Posted on 09/05/2011 6:12:17 AM PDT by marshmallow
Americans getting more casual in what they wear to church.
Deacon Greg Kandra was well aware that modern Americans were getting more casual and that these laid-back attitudes were filtering into Catholic pews.
Still, was that woman who was approaching the altar to receive Holy Communion really wearing a Hooters shirt?
Yes, she was.
When did Catholics, he thought to himself, start coming to Mass dressed for a Britney Spears concert? Had he missed a memo or something?
"Somewhere along the way, we went from neckties to tank tops, and from fasting to fast food. And it's getting worse," noted Kandra, a former CBS News writer with 26 years, two Emmys and two Peabody Awards to his credit. He is now a deacon assigned to Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, a 3,000-member parish in Forest Hills, just north of New York City.
"I recently had to tell a couple that no, they could not have their Chihuahua in a tuxedo as part of their wedding party,"he added, in a Patheos.com commentary. "An auxiliary bishop in Indianapolis recently complained about people who tweet during funerals. Casual Catholics, it seems, have taken 'casual' to a new level."
After the Hooters incident, he decided it was time to stop whining about the rising tide of irreverence and immodesty and to start griping about it right out in the open. Thus, Kandra and the parish's other clergy have resorted to appealing — in the parish bulletin and in public remarks — for a hint of sanity or even some old-fashioned decorum.
One bulletin item proclaimed, with a gag headline: "PLANS FOR PARISH SWIMMING POOL SCRAPPED! After much study, our finance committee has determined it would not be feasible to construct an indoor swimming pool in our church. ... As a result, we can now announce.........
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
“not up to me, is it?”
If you’re going to keep the young lady from church because of her dress then you are driving a wedge between her and Jesus.
“However, if you’re “seeking salvation,” you have a little work to do before taking communion in a Catholic church.”
Kinda up to the priest isn’t it? Then again I’m Baptist and we don’t place conditions on someone seeking to accept Jesus’s salvation, other than whats in the Bible of course. Change someones heart and they’ll change their behavior. Obviously she felt comfortable coming to church dressed like that, which means those around her didn’t mind.
You mean the same Jesus who washed their feet? I don’t think he cared a whit for how they dressed, only the content of their heart.
Tmatt ping
You can bet on it that they would.
It's been my experience that the judge not lest thou be judged crowd are always more than happy to be the ones that cast the first stone at ANYONE that doesn't meet their narrow world view.
That was considered conservative dress.
Being a member of the Cathedral parish here which is one of the tourist attractions, we see everything - and I mean everything. Yesterday, I saw an Indian family where the women were dressed in beautifully colorful saris, a college aged girl in a decent shirt, but the shorts showed too much thigh. There’s always people who are obvious tourists in shorts and t-shirts, women wearing skin-tight anything and everything with entirely too much cleavage. It’s hard to do something about it when they are only in the church for one Sunday. The regulars, generally, aren’t so casual other than the medical people who come in scrubs either just before or after a shift. And then, that’s more decent than a lot of the visitors. Personally, since we have a huge collection of choir robes, I think we should hand them out at the door. Maybe then the people will get the message.
As someone who goes to Mass in a skirt that hits mid-shin and shirts that have sleeves with a jacket because it’s cold in there (I swear there’s a “hang meat” setting on the AC), this is pretty ridiculous. The US does have a very casual society and in this case, the spillover is starting to bite back.
Ahh so you turn to personal insults instead of actually answering the question, God Bless you.
We’ve seen how your approach turns people away from God.
The sacrifice of being respectful and dressing appropriately, not like a slob, is part of the price.
take your meds fool.
Being truly Catholic implies that one has a very personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
;-))))
God Bless
“The sacrifice of being respectful and dressing appropriately, not like a slob, is part of the price.”
Those are mans conditions, not Gods.
Tsgt is correct that this is a malaise affecting all of us. I see you dd as saying that clothes are not important, correct? In a way you are correct, but clothes are also a significance of how much we care about God. If a person comes in plain clothes to church, that's still a sign of their respect to God. If they comes in rags -- perhaps they can't afford better. But if they can, then one wears something that shows one's respect to God.
I guess the point that beach wear is just not appropriate is lost. For gentlemen, nice pants and a polo or button down shirt is just fine. For ladies, no cleavage, nothing skin tight and be covered past the elbows and knees. How hard is that?
>>You mean the same Jesus who washed their feet? I don’t think he cared a whit for how they dressed, only the content of their heart.
And what is the content of the heart of woman who wears a push-up bra and revealing clothing to church? Does she even care that there may be men there seeking help from God with their lust problems? Does she think church is a good place to pick up men and she needs a lunch date? Is she actually trying to harm men who need a break from our sex-obsessed culture? Is she so selfish that she needs to be center of attention everyplace she goes, even if it harms others? Do you think this woman would dry His feet with her hair?
dd -- it's not about the lady wearing a plain t-shirt, but one which is just not respectful to God. A plain t-shirt, something casual ok -- but remember that even in the days of jellabahs and sandals, they would wear clean, new ones to worship God.
Those are mans conditions, not Gods.
Actually, according to the saints, the Blessed Mother, etc., through apparitions that we Catholics recognize, those ARE God's conditions.
so, what would be the attitude if a woman came in a halter and micro-mini skirt to your service? how about a bikini? Is that ok? What about in a T-shirt that says Play-something?
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