I think you may be presuming too much that you know God’s mind. I’m not comfortable with the ‘God is my easygoing friend’ attitude. I think it’s dangerous. It’s like what Protestants think (or so I’ve heard): “I’m saved already, praise Jesus!”.
And you are also presuming to know God’s mind when you presume that formal wear in Mass is what He wants.
God is not an easygoing friend, and I’ve certainly never thought of Him as such. God is a loved and loving daddy - His own chosen name for Himself. Which is an entirely different proposition.
Like any father, He certainly won’t let significant matters slide, nor does anyone expect that a father would do so, no matter how loving.
My father, for example, would jump down my throat if I were to do poorly at school, wear skirts that were too short or tops that were too tight, speak rudely to an adult, use vulgar language, even chew food with my mouth open.
So he’s the opposite of easygoing, as I imagine God is too. It’s just that he knows me too well to be impressed or affected by my wearing of casual (but neat and modest) clothing. And again, being that human fathers are made in the image and likeness of God, I can draw my own conclusions. As you do from the analogies of God to earthly kings and rulers, no doubt.
I fear His judgement and I hope for His mercy. Even St. Padre Pio was worried about going to Hell, and I’m no saint.
Who says I don’t worry about going to Hell? I do, so much so that I usually go to confession weekly. I just don’t think that slightly casual (but still neat, clean and modest) clothing in church is in any way going to send me there.
I favour formal dress because of:
- The effect on my heart/subconscious/attitude;
- The effect on those around me;
- As a sign of respect to The Lord; an offering.
Uh huh. And if the effect of clothing were uniform - if everyone had exactly the same reaction, or even a similar one, to themselves or yourself being formally dressed - then you’d have a point that it should be universal.
They don’t, though. For many dressing formally produces vain pride and ego within themselves. Hence St Francis (and me being a Franciscan, of course I see his point) dressing in rags and insisting on his brothers dressing humbly. Hence St Francis deliberately chucking himself into a pigsty before meeting the Pope a second time, after the Holy Father had commented on his unkempt appearance at their initial meeting.
And I know in myself that I have some tendency toward vanity even at the best of times, and that dressing formally tends to fuel that fire. I think it’s an incredibly common failing.
And seeing others formally dressed? It can produce many bad effects - envy and resentment (on the part of those who, rightly or wrongly, assume that formal clothes mean you must be financially well-off), an impression that you might (as you in fact do) look down upon those who are not dressed as you are, an impression of ‘holier-than-thou’-ness.
I’m not saying that the people who have these reactions aren’t themselves at fault, but remember what St Paul says about being a stumbling block to others cuts both ways. And that the formally dressed can be, and are, every bit as much a stumbling block to their brethren as the casually dressed.
I think spiritual progress can be the result of a combination of:
Small (e.g. dress and behaviour in Church),
Medium (e.g. fasting, getting Indulgences) and
Big (e.g. martydom) offerings to God; you want something? What are you offering in exchange?
That’s what sacrifice is: an offering. You want something? You can whinge about it constantly, by praying*, but **you can also pile on the pressure by:
Fasting,
Giving alms,
Seeking indulgences,
Abstinence,
Confession,
Mass,
Visiting the sick etc.
… A spiritual snowball effect.**
I’m afraid having gone to Missa Cantatas and met those involved in setting them up, I can’t go back to the casual dress I wore before, unless it’s unavoidable. God, being complete within Himself, doesn’t need us humans, but we certainly need Him.
As the cliche goes, ‘every little helps’.
Yes, but your ‘every little help’ is every bit as likely be a great big hindrance to the person next to you as a help to them, no matter whether your (or their) dress is formal or casual.
And not everyone, quite obviously, is called on to do the same ‘little things’ in their progress towards God as you, just as you will not be called on to do the same ‘big things’ (martyrdom, say, or bearing debilitating lifelong illness, or what have you) as they are.
Again, to make my position clear, I am not in any way advocating dress that is immodest, stained or torn, advertising a heavy metal rock group or the like.
Now do you really think Prince Charles or Prince Andrew regularly dress formally to meet with their parents, albeit their mother is the Queen of England? Highly doubtful.
You lost me.