I do not know,only he does.. But he is GOD,and without him we would not be here to adore and respect him.. I really wonder if all those people(who dress like that) really believed that God came down to earth and was in their church,would come to meet him dressed like that. Shame Shame on all of you… Your dress for parties, weddings, etc, but not to see your SAVIOUR. . May we go back to bowing our heads everytime,at the mention of JESUS NAME.. He deserves all our LOVE REVERENCE AND RESPECT.

June 16,[email protected] If people would remember that Our Blessed Mother said to the youngest seer at Fatima (Jacinta) that certain “fashions” would be inttoduced that would offend Our Lord very much. I became a Catholic in 1968 at age 17. I wore a dress or skirt and blouse and veil (or dhapel cap) for years. I became lax for awhile when my children were young but now regret it. I have felt the Lord calling me back to wearing a headcovering. Mainly to show respect for Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. I have 4 dresses that I alternate for Mass. I am disabled and in a wheelchair and sometimes do wear slacks but not often. We are before our Eucharistic King and I cannot appear before Him immodestly dressed. Yes, sometimes it is hot and one might not feel like dressing modestly but HELL is hotter and an hour of being a little warm is not much for Our Lord to ask. As I was taught – “Offer it up”. The way one dresses says alot about how one feels and/or acts in a particular place. People seemed to be more reverant when they dressed modestly and wore a veil or chapel cap. Let’s be Catholic’s with a capital “C” and show Our Lord our love and gratitude by our dress and actions.

But this is where our culture has gone. It is not just Church. Years ago when my family went out to eat we almost always dressed up. Maybe it wasn’t a full neck tie but at least trousers and a button down shirt. Maybe not a formal dress for mom and sis, but at least a skirt and blouse. A restaurant was considered a semi-formal outing. School was also considered a place where things like jeans and informal t-shirts were out of place. Going down town to shop meant we changed out of shorts and put on something appropriate. Shorts were basically for running around the house, playing in the yard and such. But you just didn’t go out to more public settings wearing shorts and flip flops or even sneakers.

It’s not a matter of class deference. What I wear is my first statement to everyone I meet about how seriously I take them. They appreciate my willingness to take this whole tragicomedy of our existence with the appropriate tone at the appropriate time. They see it for what it is: an act of charity. I used to say, when people asked me how many languages I intended to learn, “all of them.” Because I consider learning languages an act of charity. It opens one up to so many more friendships. It opens up the possibility of conversation. So does dress. For me on Sundays, it opens up conversation with God.

Thank you, Monsignor. I agree completely. You mention: “Pardon me for sounding like and old fud but I am not really that old.” I am only 28 and wear a tie everyday to work (I’m a school teacher) and to Mass and a suit in the colder months (not many in South Louisiana). Oh the comments that elicits! “Where are you going so dressed up?” “What’s the special occassion?” “You’re making the rest of us look bad.” That last one of course is not meant to be a compliment all the time. Although, it is nice to hear a simple “You look nice today” from people. As for Mass, I cannot for the life of me understand how this notion of ‘come as you are’ came to be taken so far.

Either of which, I could do in jeans or ankle-length dresses

1 & 2 . It seems the use of the tallit fell off almost right away as the Church went largely to the Gentiles. I Cor 11 makes no mention of it and even goes so far as to say men should pray with heads uncovered. 3. My understanding is that they pull their cowls back for prayer in Church. 4. No idea here.

Yes, I think that our casualness in regard to Church does reflect a struggle with deep faith. It is also, as I point out, a wider cultural phenomenon that tends to make us less reflective on these things.

This post epitomizes why we have a problem with modesty. We should be worried less about becoming “Project Runway meets the Third Reich” and be worried more about why we don’t worship or dress like Catholics.

Just one more thing…Quoting the New Testament in Latin does not bring anyone closer to the point, and smacks of elitism. If you want to demonstrate a point of exegesis, use the koine. If you simply want to make a point, use the “lingua franca” for the blog, which is English…

This is one bible passage that pretty clearly tells me that dressing a certain way at Mass is well and good, but that I need to be utterly committed during this time to creating a deep interior holiness to face the coming trials by witnessing love in action, whether the trials be the driver who cuts me off on my daily commute or facing the perils of contraception in our culture.

I completely agree with Father and this point. I live in Arizona where the temperatures sometimes stay in the triple digits for weeks on end in the summer. My community is also heavily LDS who never fail to wear appropriate attire to their services (including shirts and ties for the men–often jackets) no matter what the weather. I figure if they can do it for their services, I can do it to meet Jesus in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

which is why i am back in college for fashion design. Since i know a lot of women would LIKE nice clothes that are reasonably modest and cannot find them, i figured there was an untapped market!

Never will understand that

I would also submit that if any woman of good will knew the impact their manner of dress had on men – INCLUDING THE PRIEST! – they would cover up. Not blaming women here, just recognizing the difference in our sexuality and the weakness of men. I doubt any woman of good will would want to be responsible for the fall of any man, esp. a priest.

Yes, if things are too laid back up front, the pews are not likely to dress up. Reverence in the liturgy is essential to inspire respect.