Summer attire at Mass

[johnnyjones]

Please…I’ve been ogled when I was wearing a mock turtleneck sweater…some people don’t have appropriate custody of their eyes…to blame a bare arm for your sins is dumb.

My point is that no matter what you wear there is always some one to judge that it is not right…if it falls with the Vatican rules then you are just doing the bare minimum…and so on and so on…where does it end?

I think we all agree on no short shorts, midriffs showing…basketball shorts, super plunging necklines…mini shirts and things of that nature.

But here at CAF it seems like their is always someone waiting to say that slacks for women are out of line…and yes I have been told here on CAF that anything above the elbow was immodest…

Why are you saying “please” to me? Take your belief sytem to the Vatican, which was my source for proper dress, and see if they will change the rules about completely bare arms. Is the vatican dumb?

You apparently have created your own acceptable system of dress for mass, don’t mock the Vaticans rules.

 

[Dorothy]

You really think males won’t be distracted by females regardless of the clothing?

I’m aware that some men will stare and entertain bad thoughts no matter what a woman is wearing. That is not her fault.

I just felt the need to point out that some women don’t care about calling attention to themselves by the way they dress.

 

[andrewstx]

Do people think that God and Our Lady can only see us when we are at Mass?

They can see us 24/7 so should we shower in long sleeves and buttoned collars with ties (or the woman’s equivalent)? I think much of this is just conformity with conservative social standards and less to do with God.

I am in the chichuan desert with temps often over 100 F. And have troubles with ambulation. I do not wear layers of heavy clothing as some in Canada, Michigan, and Minnesota do.

They can get away with it, but I can’t, and I think God understands.

 

[jeanannemarie]

It’s all about modesty, people! I don’t buy into this “it’s too hot” nonsense. If my priest can offer Mass in as many layers as he does, including a cassock, pants, and a long sleeve shirt, surely to goodness the congregation can cover themselves up and wear what is appropriate for where they are. I’ve had to spend my Summers in an church with no a/c in a full skirt suit. We can suck up it for an hour or so. Perhaps use the discomfort to remind us how much worse Hell is and how we don’t want to end up there.

Deo Gratias, I love, love, love what you just said. The part about the priest is what I think about, too. My priest had beads of sweat on his brow at Mass Sunday in his chasuble. I was embarrassed by the scantily clad female lector, so I just didn’t look at her. And I know that all those here who vote for the fashion free-for-all do not care what I think. However, I dress in a dress, in real shoes and a headcovering (all sorts) out of respect for my Ordinary Form of the Mass. Yes, Deo Gratias, we certainly can suck it up for an hour or so. And I am sure it is as you said, it is much hotter in Hell.

 

[LightBound]

Deo Gratias, I love, love, love what you just said. The part about the priest is what I think about, too. My priest had beads of sweat on his brow at Mass Sunday in his chasuble. I was embarrassed by the scantily clad female lector, so I just didn’t look at her. And I know that all those here who vote for the fashion free-for-all do not care what I think. However, I dress in a dress, in real shoes and a headcovering (all sorts) out of respect for my Ordinary Form of the Mass. Yes, Deo Gratias, we certainly can suck it up for an hour or so. And I am sure it is as you said, it is much hotter in Hell.

Please know it’s not my intention to sound snarky with this reply, but in all seriousness, there are people out there who choose to “suck it up” by fasting only on bread and water, but that doesn’t mean we all have to or we are all called to do so.

Perhaps some of you ladies that choose to do the whole long-sleeved, full dress suit with slip, pantyhose, and a headcovering in 100 degree heat. Just because someone chooses not to doesn’t make them immodest. I chose to stay cool in modest, classy linen pants, nice, dressy sandals, and a no-cleavage linen or cotton blouse with sleeves that end a couple of inches above the elbow. That’s the same kind of outfit I would wear to a wedding or dinner at a fancy restaurant in the heat of summer. The priest does not have a choice in his apparel at Mass…the rest of us do and that’s what the thread was addressing in the first place.

We can certainly dress in clothing that will keep us cool and not overheated in Mass without showing cleavage, shoulder, thighs, or armpits and without “voting for a fashion free for all”. That’s what I and many others haved been saying each time we’ve posted in this thread.

 

[severus68]

:

So many parents at some of the churches need to do this with their kids & teens showing up better dressed to play in the sandbox or go swimming not for attending Mass (especially with kids who are old enough to receive Communion). Even my mother will make my sister’s kids (as she takes them) wear something decent to Mass - even in the summer time. It does not take much effort to set out for a younger child a nice shirt and modest & decent pair of pants (or knee length shorts in summer time).

I’d love to have churches play Father Dominic of EWTN’s sermon about modesty and decency of dress for Holy Mass (its on Youtube). Some people may not like it, but they are the ones who need to listen & understand the message he imparts. He also makes sure that both genders get equal mentions instead of some priests who place more burden on women to dress better compared to men. I know thanks to his words, I’ve taken care to dress decent for Mass. Also, attending Mass in the Extraordinary Form, people do show up decent and modest even if some of the clothes are not super dressy.

How does your aunt force your sister’s kids to wear what she wants? They must be young. How do you force a teen?

Do you think you have the right or objectivity to tell others what videos they should listen to and insist they need to?

 

[severus68]

My money is on you winning this internet debate! Or at least battling till there’s a draw (locked thread). I admire your sartorial stick-to-it-iveness, soldier! :tiphat:

 

[maltmom]

How does your aunt force your sister’s kids to wear what she wants? They must be young. How do you force a teen?

You don’t buy the teen immodest clothes, if they buy immodest clothes while out with their friends you throw the clothes away. If an outfit is inappropriate for church, but can be worn elsewhere then inform them that if an appropriate outfit isn’t worn to Mass then the inappropriate one will be thrown away…along with the removal of other privileges. The 1st step is to remember who is the parent and who is the child/teen.

 

[severus68]

Well, imo, it is quite basic, yet people want to do things their own way, so it becomes larger than the basic issue it should be. People also want comfort, so wearing very casual clothing fits their desires.

I really don’t believe there is a person on this thread that would not try to dress well for a private audience with the Pope, but they will fight like crazy to wear their cutoff shorts and tank top to Mass where they receive Jesus, God over all!

I would think that the Pope himself would receive anyone as they are as Christ did., not sure of his advisers.

 

[severus68]

Here’s the issue with saying things like “how would you dress to see the President” or “how would you dress to see the Pope.” Both of these people are humans. G-d is more than all of that.

How did Adam and Eve dress before the L-rd? They were created naked, and only resorted to clothes when they sinned. If G-d was coming over to my house, I don’t know how I would dress, mainly because nothing I could ever wear is worthy enough. There is no clothing that even nears “appropriate” if G-d was coming over to my house.

Exactly.

 

[The_Curt_Jester]

Yes, Deo Gratias, we certainly can suck it up for an hour or so. And I am sure it is as you said, it is much hotter in Hell.

It’s much hotter in the choir loft, too!

 

[Seeker1961]

I spent my childhood in itchy uniforms during the week and skirts on the weekend for Mass. When I got out of HS, I swore I would never wear a skirt again and I haven’t. I have been told, to my face, by well meaning Catholic women that my wearing pants and a long sleeve shirt to Mass was “sinful”. “women should NEVER wear men’s clothes!”. I bought them in the women’s dept, I was pretty sure they were meant for women.

I wear clean, neat clothing to Mass, always have. Sometimes it’s my work uniform because the only way I can get to Mass at all is to go on my way to or home from work. I don’t really look at what other people wear. I only get that one hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament a week, so I want to make the best use of that time.

 

[Tantum_ergo]

I would think that the Pope himself would receive anyone as they are as Christ did., not sure of his advisers.

So you know for sure that Christ ‘received people as they are’? That if a woman approached Him wearing an immodest outfit He just smiled and chatted with her, and never even a “I do not condemn you, but go forth and sin no more?”

As a devout Jewish person, even though we hear of Christ’s DISCIPLES eating the wheat in a field, we don’t hear of Him doing it. . .and in fact, we hear Him telling the people to obey the scribes and Pharisees when they are teaching.

I think a lot of what you say comes from the very modern American principle (which in turn came from the careful policy of Oliver Cromwell and his Roundheads) which deliberately tries to ‘blunt down’ any kind of distinction between persons.

Now I’m not saying that say Lady Diana Spencer and Lady Gaga are (despite having ‘lady’ in their names) to be seen as ‘royal’ and ‘commoner’, as if just by being ‘noble born’ Diana is ‘better than’ Lady Gaga.

BUT I’m also not saying that they are ‘just the same’. They aren’t.

They have similarities but they also have differences.

And there are plenty of people in this world who are, if you will, ‘better’ than we, whether it is by virtue of their hard work (the people who for example fight for this country, who are dedicated public servants, etc.), by virtue of their talent (Yo-yo Ma is better than the cellist for Podunk U), Mother Teresa is better than most of us by virtue of her charity, and the Pope is better than we by virtue of his being in charge of all of us Catholic Souls as the Vicar of Christ.

And we show our respect for those who have a reason to deserve our respect.

There were a lot fewer opportunities for improper dress at the time of Christ than there are today. Let’s face it, the majority of the people wore the very same type of clothing --tunic and robe and sandals. There weren’t all that many ‘geegaws’. There weren’t all that many fabrics available. There weren’t all that many colors available. So whether a man was wearing a linen robe, somewhat worn, but robes were long and tunics could be ‘folded’ to cover worn spots. . .or a woman was wearing a coarse hand-woven cloth . . . they looked pretty much the same.

Christ’s own clothing was not ‘poor’. His tunic in fact was made so well that instead of cutting it into shares, the soldiers played dice for it. So Christ knew that there was no need not to make ‘the best’ of what there was available. I’m sure his own wood working skills were impeccable. He did His best and He expected that of others. He certainly forgave those who didn’t do their best if they were sorry for their failures but He wouldn’t just let wrongs ‘pass by’.

 

[LightBound]

I spent my childhood in itchy uniforms during the week and skirts on the weekend for Mass. When I got out of HS, I swore I would never wear a skirt again and I haven’t. I have been told, to my face, by well meaning Catholic women that my wearing pants and a long sleeve shirt to Mass was “sinful”. “women should NEVER wear men’s clothes!”. I bought them in the women’s dept, I was pretty sure they were meant for women.

I wear clean, neat clothing to Mass, always have. Sometimes it’s my work uniform because the only way I can get to Mass at all is to go on my way to or home from work. I don’t really look at what other people wear. I only get that one hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament a week, so I want to make the best use of that time.

I hope you told those ignorant women that since you bought them in the women’s dept, they are most likely women’s clothes. They’ve been misinformed and led astray from common sense and historical fact by some person’s interpretation of an OT verse. Besides, as I stated more times than I care to count on CAF- when those verses were written- both genders in the Biblical lands were wearing robes and tunics- not pants! Pants that are made for women are women’s clothes…just like they have been for thousands of years in many cultures.

 

[MariaG]

Well, imo, it is quite basic, yet people want to do things their own way, so it becomes larger than the basic issue it should be. People also want comfort, so wearing very casual clothing fits their desires.

I really don’t believe there is a person on this thread that would not try to dress well for a private audience with the Pope, but they will fight like crazy to wear their cutoff shorts and tank top to Mass where they receive Jesus, God over all!

You know, while my church is very casual and at the beach, lots of tourists, no one has ever come in cutoffs or tank tops. Is this really a recurrent problem anywhere?

 

[maltmom]

I spent my childhood in itchy uniforms during the week and skirts on the weekend for Mass. When I got out of HS, I swore I would never wear a skirt again and I haven’t. I have been told, to my face, by well meaning Catholic women that my wearing pants and a long sleeve shirt to Mass was “sinful”. “women should NEVER wear men’s clothes!”. I bought them in the women’s dept, I was pretty sure they were meant for women.

I wear clean, neat clothing to Mass, always have. Sometimes it’s my work uniform because the only way I can get to Mass at all is to go on my way to or home from work. I don’t really look at what other people wear. I only get that one hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament a week, so I want to make the best use of that time.

Wow, I hope you reminded them that if they are going to follow that rule they also need to stop cutting their hair.

 

[bmadamsberry]

So you know for sure that Christ ‘received people as they are’? That if a woman approached Him wearing an immodest outfit He just smiled and chatted with her, and never even a “I do not condemn you, but go forth and sin no more?”

So you know for sure he didn’t? That question cuts both ways.

I don’t know for sure, but I do know that the woman that committed adultery (from which comes the verse you quoted) was caught in the act and brought before Christ. One might be able to guess that they brought her straight to Christ, which means she was probably wearing what she had on when she was caught committing adultery.

I’m not saying that’s a good argument for immodest clothing (I actually think it’s a bad argument), but I just wanted to point out what I see as a possible problem for what you wrote.

 

[LightBound]

Wow, I hope you reminded them that if they are going to follow that rule they also need to stop cutting their hair.

And they better not be wearing any clothing with mixed fibers!

 

[anp1215]

Anyone ever noticed that appropriate attire rarely has anything to do with wealth? I attend a very wealthy parish and I see more people in the tiny shorts, cutoff shorts, tank tops, tube tops, spaghetti straps, t-shirts, sweatsuits, than when I attend a more middle class or poorer parish.

 

[Seeker1961]

Wow, I hope you reminded them that if they are going to follow that rule they also need to stop cutting their hair.

I thanked them for their concern, told them I buy all my clothes in the women’s dept and moved on with my day. They meant well, they just have a different opinion of what is proper. I’m sure they didn’t like my short hair either.