VoTeckam Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 [quote name='Mrs. Bro. Adam' post='1883040' date='Jun 4 2009, 02:08 PM']I'm not questioning the devoutness of anyone posting in this thread. One can be devout, and yet still wear something that is disrespectful for Mass. Jeans and a t-shirt and tennis shoes can be very modest, but they are not respectful to the Mass (unless there are extenuating circumstances). Someone posted that they'll dress up to go on a date with their special someone, and put make up on, but they won't take an extra effort to look nice for Christ in the Mass. Do you not see the irreverence of not looking your best when you attend Mass, especially on Sundays? VoTeckum: The post above was written by a religious brother. Does his opinion count for nothing? Do you not think that those religious brothers and sisters (and priests) not find it disheartening when we aren't putting our best foot forward in both actions and dress when we come to Mass on Sunday? If a priest were to do a Mass without his habit on, would we not say that he was disrespectful and irreverent even though what he was wearing was modest? Christ is not our chum, not our buddy, and to think otherwise is a great error on our parts. Christ is our Savior, our Heavenly Father, our [b]King[/b] and yet it is not seen as appropriate to dress in such a way that shows the utmost respect that we claim to have in our hearts for him?[/quote] When I said I get dressed up for a date I also mentioned that dressing up makes the event about my appearance which should not be my focus at Mass. My last thought leaving the house or my first thought should not be , "I wonder how this looks?" I am not going to apologize for making the wroship of God my sole focus of both preparing for and attending Mass. Secondly, if a priest was not wearing his vestments there would be a bigger problem than respect. Vestments are sacramentals which makes this a different issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franciscanheart Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 i'm really not looking to get in the middle of this mess. i do wonder though why those of you who talk so loftily of your opinions and personal attire do not then wear something equivalent to a prom dress or wedding dress on sundays. you really want to make a big deal about a woman dressing up for her wedding and wearing dress slacks (capri style) to mass? really? teresa: a dress is not the equivalent of a wedding dress to mass. you aren't that awesome. i get that you're trying to encourage more outward signs of respect and reverence but claiming that your sunday attire/appearance is equivalent to that of your wedding day just sounds ridiculous. adam: why are you allowed, in your mind, leeway on workdays and others are not on sundays? you wear jeans to mass, do you not? why then do you judge others who do the same? i personally believe these arguments should be directed at having respect for your own body. anything that cannot be respectfully worn into an adoration chapel or daily mass should not be worn in public for anything. (this would of course exclude workout clothing or pajamas, though i DO take issue with people wearing pajamas to mass - even on a university campus. i don't care HOW devout/holy/intelligent they think they are.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. Bro. Adam Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 (edited) Should our appearance not reflect the respect we claim to have for the Mass and the Sacrament? Laura, I look better when I go to Mass than I ever did when I got married, and that is due to the change in my outward appearance. Slacks have never been at issue here. The issue in thread has become whether it's appropriate to wear jeans and tennis shoes to Sunday Mass. And for the record, Adam doesn't wear jeans during the week. He wears black slacks and dress shirt, so unfortunately your argument will not hold water against him. Edited June 4, 2009 by Mrs. Bro. Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 About six thousand four hundred and thirty-three years ago ( Pre-Vat II ), it was expected that men would wear suits, sportscoats, etc to Mass. Women would wear veils, hats, or in worst case, a Kleenex with a bobby pin. If "appropriate clothing" was not available due to income, etc., it was expected that the congregation would be in neat, clean clothing in good repair. It was understood that you were not going to see your friend, but you were going to be with the Creator of all. Not a king, not a senator, not a mayor, you were with The King. Take a look around at our Baptist brothers. While their denomination is not as "complete" as is ours, most are dressed to the 9's when they go to church. Too poor to get dressed to the 9's, be neat, clean and respectful. Will God add 78,000 years to the term in Purgatory simply because you wore socks that didn't match each other? I doubt it. Dressing appropriately simply helps us to remember what we are doing there. We are not visiting a buddy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franciscanheart Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 [quote name='Mrs. Bro. Adam' post='1883053' date='Jun 4 2009, 12:24 PM']Of course it's about your appearance. Does not our outside appearance a reflection of the respect/lack of respect we have for something? I dress nicer for those events that I have greater respect for. I guess some don't feel that way about it, eh?[/quote] It's my personal belief that you dress respectfully because you respect yourself. I don't wear slop clothing if I "think less" of you. I try to dress myself as best I can with what I can afford because I respect myself. It has NOTHING to do with you. Frankly, you aren't that important. (Let it be known this is a collective "you," not a direct one.) God of course comes into play here because He gave me my body and I do respect it as a temple of the Holy Spirit. God is not you. You are not God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dominicansoul Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 (edited) [quote name='hugheyforlife' post='1883052' date='Jun 4 2009, 12:23 PM']i do wonder though why those of you who talk so loftily of your opinions and personal attire do not then wear something equivalent to a prom dress or wedding dress on sundays.[/quote] I haven't been able to fit in my prom dress in 20 years. I don't go dressed like the prom queen. that would be gawdy, i think... but this is not what many are saying here. I think we are all pretty much saying the same things, just in different ways... we all agree we shouldn't dress down for Mass, correct? and as I said in an earlier post, we all will have differences in regards to what is reverent to us... i just think there needs to be a greater effort to dress up for Mass, as I witness much too often, there seems to be absolutely no effort... to me, it seems (and polls would back me up on this,) that much of the members of our Catholic Faith, do not know what is taking place at Mass. I think if they did, the effort, as much effort and expense as getting ready for prom, dances, dates, would be there... Edited June 4, 2009 by dominicansoul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fides quarens intellectum Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 [quote name='hugheyforlife' post='1883052' date='Jun 4 2009, 12:23 PM']i do wonder though why those of you who talk so loftily of your opinions and personal attire do not then wear something equivalent to a prom dress or wedding dress on sundays.[/quote] i would consider most prom dresses and wedding dresses completely inappropriate for Mass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. Bro. Adam Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 [quote name='hugheyforlife' post='1883055' date='Jun 4 2009, 11:28 AM']It's my personal belief that you dress respectfully because you respect yourself. I don't wear slop clothing if I "think less" of you. I try to dress myself as best I can with what I can afford because I respect myself. It has NOTHING to do with you. Frankly, you aren't that important. (Let it be known this is a collective "you," not a direct one.) God of course comes into play here because He gave me my body and I do respect it as a temple of the Holy Spirit. God is not you. You are not God.[/quote] Laura, this post was rewritten after I read your post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franciscanheart Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 As long as the couple is subscribing to the "I dress for those [things] I respect" theory, what about this: [quote name='Brother Adam' post='1879540' date='May 31 2009, 06:29 PM']Cool. Now we need cool professional Catholic clothes for the DRE's and CYM's of the world cause we can't wear t-shirts.[/quote] Isn't it "respectful" to dress nicely for work? I don't wear PJs there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franciscanheart Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 [quote name='fides quarens intellectum' post='1883058' date='Jun 4 2009, 12:29 PM']i would consider most prom dresses and wedding dresses completely inappropriate for Mass. [/quote] i thought about that while i was writing. i knew some [mod]edit--hsm[/mod]would say that. you know what i meant. it's the idea behind wearing a special dress or something that "fancy." the idea is that the people taking such a stand would wear the equivalent of their SUPER SUPER HOLY AND MODEST wedding or prom dress each and every sunday. ... because obviously that's the number one key to respect in a church. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dominicansoul Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 [quote name='hugheyforlife' post='1883061' date='Jun 4 2009, 12:33 PM'] i thought about that while i was writing. i knew some [mod]edit[/mod] would say that. you know what i meant. it's the idea behind wearing a special dress or something that "fancy." the idea is that the people taking such a stand would wear the equivalent of their SUPER SUPER HOLY AND MODEST wedding or prom dress each and every sunday. ... because obviously that's the number one key to respect in a church. [/quote] woah, you are taking this way way too far out! we are simply stating that reverent clothing is needed at Mass. We aren't saying we are super holy because we dress to the nines.. it has nothing to do with us, but Who we are in the Presence of... we can merely humbly come before Him in a manner as appropriate as we can be as mere mortals... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fides quarens intellectum Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 [quote name='hugheyforlife' post='1883061' date='Jun 4 2009, 12:33 PM'] i thought about that while i was writing. i knew some [mod]edit[/mod] would say that. you know what i meant.[/quote] whoah, whoah, whoah - language, please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franciscanheart Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 [quote name='Brother Adam' post='1881830' date='Jun 3 2009, 08:44 AM']I knew this topic would stir controversy. Mass clothing was not a problem for most before Mass became a social event. Even those who were poor almost always had Sunday clothes. My list is not strict, and is actually very short. My inclination is to simply say "dress as if were to have a formal meeting with the Holy Father" since having a meeting with the Pope ranks fairly low next to meeting Jesus at Mass. The problem with that is I'm fairly certain many lay Catholics would go to such a meeting in flip flops and a tank top. I also think there is a difference between daily Mass and Sunday Mass. [b]Even I have gone to daily Mass in denim running to St. Peter's after work in Steubenville.[/b] I also agree that people need to understand what the Mass is to help them dress more appropriately. That takes time as well, but why I asked for quotes. Right now I have one from VII and one from Mother Teresa.[/quote] Emphasis mine. I know you're trying to promote respectful habits, Teresa, but your husband HAS worn jeans to Mass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. Bro. Adam Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 I'll make my point of view very simple: Dressing in jeans and tennis shoes for Mass on Sunday (unless there are circumstances pointed out previously) is inappropriate and disrespectful. We should put our best foot forward and look our best (dress clothes, nice shoes) as it is the King of King we are going to see, and not our chum. Laura-the bit about my looking better for Mass, I do consider myself better looking now than I was when I got married, but that is due to the extreme weight loss that occured after I was diagnosed with an ongoing illness. I am sad when I see those who can afford nice clothes attending Mass in jeans and tennis shoes or worse, shorts and sleeveless shirts and sandals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. Bro. Adam Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 [quote name='hugheyforlife' post='1883065' date='Jun 4 2009, 11:36 AM']Emphasis mine. I know you're trying to promote respectful habits, Teresa, but your husband HAS worn jeans to Mass.[/quote] Your post was using present tense. I was simply pointing out that that is no longer the case as his line of work requires him to wear business attire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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