Sunday Best

Dear Friends in Christ,

We have all heard the proverb, “Clothes make the man”. In other words, what we wear often reveals something about our character. Today I would like to address the delicate but necessary topic of proper attire in church. Here in southern California we have a very casual attitude toward dress as compared to other parts of the country or the world. You may have read the article in the daily pilot recently that Huntington Beach had to pass a law after a man was caught walking in his yard in his birthday suit. Sometimes it takes an extreme case to make a point, but the fact that people will go to extremes makes laws necessary. People who go about in extreme degrees of undress are living proof of original sin and its sorry effects. In other words, we are inclined to sin already; provocative clothing only makes matters worse.


Someone might object, well God knows us and is aware that we don’t mean to provoke scandal by our dress. Yes, God does know us, but we don’t wear clothing for God’s sake but for our neighbor’s. God knows us more intimately than any significant other ever will. God gave Adam and Eve clothing because of their fallen state. Since all of us share that fallen state, clothing is a form of spiritual protection against our lower inclinations.

I’m inclined to believe that many people are not conscious of the affect their clothing (or lack of clothing) has on others. However, what we wear does usually reflect our sense of propriety. I know that certain Christian denominations are quite strict about what they wear to church on Sunday. They have a real sense of dressing their “Sunday best”. If asked why they dress that way, I’m sure they would answer that they see Sunday as the Lord’s Day and they dress up because they are in the Lord’s house. Now these Christians do not have what we have, the Real Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. Even some non-Christians have very strict dress codes for both religious and secular gatherings.

Too often dress in church has become very casual. We wear the same clothes to church that we wear to the ball game or to a barbecue. True, it does take some preparation and sacrifice during the warm weather, but that is why we have air conditioning. We priests have no choice in what we wear to Mass. Our vestments can be very warm, but we know that at Mass we are engaged in the greatest prayer of all. At Mass we offer the supreme sacrifice of Christ to the heavenly Father. All of us should offer Christ our “Sunday best”. We should dress modestly, not in an immodest way that would draw attention to ourselves. Our dress should reflect who we are, Christians, especially in church. Our good sense should tell us that very revealing, brief, scanty clothing is not appropriate in church where we are offering the sacrifice of the Mass in the presence of the angels.


Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Hildebrand