Women in Church

[ValiantDomain]

I’m not a sexist, so please don’t think that I am - however, the general overtones of this post may make me sound either sexist or Baptist! Please forgive me if I say anything wrong. The problem, however, may be me…

With that being said:

How should women dress during Mass?

The reason why I ask is because yesterday during Mass a young woman sat down next to me in a rather *close-fitting *pin-striped suit. I won’t deny that I found her quite attractive - distractingly so! And I was even more surprised to find that she was to read from scripture! I would not say that this young woman dressed improperly, nor intentionally so, but it just seemed to be the case that this particular outfit she owned did pronounce her figure quite a bit.

Should men and women (both) dress more modestly during Mass? And should the Church (or even just the parish) attempt to enforce this rule? Or does the problem solely lie with the person (such as myself) who might entertain unholy thoughts?

 

[T1Catholic]

She wore a suit which seems to me she made an effort to appear proper. It was tight fitting you say, well how tight, was her cleavage busting out? Most fashionable clothes today are “form fitting” which really does look better than big and boxy. I believe you can be a modest Catholic without looking like your grandmother. I’m sure what you said was an imodest suit I would have found to be a smart-looking outfit, but I’m in my early thirties and I like to dress fashionable (not provactively of course). Many people on this forum would be on your side though as some think women wearing short-sleeves is imodest. I was just thinking today how women in India wear their traditional outfit which reveals their arms and mid-drif, even the elderly ladies wear these outfits, yet they would hardly think they are being provocative, it’s their custom, but are they being imodest? Anyway, just a side-thought.

 

[Liberian]

Valiant Domain,

My rule of thumb when people ask me (which VERY rarely happens) is “cover the shoulders, cover the knees, cover everything in between.” I haven’t considered the question of Spandex.

• Liberian

 

[LeahInancsi]

I’m not a sexist, so please don’t think that I am - however, the general overtones of this post may make me sound either sexist or Baptist! Please forgive me if I say anything wrong.

Please excuse me for giggling at your inclusion of Baptists.

Leah
in the land of the Baptists

 

[LeahInancsi]

The reason why I ask is because yesterday during Mass a young woman sat down next to me in a rather *close-fitting *pin-striped suit. I won’t deny that I found her quite attractive - distractingly so! And I was even more surprised to find that she was to read from scripture! I would not say that this young woman dressed improperly, nor intentionally so, but it just seemed to be the case that this particular outfit she owned did pronounce her figure quite a bit.

If her clothing, alone, distracted you, then she probably shouldn’t have worn it. That is opposed to her beautiful smile or bright blue eyes.

 

[blessedtoo]

I’m sorry, but a pin-striped suit? How much more conservative can one get? A burka, perhaps? Some women are just so very attractive that no matter what they wear it will be a distraction. Is she creating a problem by wearing a suit that fits her well? We had a cantor at my previous Church who was stunningly beautiful. She was tall and blonde and svelte. She always wore a suit of some kind that fit her quite well and yes, everyone noticed her. So what? If your distracted because you are appreciating someone’s attractiveness, then no harm no foul. If you are distracted and indulging in lustful thoughts, who is to blame?

 

[LilyM]

There’s well fitting and then there’s CLOSE-FITTING as the OP said. If it’s so tight that she was about to bust the seams that’s a kettle of fish of its own.

A priest once told me that whenever he notices an attractive girl he just says a prayer thanking God for His artistry in creating the human form

It’s OK to see people of the opposite gender as objects occasionally, just not to forget Who their creator is

 

[KCT]

A pin stripe suit these days could have had a tight fitting top and a mini skirt.

I’m disgusted w/ alot of what passes for women’s business clothing these days. The other day a woman working in a bank was wearing a short, form fitting black skirt, snug t-shirt and really high heels. Sorry, but I thought she looked slutty, not like a business woman.

Yes, women should dress modestly at Mass. Sadly, there is no universal definition of modest. —KCT

 

[KathleenElsie]

We had three young people from our parish lead us in the Responsorial Psalm. They are in their teens. Two girls were in skirts that covered what needed to be covered and looked nice.

The other girl is quite nice looking and also wore a skirt. Her skirt was so short (her arms were longer then the skirt). Now when she was on the same level as we were it was not bad. She had to go up three steps to the lectern and it was then possible to see more then was proper. You could tell that it made some people very uncomfortable. It seems that this was the case that the OP was talking about.

IMHO To avoid this I think that all those that are at the lectern and at the alter should wear a cover up. This would make it so that no one is offended or offending.

 

[puzzleannie]

we used to have a big Dickie plant here, they moved their clothing operation to Mexico but they still have an outlet store. I think the idea of a uniform coverup for all those lay persons in service of the liturgy is great. Dickie has coveralls, long or short sleeve, in men’s and women’s sizes, in several colors, I believe we could color coordinate with the liturgical year. I may do some on-line marketing to local parishes and see if I have a fledgling business here distributing Dickie coveralls to parishes who have not yet instructed their congregations to keep their minds on worship. Of course, I would not build this into an MLM scheme, that would be sinful.

 

[KathleenElsie]

Coveralls for the guys might look cute. But for the girls modest slacks or skirts that go to the knee would work. If not a robe would suffice.

 

[AnnaTherese]

Should men and women (both) dress more modestly during Mass? And should the Church (or even just the parish) attempt to enforce this rule? Or does the problem solely lie with the person (such as myself) who might entertain unholy thoughts?

Without a doubt, yes. Should the Church enforce it? That’s an excellent question that I wish I knew the answer to. It certainly seems as if they should. I know a story that says that Padre Pio used to post a notice on the door of his church saying that no one would be permitted wearing a skirt which was not at least eight inches below the knee. There is also a priest in my mom’s town who does this, although I don’t think his standards are quite so strict. You know, you aren’t allowed into the Basilica of St. Peter’s in Rome without covering your knees either with pants or a skirt. I have often wondered why just St. Peter’s? Why not every church? Isn’t Jesus present in every tabernacle, not just the one at St. Peter’s? In any case, the person having the unholy thoughts needs to discipline himself, but the person wearing the immodest clothes needs to look out for his brother and not do anything within his or her power that might cause him to fall.

Also, there was a pope, I forget which one now, that said that no dress could be called modest which was cut more than two fingers width below the collarbone, and did not cover the knees and elbows. I believe this was during the 20th century if I’m not mistaken, perhaps the 20’s. So you can’t say that the Church doesn’t have standards. We do. Presumably these standards would apply to men as well, meaning no shorts and t-shirts, I guess? There’s an excellent book written on this called Dressing with Dignity by Colleen Hammond. It’s more of a down-to-earth read, but there is another more scholarly book called The Privelege of Being a Woman by Alice von Hildebrand. Hammond quotes extensively from Hildebrand.

 

[jmcrae]

It certainly seems as if they should. I know a story that says that Padre Pio used to post a notice on the door of his church saying that no one would be permitted wearing a skirt which was not at least eight inches below the knee.

And where did the men go to Church, in that town?

(Just joking!!)

 

[Paul_Folbrecht]

I was recently in Italy (on pilgrimage). Believe me, you do not get into ANY church there in shorts, by you male or female. We were warned several times by our guide and I was, in fact, turned away at one because I had run out of pants (it was HARD to get laundry done) even though I was escorting my handicapped mother. Yes, they take these rules seriously.

This was a Benedictine monastary… the original, first, monastary, from the 5th century. I can’t recall the town now (we visited so many places).

 

[CRW]

I’m not a sexist, so please don’t think that I am - however, the general overtones of this post may make me sound either sexist or Baptist! Please forgive me if I say anything wrong. The problem, however, may be me…

With that being said:

How should women dress during Mass?

The reason why I ask is because yesterday during Mass a young woman sat down next to me in a rather *close-fitting *pin-striped suit. I won’t deny that I found her quite attractive - distractingly so! And I was even more surprised to find that she was to read from scripture! I would not say that this young woman dressed improperly, nor intentionally so, but it just seemed to be the case that this particular outfit she owned did pronounce her figure quite a bit.

Should men and women (both) dress more modestly during Mass? And should the Church (or even just the parish) attempt to enforce this rule? Or does the problem solely lie with the person (such as myself) who might entertain unholy thoughts?

The Rules at EWTN:
Dress and Decorum: In order to show respect to our Lord Jesus Christ, truly present in the most Blessed Sacrament, as well as to show a spirit of charity to the Nuns, the Priests and Brothers, and the other pilgrims, we request the following:

• We encourage you to dress comfortably, but modestly. Please do not wear sleeveless tops, tank tops, shorts, or mini-skirts. Ladies may wear slacks.