02-25-2021, 08:45 PM
“Down in adoration fallin, Lo! The Sacred Host we hail…”
CHAPTER FIVE:
Church Attire
It is for this offense against the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar that I beseech you to hear these words I so humbly write to you. It is for these offences that we must be willing to be modest and pure at all costs. And for our great love of this Most Blessed Sacrament, we must be willing to make reparation for the offences committed each day, but especially for those committed right at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass where Our Savior and King becomes truly present! As Our Lord sits and waits for us in His little Prison of Love – the Tabernacle, we offend Him by forgetting He is there! Or worse we seem not to believe in the most basic truth that our Faith has taught us, that this is the True Presence of Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament!
Reading about a visit that Pope John Paul II made to the United States a few years ago I discovered this most beautiful story. He was visiting a seminary and rather than speak to the seminarians, as was planned, he walked right past them and headed for the Chapel. His guards, taken by surprise, rushed on ahead of him with their dogs to go over the place before the Pope got there. When the dogs reached the empty Chapel, they went directly to whined and barked signaling to their handlers that they had found someone (which is what they are trained to do). Their guards thinking they were mistaken tried to take them away by they would not budge. They were positive they had found somebody there in that empty Chapel. Only when they were directly commanded to leave did they leave. What was it that they found? The True Presence of Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar!! That is WHO they found! 12. And if you and I as Catholics know and believe this, why would we ever want to offend Our Lord who is there right in our midst?
And how is it that we have managed to forget the poor priests who celevbrate this Mass for us? Where is our respect for them when we wear clothes that expose parts of our bodies to these consecrated priests of God? Do we imagine that they are not human? How would an immodestly dressed woman not affect a Priest? Is it any wonder to hear of all the priests who leave the religious life because of great difficulties that they have with adhering to their vows of celibacy? Why must these priests, who have chosen to sacrifice themselves, to be able to celebrate Calvary for us, be forced to see exposed skin in front of them? As they struggle with the same temptations as any other normal man, what horror would it be for them to be presented with these temptations to sin, right before celebrating the Mass! Or the young altar boys serving at the altar, trying to remain pure all the while having to see such showing of flesh? These boys, serving at the altar will have no chance of Confession once they are up at the altar. Woe to the woman who may be the cause of either the priest or altar boy(s) falling, at the altar of Our Lord!
We must regain the respect we once had for our holy priests and the young boys on the altar as well. Recognizing their humanness and helping them to remain pure, by adhering to the Church’s standards of modesty is our duty. Is it any wonder that we are lacking vocations? The call of the flesh is very powerful and it is getting to these young men before they have the change of fulfilling their vocation. Satan is using his old tricks again by luring young men away from their priestly calling! Woe, to those women, aware or not, who consent to be the instruments used by Satan to accomplish this fall. We see again, how much depends on the response of women!
Right about now some of you are saying, “You’ve got to be kidding about this!” I know, I know, but bear with me for a moment as I explain. This subject is not meant to divide us as Catholics, it is meant to unite us to a common dress code, a universal one – a Catholic one! St. John Chrysostom says, “Where virtue is, there are many snares.” And so, it is with modesty. Since the practice of this virtue has within it great treasures and graces to be discovered, is it any wonder that the devil uses this issue to divide us into picking or taking sides, or simply making us believe it is unimportant? He wants us to be distracted, so that he can continue in his work of entrapping souls!
At the beginning of this book, I outlined the different statements made throughout history concerning modest dress. This included very specific recommendations from some earlier Popes. In the last 100 years there has been more said about modesty than in the entire previous history of the Church. But this is also the century that has witnessed the opening of floodgates allowing every possible type of dress to be introduced and adopted by Catholic and non-Catholic alike. Even the majority of our Religious, have sadly, given up their own habits and instead have chosen secular dress, to the detriment of their Orders!
My own daughter, who is now 14, was fervently interested in the Religious Life until she discovered that her favorite order wore a shortened habit and others wear none at all! Since then, she has been firmly against the idea of Religious life; it simply turned her off from it completely. At a young age, children are attracted to the Religious life by its exterior and this is one reason why the religious habit is so important. It is a visible example of the sacrifice religious have made of the world (and its fashions) as spouses of Christ. This helps children to develop a reverence and awe for Religious Life. Later, when they have maintained their interest, they will be prepared to investigate the more spiritual reasons for choosing the Religious Life. Recently our oldest, Sierra, after seeing an old movie called The Nun’s Story, was inspired again to think of Religious life. The exterior dress of Religious is vitally important to their orders and to new vocations. Please, I ask all Religious: continue to wear the dress of your order for your own sake and for the sake of future vocations!!
Satan has been taking this issue very seriously with regard to the laity and religious, and it is time that we do the same! We cannot afford to simply say this is modesty ENOUGH. We must be modest, PERIOD. At one time, there was not a question of what was – and was not – modest. The clothing was simple. Dresses to the floor for women were standard. Women grew up in the them, worked in them, and grew old in them. There was no thought of an alternative. Men worked in their clothing and never considered having to remove their shirts as that simply wasn’t proper. Now anything goes. Before we did not have clothing such as swimsuits, bikinis, miniskirts and other perversions to choose from. So, there were fewer choices and more modesty. But with the progress(?) of man, and democracy we have discovered all that can possibly be invented. Often this has been good society, but as society became Godless, these discoveries began to show the traits of man’s Godlessness too. Inventions from the mind of man without reason of God are simply – abominable! How can the majority of lay people be modest if they do not exactly know just what that level of modesty is in the Church’s eyes? It is much harder now, to have to week through the mire of fashion to discover just what is modest. This is the reason the Church has seen fit to give us some guidelines to help us in this manner. I list them here so that all of the guidelines handed down to us can be seen at once. This is the goal for every woman is she is not there yet! I encourage you to follow these guidelines and see what blessings will come down from heaven because you chose to be modest according to the Church’s guidelines.
Do not even think for a moment that following the above guidelines will hamper your ability to wear beautiful clothing! On the contrary! It is wise to learn from our past and keep what is good. That is just what can be done today. As you will see in Part II there are many creative ways to work within these guidelines and not look like a prude!
The following are some guidelines from the Marylike Crusader on the:
Proper Code of Attire for Church and Other Sacred Places
Our of Reverence for All Holy God, I am Resolved to Carry Out the Following Code:
1. While I am determined always to dress with Marylike modesty, both at home and in public, I intend to be especially careful to do so when visiting any place dedicated to God. This includes, besides churches and chapels, also outdoor shrines, rectories, seminaries, monasteries, convents, retreat houses, hospitals, and other Catholic institutions.
2. Above all else, I want to show the greatest possible reverence when in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, especially during Holy Mass. Therefore, I will never come to church unless I am wearing clothes that give me full coverage and that in every way befits the most sacred place on earth. I know it is in this spirit that Canon Law directs that in church, “women should be modestly dressed, especially when they approach the Holy Table.” (Canon 1262:2)
3. In making decisions about proper church attire, I will always consider God and His honour first, not myself. Accordingly, I will never use comfort as an excuse for improper church wear, nor will I follow the bad example of others. To show that I am not an unthinking slave of pagan fashion, I will always insist on truly Christian fashions which do not even approach the improper but keep a good distance from it.
4. I know that God is offended, often very grievously, by women and girls who show so little dignity as to come to Church, even to Holy Mass and Holy Communion, while wearing clothes that overexpose and overemphasize the figure, especially the bosom; low-cut and revealing, transparent and sleeveless, and especially shorts, or any other clothing (This includes skirts above 8 inches below the knee) that is not in keeping with the holiness and dignity of the place.
5. It is my firm conviction that reverent decorum and Christian good taste forbid women and girls to come to church, or to any other place dedicated to God, while wearing such unbecoming attire as pedal pushers and slacks, and especially shorts, or any other clothing that is not in keeping with the holiness and dignity of the place.
6. I readily understand why the Church has instructed that “girls and woman who are immodestly dressed are to be refused Holy Communion and excluded from the office of sponsor in the sacraments of baptism and confirmation; and in proper cases are even to be excluded from the church.” (By order of Pope Pius XI)
7. I agree that the principles of proper clothing apply, as the case may require, also to men and boys.
8. If I find that I have provoked the just anger of God by improper attire whether in church or elsewhere, I will humbly acknowledge and confess these sins, amend my ways, and make reparation to the offended Divine Majesty.
9. Out of love for God and our Immaculate Lady, I will insist on proper clothing, especially for church, of all who are subject to me, knowing that I must face the wrath of God for any indifference or negligence or hostility on my part.
Nihil Obstat: Leonard A. Bauer, S.T.D., V.G,
Censor Librorum
Imprimatur: Albert R. Zuroweste, D.D.
Bishop of Belleville