How Should We Dress for Mass?
October 8, 2012 8 Comments
A question asked and answered in The Southern Cross:
Please enlighten me and perhaps others who read your newspaper, about an appropriate dress code for Sunday Mass. I find it disrespectful to see not only teenage kids but also adults at Mass as if dressed for a day at the beach. Dennis Langton
“…Mass-goers can forget that they are taking part in solemn worship in a holy place, not out on the public roads. “
We all have biological urges that produce physical pleasure. Christians have to enjoy these in a healthy way and not go to such extremes as gluttony or lust. It is here we need to apply the virtues of temperance and modesty.
St Paul gave this warning: “We must be self-restrained and live good and religious lives here in this present world” while waiting for Christ’s return (Titus 2:12).
The virtue of modesty, as you imply, is not being observed in the way many Catholics dress, especially in the pews at Sunday Mass. This could be because the modern world seems to care little about it, seeing no harm in provocative fashions and advertising.
Recent photographs of near-naked members of the British royal family published in some newspapers have raised awareness that everyone has a right to preserve their privacy, particularly that of their own bodies.
It is here that the Christian virtue of modesty comes in.
Modesty affirms the sacredness of the human person and so it preserves the human body from becoming an object of curiosity and lust.
The Catechism tells us that modesty is decency, inspiring one’s choice of clothing and keeping silence or reserve where there is evident risk of unhealthy curiosity; it is also discreet (2522).
Mass-goers should be made aware of this. Most do not intend to be immodest or provocative, but they can forget that they are taking part in solemn worship in a holy place, not out on the public roads.
St Peter’s basilica in Rome, for example, enforces regulations forbidding admission to those wanting to enter in shorts and skirts above the knee, sleeveless garments, transparent or tight-fitting garments and the wearing of excessive jewellery. This demonstrates that the basilica is not for commercial or other secular use, but exclusively for the worship of God, in which unbecoming clothing is inappropriate and offensive.
At Sunday Mass, similar restrictions ought to apply. This is not merely to stave off feelings of lust in others, but to help all present to focus on the sacred liturgy with as few distractions as possible.
Apart from these self-evident norms, there is no fixed dress code for attendance at Mass.
About Fr Stephen Smuts
Hi there.
I am not a catholic but I was before.
The Bible give us commandment on how we are going to dress as Christian. Not only in place of worship but everywhere and every time. I learned this to our preacher, Bro. Eli Soriano. http://www.esoriano.wordpress.com
1Ti 2:9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
1Ti 2:10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.
If I were Pope, Catholics would look like the Amish. (One of the few Protestants I respect)
Seriously, I am amazed at how many men wear sleeveless shirts and bandanas/caps while going to communion. Women that wear spaghetti straps, skintight clothing, baring midriffs or their entire backs, or really short shorts. It’s as if the Church is no different from a nightclub or something.
So, yeah. Amish is the way to go.
I think that Anglican Catholics and Roman Catholics when it comes to dress code for Mass need to improve quite a bit. It is something that has been let go over the years. I objected way back in New Zealand to people dressed in dirty jeans wandering in the sanctuary and some being Minister of the Eucharist. I am one of those clergy, who feel that those, who administer in the sanctuary should be robed .I like the dress code of those in the Pius X movement.
The Amish live in the dark ages and I totally agree with Ioannes’s comments.If he so keen
on the Amish he should join them and In really wonder to how long he will last.
This is a good topic indeed.
Father Ed Bakker OPR
YES! Those in the sanctuary ought to be ROBED. (And please, no women. It gets obvious that in Roman Catholic Churches, women are “Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist” because they want to be priests but can’t. Much less how off-putting it is to see a woman robed as if she’ll ever have a chance to be a priest.)
My admiration for the Amish stems from the fact that I know I’m not going to be able to do what they do, to be as simple as they are, and to be as happy despite the lack of comfort everyone else enjoys.
I don’t think they live in the dark ages; they go through Rumspringa, a period of transition into adulthood where they can -choose- to stay with their community or live in the outside world by actually going into the outside world to check it out. So clearly, the Amish folk know about what’s happening on the outside and are not entirely ignorant, but they -chose- to live, dare I say, “ascetically”.
Unfortunately, (Or fortunately?) the Amish aren’t keen on receiving outsiders into their community. They’re Anabaptists, so there’s that doctrinal issue. (They also believe that people still pay priests to forgive their sins, among other 16th century understanding of the Roman Catholic Church.)
But yes, going back to the dress code issue, simplicity and modesty are the key words.
I live in Pennsylvania alongside many Amish. I can assure you, they do not live in the dark ages. Such a view represents the kind of thinking that leads many non-Catholic Christians to think such silly things as Catholics worship statues. For example, some Amish will not allow a telephone in the house but have one in an outbuilding away from the house. They do so, not because of some rejection of the technology but from the admirable position that a phone is useful for communicating necessary or emergency information, but it should not be used for gossiping while one is completing household tasks. Putting the phone in a separate, inconvenient place enforces that.
While their theology may be quite a bit off the mark, the practicing Amish live as models of Christian charity in our communities.
I will always remember that incident where a school full of Amish girls were murdered by a troubled man who committed suicide and how the Amish community forgave him and how they were worried about his widow, going so far as to share with her grief.
I have no doubt that they are Christians!
Sunday Best. Clean (and brushed!) hair, skin and clothing – pressed if the fabric requires this.. Polished shoes.
I would prefer there not be a dress code per se as I would not want anyone to be discouraged from coming to church to worship God for any reason. But I like it when the women dress in skirts or dresses and wear hats (Anglican headcovering!) because it shows our belief in the complementarity of the sexes. I like it very much that some of our young men wear dress shirts and ties, perhaps a vest and a jacket, and nice dress slacks and shined shoes to church. Quite countercultural! One even wears a fedora when he arrives in his trenchcoat and he looks so sharp! But we’ve had people come in sweat pants or articles of clothing so low-slung the plumber’s smile shows. I’d rather have these people coming to church than to feel unwelcome.