Is it acceptable to wear shorts to weekday mass?

[tafan]

I don’t know but I would ask you, “If you were going to a party for a holiday dinner and the dinner is really fine, would you wear shorts??”. Seems to me that you should show as much respect in the house of the Lord as you would at the fancy dinner of a friend.

That’s all fine and well, on the surface, but not really a good analogy. I don’t go to a holiday dinner every morning before work. I happen to work in shorts during the summer months. So, yes, daily mass is even more important than a holiday dinner, but holiday dinners are not structured such that people can fit them into their everyday life. The Church explicitly structures daily mass so that it is easily attainable to everyone. That is why it is short. That is why it is offered (or should be) at times that fit a lot of folks working schedules.

Grew up in a small Catholic rural community: knew several farmers who attended mass almost everyday, in work boots and overalls. They left mass and went straight to the fields. What is wrong with this? Nothing, its a wonderful thing.

 

[RUNE190]

Hey, you do whatever you like. I didn’t say it was wrong, what I said was, “I don’t know but if you were going to a party for a holiday dinner and the dinner was really fine, would you wear shorts?”. It was a question and how you answer it is your problem, not mine. I REALLY don’t care what YOU wear to church. I just think you ought to think about it. Somebody asked for opinions on the subject and that is mine.

 

[tafan]

Hey, you do whatever you like. I didn’t say it was wrong, what I said was, “I don’t know but if you were going to a party for a holiday dinner and the dinner was really fine, would you wear shorts?”. It was a question and how you answer it is your problem, not mine. I REALLY don’t care what YOU wear to church. I just think you ought to think about it. Somebody asked for opinions on the subject and that is mine.

no need to be quite so sensitive. Sorry if my response sounded that aggressive, I certainly did not intend it to.

 

[RUNE190]

I am not being sensitive. Just want to help you out a little. I think sometimes the reasoning to justify how you dress is distorted with ‘everybody is doing it’ which was the reasoning of our 19 year old and which precipitated my response.

 

[maryjk]

I don’t know but I would ask you, “If you were going to a party for a holiday dinner and the dinner is really fine, would you wear shorts??”. Seems to me that you should show as much respect in the house of the Lord as you would at the fancy dinner of a friend.

If someone invited me to dinner every morning at 6:30 and I left from the early AM dinner to go to work, and I worked in shorts, then yes, I would attend the daily holiday early AM dinner in shorts.

But as others have said, your analogy doesn’t make any sense.

 

[RUNE190]

Be specific, the analogy doesn’t make any sense to YOU. It was my opinion…you have yours. I am not trying to convince you otherwise. I don’t tell you your opinion doesn’t make any sense. I really don’t care what you think about my opinion. Talk to the guy who started all this, not to me. I am leaving now so you can have the last word.

 

[Memaw]

If someone invited me to dinner every morning at 6:30 and I left from the early AM dinner to go to work, and I worked in shorts, then yes, I would attend the daily holiday early AM dinner in shorts.

But as others have said, your analogy doesn’t make any sense.

Neither does yours! Whats wrong with putting a pr. of slacks on over your shorts for Mass and then removing them in the restroom or when you get to your car. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. God bless, Memaw

 

[Nacho45]

There seem to be a few who wear shorts to work. I have never worn shorts to work. Unless you are a lifeguard or something like that, why would you? I have always considered myself a professional and dressed the part.

 

[OraLabora]

There seem to be a few who wear shorts to work. I have never worn shorts to work. Unless you are a lifeguard or something like that, why would you? I have always considered myself a professional and dressed the part.

As I mentioned earlier, for postmen and women in Canada it’s part of their summer-issue uniform. Same with UPS and Fed Ex drivers around here.

 

[Memaw]

As I mentioned earlier, for postmen and women in Canada it’s part of their summer-issue uniform. Same with UPS and Fed Ex drivers around here.

Most of the mailmen I know have to start their day much earlier than Mass starts. God Bless, Memaw

 

[truetofaith]

Most of the mailmen I know have to start their day much earlier than Mass starts. God Bless, Memaw

I don’t attend daily Mass but when I was working as a Telco installer I went to Mass on a holy day of obligation at lunch break. We wore our work clothes, blue jeans & flannel shirts & I’m sure the Lord was pleased that we attended the way we were dressed, instead of missing Mass.

Sunday is different. Dress neatly & when you get home , change into your beach clothes!

 

[maryjk]

**Neither does yours! **Whats wrong with putting a pr. of slacks on over your shorts for Mass and then removing them in the restroom or when you get to your car. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Which analogy is that?

There seem to be a few who wear shorts to work. I have never worn shorts to work. Unless you are a lifeguard or something like that, why would you? I have always considered myself a professional and dressed the part.

But for those that aren’t “professional?” What about them? Those that work outside? Or those whose uniform are shorts like postmen? Those that attend Mass instead of taking their lunch hour?

What’s funny is that I was in an engineering office not long ago. More than half of the guys there? They wore shorts. The owner of the company? He had on shorts.

 

[tafan]

Neither does yours! Whats wrong with putting a pr. of slacks on over your shorts for Mass and then removing them in the restroom or when you get to your car. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. God bless, Memaw

I suppose nothing is wrong with it, but its not just a pair of slacks. Its a different pair of shoes, and then one needs socks to match. The shirt probably has to go. To make it work, its really a complete change of clothes. Changing in the car is never fun, certainly not every morning. Changing in the Church restroom? I really don’t want that to be a habit either.

I admit, wearing shorts to mass on summer weekdays is simply a convenience. But never has anyone, including some very good priests, made an issue about it.

You said earlier “Mass is the same no matter what day it is”. But its not. Weekday masses do not have the Gloria, the Creed, they only have one reading, homilies are much shorter. The weekday mass liturgy is structured to last less than 30 minutes. Why? I am almost positive the Church, in her great wisdom, wants to make it as accessible to as many people as possible. Perhaps you are asking of others more than the Church is? It seems to me, the Church takes the attitude with daily mass: here it is, as convenient to everyone as possible, so just come.

Maybe I am wrong. Do you think it wrong to stop and make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament in shorts and t-shirt (I don’t wear t-shirts to mass, BTW)?

 

[garyo49]

I wear shorts to daily mass. They´re dress bermuda shorts, either black or white or tan. No one has voiced displeasure. Only my wife. She´s trying to make me a Saint. God bless:thumbsup:

Why wouldn’t you want to dress up to be with the Lord? You would dress up if you were going to a real fancy restaurant or to the theater. Why not for the Lord. Besides we are only there for about an hour and a half at most. I’m going to get a lot of flack for this, but it isn’t appropriate to wear beachwear to Mass, Sunday or Monday. Today at Mass there was a young girl maybe fifteen that sat across the aisle from me that had Levi shorts rolled all the way up, and flip-flops. Through the entire Mass she would hunker down in her seat, then she would squirm for a while and many times she took of her flip flops and wiggled her feet and legs in the aisle. I am convinced that if she had a nice dress on she might have payed more attention to Mass. It’s a matter of attitude and reverence.

 

[stavros388]

I haven’t been Catholic for very long, but in my opinion, wearing shorts to communion EVER is not a good thing. The idea here is to separate the Eucharist and all that surrounds it from the everyday world. Yes, we are inseparable from the “everyday world”, but for the love of God, dress nicely and conservatively when you approach the Body and Blood of our Lord! I condemn no one for not doing so. But when I take my son to Mass, I want him to know that we are approaching something Holy, something Transcendent. It’s not the beach. It’s not the mall. This is God’s house! Just my two cents.

 

[LightBound]

Again, stretching the point beyond reason. And again, it’s not what others think of what we wear but what God thinks of it. God Bless, Memaw

I don’t think it bothers God near as much as it bothers you to have His children attending Mass in modest shorts at a weekday Mass- especially if that is part of what they wear to work in the summer, be it UPS workers, postal employees, or the laborers who are taking time before or after work or on their break to worship their Lord and Savior. Not everyone can be a fancy-pants business professional in an air conditioned building and wear their nice suit or lacy dress to daily Mass at 7 AM or 5:30PM.

As a Catholic, I’m embarrassed to see the high and mighty comments some people make on threads like these. I bet you those at the foot of the Cross when Christ was crucified didn’t care if they were wearing the best clothing or not and I can’t imagine God did either.

 

[OraLabora]

Most of the mailmen I know have to start their day much earlier than Mass starts. God Bless, Memaw

In Montreal, St. Joseph’s Oratory offers Masses starting at 7 am throughout the day until 7:30 pm. I’m sure a devout postman would be able to find one either before or after his (or often, her) shift. Mary Queen of the World cathedral has Mass at 7:30 am, 12:10 pm and 5:00 pm on weekdays.

 

[Generic_Name]

You said earlier “Mass is the same no matter what day it is”. But its not. Weekday masses do not have the Gloria, the Creed, they only have one reading, homilies are much shorter. The weekday mass liturgy is structured to last less than 30 minutes. Why? I am almost positive the Church, in her great wisdom, wants to make it as accessible to as many people as possible. Perhaps you are asking of others more than the Church is? It seems to me, the Church takes the attitude with daily mass: here it is, as convenient to everyone as possible, so just come.

Maybe I am wrong. Do you think it wrong to stop and make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament in shorts and t-shirt (I don’t wear t-shirts to mass, BTW)?

Sure, the Mass is abbreviated, but our LORD is still physically there. If you met the President, or some royalty, or any other dignitary, would you treat the event differently on a weekday than you would on a Sunday?