Dear Father,
My family became Catholic last year. We were Mormons and dressed for church every Sunday. My children are asking if they still need to dress up for Mass, seeing so many other people dressing informally and sometimes immodestly.
-Ozzie
Congratulations on your family’s conversion to Catholicism, and welcome!
Dressing up for church is important. Notice that I say “church” and not just “Mass.” That’s because there are other church services besides Mass, such as Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, baptisms, weddings, going to confession, and more.
Whenever we go to church, we always encounter God. It is essential to give God our best. We may not be wealthy and able to afford expensive clothing, but even simple clothing can be made to look good. God is not impressed by how much we spend on clothing or hairdos. He is honored when we try to show respect for him and his house, even when we put on tasteful yet simple clothing.
The reason that dressing modestly and respectfully for church is important is that it is an external sign of what we believe interiorly. Dressing appropriately is a crucial way to show our respect for God and the sacraments, most especially the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The Mass and sacraments are sacred gifts from God, and the Eucharist is the very presence of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Some people want to blur the lines between the inside and outside of the church doors, as if it’s all the same. It isn’t the same, however, just as the inside of our home is not the same as our driveway. If there were no difference between the two, then we could park our cars in our kitchens. Absurd!
The same is true of what we do in church and what we keep out of church. The sacred space inside the church is distinct from the profane space outside the church.
READ: Skin at Mass
The word profane (the basis of the word for bad speech, profanity) refers to what is outside the church or temple. Profane comes from two Latin words: pro, meaning before, and fanum, meaning temple. Something is profane because it is outside the realm of the sacred. What is profane is the opposite of what is sacred or holy.
When we cross the threshold of the church doors, we are entering sacred space. The sacred realm of God’s house demands that we pay honor and respect to him when we are visiting him. As the priest wears special clothing to celebrate the sacraments, we, too, are to wear clothing that befits the occasion.
Our clothing should be modest. Modesty is part of temperance. It avoids the extremes of shabbiness and dazzling apparel. Today, however, the tendency is toward showing too much skin (even outside the church) rather than extravagant clothing. Skimpy and overly tight clothing, more akin to beachwear, don’t belong in the house of God, plain and simple. Never mind the near occasion of sin we may cause someone!
Modesty, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, is decency. It protects our innermost being, “refusing to unveil what should remain hidden” (2521). This is part of the reason that veils are often used to cover tabernacles and chalices: they point to the hidden sacredness that they cover.
Sure, someone will object that we should “come as we are” to church because it’s what’s on the inside that counts, not the outside. It’s true that the inside is essential, that is, holiness, virtue, godliness and so forth. But the inside (the soul) never comes without an outside (the body). The human soul is important, but so is the human body. We are temples of the Holy Spirit, and that includes our bodies and souls.
When someone says that God sees what’s on the inside, it’s as though they think that God doesn’t care about the outside. Another person will make the minimalist claim: “At least I’m in church; who cares what I wear?” God sees everything, including our efforts to offer him the best we have. He sees our heart, and one way we express what is in our heart by what we wear.
We also read in the Catechism (1387): “Bodily demeanor (gestures, clothing) ought to convey the respect, solemnity, and joy of this moment when Christ becomes our guest.” Then there is the 2006 document by our bishops, “On Preparing to Receive Christ Worthily in the Eucharist: “We should also come to the sacred liturgy appropriately dressed. As Christians we should dress in a modest manner, wearing clothes that reflect our reverence for God and that manifest our respect for the dignity of the liturgy and for one another.”
Interestingly, immodestly dressed men and women are given shawls to cover bare shoulders and legs at the major basilicas in Rome and elsewhere. I hope it’s not time for us to do the same here at home.
Questions about the sacraments should be sent to sacraments101@columbuscatholic.org.