Tuesday 3 April 2007

Dress code for Mass

This morning I came across an American group named the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), who happen to have a blog. Scrolling down the page, I came across a very good post on appropriate dress for Mass. Now, given the nature of their website etc, this is a good demonstration of how showing respect for the Domus Dei is not just a pre-occupation of the 'Rad-Trads'. Of course, we should not stop there. It is quite possible for even the most immaculately dressed person to behave improperly in church. Nevertheless, it is good to see how this is a concern for more than just a few Catholics. And as we are in the season when many irregular church-goers come along to liturgical celebrations, this is definitely a topical issue. And whilst I'm on the subject, I would like to ask the ladies who read this blog if they wear a mantilla (headscarf) or not in church. Rest assured that I am not setting off on an inquisition, but am interested in how many Catholic ladies do these days.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

As a child I was brought up in the pre-Vatican 2 era and wore a hat to Mass. But when that restriction was lifted so was my hat (we obeyed our parents in those days!)so I have not covered my head in church for the past 40 years. I feel if I started to wear a mantilla now I would feel "holier than thou" - although I still wear my "Sunday Best".

Anonymous said...

I wear a Mantilla. Every Sunday. All the women in my parish do; you'll never see a woman in our Chapel without one on.

Anonymous said...

I wear a veil to mass because it is still required of us women by the church to cover our heads in God's presence. See this excellent article by Jacob Michael of Lumen Gentlemen:
http://www.lumengentleman.com/content.asp?id=220

I began wearing a veil when my family still went to a Novus Ordo parish, and yes, I got dirty looks and was made to feel "holier than thou", but my father told me it didn't matter how I felt, because I was being obedient to the Church.