"Mankind will not have peace until it turns
with trust to My Mercy."
The Diary of Sister Mary Faustina, 300
The good
news was communicated on Saturday, June 20, 2020—the Memorial of the Immaculate
Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Pope Francis approved three titles for Our
Lady to be added to the Litany of Loreto, which is also known as the Litany of
the Blessed Virgin Mary.
What had
the Roman Pontiff done? Like some of his Predecessors, the Holy Father made an
insertion in the Litany, in this case a trio of invocations referring to the
Mother of God that he holds to be especially significant to, and necessary for,
the contemporary disciples of Jesus Christ.
In her June
20, 2020 article entitled, “Pope Francis adds tree titles to the Catholic litany
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” Hannah Brockhaus of the Catholic News Agency
wrote: “In a June 20 letter to the presidents of bishops’ conferences,
Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for the Divine Liturgy and
the Discipline of the Sacraments, said the invocations ‘Mater misericordiae,’
‘Mater spei,’ and ‘Solacium migrantium’ should be inserted in the Marian
litany.”
Miss Brockhaus continued: “In his letter,
Cardinal Sarah noted where each invocation should be added, using the Latin
formulations. ‘Mater misericordiae,’ which means, ‘Mother of mercy,’ should be
placed after ‘Mater Ecclesiae.’
“’Mater spei,’ which means ‘Mother of hope,’
should follow ‘Mater divinae gratiae,’ and ‘Solacium migrantium,’ which means
‘Comfort of migrants,’ should follow ‘Refugium peccatorum.’”
Cardinal
Sarah offered an insight into the love for Our Lady and the ongoing confidence
in her intercession that Christians profess. “The titles and invocations which Christian piety has
reserved for the Virgin Mary over the course of the centuries, as the
privileged and sure way to an encounter with Christ, are innumerable. Even in
this present moment which is marked by feelings of uncertainty and trepidation,
devout recourse to her, which is full of affection and trust, is deeply felt by
the People of God.”
Mater
Misericordiae/Mother of Mercy
The word mercy
is often on the lips of the sincere friends of Jesus. How can we stand before
the Almighty unless we are immersed in His mercy? No one of us can possibly
think himself worthy of the Lord and His abundant, fail proof grace. God’s Mercy
showered upon us is indispensable if we are to enter Paradise. We must beg Our
Lord for that precious mercy.
Our Lady is the Mother of Mercy. The Son of
God—the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity—became flesh in her virginal
womb. He “Who knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21) inhabited the undefiled body of
her who never experienced sin. Mary willingly indicates the way to her Divine
Son. She exhorted the servants at the Wedding Feast of Cana—and, by extension,
each of us—to obey Him (see Saint John 2:5).
In The Mother of the Savior and
Our Interior Life (Saint Louis: B.
Herder Book Company, 1948), Father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P.
(1877-1964), addressed the subject of Our Lady as the Mother of Mercy.
“The title of Mother of Mercy is one of Mary’s greatest. Mercy is not the same
thing as mere emotional pity. Mercy is in the will, pity is but a good
inclination of the sensibility. Pity, which does not exist in God Who is a pure
spirit, leads us to suffer in unison with our neighbor as if we felt his
suffering in ourselves. It is a good inclination but usually a timid one, being
accompanied by fear of harm to ourselves and often helpless to render effective
aid.” (Page 258)
Our Lady, like Jesus, offers to us a
pattern for our efforts to be merciful. In fact, the Son and the Mother are the
template for our attempts to pardon others. “She teaches us, though, that if
mercy is not justice it is not opposed to it as injustice is, but unites itself
to it and goes beyond it: most of all in pardoning, for to pardon is to go
beyond what is demanded by justice in forgiving an offense.” (Page 259)
Jesus
is Mercy Incarnate. Moreover, Mary presents her Son to us. We are overwhelmed
by the merciful gift that is Christ. And once we have enjoyed the treasure, the
“pearl of great price” (Saint Matthew 13:46) that is Jesus, we are to share Him
with our brothers and sisters far and wide.
Father Garrigou-Lagrange explained
that Our Mother of Mercy “reminds us too that God often gives us His mercy more
than we need, more than He is obliged in justice to Himself to give; that He
gives us more than we merit—the grace of Holy Communion, for example, which is
not merited.” (Page 260)
Mater
Spei/Mother of Hope
One of the earliest lessons of a child is that life
can be difficult. Obstacles exist and cannot be denied. Mary’s example demonstrates
to us that with the Lord’s strength, challenges can be overcome.
The Mother of Jesus gives hope and solace to
her wayfaring children. To contemplate Mary, who is in Heaven in both body and
soul, is to see the faultless image and the beginning of the Church as the
Church desires, hopes and truly will be. The influence on earth of Our Lady,
who is a sign of hope and comfort to the People of God as they progress along
the way to Everlasting Life, will continue until the Second Coming of her
Divine Son.
The dogma of the Assumption inspires hope in
the disciples of the Savior. We are able to know the joys of unending life in
Paradise. If we strive for the fidelity that marked the earthly days of the
Virgin, then we also will one day partake both in soul and body of the Beatific
Vision that she now possesses. Where Jesus and Mary are now, we hope to follow.
The long anticipation of Israel rested with
Mary. The Chosen People had spent centuries preparing their hearts for the Messiah.
During her Advent of nine months, Our Lady shouldered the hopes of Zion.
Saint
Peter exhorted his listeners: “(B)ut
in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense
to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with
gentleness and reverence.” (1 Saint Peter 3:15)
Solacium
Migrantium/Comfort of Migrants
From the first days of his Pontificate, Pope
Francis, in harmony with the Church’s pastors of old, has recognized the
dignity of those who suffer. In that category are migrants.
A migrant is one who moves from one location
to another, often to look for employment or a better living situation. Given
the largescale wars and persecutions in various parts of the world, the number
of migrants is many, even out of control in some areas.
As Our Lady comforts the afflicted, so she
comforts migrants, who are also afflicted in a most particular way. Migrants
can and do encounter desolation, hostility and outright prejudice.
In his Urbi
et Orbi message of Christmas Day during 2019, Pope Francis concluded his
address thus: “May Emmanuel bring light to all the suffering members of our
human family. May He soften our often stony and self-centered hearts, and make
them channels of His love. May He bring His smile, through our poor faces, to
all the children of the world: to those who are abandoned and those who suffer
violence. Through our frail hands, may He clothe those who have nothing to
wear, give bread to the hungry and heal the sick. Through our friendship, such
as it is, may He draw close to the elderly and the lonely, to migrants and the
marginalized. On this joyful Christmas Day, may He bring his tenderness to all
and brighten the darkness of this world.”
As always, the Litany of Loreto provides a
fitting prayer in which to honor Mary and from which we may spring to new
heights of holiness. Our Lady, who is rightly venerated via these new epithets
in her Litany as well as those used before, will do her part in leading us to
more authentic conformity to her Son, Jesus Christ.
Now, we must do ours.
I. O my Jesus, You have said: “Truly I say to you, ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you.” Behold I knock, I seek and ask for the grace of …… (here name your request)
Our Father …. Hail Mary …. Glory Be to the Father …. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.
II. O my Jesus, You have said: “Truly I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father in My Name, He will give it to you.” Behold, in Your Name, I ask the Father for the grace of ……. (here name your request) Our Father …. Hail Mary ….Glory Be to the Father …. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.
III. O my Jesus, You have said: “Truly I say to you, heaven and earth will pass away but My words will not pass away.” Encouraged by Your infallible words I now ask for the grace of ….. (here name your request) Our Father …. Hail Mary …. Glory Be to the Father … Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for Whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us miserable sinners and grant us the grace which we ask of You, through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Your tender Mother and ours.
Say the Hail, Holy Queen and add: St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus, pray for us.
Composed and recited by Padre Pio after receiving Holy Communion
Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength, that I may not fall so often.
Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life, and without You, I am without meaning and hope.
Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light, and without You, I am in darkness.
Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will.
Stay with me, Lord, so that I can hear Your voice and follow You.
Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You ever more, and to be always in Your company.
Stay with me, Lord, if You wish me to be always faithful to You.
Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is, I wish it to be a place of consolation for You, a dwelling of Your love.
Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late; the days are coming to a close and life is passing. Death, judgement and eternity are drawing near. It is necessary to renew my strength, so that I will not stop along the way, for that I need You. It is getting late and death approaches. I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows. O how I need You, my Jesus, in this night of exile!
Stay with me, Jesus, because in the darkness of life, with all its dangers, I need You.
Help me to recognize You as Your disciples did at the Breaking of the Bread, so that the Eucharistic Communion be the light which disperses darkness, the power which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.
Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death I want to be one with You, and if not by Communion, at least by Your grace and love.
Stay with me, Jesus, I do not ask for divine consolations because I do not deserve them, but I only ask for the gift of Your Presence. Oh yes! I ask this of You.
Stay with me, Lord, for I seek You alone, Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart, Your Spirit, because I love You and I ask for no other reward but to love You more and more, with a strong active love.
Grant that I may love You with all my heart while on earth, so that I can continue to love You perfectly throughout all eternity, dear Jesus.
1. At the end of this Eucharistic celebration, I invite you to join me in praying the Angelus. Whenever we turn to Mary the Mother of God in prayer, we are reminded that she is “full of grace“. This is how the Angel Gabriel greeted her at the time of the Annunciation: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you” (Luc. 1, 28). And indeed these words of the angel are true. Of all the people God has created, she alone was always free from sin. From the first moment of her existence she was in communion with the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Mary responded to this great gift of God with openness and generosity: “Let it be done to me”, she said, “according to Your word” (Ibid. 1, 38).
2. Like Mary, we too have been given the gift of God’s grace, even though we have not received its fullness. Like Mary, we are called to respond, to be open to God’s word, to be generous in saying yes to God. For us this means doing God’s will, living according to His commandments, serving our neighbor, avoiding sin. In other words, with Mary we must respond with love to God’s love.
Let us turn then to Mary whom we honor under many titles, but here today in San Antonio under her special title of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
www.fjpII.com
Of
Courtesy, it is much less
Than
Courage of Heart or Holiness,
Yet
in my Walks it seems to me
That
the Grace of God is in Courtesy.
On
Monks I did in Storrington fall,
They
took me straight into their Hall;
I
saw Three Pictures on a wall,
And
Courtesy was in them all.
The
first the Annunciation;
The
second the Visitation;
The
third the Consolation,
Of
God that was Our Lady’s Son.
The
first was of Saint Gabriel;
On
Wings a-flame from Heaven he fell;
And
as he went upon one knee
He
shone with Heavenly Courtesy.
Our
Lady out of Nazareth rode—
It
was Her month of heavy load;
Yet
was Her face both great and kind,
For
Courtesy was in Her Mind.
The
third it was our Little Lord,
Whom
all the Kings in arms adored;
He
was so small you could not see
His
large intent of Courtesy.
Our
Lord, that was Our Lady’s Son,
Go
bless you, People, one by one;
My
Rhyme is written, my work is done.
And that through the Virgin, and through her more than through any other means, we have offered us a way of reaching the knowledge of Jesus Christ, cannot be doubted when it is remembered that with her alone of all others Jesus was for thirty years united, as a son is usually united with a mother, in the closest ties of intimacy and domestic life. Who could better than His Mother have an open knowledge of the admirable mysteries of the birth and childhood of Christ, and above all of the mystery of the Incarnation, which is the beginning and the foundation of faith? Mary not only preserved and meditated on the events of Bethlehem and the facts which took place in Jerusalem in the Temple of the Lord, but sharing as she did the thoughts and the secret wishes of Christ she may be said to have lived the very life of her Son. Hence nobody ever knew Christ so profoundly as she did, and nobody can ever be more competent as a guide and teacher of the knowledge of Christ.
O beautiful Flower of Carmel, most fruitful vine,
Splendor of Heaven, holy and singular,
who brought forth the Son of God,
still ever remaining a Pure Virgin,
assist me in this necessity.
O Star of the sea, help and protect me!
Show me that Thou art my Mother.
O Mary, conceived without sin,
pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
Mother and Beauty of Carmel, Pray for us!
Virgin, Flower of Carmel, Pray for us!
Patroness of all who wear the Scapular, Pray for us!
Hope of all who die wearing the Scapular, Pray for us!
St. Joseph, Friend of the Sacred Heart, Pray for us!
St. Joseph, Chaste Spouse of Mary, Pray for us!
St. Joseph, Our Patron, Pray for us!
O sweet Heart of Mary, Be our salvation!
Amen.
As young children, many of us learned that God freely
created us for Himself and desires that we be genuinely happy here on earth and
one day with Him in Paradise.
This cherished truth, which is solidly based on Sacred
Scripture and the Apostolic Tradition, can never change. The Lord wants us to
be united with Him forever in Heaven.
But as often as we have heard this doctrine of our
Catholic Faith, we admit that we sometimes live as though going to Heaven is
not really our primary concern. Other more “pressing” matters (even those that
are important and must be addressed, like our families, relationships, school,
work, etc.) cloud our vision.
“The Prayer of Heaven,” which enjoys an imprimatur, is a brief but powerful
invocation that is truly a meditation in itself. By reciting this prayer in
which we beg for the favor to enter immediately into Paradise upon our death,
we focus again on our everlasting destiny and our crucial need for God’s
abundant strength to arrive at our final goal.
---
My God, I adore You and I love You!
Through the hands of the Madonna, with Your grace and
help I accept from You, O Lord, at the unexpected hour any kind of death as it
will please You to send me, and I ask of You the grace not to have fear of
death. Please forgive all of my sins.
I accept my death in union with the Sacrifice that
You, O Jesus, High and Eternal Priest, Yourself made on the Cross and that now
You renew on many Altars. I intend to offer to You my death in the spirit of
the Holy Masses which at that moment will be celebrated, and I offer You Your
infinite merits to pay for my sins and the penalty of Purgatory.
Saved by Your Blood, through Your merits and those of
Your Mother I ask You the same mercy granted to the Good Thief, namely the
grace to enter immediately with You into Paradise and to have immediately the
perfect Beatific Vision of God. Amen.
I thank You, my Jesus!
---
When we die, if we go to Purgatory, then we will be
magnificently blessed insofar as we died in the state of grace (that is, God’s
friendship) and have the golden opportunity to atone for our sins. Yet, our
current and constant efforts should be geared towards attaining Christian
perfection, which means being fully conformed to our Lord Jesus Christ! We wish
to be admitted immediately into Heaven because the Most Blessed Trinity—our
Living God—is present there in a most unique way.
How we love and long for our beloved Lord! May we see
Him face-to-face as soon as we have drawn our last breath.
Saint Joseph, Patron of a Happy Death, pray for us!
Priests find themselves confronting a considerable
task: to convince their people that to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of
Obligation is not only a sacred endeavor full of special meaning but also
obligatory. Although not infallible, one national survey revealed that about 20% of Catholics in the United States of America attend Mass every Sunday
and Holy Day. The remaining 80% are divided between two categories: those who
go to Mass about once per month and those who virtually do not attend at all.
Acknowledging the substantial challenge that priests
possess, Pope Saint John Paul II published his Apostolic Letter, Dies Domini (The Lord’s Day), dated
May 31, 1998 (the Solemnity of Pentecost). The Holy Father, who recognized that
a significant misunderstanding regarding Mass attendance and the genuine notion
of rest on the Lord’s Day prevails in scores of locations around the globe,
took up the concepts of the beauty and value of Sunday and how the Catholic Faithful
are to commemorate the first day of the Christian week.
There exist perennial complaints arising from some
quarters directed against papal and curial pronouncements: “They are much too
long . . . they’re too complex . . . ‘ordinary’ Catholics have neither the time
nor the know-how with which to plough through these heavy publications . . .
these writings might make sense but they are not applicable at the parish
level.”
Is it possible for the content and logic of Dies Domini to be conveyed by priests to
contemporary, “ordinary” Catholics? The following suggestions—by no means
exhaustive—are presented as a means by which to put this Apostolic Letter to
use in the parish.
1. Priests and the Faithful will benefit immeasurably
when priests make this document part of their reading. So much of what the Holy
Father wrote during his almost twenty-seven year pontificate is, contrary to
the unfair caricature painted by the at-times hostile secular press, positive
and uplifting rather than merely prohibiting. Yes, Pope John Paul
unhesitatingly affirmed in Dies Domini that
the Faithful “are obliged to attend Mass (on Sundays and Holydays) unless there
is a grave impediment” (49). But he also glowingly presents the treasure we
have in the first day of the week—the Day of the Resurrection—and explores the
inherent symbolism of Sunday as “the eighth day”: “that truly singular day,”
referring to a text of Saint Basil the Great (329/330-379), “which will follow
the present time, the day without end which will know neither evening nor
morning, the imperishable age which will never grow old; Sunday is the
ceaseless foretelling of life without end which renews the hope of Christians
and encourages them on their way.” (26)
When priests study Dies
Domini, they increase in their own grasp of the intrinsic raison d’etre of
the Lord’s Day, thereby enabling them to persuade their people of the same.
2. The Sunday parish bulletin provides an excellent
medium by which to offer the salient points of Dies Domini. Some argue that those who do attend Mass each Sunday
and Holy Day of Obligation are the last ones who need to hear the Holy Father
address the crucial subject of Mass attendance. These Catholics, obviously, are
doing now what the Church directs relative to the Third Commandment of the
Decalogue. Yet, it is critical for the regular attendees also to know well the
basis of the Church’s teaching pertaining to the Lord’s Day, for two primary
reasons: to appreciate more deeply for themselves the splendor of the selfless
Sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary perpetuated in each Holy Mass and the
authentic concept of Sunday rest and how both fit into the whole of Catholic
belief and practice; to be prepared to speak with those Catholics—whether at
home, in school or in the workplace—who do not always go to Mass and inspire
them to begin arranging for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist as a vital
part of their Sunday schedule.
3. Compose a parish letter that highlights the helpful
reasoning of Dies Domini and mail to
all adults in the parish. This missive from the pastor to his people is
designed to reach those primarily who do not go to Mass. These parishioners are
probably not familiar with the Holy Father’s writing on this matter (and
perhaps on many matters) but may have some comprehension of the Third
Commandment and what it requires. Building on this knowledge, the letter may
detail briefly the Church’s insistence that Catholics gain innumerable graces
when participating worthily at Mass on Sundays and Holy Days. A gentle and
informative letter that steers clear of pointing the finger at those who
currently do not attend Mass will do much in educating parishioners,
particularly those who are not active in the sacramental life of the Church.
The Holy Father did his part in issuing Dies Domini. Now, priests can accomplish
much by spreading the substance of this work to their people. This is the
Church at her best: the Word of God is first proposed by Christ Himself, and
then needs the assistance of the pastors if it is to find a welcome in the
hearts of the Faithful. May Dies Domini
be the impetus for a new, fresh revival in love for the Mass and adherence to
Sunday rest among the Catholic disciples of the Master.
The Forgotten
Virtue: Modesty In Dress
(Nota Bene: This essay is adapted from a booklet by the author that
was published by Queenship Publishing Company, Post Office Box 220, Goleta,
California 93116-0220.)
Dress for both men and women has changed dramatically
during the last seventy years. Much of what is worn today is meant to expose
rather than to conceal the human body—a reason that has been, along with the
need for protection, the traditional motive for clothing.
For centuries, Christians have looked to the virtue of
modesty as it applies to vesture in order to judge what is appropriate.
The Catholic tradition has given us a valuable
definition of modesty, which is the virtue that regulates one’s actions and
exterior customs concerning sexual matters. It controls one’s behavior so to
avoid unlawful sexual arousal in oneself or others.
Modesty is one of the Twelve Fruits of the Holy
Spirit, which, according to the Catechism
of the Catholic Church, “are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us
as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve
of them: ‘charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity,
gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.’” (1832)
To dress modestly is to avoid deliberately causing
sexual excitement in oneself or one’s neighbor. One who dresses modestly shuns
clothes that are known or reasonably expected to effect sexual arousal in
oneself or others. Modesty in dress pertains to both genders.
In harmony with the Magisterium and orthodox spiritual
authors, Pope Venerable Pius XII, in the Allocution to the Girls of Catholic
Action of Italy on October 6, 1940, addressed the necessity of cultivating
modesty. He offered as a model of comportment Saint Perpetua, Martyr (?-circa 203): “When she was thrown into
the air by a savage bull in the amphitheatre at Carthage, her first thought of
action when she fell to the ground was to rearrange her dress to cover her
thigh, because she was more concerned for modesty than pain.”
Thre Pontiff continued. “Many women have forgotten
Christian modesty because of vanity and ambition: they rush wretchedly into
dangers that can spell death to their purity. They give into the tyranny of
fashion, be it even immodest, in such a way as to appear not even to suspect that
it is unbecoming . . . they have lost the very concept of danger; they have
lost the instinct of modesty.” (ibid.)
Over seven months later, on May 22, 1941, to members
of the same group, Pope Pius XII warned of an “indulgent attitude, or better said, the negative attitude of an ever
greater part of public opinion, which renders it blind to the
gravest moral disorders.” He was referring to the prevailing thought about
matters of the dress and the behavior of women. The Holy Father urged the girls
to adopt the the edifying pattern provided by Saint Agnes (circa 291-circa 304) and
Saint Cecilia (Second Century-176/180 or 222-235), both Virgins and Martyrs. “Will you, then, for the
love of Christ, in the esteem for virtue, not find at the bottom of your hearts
the courage and strength to sacrifice a little well-being—a physical advantage,
if you will—to conserve safe and pure the life of your souls?” (ibid.)
The same
Pontiff asserted:
As St. Thomas of Aquinas
teaches, the good of our soul must take precedence over that of our body, and
to the good of our body we must prefer the good of the soul of our neighbor . . . If a certain kind of dress constitutes a grave
and proximate occasion of sin, and endangers the salvation of your soul and
others, it is your duty to give it up . . . O Christian mothers, if you knew
what a future of anxieties and perils, of illguarded shame you prepare for your
sons and daughters, imprudently getting them accustomed to live scantily
dressed and making them lose their sense of modesty, you would be ashamed of
yourselves and you would dread the harm you are making for yourselves, the harm
which you are causing to these children, whom Heaven has entrusted to you to be
brought up as Christians. (ibid.)
On July 17, 1954, he stated before the attendees of
the Sodality Convention in Rome: “How many young girls there are who see
nothing wrong in following certain shameless styles like so many sheep. They
would certainly blush with shame if they could know the impression they make,
and the feelings they evoke, in those who see them.”
Several years later, on November 8, 1957, in an
address to the members of the Latin Union of High Fashion, Pope Pius XII,
eleven months before his death, presented the still-valid principles of modesty
in dress. The quotations that follow come from that discourse.
Clothing fulfills three necessary requirements:
hygiene, decency and adornment. These are “so deeply rooted in nature that they
cannot be disregarded or contradicted without provoking hostility and prejudice.”
Hygiene pertains mostly to “the climate, its
variations, and other external factors” (e.g. discomfort, illness). Decency
involves the “proper consideration for the sensitivity of others to objects
that are unsightly, or, above all, as a defense of moral honesty and a shield
against disordered sensuality.” Adornment is legitimate and “responds to the
innate need, more greatly felt by woman, to enhance the beauty and dignity of
the person with the same means that are suitable to satisfy the other two
purposes.”
Fashion “has achieved an indisputable importance in
public life, whether as an aesthetic expression of customs, or as an
interpretation of public demand and a focal point of substantial economic
interests.
“The rapidity of change (in styles) is further
stimulated by a kind of silent competition, not really new, between the ‘elite’
who wish to assert their own personality with original forms of clothing, and
the public who immediately convert them to their own use with more or less good
imitations.”
The Pontiff then isolated the difficulty with fashion.
“The problem of fashion consists in the harmonious reconciliation of a person’s
exterior ornamentation with the interior of a quiet and modest spirit.” Like
other material objects, fashion can become an undue attachment—even perhaps an
addiction—for some persons. The Church “does not censure or condemn styles when
they are meant for the proper decorum and ornamentation of the body, but she
never fails to warn the faithful against being easily led astray by them.”
The human body is “God’s masterpiece in the visible
world”; Jesus elevated the human body “to the rank of a temple and an
instrument of the Holy Spirit, and as such must be respected.”
Certain fashions and styles “create confusion in
well-ordered minds and can even be an incentive to evil.” It is possible to
declare when the “limits of normal decency” have been violated. This sense of
decency sounds an alarm when immodesty, seduction, lust, outrageous luxury or
“idolatry of matter” exists.
What the Holy Father said in 1957 is still pertinent:
“ . . . no matter how broad and changeable the relative morals of styles may
be, there is always an absolute norm to be kept after having heard the
admonition of conscience warning against approaching danger; style must never
be a proximate occasion of sin.”
Those who design, promote and sell fashions have
considerable responsibility. If, God forbid, anyone purposely inculcates
“unchaste ideas and sensations,” then “there is present a technique of
disguised malice.” For decency in dress to be restored, the intention of those
who design the fashions and those who wear them must be upright. “In both there
must be an awakening of the conscience as to their responsibility for the
tragic consequences that could result from clothing which is overly bold,
especially if it is worn in public.”
Clearly, “the immorality of styles depends in great
part on excesses either of immodesty or luxury.” How is immodesty to be judged?
“The garment must not be evaluated according to the estimation of a decadent or
already corrupt society, but according to the aspirations of a society which
prizes the dignity and seriousness of its public attire.”
Wanton luxury is also excessive. If the use of
riches—even those obtained morally—is not moderated, then “either frightful
barriers will be raised between classes, or the entire society will be set
adrift, exhausted by the race toward a utopia of material happiness.”
Let us contemplate well the
following three points concerning modesty in dress.
1. The Influence of Styles. There is a “language of clothing” that communicates
certain messages, even destructive ones. One who with knowledge and
deliberation routinely dresses provocatively so to entice another to impurity
commits a mortal sin. The souls of both are wounded.
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ demanded purity in
glances, thoughts, desires and actions, and He warned against giving scandal. The
Prophet Isaiah (3:16-24) foretold that the city of Sion would be dirtied by its
daughters’ impurity.
Pope Venerable Pius XII declared: “It might be said
that society speaks through the clothing it wears. Through its clothing it
reveals its secret aspirations and uses it, at least in part, to build or
destroy the future.”
2. The Importance of
Control. Fashion designers, critics
and consumers are to recall “that style should be directed and controlled
instead of being abandoned to caprice and reduced to abject service.” Those who
“make style,” cannot allow the “craze” to dictate when that particular trend
goes against right reason and established morality. Consumers must remember
that their “dignity demands of them that they should liberate themselves with
free and enlightened conscience from the imposition of predetermined tastes,
especially tastes debatable on moral grounds.”
3. Moderation is Necessary. The respect for a standard measure is “moderation.”
It provides “a pattern by which to regulate, at all costs, greed for luxury,
ambition, and capriciousness.” The Holy Father admonished: “Stylists, and
especially designers, must let themselves be guided by moderation in designing
the cut or line of a garment and in the selection of its ornaments, convinced
that sobriety is the finest quality of art.”
When Christian decency is present, then one’s dress is
“the worthy ornament of the person with whose beauty it blends as in a single
triumph of admirable dignity.”
One need not necessarily wear clothes popular decades
ago in order to be modest; however, there are standards that are so basic that
to transgress them—regardless of the era, one’s good intention or ignorance—is
to offend against decency.
Here are some practical
“helps.”
Clothing composed of a transparent (that is,
“see-through”) material is not modest because of its obvious intent to expose
various body parts needy of cover.
Shorts that are very short (i.e. exposing much of the
thigh), whether for a man or woman, cannot be regarded as decent. (Athletic
pursuits that use shorts and a “jersey” type of shirt may be tolerated provided
that both are moderate and no temptation is encouraged.) Boys and men shirtless
without sufficient reason (an allowance is made for swimming and vigorous work
and exercise, as long as temptation is avoided) is problematic, given that such
may well be an unnecessary occasion of sin for another.
Men and boys not only have a responsibility to dress
modestly but they also are to encourage to whatever extent they can the women
and girls of their acquaintance to dress modestly, even avoiding those who do
not when they themselves are tempted to sin precisely because of that immodest
clothing. But it must be admitted that the sight of unclothed (even partially)
bodies of women and girls has generally inspired lust and desire more than the
bodies of men and boys.
Clothing that reveals the front and back of women and
girls and highlights their torso is reprehensible. Skirts that rise much above
the knee, emphasizing the shape of the leg for that very purpose, are
inappropriate.
God has made the human body beautiful. Immodest attire
neither contributes to the promotion of the human person nor to the
establishing of the Kingdom. The modesty practiced by Jesus, Mary, Joseph and
the Saints, especially the Virgin-Martyrs, is obtainable and necessary for us.
