. I have one pair of dress pants I wear for special occasions such as funerals, weddings, etc. If I wore them every week to church, they would wear out more quickly. Am I broke? No. But my wife and I chose to donate a substantial amount (for us) to worthy causes, last years biggest was to Catholic Charities for Katrina relief. That makes things tight as we are not rich either. So I wear nice, clean, neat blue jeans to church. I would rather help others in need than dress more elegantly for church. I believe that Jesus looks at my heart, not so much the clothing. I dress with respect for the Lord and His house, but I don’t have fancy clothes. I always think of what Jesus said which was to the effect of “Whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me.” That is where my financial efforts go.

God Bless,

Ron
 
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GloriaPatri4:
I too have seen priests wear sandals with socks and I agree no biggie. Wasn’t it the Francisans who traditionally wore sandals? What I’m talking about is opened toed flipflops and no, I’ve never personally seen a priest wearing them. One of the points of this thread is if the priests dress up for Mass then why shouldn’t we.

I guess I just really miss the days when going to church was a special occasion. When I was a little girl the whole family got dressed up for church. Dresses, gloves, hats, suits, ties. Why is it that the Church that believes in the REAL PRESENCE is the one where the people dress the most casually (at least here in California)?
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I don’t know where you’re from, but have you stopped to think that many places in the US are not only poor, but culturally different than the East Coast & Great Lakes regions? NO ONE wears what you described where I live. There are very few people who are willing to wear a dress when its -5F outside. We wear our coats during the whole Mass. We have the ‘Alaskan Tuxedo’ up here, a full set of Carhartt work clothes. We’re working class, and proud of it. I dare say that Jesus was more familiar with working men than with the upper crust of society…something about Peter being a fisherman perhaps? Any clothing that is intentionall ‘sexy’ has no business being at the church, no matter what ‘style’ of clothing it is. Like I said before, I wear my best jeans, and my best shirt. Both from Walmart. If you have a problem with that, get over yourself.

Oh, and I’m sure that many of us on this site post from our ‘work’ computers. Owning a PC for your family is something that is necessary nowadays…kids have homework, parents have work that comes home with them. Besides, many PC’s cost less than a suit…
 
I voted that I really wouldn’t mind as long as he wore his Vestments and since you didn’t say he wouldn’t be, then, well, there it is.

As a child we had a Priest (a Base Chaplain) who would stop in at our house after a day of fishing on his day off in cutoff jeans, a t-shirt and sneakers without socks - this was over 40 years ago too. He would knock on the door, open it and holler that it was him, go to the fridge and help himself to a beer and join us in whatever activity we as family were doing. This same Priest was known to wear jeans and t-shirt under his Vestments to say Mass - all of this, was pre-Vat. 2. Oh, and the days he did this we were still dressed in our best dresses with little white ruffly socks and white gloves, hat or chapel veil and my mom dressed the same except with nylons instead of the white ruffly socks and my dad had on a suit.

The chances of me seeing one of our Priests do something like this in my Parish today is very unlikely. Our Vicar was ordained in the aftermath of Vat. 2 and it’s “spirit”, he finds his clerics very important. The Associate Pastors are newly ordained (in the last ten years or so) and also find their Clerics very important. All wondefully consider them a badge of honor.

Oh, and if any of you used to read “Catholic Digest” and the St. Columbkille (sp?) stories, my faulty memory seems to remember a story of two of the brothers in the story serving with the “old” Priest and it was the hottest most humid day so the Priest wore nothing except his underclothes under his Vestments (of course, I might be remembering the source all wrong here).

Brenda V.
 
It’s a moot question; the priest is to be vested for Mass. What he wears under those is his own business. One always undercuts one’s own position when in trying to make a point, some extreme or impossible situation is used.
 
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LighthouseRon:
Very well said. There are those of us who do have a hard time getting by and a pair of dress pants and shirt are somewhat of a luxury. I have one pair of dress pants I wear for special occasions such as funerals, weddings, etc. If I wore them every week to church, they would wear out more quickly. Am I broke? No. But my wife and I chose to donate a substantial amount (for us) to worthy causes, last years biggest was to Catholic Charities for Katrina relief. That makes things tight as we are not rich either. So I wear nice, clean, neat blue jeans to church. I would rather help others in need than dress more elegantly for church. I believe that Jesus looks at my heart, not so much the clothing. I dress with respect for the Lord and His house, but I don’t have fancy clothes. I always think of what Jesus said which was to the effect of “Whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me.” That is where my financial efforts go.

God Bless,

Ron
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That’s what has been traditionally called choosing a “simple lifestyle”. God bless you richly for it!

I have to agree with Ron, Sofia and Brenda, and anybody else who said he’s wearing vestments anyway.

My priest normally wears clerics with black “Reebok” style tie shoes (not actual Reeboks- too pricey for him). The only time he does not is when he’s been exercising (gym sweats) and doing stuff like gardening or working at the local homeless shelter (jeans and t-shirt, because he works in the kitchen along with everybody else, and the clerics show every little nasty drip and stain, even with an apron). SOOO, even if I saw him at Mass in blue jeans, I would think he’d been over to the homeless shelter and didn’t have time to change.
 
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Isidore_AK:
I don’t know where you’re from, but have you stopped to think that many places in the US are not only poor, but culturally different than the East Coast & Great Lakes regions? NO ONE wears what you described where I live. There are very few people who are willing to wear a dress when its -5F outside. We wear our coats during the whole Mass. We have the ‘Alaskan Tuxedo’ up here, a full set of Carhartt work clothes. We’re working class, and proud of it. I dare say that Jesus was more familiar with working men than with the upper crust of society…something about Peter being a fisherman perhaps? Any clothing that is intentionall ‘sexy’ has no business being at the church, no matter what ‘style’ of clothing it is. Like I said before, I wear my best jeans, and my best shirt. Both from Walmart. If you have a problem with that, get over yourself.
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I grew up in a working class family (my father a farmer and then later worked in construction) my mother was a homemaker. We are working class. We always managed to dress nice for church. My dad had one suit and a couple of dress shirts my mom had four nice dresses that she made herself. Our mother or grandmother made our clothes as well until the time it got cheaper to buy clothes than to make them. When I was little I had one nice Sunday dress and a pair of shoes and everyone was in the same boat.

I think you’re missing the point of this thread. If your best jeans and your best shirt from Walmart (I do 90%of my clothes shopping there too) are the best you’ve got then GREAT wear them! Not everyone in Southern California is rich.
 
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LighthouseRon:
Very well said. There are those of us who do have a hard time getting by and a pair of dress pants and shirt are somewhat of a luxury. I have one pair of dress pants I wear for special occasions such as funerals, weddings, etc. If I wore them every week to church, they would wear out more quickly. Am I broke? No. But my wife and I chose to donate a substantial amount (for us) to worthy causes, last years biggest was to Catholic Charities for Katrina relief. That makes things tight as we are not rich either. So I wear nice, clean, neat blue jeans to church. I would rather help others in need than dress more elegantly for church. I believe that Jesus looks at my heart, not so much the clothing. I dress with respect for the Lord and His house, but I don’t have fancy clothes. I always think of what Jesus said which was to the effect of “Whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me.” That is where my financial efforts go.

God Bless,

Ron
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Ron,

It’s great that you donated so much money to catholic charities, and I commend you for it, but come on. “Fancy clothes”? Khaki’s and a white button down shirt are fancy? Or a pullover polo shirt? These item are available at Walmart for around $12 a piece.

No one is suggesting anyone wear anything “fancy”. You don’t have to go out and rent a tux. Just don’t weat anything you’d garden in. Or go to a cookout in. Or go to a bar in. Show reverence and gratitude to the Lord for all the good things he has done for you, show him outwardly as well as inwardly.

This is a very sad age indeed, however, God is never changing, so why is traditional catholic thought changing? I’m only 36, and when I was young no one would think of going to the HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS in jeans. I don’t think some people truly undersatnd what is happening on the altar. Or they don’t care.

S
 
When we go to Mass we should dress in a respectful,
perhaps even slightly subdued
manner, wearing the best we have for God.

Dress at Mass
By Jonathan S. Toborowsky

Moreover the Catechism recognizes the need for outward signs of our inward understanding of just what is happening at Mass. “Bodily demeanor (gestures, clothing) ought to convey the respect, solemnity, and joy of this moment when Christ becomes our guest” (CCC #1387). Jesus Christ himself, not a symbol, not a reminder, but the man himself, becomes substantially present in the Eucharistic host. Each time we receive Communion, our hearts should be echoing the words of the Apostle John as he recognized the risen Christ on the seashore: “It is the Lord!” Truly it is the Lord who comes to dwell within us; how can that moment cause anything but an attitude of reverence and awe? A nineteenth-century Anglican clergyman, Gerard Moultrie, once translated a Byzantine liturgical hymn from the 400s which was sung during the Divine Liturgy at the presentation of the gifts. In what could be called a musical/ecumenical move, he combined the words of a Byzantine-rite hymn with the music of a Latin-rite hymn, and we are forever indebted to him for this powerful anthem. Fr. George Rutler, writing in his 1998 work, Brightest and Best—Stories of Hymns (available from Ignatius Press), calls this hymn “a sublime antidote to the lamentable musical trivia that has so mutilated the psychology of Catholic worship as it is ordinarily encountered.” This truly is the mystery of faith:

please continue reading: catholic.net/rcc/Periodi…toborowsky.html
 
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GloriaPatri4:
Why is it that people can dress up for weddings, funerals, dinner, cocktail parties and even get dressed up for their nine to five job but they can’t get dressed up for the man who died on the cross for their sins?

God bless you
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**Very simply it is because Jesus knows us in our hearts and souls. **

**He cares about how much we love Him and our brothers and sisters. **

He would care if we dressed in a way to intentionally show disrespect, but I doubt he is bothered more by the people dressed modestly but casually for Mass than He is by those who intentionally show disrespect towards Him and His flock in so many other ways.
**When we dress “up” for weddings, funerals, jobs, parties etc, where is our focus? We are trying to impress our fellow humans. Sometimes we are competing with them. Sometimes we are following orders (like at work) and sometimes we are showing off. Most of the time it has nothing to do with reverence or respect. **
I don’t know about you, but when I am around people who I am truly comfortable with (like family) it doesn’t matter if I wear jeans or a fancy dress. They love me for me, not what I appear to be. Why shouldn’t it be the same with Jesus who knows us and loves us even more?
malia
 
sighs Must the rest of the US continually fend off the threat of being borged by Northeastern culture? Everyone just needs to relax on this point, or confine this argument to your specific parish where the things you say will be relevant. People should wear whatever is the norm in their area, always being modest. Any specific “rule” (i.e, no jeans) is the projecting of local culture onto the rest of the world and expecting what, frankly, I believe to be slavishly anachronistic compliance to mid-20th century Protestant dress codes. Any reading of support for such ideas into the CCC is simply imaginative.

Did we really need a separate thread where the same articles will be linked?
 
Why does it matter what the “local styles” are as to what we should wear for Mass? Unless it is absolutely fridged or unbearably hot, I don’t think that it is unreasonable to demand that Catholics wear something dressier for Sunday Mass (at the very least). Even in the heat or cold-offer it up. That is something I rarely hear nowaday, to “offer it up”…I can wear khakis and a long sleaved dress shirt and tie (or sometimes a short sleaved polo-I don’t like short sleaves and ties together) when it is 100 degrees outside and haven’t died yet. It is really not that bad.

Also, the “Jesus knows what your intentions are” may very well be true, but that is just opening things up to all sorts of abuse.

At the Vatican I know they have a dress code, I think we should at least do that good. Decent jeans at the least, but modesty trumps all. The worst thing to wear to church is something unmodest.
 
Feanaro’s Wife said:
** Why shouldn’t it be the same with Jesus who knows us and loves us even more?**
Click to expand...

If you went to see the Pope would you feel the same way?
You are making assumptions about Jesus.
The King of Kings wants and deserves the best we have. If it’s jeans, He knows it. If it’s that itchy dress that you hate to wear, He knows that too.

That is the point.
 
I don’t know what happened to my previous post. When I tried to copy and paste it left out the beginning of the article. By the time I noticed it, it was too late to edit. Here it is again from the beginning. Please try and read the whole article if you have time.
from article

When we go to Mass we should dress in a respectful,
perhaps even slightly subdued
manner, wearing the best we have for God.
Dress at Mass
By Jonathan S. Toborowsky

A small pamphlet spells out a golf course’s dress code clearly. On the course, “Men must wear shirts with a collar or turtleneck shirts,” “All shirts must be tucked in,” “All hats must be worn peak forward and outdoors only.” In the country club dining room, “Jacket and tie are required for gentlemen aged 17 and over at all times,” “Ladies must wear a dress, skirt, or slacks,” and no matter where you are, “Jeans, denim, and sweat clothes are not tolerated anywhere on the property.” Does this seem harsh? Do we look down on the country club’s rules? Do we worry about the need for the members and their guests to be comfortable whether on the course or sitting at table? Should the club’s owner just be happy that people are coming? Probably not; most likely people appreciate the atmosphere that is created when people are dressed up. They might even look forward to dressing up for dinner at the country club, as a fancy night out.

Can you imagine what would happen if we printed a similar card with guidelines of how to dress for Mass on Sunday? What if ushers enforced this “dress code” as diligently as the country club enforces their rules for dress? What sort of letters would we receive at the parish office? How many telephone calls would the Bishop’s office receive? What happens to our desire to dress up when it comes to Sunday Mass? Why is it that the only times we will dress a little nicer when going to church is for a baptism, a wedding, or a funeral? Sadly, it seems that the reasons people find to dress up on the Lord’s Day have more to do with where we are going after Mass than our attendance at the Mass itself. Perhaps our understanding of what truly takes place at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass has diminished in past years. So like any good gardener, rather than simply pulling the weed out, let’s attack the root.

So just what happens at Mass? Suppose an alien were to land on the church’s front lawn on a Saturday evening or Sunday morning and wander into the building to look around. In making his report home, he would perhaps think this gathering an opportunity to come together to exchange local gossip, read funny stories, and be entertained for forty-five minutes (less if you arrive late and leave early, but that’s a whole other article). Whole books have been written on the topic of understanding the Mass, so how can we keep it “short and sweet”? The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives a simple yet profoundly deep description in paragraph 1382:

The Mass is at the same time, and inseparably, the sacrificial memorial in which the sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated and the sacred banquet of communion with the Lord’s body and blood. But the celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice is wholly directed toward the intimate union of the faithful with Christ through communion. To receive communion is to receive Christ himself who offered himself for us.

Moreover the Catechism recognizes the need for outward signs of our inward understanding of just what is happening at Mass. “Bodily demeanor (gestures, clothing) ought to convey the respect, solemnity, and joy of this moment when Christ becomes our guest” (CCC #1387). Jesus Christ himself, not a symbol, not a reminder, but the man himself, becomes substantially present in the Eucharistic host. Each time we receive Communion, our hearts should be echoing the words of the Apostle John as he recognized the risen Christ on the seashore: “It is the Lord!” Truly it is the Lord who comes to dwell within us; how can that moment cause anything but an attitude of reverence and awe?

please continue reading catholic.net/rcc/Periodicals/Homiletic/2000-06/toborowsky.html
 
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