Homily given at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament,
Hanceville, AL
24 May 2006, Wednesday, Week 6 of EasterRevelation 21:1-5
Psalm 95:1-7
St. John 10:22-30
Today we are celebrating the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica
of St. Francis, referring to the Basilica which was constructed in honor
of St. Francis of Assisi and consecrated in the 13th Century. Still one
of the greatest Catholic pilgrimage sites in the world, St. Francis'
relics, and those of his closest companions reside in its Crypt Chapel.
Now, when we have a feast such as today's, one might ask, why? Isn't
this a form of idolatry? And the answer is, no. We don't worship or
honor the wood or metal or stone, but because it is a place in which God
is worshiped and His Saints are honored, we view God's house as more
than just places to gather or congregate. As our first reading for
today's Mass and the Catechism says
... [a] church has an eschatological significance [i.e., it has a
connection to eternity]. To enter into the house of God, we must
cross a threshold, which symbolizes passing from the world wounded
by sin to the world of the new Life to which all men are called. The
visible church is a symbol of the Father's house toward which the
People of God is journeying and where the Father "will wipe every
tear from their eyes." (CCC, 1186)
And so, as men and women who have the dignity of being the children
of God, in God's own house, we must dress and act with dignity. With
summer well under way in this part of the world, the lack of love and
respect shown by so many people to God and to their neighbor in the poor
and immodest way in which they dress, especially while attending Holy
Mass, has become severe. And this immodesty is very much tied to the
widespread impurity in our culture and society. Immodesty is one of the
biggest problems we have to face in dealing with purity in the West. The
Ninth Commandment says that thou shall not covet thy neighbor's wife. As
the Catechism tells us, the struggle against carnal covetousness
entails purifying the heart and practicing temperance (CCC, no.
2517). And purity requires modesty, which is an integral part of
temperance (CCC, no. 2521). Modesty
protects the intimate center of the person. It means refusing to
unveil what should remain hidden. It guides how one looks at others
and behaves toward them in conformity with the dignity of persons. (CCC,
no. 2521)
Modesty protects the mystery of the person. It encourages
patience and moderation in loving relationships. Modesty is decency.
It inspires one's choice of clothing. It keeps silence or reserve
where there is evident risk of unhealthy curiosity. (CCC., no. 2522)
And so modesty is a virtue. Included in the virtue of modesty is not
only humility, but also in how one externally dresses (cf. John Hardon,
Modern Catholic Dictionary, p. 356). But many today have rejected
to practice this virtue so desperately needed in our current culture, or
no one ever taught them about it. Even to the most casual observer,
immodesty in dress is seen as common place in society and in our
Churches. We have got to do all we can to help people to wake up and
realize they are dressing way too immodestly, especially when it comes
to entering a Church to worship God. We must be like the Vatican (just
one example, cf. www.cathnews.com - 2003) when there are heat waves in
Rome the Vatican dress police, neatly dressed in pants, long-sleeved
shirts and ties, turn back all tourists in shorts and bare shoulders
trying to get into St. Peter's Basilica. I've seen them do this with my
own eyes. These immodestly dressed people have to go and buy paper pants
and shirts from vendors eagerly waiting outside. These poorly dressed
people get angry, but tough.
Many people come to Church dressed like they are ready to go to the
beach or to play sports. One should not come to Church dressed in
shorts, miniskirts, swimsuits, bikinis, tanktops, dresses above the
knees, bare shoulders, bare arms, low cut dresses, sleeveless shirts,
very tight fitting clothing, etc. As many find out, if you come to the
Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, AL, USA, and you are
not dressed properly don't expect to get into the Chapel because of the
dress code. Please don't ever go into a Chapel before our Lord
improperly dressed. If you do, hopefully you will be caught by security
guards and asked to leave or to put on more clothing. We must return to
having a holy fear for God and for His true Presence in the Eucharist
and for being in His house. How can we expect to grow in the spiritual
life if we are dressed like we don't care? How dare we approach the Holy
Eucharist dressed like we are going to the beach.
When a person dresses immodestly he or she can become an occasion of
sin for other people. And this is the fashion for today. Each year it
seems that the latest fashion is to see how little clothing one can wear
and how much of one's body can be shown. And what flesh is not shown is
revealed by extremely tight clothing. To knowingly and intentionally
dress like this is sinful, and can be even mortally sinful, because one
becomes a temptation to sin for other people. We are all weak and can
easily fall into sins of impurity by someone else's immodesty.
Before we go out or buy new clothes we should do a modesty check.
Ladies, remember some simple guidelines in buying and wearing an outfit,
which are modeled here after a well known modesty promoter (cf. Colleen
Hammond, Dressing with Dignity, www.ValoraMedia.com):
1. First of all, one guideline which can prove to very helpful
(issued by the Cardinal Vicar of Pope Pius XI in Rome on September
24,1928); A dress cannot be called decent which is cut deeper than
two fingers breadth under the pit of the throat, which does not cover
the arms at least to the elbows, and scarcely reaches a bit beyond the
knees. Furthermore, dresses of transparent material are improper.
2. Does my back, belly or shoulders show? Does my back or belly show
when I am bending or stretching? When bending over does my blouse hang
down and open for all to see through?
3. Is my blouse or top too tight? Is it more loose fitting or is it
too tight and revealing? Can. one see the outline of my underwear
through my tight-fitting clothing? Blouses and tops that are too tight
arc very immodest and say a lot about the woman who wears such a blouse
or top.
4. Lastly, we are concerned about how much flesh is showing, but as
one well known modesty promoter put it, modesty is not just about how
much of our skin is showing, but how much of our feminine shape is
showing (cf. Collen Hammond, Dressing with Dignity,
www.ValoraMedia.com). For many, especially men, tight-fitting clothing
on women is often, more sexually stimulating than complete nudity.
The way one dresses is a big determinant in what kind of person one
will attract. Ladies, if you dress immodestly, what do you think you
will attract? If you dress like a woman of the night you attract men of
the night
—
men who want to use you, not to love you for who you are. Women want to
be loved for who they are, not for the pleasure their body gives to a
man. Yet many dress so immodestly that all they attract is men who wish
to love them for their body. If you want to attract a decent man, who
will truly love you, then start by dressing like a woman who respects
herself and her dignity as a woman. What we wear says a lot about us. By
how we dress sends many messages to those who see us.
Let us love God and our neighbor, even our enemies, by dressing
properly and modestly, especially while in His house. Let us dress
properly. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew
5:8).
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