We often allow an occasion to influence our choice of apparel. If we are going to a ball game, the beach, a picnic, or a cookout, we dress in a certain way. If we are going to a wedding, a funeral, a dinner party, or a reception we may pay more attention to what we wear out of respect for the people or the occasion. Normally, we do not expect to be informed by the invitation concerning what we are to wear. We just know what will be appropriate because that is what we have learned somewhere along the way. We see how others dress for various occasions, and we see how people dress for these occasions on TV and in the movies. So, we know what our appearance and our choice of dress can communicate about the occasion and the people involved.
It should be a very easy thing to transfer this knowledge of our coming to worship God, especially in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It should be pretty obvious that coming to Mass is a very important occasion for all of us, actually, the most important thing we do. So, should we not dress for the occasion? Should we not say to God, by the way we appear before Him, that this is the most important thing we do in our life here on earth? We don’t have to post a dress code since we know what is appropriate and what is not, and this is what we need to teach our children.
Summertime is a time for casual dressing, but that does not include church. The shorts and the short shorts, the t-shirts and tank tops, the flip flops, and all the play and beach clothes do not speak of respect for God and what we are doing as we worship Him. It also does not say a whole lot about our respect for one another. One’s clothing should never be a distraction to the prayer of our brothers and sisters. If these types of clothing were all that a person owned, I am sure that God would be very pleased with their appearance and their presence, but when we choose to leave better choices of clothes at home and come to church as if we were going to the beach or a ball game, then we are choosing to make our worship of God just like any of the other activities in our lives. What then, will we or our children come to think of this most important activity (the worship of the God who made us) in our lives here on earth?
Does God really care what we wear to church? Probably not, but do we care about what we say to God by the clothes we wear to church? If we dress to make ourselves comfortable, are we really telling God we love Him above everything and everyone? When we dress to make sure we are comfortable are we not saying that we love ourselves more than we love God? It deserves some thought and prayer. How do we show our love for God and how do we teach our children to love God ABOVE EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING?
Tomorrow, August 4 is the Feast of St. John Vianney. He was born on May 8, 1786, in the village of Dardilly in France. After serving a time in the army during the Napoleonic period, he entered seminary formation to become a priest. He had a very difficult time. He struggled mightily with all of his studies, and he had a particularly difficult time with Latin. Many, including his formation directors and instructors in the seminary and his own bishop, had very serious doubts that this man, who did not have strong intellectual gifts, would be suitable for the priesthood. However, John Vianney persevered and finally was ordained a priest in 1815. His bishop, acting on his estimation of this new priest as a man of few gifts, sent him to the remotest backwater village of his diocese, the village of Ars. There, Fr. John Vianney spent the rest of his life. He was a man of great dedication to his call to be a priest and to serve his people. He preached in a very simple manner, had a great love of the Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Mother, and he had a special devotion to St. Philomena. Through his work as a confessor, he brought about a spiritual renewal that touched not only the people of his parish, but all of France. He regularly spent 14 to 18 hours a day in the confessional surviving on only a few hours of sleep and a diet of boiled potatoes. As the word spread of his extraordinary abilities as a confessor, thousands, including bishops and aristocracy, made the journey to Ars in order to receive his spiritual counsel. Thus, a man who started his life as one who very few ever thought would amount to anything became, by the time of his death in 1859, the vehicle for thousands of conversions. He is, for us today, an example of how God works wonderfully through those who dedicate their lives to him and who seek to do his will. John Vianney, a humble parish priest, is regarded by the Church as one of its great figures simply because he was faithful. St. John Vianney, pray for us.
The Order of Christian Initiation for Adults: Do you know anyone who may be interested in learning more about the Catholic and possibly be received into the Church or baptized at the next Easter Vigil? If so, please encourage them and pray for them. Let them know to call the parish office. The classes will begin on Wednesday, September 17 at 7 PM.
