I don’t think there’s any shame in admitting that at home, I’m a trackie pants, oversized jumper and ugg boots wearer. In summer, it’s a daggy t-shirt, comfy shorts and my trusty haiviana thongs. I have always preferred slacks to skirts, because I find pants so much more practical (especially if you want to curl up with a book or sewing project and you don’t want to be worrying about the position of your legs).
But when it comes to Mass I’m a dress or skirt wearing Mumma with heels, makeup and even a little hairspray. I dress my daughters in skirts and dresses too, though this time of year they are hidden under feminine tailored coats, and my sons in good pants, polished riding boots and dress shirts.
All in all we wear these clothes for a little over two hours on Sundays and then we come home and change out of our ‘Mass clothes’. Even my children, aged 7, 5, 3, and 1 though perhaps not the 1 year old, know the difference between Mass clothes and everything else.
We get dressed to the nines, as they used to say, every time we attend Mass and when my children have occasionally asked why or complained about having to put on tricky clothes that they’re not allowed to play outside in, we’ve had interesting discussions about why we dress differently for Mass.
Sadly, we’ve also encountered arguments such as this: “But Mr so and so wears thongs to Mass, why can’t I?” And instead of thongs you could insert things like trackie pants, ugg boots.
In essence this is why we dress up for Mass:
- It befits the Mass – it’s easy to forget that Mass is a supernatural prayer, a representation of Christ’s universal sacrifice. But it is, dressing up to be present at this holy event is purely a matter of respect.
- It befits the Church – Jesus is present here, the King of Kings is welcoming us from the Tabernacle. If you were going to have an audience with the Queen of England you’d dress up. Jesus is more regal than even good old Queen Elizabeth.
- It befits us – as Temples of the Holy Spirit, we should respect ourselves and our appearance and never take lightly the reality that we are co-heirs to the Kingdom of Heaven with Jesus. If we caught Duchess Kate rocking up to a state function underdressed, wearing thongs and sporting bed hair, we’d be horrified and rightly so.
If your Mass dress leaves a little be desired, start getting ready a little bit earlier this weekend. Choose your clothing wisely and appropriately and take the time to make an effort. If you can make an effort to dress up to go out to dinner with friends or on special occasions, you can make an effort to attend Mass.
Once you aim high with your attire for Mass, you’ll notice that your whole attitude to this weekly obligation will change and you must just be more predisposed to receive the graces and blessings that are on offer there.
Originally posted 2015-06-16 12:00:39.