Friday, July 31, 2009

The Forgotten Virtue - Modesty in Dress

Our Lady
“The problem of fashion consists in the harmonious reconciliation of a person’s exterior ornamentation with the interior of a quiet and modest spirit.” Pope Pius XII

The Forgotten Virtue: Modesty in Dress

This is a very good article on modesty and I hope you take the time to read it and pass it along to others.

I have posted on several occasions on the need to dress modestly. This applies to both men and women; boys and girls.

I would also add that we should always dress properly for Mass.

Even though a loose T-shirt is considered "modest", it can be a cause for distraction to others. For example, last Saturday evening we sat behind a very nice Catholic family. The teenage boy was respectful and quiet. However, his T-shirt was very distracting. It was a humorous T-shirt which would have gotten a big laugh out of my family and me in any other setting.

When our son was younger he did not like the fact that we made him dress up for Mass. Here in Hawaii that means an Aloha shirt, dress pants and dress shoes. He thought everyone (translation: his peers) would stare at him. Now at 18 years of age, he dresses properly for Mass on his own without his parents having to remind him of what is and what is not appropriate for Mass.

H/T to Sue of Half the Kingdom
twitter / catholicmominHI

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Made a rule in our family - NOTHING with any words on it at Mass!
Of course, we still have the woman who would pass our test - with the tee shirt with all the cute cats on the front, but all their behinds on the back of it - sit down in front of us......

Jean Heimann said...

Thanks for sharing this, Esther! I get so disgusted when I see the fashions in the stores and the immodest way people dress nowadays - adults as well as young people, men as well as women. We all need to be reminded of the importance of modesty.

EC Gefroh said...

A., see that T-shirt would be very distracting to me.

Jean, oh I agree. Nothing worse than seeing a man in Speedos! ;-) JK