Proper attire for Mass

[mammallama]

I’m new here and would like some (name removed by moderator)ut on an issue that’s been bothering me.Since when is it acceptable to wear strapless tops/dresses to Mass?Forgive this 50 year old lady but I was taught that modesty in dress is expected.Nowadays it seems like any old thing is OK at church.Would you dress like that to meet the President? Or the Pope? Then why look like a hoochie dancer to visit Our Lord???

 

[meh56]

Somw people look like the only thing thy turn down “are the covers”.
Remember it is a banquet you are going to not a barbeuque

 

[KingAlfred]

I’m new here and would like some (name removed by moderator)ut on an issue that’s been bothering me.Since when is it acceptable to wear strapless tops/dresses to Mass?Forgive this 50 year old lady but I was taught that modesty in dress is expected.Nowadays it seems like any old thing is OK at church.Would you dress like that to meet the President? Or the Pope? Then why look like a hoochie dancer to visit Our Lord???

I agree, but must confess I often wear jeans, which I shouldn’t. Beginning this Sunday, I’m going to dress more formally. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[mammallama]

Uh,King Alfred did you mean this Friday at the Feastday of The Assumption??Sorry couldn’t resist that little jab…

 

[purelovemmc]

I’m new here and would like some (name removed by moderator)ut on an issue that’s been bothering me.Since when is it acceptable to wear strapless tops/dresses to Mass?Forgive this 50 year old lady but I was taught that modesty in dress is expected.Nowadays it seems like any old thing is OK at church.Would you dress like that to meet the President? Or the Pope? Then why look like a hoochie dancer to visit Our Lord???

Hi,

I know that when you mentioned those improper attires you were mostly imagining young adults. And for that, I am sorry for our behalf. I’m turning 20 and yes, this bothers me too. I’ve seen fellow high school students wear short shorts to our graduation mass. (And I’ve seen them too not knowing when to kneel or seat) It’s really sad, I know.

But know that there are young adults (I’m working on being one of them all the time) who strives to wear the proper attires at church.

God Bless.

 

[GailMac]

This is one of my pet peeves as well. I don’t like seeing folks looking like they are at a picnic, the beach or a sporting event (or worse) at Mass. I know there is a dress code. I’ve even seen it written in some bulletins. But for the most part, I’ve seen it ignored. In my dreams there are Ushers with paper garments like they hand out in the hospitals for Nursery Units, you know those ugly yellow things that cover from neck to knees…and they give them to anyone inappropriately dressed for Mass as the crowd gathers! Wouldn’t that shake things up a bit! A way to clothe the naked or in this case, nearly naked!

I came from a parish where the Monsignor did enforce the dress code - it was published in the bulletin and frequently a part of the before Mass announcements and the topic of more than one homily I heard during the summer months. God bless him and his efforts in taking on the moral decline of our society. I do look forward to the cooler weather when folks will dress a little better simply because the weather provides a reason to cover oneself.

But on the better side of me, when I am fully focused on my **real **reason for being there, namely Jesus Christ and giving Him my full attention, I’m less distracted by the goings-on in the pews around me. Would that my better self would win on most days! Pray for me.

Peace,

Gail

 

[SomeCatholicGuy]

I agree, but must confess I often wear jeans, which I shouldn’t. Beginning this Sunday, I’m going to dress more formally. Thanks for the reminder.

I must admit that I wear jeans to Mass, as well. I do wear a collared shirt, though. I don’t know if that’s considered “proper” attire, but when I see a person in church whom I deem inappropriately dressed, as soon as that thought crosses my mind, I immediately remind myself that I have no right to judge another in the Lord’s House, and that that person is there for the Lord as am I.

 

[mammallama]

Gail:

Thank you for pointing that out.Perhaps I’ll try taking off my glasses during Mass and sitting in the front pews.Then ever body behind me won’t be a distraction.But what to do when the barrage of skin is coming from a female Eucharistic minister?That actually happened a couple of weeks ago and boy was I uncomfortable.

 

[griffibo]

Hi there,

Welcome mamallama! I"m new here too…

What is the dress code in general? I’ve never heard of one, although when I was a protty and went to charismatic churches, gee whiz I saw more bits of people’s private areas than I’ve seen at the beach!! So it makes sense there should be one.

Is there a Catholic guideline? Is it just to be modest in how you dress? At our church (we attend mass in the latin Rite) there’s even the question of whether to pick up one of the head scarves on the way in (I forget what they’re called). I’m thinking of trying that. A lot of the women do like to wear them. I haven’t yet figured out why they do it though - I think it might be from a verse by St Paul about women covering their heads (and keeping quiet!).

xxx

 

[mammallama]

:whacky: :whacky:

Hi there,

Welcome mamallama! I"m new here too…

Is there a Catholic guideline?

xxx

Yes it’s the 9th Commandment see Catechism starting at 2520.If I knew more about these computer things then I’d cut&paste that part here.But I’m not so savy.perhaps someone would volunteer??

 

[purelovemmc]

2520 Baptism confers on its recipient the grace of purification from all sins. But the baptized must continue to struggle against concupiscence of the flesh and disordered desires. With God’s grace he will prevail

• by the virtue and gift of chastity, for chastity lets us love with upright and undivided heart;
• by purity of intention which consists in seeking the true end of man: with simplicity of vision, the baptized person seeks to find and to fulfill God’s will in everything;
• by purity of vision, external and internal; by discipline of feelings and imagination; by refusing all complicity in impure thoughts that incline us to turn aside from the path of God’s commandments: “Appearance arouses yearning in fools”;
• by prayer:
  
  I thought that continence arose from one’s own powers, which I did not recognize in myself. I was foolish enough not to know . . . that no one can be continent unless you grant it. For you would surely have granted it if my inner groaning had reached your ears and I with firm faith had cast my cares on you.

2521 Purity requires modesty, an integral part of temperance. Modesty protects the intimate center of the person. It means refusing to unveil what should remain hidden. It is ordered to chastity to whose sensitivity it bears witness. It guides how one looks at others and behaves toward them in conformity with the dignity of persons and their solidarity.

 

[BostonMyrtleBea]

I’m new here and would like some (name removed by moderator)ut on an issue that’s been bothering me.Since when is it acceptable to wear strapless tops/dresses to Mass?Forgive this 50 year old lady but I was taught that modesty in dress is expected.Nowadays it seems like any old thing is OK at church.Would you dress like that to meet the President? Or the Pope? Then why look like a hoochie dancer to visit Our Lord???

Uh Oh! Here we go

Some wedding dresses are strapless LOL

But… on a serious note, know what you mean. It used to bother me a lot, then I started paying more attention to the Mass than others around me. No need driving myself crazy about what other people do (though I think they should cover up).

I have to admit, I was dressed pretty badly this morning - clean and neat, but VERY casual. I woke up in pain and wanted to wear something lose over my pregnant belly. I didn’t want to wear heels b/c my feet have been hurting. I didn’t want to wear a skirt b/c I was not in heels, and none of my nice pants fit any more, so I wore cotton capri pants. On top of that it was pouring rain. I grabbed a zip up casual, light, cotton thing and was only going to wear it into the door, but it was FREEZING in there, so I kept it on.

I sat near the back

 

[griffibo]

Thank you both! I actually bought a copy of the catechism during my RCIA course. Of course it’s buried in the garage now after marriage and a move. Perhaps I should go and get it out and read it!!!

Thinking back there have been a few times when my conscience has tugged at me about what I was wearing in church. We kneel and take communion on the tongue. Occassionally I have got to the altar rail and realised I have had a V-neck top on so I have to awkwardly place my hands in a prayer position over the V so that Father doesn’t get exposed to something he’d very much rather not have to see. Now I know why my conscience was nagging at me, and I’ll be able to avoid getting into that situation again.

Thank you!

xxx

 

[mammallama]

:byzsoc: :harp:

Hi there,

there’s even the question of whether to pick up one of the head scarves on the way in (I forget what they’re called). I’m thinking of trying that. A lot of the women do like to wear them. I haven’t yet figured out why they do it though - I think it might be from a verse by St Paul about women covering their heads (and keeping quiet!).

xxx

Some people refer to these as mantillas or chapel veils.They were required prior to Vatican II and now making a comeback.I wear one and usually one of the very few ladies who still cover our heads.(with the exception of some of the nuns,but don’t get me going on that issue…)

 

[Tantum_ergo]

Well I’m pretty much a stickler but (having been pregnant myself) I do not expect a pregnant woman at a daily Mass to be as ‘dressed’ as at Sunday Mass. Furthermore, considering the situation, you really did not have the ‘dressier’ options available, you know? If your feet were in pain so you couldn’t wear the heels, your ‘good pants’ don’t fit because of the pregnancy, and you couldn’t wear the skirt. . .then capris which are certainly ‘modest’ WERE the ‘best’ that you had available.

See, a lot of people think that those who advocate modest dressing are going to leap down the throats of individuals in the kind of situation you describe, and that’s why they really ‘fear’ that Mass will turn into the “dress police”. They don’t seem to realize that most people have the ‘sense’ to understand things like pregnancy causing a person to dress ‘more casually’ for the occasional Mass, or that a person might be hiking the Long Trail wearing jeans and a T (they’d better not be wearing shorts even in hot weather unless they want to risk poison ivy, snakebite, or gaping wounds) and suddenly come on a chapel where Daily Mass is being held and want to attend, or that the poor homeless man in ragged pants might want to attend. . .they think that we’ll just be screaming “Unclean” and shooing them out the back as ‘unworthy’.

It’s as ‘extreme’ a generalization in its way as the flip side of people responding, “I suppose you think it’s all right for people to come in pajamas, or naked”. . .Just as ‘silly’ in the idea that people are going to make these blanket judgments. . .or that ALL the situations where people are inappropriately dressed ARE ‘the exceptions’, so why bother?

Honestly, sometimes it is frustrating. People are so argumentative and often so hostile to anything which doesn’t exactly dovetail with what ‘they think’ is right, and honest to goodness, if you don’t exactly support them 100% in every way, they’ll never believe that you can do ANYTHING right and they’ll fight you tooth-and-nail over picky little points of disagreement.

You can be 99% in agreement on a topic, but that 1% difference, for some, might as well be 100% disagreement. They’ll ignore the 99% agreement and stubbornly refuse to budge on the 1% difference. Sigh.

 

[reganq]

Welcome mammallama!

A friend sent us what her priest posted in his bulletin. Here is the link to what he has to say about immodest dress.

This has been a hot topic around our house lately. I have been contemplating the whole exclusive skirt/dress thing lately. But, that is not a bridge I am ready to cross yet. I am a huge fan of my jeans and shorts (not to mass of course).

 

[mammallama]

Welcome mammallama!

A friend sent us what her priest posted in his bulletin. Here is the link to what he has to say about immodest dress.

This has been a hot topic around our house lately. I have been contemplating the whole exclusive skirt/dress thing lately. But, that is not a bridge I am ready to cross yet. I am a huge fan of my jeans and shorts (not to mass of course).

I’ve already added that link to my favorites!! Thank you so much.I never meant to open a can of worms here.I just wanted opinions about strapless tops and then I went into other immodest dress issues.You know it’s one thing to be limited in what you have available to wear for church,OK that’s fine.But all this exposed skin???Maybe I’m just an old prude,that’s why I’m asking…

 

[BostonMyrtleBea]

Well I’m pretty much a stickler but (having been pregnant myself) I do not expect a pregnant woman at a daily Mass to be as ‘dressed’ as at Sunday Mass. Furthermore, considering the situation, you really did not have the ‘dressier’ options available, you know? If your feet were in pain so you couldn’t wear the heels, your ‘good pants’ don’t fit because of the pregnancy, and you couldn’t wear the skirt. . .then capris which are certainly ‘modest’ WERE the ‘best’ that you had available.

See, a lot of people think that those who advocate modest dressing are going to leap down the throats of individuals in the kind of situation you describe, and that’s why they really ‘fear’ that Mass will turn into the “dress police”. They don’t seem to realize that most people have the ‘sense’ to understand things like pregnancy causing a person to dress ‘more casually’ for the occasional Mass, or that a person might be hiking the Long Trail wearing jeans and a T (they’d better not be wearing shorts even in hot weather unless they want to risk poison ivy, snakebite, or gaping wounds) and suddenly come on a chapel where Daily Mass is being held and want to attend, or that the poor homeless man in ragged pants might want to attend. . .they think that we’ll just be screaming “Unclean” and shooing them out the back as ‘unworthy’.

It’s as ‘extreme’ a generalization in its way as the flip side of people responding, “I suppose you think it’s all right for people to come in pajamas, or naked”. . .Just as ‘silly’ in the idea that people are going to make these blanket judgments. . .or that ALL the situations where people are inappropriately dressed ARE ‘the exceptions’, so why bother?

Honestly, sometimes it is frustrating. People are so argumentative and often so hostile to anything which doesn’t exactly dovetail with what ‘they think’ is right, and honest to goodness, if you don’t exactly support them 100% in every way, they’ll never believe that you can do ANYTHING right and they’ll fight you tooth-and-nail over picky little points of disagreement.

You can be 99% in agreement on a topic, but that 1% difference, for some, might as well be 100% disagreement. They’ll ignore the 99% agreement and stubbornly refuse to budge on the 1% difference. Sigh.

Good points! I was definitley dressed modestly! You made me feel better

Heck - dressed in a certain manner or not - at least they’re there. That’s why I don’t pay attention anymore

 

[funnyyetsavvy]

Well, I’ve seen a lot in Mass, but yesterday kind of made my jaw drop, and it wasn’t in Mass but at the Catholic School. A mom was there to purchase her kids (boys) uniforms. She was wearing a hot pink belly shirt and white short shorts. Trust me, she was in her late 40’s or so and very out of shape. It would have been apalling had she been in shape, but this just was aweful.

 

[meh56]

I know if you go to Europe, you can not enter the You should not be revealing. I E clevage. show of your bellyring. How would you dress if you were meeting a Governor…you are meeting GOD