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General
Guest
gnat:
How do you know?
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General
Guest
Go to a nice Catholic thrift store and spend $.50-5.00 on a nice blouse to go with your dress slacks for summer Masses – that will be FAR more appropriate than shorts and a sleeveless shirt.
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hilde_the_dog
Guest
To General I agree with the feeling not the statement, esp the last bit. Gnat I agree, is not the inward dress of the heart more relevant - let God judge. I believe that if you are respectful to God you will dress as such and HE will understand your reasons for dress. Hey I dont’t like what everybody wears but taste is subjective.
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Kristina_P
Guest
I can’t help but think of a story from my brother-in-law, who’s a Baptist minister. Once, while he was serving as an assistant pastor in a small church, a woman in the congregation managed to get her sister, who was violently opposed to “organized religion,” to finally come to a church service with her. The sister happened to be dressed in shorts because she hadn’t packed any “church clothes.” That Sunday, the head pastor preached a whole sermon on dressing up for church, and it lacked any mention of understanding for those who just didn’t know better or didn’t have the means to dress up. Needless to say, that woman’s sister has never darkened the door of the church again.
I agree that we should give God our best, dress modestly and appropriately, but when we correct others, it has to be in love and with understanding.
I agree that we should give God our best, dress modestly and appropriately, but when we correct others, it has to be in love and with understanding.
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Kristina_P
Guest
Whether or not you wear a sleeveless blouse to Mass has little to do with the doctrines of the Church. Considering that what is or is not considered modest is actually deeply rooted in the culture of time and place, we as people of one particular culture can’t make absolute pronouncements as to what’s proper for Mass. If you dressed for Mass and then were transported back in time or to another place, it’s very possible that you would be viewed as immodest or inappropriate. The absolute here is modesty, but what constitutes modest dress is, by nature, relative.
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Mummybee
Guest
Kristina P.:
Justification and relativism all happen bit by bit. If we start out justifying flip flops and shorts, in a few years time, what will we be willing to justify at mass? For example, you might think a sleeveless blouse and dressy skort are appropriate, but the teenage girl sitting two rows over might think, 'Hey, if she can wear that, then my shorts and tank top should be fine" and before you know it, you’re seeing belly shirts and daisy dukes.
We all serve as examples to one another. We cannot predict how others will be influenced by our decisions, so why take chances?
Sorry Kristina, but you and I just don’t see eye to eye on this. We are talking about showing respect for the Lord in the house of the Lord. Respect transcends time or fashion. It involves common sense and common decency. And modesty, imho, is not at all relative!
Justification and relativism all happen bit by bit. If we start out justifying flip flops and shorts, in a few years time, what will we be willing to justify at mass? For example, you might think a sleeveless blouse and dressy skort are appropriate, but the teenage girl sitting two rows over might think, 'Hey, if she can wear that, then my shorts and tank top should be fine" and before you know it, you’re seeing belly shirts and daisy dukes.
We all serve as examples to one another. We cannot predict how others will be influenced by our decisions, so why take chances?
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dustrunner
Guest
In Rome, Italy, appropriate attire is required (no shorts, tank-tops, low-rider pants, mini-skirts, etc.) in order to merely enter a church, let alone during Mass!
American attitudes toward the Mass and the Eucharist are reflected in how people dress for church.
American attitudes toward the Mass and the Eucharist are reflected in how people dress for church.
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dustrunner
Guest
Is the Mass special, or is it not?
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otm
Guest
Which abbey?we are always in robes and sandles at mass, but we are benedictine monks.
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otm
Guest
There is an old rule: When in Rome, do what the Romans do.
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krokal
Guest
*I meant to say earthly.
I know that because Jesus Christ isn’t superficial, like half the people in this thread that think some how sandals and knee length shorts offend our Lord. Jesus Christ isn’t calling me to wear a wool suit and sweat my *** off every Sunday just so I can look “nice”.
This whole discussion is rooted in what culture tells us to do, and that isn’t the place to find rules for church.
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weddy
Guest
improper dress at mass is very sinful, as a man I know that when people ( especially ladies) are not dressed appropiately I find it very hard to pray.
I do believe that a dress code should be practiced & observed, not to the extreme of ties, but no shorts,short skirts, tank tops or tight clothing-- sandals are fine
I do believe that a dress code should be practiced & observed, not to the extreme of ties, but no shorts,short skirts, tank tops or tight clothing-- sandals are fine
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cyprian
Guest
gnat said:
He may not care as much, it is true, when we speak of people gathering for some prayer and fellowship
at a church but at Mass, however, he is REALLY, TRULY, SUBSTANTIALLY PRESENT. Mass and church, two different things in this sense. And so what if he doesn’t care what we wear, should we not care how we look? My wife could have worn cut-offs and a metallica t-shirt on our first date and I would have let it go (I think ha ha) but she wanted to present herself to me otherwise, as desirable
(in a good way) as opposed to indifferent. We present ourselves to the King of creation in ways that don’t reflect our desire for the Kingdom. The Catholic Church says (cathecism) that our dress should reflect our reverence(attitude) as to what is taking place (Mass) Heaven on Earth (literally).
“Christianity is not a religion, it is a Church” G.K. CHESTERTON
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Kristina_P
Guest
It might not just be you. Really, I don’t understand why we distracting women haven’t all been required to stay in our houses all day, since we’re causing men to sin.
In all seriousness, thank you for pointing that immodest women are not the only cause of men’s sexual sin, or vice versa. With some people I’ve been talking to lately, I’ve started to be afraid that we really will be locked up in our houses if they get their way!
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Kristina_P
Guest
I completely respect your opinion, and I don’t want to give any other impression. But, please keep in mind that if you showed up to Mass in the Middle Ages, or even as recently as the nineteenth century, in what you would wear to Mass today, you would be judged as immodest. Same goes for if someone dressed modestly for certain parts of Africa showed up in a North American church. I was merely pointing out that the standards of modesty have changed, regardless of how people feel about the term “relative.” A teenage girl could also see my calf-length skirt and think that it wasn’t that much different from her mid-thigh-length skirt. Her bad judgment and immodesty should be corrected by her parents. I think when we start judging everyone who walks in and ambushing them if they’re not dressed right, we’re overstepping our bounds.
Some people simply don’t know what’s appropriate for Mass, and if they’re new to the Church, then our first duty is to show them God’s love, not to show them the door because they happen to be in jeans. If they’ve been in the Church for a long time, and it’s a widespread problem in your parish, then perhaps you could persuade your priest to gently address it from the pulpit. If it’s a problem among individuals you know, then correct them in love.
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JKirkLVNV
Guest
General said:
Utterly smug. If the server’s are covered by their robes, what does it matter what they are wearing? Surely we’ve better to do during Mass than to keep track of what others are wearing.
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FrCorey
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OSB St Anthonys
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GEORICH2
Guest
Why Is Appropriate To Wear Whatever You Choose
For Mass, (and God) But Must Get Dresed In Our Finery For Our Friends Birthday Party Or To Go To An Expensive Restaurant?
For Mass, (and God) But Must Get Dresed In Our Finery For Our Friends Birthday Party Or To Go To An Expensive Restaurant?
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JKirkLVNV
Guest
I don’t care what you wear or where you wear it, as long as it is modest. I don’t, as a rule, wear shorts to Mass, I wear slacks and a collared shirt. I have trouble with other’s attitudes that they are more devoted to Our Lord as is demonstrated by their dress. I don’t believe this. I also think we should worry about the beam in our own eyes before we go minding the mote in someone elses.
I visited Southern California this weekend. While at San Luis Rey in Oceanside, there was an entombment of someone’s ashes in the cemetary, in one of the niches. I saw all manner of dress represented, women with arms exposed and one guy in jeans. I noticed because I was in So. Cal., where Johannes says he lives. I didn’t find it terribly inappropriate, but then IT’S NONE OF MY BUSINESS!
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Catholic90
Guest
No, General. You see, I wear the pants in the WINTER with my sweaters. I NEVER wear pants in the summer. I only wear dress shorts and sometimes capris and skirts (but probably too short for your approval, since they are far above the ankle).
Spend more time concentrating on the mass, rather than judging what others are wearing.
Remember that whole thing about “judge not…”
About those churches in Europe…I’ve done a great deal of traveling in Europe with my husband. We’ve visited the Vatican (it was winter), plus many other cathedrals in England, Germany, and France. What really stands out in my memory was a large Catholic church in Paris at Montmartre. A large sign on the door stated no shorts or tanks tops. Okay. It happened to be starting to pour rain when we were there. It was also about 90 degrees. We had been touring other sights (Notre Dame, Opera House, museums, Eiffel Tower, etc.), so we were in shorts, tshirts, sleeveless, sandals, etc. We saw the sign, and we started to walk away out of respect for their rules. A nun saw us (I don’t think she was officially with Montemart - just another visitor like us) and grabbed our arms and walked us into the church. She spoke French with a bit of broken English, and made it VERY clear that we were more than welcome to enter this church.
THAT was hospitality.
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