Semi-Accidental Immodesty - Scandal?

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elenap

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Hi, I (F) walked downstairs to get clothes from my suitcase, and my roommate saw me partially unclothed (I was wearing a tshirt and underwear.) The roommate didn’t comment or care, but I’m not setting a good Catholic example. I knew there was a chance my roommate would walk downstairs at that time, but went downstairs, anyway. I had clothes in my room. I could’ve covered up. I feel I am guilty of the sin of scandal, but am uncertain.
 
As long as it was not intentional, intentionally provocative or a “wardrobe malfunction” it was probably OK. However, please realize that some of the worst temptations are of the flesh, and exposed flesh is often the genesis of that temptation.

Modesty should be alluring, not expositions of physical attributes.
 
It doesn’t sound like you consciously thought of the consequences before you did it, and it sounds like you were instantly concerned and desiring not to do it again when you realized, so by my understanding it was a venial sin not a mortal one.
 
elenap said:
I feel I am guilty of the sin of scandal, but am uncertain.
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No, more like guilty of laziness for not putting clothes on that you would then have to change out of when you came back with clothes from your suitcase. 😉

I think you are making a bigger deal out of it than it was, unless your roommate is male.
 
You have not sinned or caused scandall unless you purposely tempted a male roommate. It doesnt look like you did this. Dont worry.
 
Inquiry said:
It doesn’t sound like you consciously thought of the consequences before you did it, and it sounds like you were instantly concerned and desiring not to do it again when you realized, so by my understanding it was a venial sin not a mortal one.
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If it was accidental and done without any thought or premeditation, how could it have been any sin at all?

There is nothing evil about being partially clad or even entirely unclad in front of a member of one’s own gender. If you are female and have a male roommate, my first question would be “why do you have a roommate of the opposite sex in the first place?”. In my upbringing back at the dawn of time, we never heard of such a thing — my cousin, who was cohabitating with a woman (mid-1970s), went to outlandish lengths to conceal this from the family, until he finally confessed “yes, we live together”. Nowadays, I understand that it is common for two platonic, opposite-sex, uninvolved people to live together, and I suppose as long as all measures are taken to avoid temptation, we are to think the best of them. (But I still have a hard time getting my head around it.)

Of course, if two people are romantically involved, or find one another attractive (even if just from time to time), they shouldn’t be living together. It is a near occasion of mortal sin.
 
1ke said:
Is your roommate also a female?
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I think this is the second time in this thread that this question was raised…What possible bearing could this have on the situation…the next question that would have to be asked, if the room mate was female, was whether the poster or the room mate had same sex attraction
 
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The fact that it was a male could have something to do with the situation since males are more visual and could be tempted to impure thoughts and desires. If the other person was a male, still, the original poster didnt do anything deliberate, it was an accident and maybe some carelessness, something to watch but not beat yourself up about.
 
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redal said:
What possible bearing could this have on the situation…
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It has all the bearing. A female walking around in her underwear in front of a male roommate is not appropriate. It violates modesty and chastity.

A female walking around in her underwear in front of a female roommate is totally normal. As is being naked in front of females in the locker room-- nothing immoral about it.
 
My husband and I have a female roommate, for the time being. The issue isn’t that I feared the roommate would become aroused, but that I am setting a bad example for her.

From the article: “Another obvious way of committing scandal is by giving bad example, without necessarily intending to lead others into sin. This can include using bad language, dressing immodestly, praising a film that contains inappropriate material, drinking alcohol to excess, etc.”
 
I see no sin in what you did. I read a book by Dietrich Von Hildebrand(Transformation in Christ) and he says we shouldnt worry about this, and I almost positive he was talking about nudity. You were not purposely showing yourself.
 
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