Monday 22 July 2013

Dressing Decently As An Act Of Charity...

The warm weather means that people are often rather scantily dressed. It interested me to note that, in an email sent round at work, people were asked to dress "decently" so that their choice of clothing did not cause embarrassment, distract or give rise to misunderstandings... in other words, to dress modestly as an act of charity to those around us.

Decent dress, according to the email, meant not showing bare midriffs, not wearing sleeveless tops, avoiding overly-translucent materials, and no low-cut trousers or shorts (of any length).

In other words, one does not merely dress to please oneself, but considers one's colleagues.

It is a shame that this attitude of charity towards one's neighbour appears to be ignored by so many when they are choosing what to wear for the worship of Almighty God...

UPDATE: As Caroline pointed out, it might be worth considering the spectacle presented by many ladies when they kneel at the altar rail for Communion if their tops are of the low-cut variety. Is it really fair on the priest? I have to confess that I used to wear low-cut tops myself when I first returned to the Faith. That stopped pretty quickly after one occasion when the Host accidentally dropped down my (not inconsiderable) cleavage...

6 comments:

Supertradmum said...

Thanks for posting this. Catholics forget that modesty is a virtue. I have written on this many times on my blog and you would be surprised at the nasty comments I get on such posts. However, you get some praise...

Mulier Fortis said...

Oh, I'm ready for the flack...

Annie Elizabeth said...

I agree but what is considered "decent" seems to vary from person to person which is why I thought the chapel in Econe very clever to refer to an external authority in the form of a Michelin tourist guide:
"Appropriate attire is required (trousers for men
Skirts correct length and covered shoulders for women). the
personnel is entitled to refuse entry to visitors not respecting
this rule (Michelin Green Guide, early XXI century)"

http://defende-nos-in-proelio.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/econe.html

I wish a sign like this was in the porch of every Catholic Church!

gemoftheocean said...

I take it you retrieved the Host yourself. :-D I'm all for the paten, though to be fair, as God is my witness I once saw a Host fall perfectly vertically on edge smack in the middle of the paten and seen it bounce off! [I had an excellent view as I was holding the paten at the time! And no, it was a still as a mouse in front of a lion.] It bounced like a rubber ball.

Nan said...

When I was younger, I worked for a small but growing company that had just instituted a formal dress code. Previously the restrictions had been:

No tube tops
No belly buttons showing
No bare feet

OreamnosAmericanus said...

My cranky old canon law prof used to say that nudity was a sin, but for different reasons, depending on age. Prior to 25, a sin against chastity, after 25, a sin against charity :)

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