Modesty in Sermons

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ConfusedLucy said:
Thinking about it how would one go about finding the dress code for a parish because this seems to really vary by region.
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This is the dress code for St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. If it’s good enough for the Vatican, it should be good enough for any parish church in the world.

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LightBound said:
This is the dress code for St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. If it’s good enough for the Vatican, it should be good enough for any parish church in the world.

https://flic.kr/p/Q6QYn
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Yes I completely agree there. Some of us will have to restrain our minds and tongues with some of those who come for Easter Masses next weekend - people either very casually dressed or women/girls wearing short dresses/skirts often with very high heels. I have no issues with high heels but the short dresses/skirts do not belong in church.
 
ConfusedLucy said:
I’m fine with that but I have never been expected to dress formally for church, it isn’t really a thing in the UK.
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Same here. We usually wear t shirts/blouses and jeans. The only time I can remember people dressing formally is during Christmas evenings (when they’re about to go to a party after) or early in the morning (6.30am mass, when they are about to go for work after)
 
I’m going abroad later this year and I’m honestly wondering if my husband and I should pack some formal clothes to avoid the side eye when going to mass.
 
ConfusedLucy said:
I’m going abroad later this year and I’m honestly wondering if my husband and I should pack some formal clothes to avoid the side eye when going to mass.
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Formal? The clothes need not be “formal”. Whenever I travel I usually pack one knee-length skirt and a semi-fitted sleeved t-shirt. Takes up little space in the bag and I’m ready for Mass or dinner at a nice restaurant. Can be dressed up with a scarf, or a necklace.
 
Phemie said:
Formal? The clothes need not be “formal”. Whenever I travel I usually pack one knee-length skirt and a semi-fitted sleeved t-shirt. Takes up little space in the bag and I’m ready for Mass or dinner at a nice restaurant. Can be dressed up with a scarf, or a necklace.
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I’ll probably be packing some skirts or dresses as its a warmer climate but would my husband be expected to wear a suit and tie in a formal church?
 
I haven’t heard a sermon on modesty since I left evangelicalism 23 years ago.
 
ConfusedLucy said:
I’ll probably be packing some skirts or dresses as its a warmer climate but would my husband be expected to wear a suit and tie in a formal church?
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A polo or button up shirt should be fine in most US Catholic churches.
 
AClaire11 said:
A polo or button up shirt should be fine in most US Catholic churches.
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Same in Canada. Even the oldest men in my parish don’t wear suits to Mass on regular Sundays. The most conservative might wear a sports jacket and tie, but many are in button up or polo shirts without ties. Christmas and Easter are different as far as dressing up goes, for both male and female.
 
Guess its time to go shopping for some smart casual clothes for him 😃
 
EasterJoy said:
…Modesty is about avoiding the center of attention, rather than seeking it. There is not a word in the Gospels that defends someone who makes his or her choices in order to be the center of attention. I’d argue that it could easily be just as immodest to show up at Mass in a beekeeper’s suit as in clothing that looked as if it was painted on. The point is that taking consideration of how we dress is part of taking our entire disposition into account. We should not defend the desire to show off our bodies any more than we’d defend any other kind of showing off. That is not the kind of “feeling good about ourselves” that leads to sainthood…

I agree with what you said in your post, but I quoted here that which I question. Jesus in His preaching was not avoiding to be the center of attention. He spoke out loud and preached and upset people. He wasn’t being immodest by saying out loud and doing what was right. Of course, HE wasn’t showing off and there may be those whose intention is to ‘show off’ but that’s not something any witness is privy to know if these they accuse as immodest really are in deed lacking humility and showing off. The pharisees thought as such of Jesus and his preaching.
Code: 
Jesus did not hide his light under a bushel... neither should we hide who we are for fear of people saying we are immodest show off or seeking attention.   No one can really tell except God what this person's soul's state is in.
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Bruised_Reed said:
The subject of modesty is tricky. I think most people think first about girls’ and women’s modesty and about boys’ and men’s modesty as an afterthought. Also, modesty is more than about not wearing clothing that is revealing; immodesty can mean being boastful or haughty and sometimes those people would be the ones giving the side-eye to the woman with unintentional cleavage or the man who came to Mass right from work who is still in his work clothes. One only has to sit through a talk on some moral issue, usually in a non-church setting, and hear the gasps and clucking to realize a lot of people aren’t checking in with themselves but are looking for the sins and failings of others.

No priest wants to be the one who t gives a homily about dressing modestly and appropriately for Mass and have it look like he singled out someone.
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Do you believe this is bibical in its view on modesty?

calledtoholiness.com/writings/christian_apparel.php
Let us remember that Paul not only says that Christian women are to be shamefaced with regard to their apparel, but also he says that they are to dress with sobriety. This is another very extreme and fanatical sounding word. The reason is that all instinctively know what it means to be sober. The American College Dictionary says that sober means to be quiet or sedate in demeanor; marked by seriousness, gravity, and solemnity; subdued in tone, as color; and not gay or showy, as clothes. Doubtless, there are loud, gay, and showy colors, such as red, pink, blue, orange, purple, green, all pastels, etc. And just as doubtless, there are sober, grave, and solemn colors such as gray and black. This may be distasteful to the carnal mind, but it is true.
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