Put on your Sunday best

If you wander into Mass on any Sunday at St. John Vianney Parish, Northlake, Illinois, you likely will see people in all sorts of attire, some of it bordering on the inappropriate.

You also will see three or four men wearing a coat and tie and the same number of women wearing fashionable, but modest, dresses.  I’ll be one of the men and my wife one of the women.

Our pastor encourages people to dress appropriately for Mass.  And most folks have progressed beyond items better saved for a dance club.  But it seems that we (and every other Catholic parish I have visited) have quite a few folks who don’t see that the wardrobe for Mass is any different than the wardrobe for gardening, jogging or bowling.

Frankly, this is something that has always confounded me.  Perhaps that’s because I grew up in a large Protestant church and would never have dreamed of going to church unless clad in my Sunday Best – coat and tie.

When I started attending Mass with my wife after our marriage, two things struck me immediately:

1. The congregation dressed like slobs.

2.  The music was awful.

OK, it was the time of hippies, and guitar Masses and we’re recovering from that.  But dressing like slobs continues.

That’s why I was impressed to read this week that Archbishop Jose Guadalupe Martin Rabago of Leon, Mexico, is on a campaign to have people come to church dressed respectfully and modestly.

“If you have any respect for this place (a church), dress appropriately,” he told reporters, apparently after receiving criticism for suggesting that mini-skirts and low-cut blouses don’t belong in a church.

He is absolutely right and my pastor agrees with him.  And it really doesn’t take much effort to dress appropriately for church.

Is it a bit uncomfortable to wear a coat and time when the weather is warm?  Sometimes.  And if it is really uncomfortable, I’ll take off the coat (but not the tie).

This is how I will continue to dress for church – until the day I see the Holy Father celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s square wearing cutoffs and a White Sox t-shirt.

About Jim Fair

Jim Fair is a writer and consultant. He lives in the Chicago area and has a wonderful wife, son and daughter. He enjoys fishing and occasionally catches something. He tries to play the piano and sings a little. In addition to writing for Regnum Christi Live, he blogs at Laughing Catholic. And you can follow him on Twitter: Jim Fair (@fishfair).
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4 Responses to Put on your Sunday best

  1. Francois M-D says:

    This is a real issue and thanks for addressing it. In my parish, in the whole Province of Quebec, people dress casually to attend mass except for a few people in their 70s. Most of the time clothes are modest and appropriate though. That’s why, with only 8% of the population attending church, nobody dares suggesting, let alone imposing, a stricter dress code. I do agree though that sometimes people could be more aware of their appearance. I remember one Sunday, the «altar boy» was a man in his 50s.He was wearing bermudas under his alb and sandals. The result was a bit ridiculous; he actually looked as if he was naked under the alb.

    French Canadians have the reputation to dress well but in our church those are the people born in Africa and Haiti who dress better for mass.

    The questions is : what can we do in a world where there is no strict dress code?

  2. Jim Fair says:

    Francois…This isn’t something we can fix in a day, but by example over time. And pastors can, with prudence and respect, educate those who offend. A word here and there will help.

  3. Woody Jones says:

    Jim, I totally agree with you, of course. The way I heard it, one wouldn’t wear cutoffs and flip flops if one were invited to meet Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, would one? So why would one wear such things when one is going to meet our King? Or, let’s face it, does the informality of the attire in fact reveal a deeper lack of understanding of Who one is going to meet.

  4. Jim Fair says:

    I would most certainly wear my best suit to meet the queen. And my American flag tie.

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