Posted on 07/13/2006 8:41:37 PM PDT by FJ290
AMARILLO, July 12, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Bishop John Yanta of the Catholic diocese of Amarillo, Texas, has published a pastoral letter on modesty in dress, especially at Sunday Mass, a subject that inevitably arouses strong reactions even in conservative circles.
Titled, “Modesty starts with purification of the heart,” Bishop Yanta’s letter calls choosing what to wear a “moral act.” Bishop Yanta writes, “we can help the devil in many ways including the way we dress.”
Referring to the “battle for purity,” required of the Christian life, Bishop Yanta writes, “When the community of believers comes together for the Eucharist (Mass) let no one be a distraction from Jesus or provide temptation (an occasion of sin) to another because of our manner of dress.”
(Excerpt) Read more at lifesite.net ...
Not Catholic, but read a good bit of this. Makes me want to buy a white cotton dress. I like the bit about modeling modesty to our kids. We complain about how lewd Hollywood is, but maybe a good deal of it is that we aren't respecting others enough here at home in simple things like dress.
Modesty also applies to men. I am a man and I try to dress in a modest manner. For example, how many young men do you see today going around with their shirts off, or hanging open, with baggy pants on that are showing the tops of their underwear? Have they ever heard of belts?
Still, that's part of the problem - we've developed a mentality that says "I can do what I want, and if you don't like it, deal with it yourself!," another aspect of the self-centered point of view that permeates our culture.
It also is used to reinforce feminist viewpoints about how animalistic men are and therefore unworthy of being treated with respect.
But the truth is, how a person dresses affects the people around them and sets a tone for things.
Wearing revealing clothing in inappropriate situations shows a lack of respect of self, and for a religious person, a lack of being aware of the injunction not to cause one's brother to sin.
Purity is not very much valued in today's world, but it is (or ought to be) a bedrock of Christian living. It is hard to live a pure life when you behave in ways that are impure. A Christian walk isn't self-centered, but other-centered, focused first on Christ, and the fact that we should treat those around us with the love that Christ would have for us, and remembering that we are Christ's light to those around us.
And so, for believing women, the standard should be higher than the current sexually centered standards of our era. The "I can do what I want and tough if you don't like it" attitude is not a Christian response. Instead, it should be, "How can I behave in a way that will honor my Lord?"
Very good points. While I am shocked at some of the things I see on television, I'm equally as shocked when I go out on the streets. People sure are flashing a lot of skin these days.Some of them are young kids.
P.S. A white cotton dress would be quite becoming this time of year.
It gets hot in Amarillo & I doubt that the Bishop has much angst over how much the electric bill is going to be this month. Besides, a tank top & shorts covers more skin than a fig leaf does.
Looked like the test was whether you were a distraction or immodest. Flip-flops are neither except to people spending too much time on fashion criticism.
Beautiful post. I really liked this part.
Hmm...I think that would depend on the tank top. Since I am in the presence of ladies, I won't go into too much detail, but a neighbor of mine, the tank tops she wears doesn't leave much to the imagination.
I guess that's a good thing--gives your imagination a chance to rest up.
Matthew 15:11 says " What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' "
But it could have been easily said; " what goes on a man's body does not make him 'unclean ' but what message is displayed on his body , that is what makes him 'unclean.' "
Therefore without knowing the context of the intent of the persons heart, simple rules for what we put in or on our bodies is nonsense.
Although, I would generally agree that much of the body art and manner of dress we see today is intended to display a message of rebellion, hatred, selfishness, and lack of morals, but again its not the material items that are the evil, but the persons heart.
Some of it is respect. When Catholics go to church they literally believe they go into the presence of Jesus. If you were dressing to go visit the President, would you wear flipflops, tank tops and shorts?
But you are getting ready to go into the presence of someone much higher in status than the President when you go to church. But it doesn't seem to matter to a lot of people. They treat God with very little sense of respect. They dress more respectfully to go out to dinner than to see the Master of the Universe.
Beyond that, we have lost the concept of what all this does to people. If the way you dress affects the people you are worshipping with in ways that takes an average person's mind off God and focuses it on the way you are dressed (either by the fact you are dressed too casually, to skimpily or too fancy) you have by your choice interfered with their communion with God, and that is another form of lack of respect.
It is not "all about me" when it comes to holy living.
It is about acting with love and respect to my fellows and towards God.
It doesn't have to be fancy. But it ought to be appropriate for the occasion. If you respect God, if you love your neighbor as yourself, this should influence how you choose to dress.
Yep, they'd rather have homosexual fashion designers tell them how to dress.
Catholic ping!
Good humor has an element of truth to it.
Thanks for the ping Pyro7480.
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