August
21 , 2005
Dressing
up
Comings
and Goings
Sadly it’s time to say farewell to our summer visiting priests.
Father Giuseppe, Father Wismick and Father Augustine have gone back...though
happily, Father Fitz will be with us through September. Perhaps you’ve
heard by now that Father Giuseppe has been named a bishop of two dioceses
in northern Italy --Cuneo and Fosano. He asks for our continued prayers.
I too will be away (yes again) for the last days of the summer to rest
up for ensuing autumn. (Actually I’ll be vacationing for a week
with my Mom and Dad and I’m grateful I have the time to spend
with them.)
Many of our college age parishioners are leaving for school. Let’s
pray they have a safe and fulfilling semester ahead. And please send
me their names and e-mail addresses so we can stay in touch with them
while they’re away.
e-mail Father Ralph:
Past Columns:
August 14: Harsh
Words
August 7: Tiny Whispering
Sound
July31:
Welcoming Rob
July 24:Wedding Bells
July 17: Summer Weeding
July 10: Ministry to Seniors
July 3: The Painters are
Coming!
June 26: The Last 25%
June19: Sommer in the
Summer
June 12: Great News Anoying
News
June 5: What's Essential
May 29: Setting Priorities
May 22: Painting Project
May 15: We are the Church
May 8:Mother of the Church
May 1: On Life and Death
April 24: Habemus Papam
April 17: The Spirit Abounds
April 10: Two men on a journey
April 3: He's baaack!
March 27th: Not the best
news...yet
March 20th: What are You
Doing For Easter?
March 13th: The Stench
March 6: To Tell or Not
To Tell
February 27: Dry Mouth Dry
Soul
February 20: Good to Be
Here
February 13: And he was
hungry?
Ash Wednesday '05
February 6: Ashes Already?
January 23: Catholic Schools
Week
January 16: Continued Charity
January 9: Migration
January 2:All is bright?
Columns from 2004
Columns from 2003
Columns from 2002
Last
week I had a lovely time at a “Sommer in the Summer” session
and over dessert there was a passionate discussion among a group of parishioners
about how people dress for church these days. Some were quite upset that
people arrive for mass“dressed for the beach.” Others suggested
that the important thing was that people were coming to church, not what
they were wearing. There were lots of suggestions including having a “dress
code” --after all, someone pointed out, in Rome, people are turned
away from churches if they’re not properly dressed.
I can’t for the life of me
imagine that my role would be to stand at the doors of church and send
people away if their clothes didn’t meet certain standards. And
personally, I rarely notice what people wear - I look at folks as see
their faces and I’m SO happy to see whoever is here.
Yet, there is something to be said
by how we dress. Some people do dress more casually for church than they
do for work, birthday celebrations, visits to grandma, etc. I wonder if
the folks who are stopping in at mass on the way to the beach would ever
consider dressing up for mass and wearing their church clothes to the
beach. (Sounds a bit ridiculous, no?) So why is it OK to wear the beach
clothes to church?
I’d be much happier if the
people who are judging others by the clothes they wear would spend more
of their energy praying, but I do hear what they’re saying: when
people come to church in “beach clothes”, it can get in the
way of their praying. The most important thing we do as Catholics is gather
together for Eucharist and what we choose to wear is an outward sign of
what we value. I suspect most people would be rather perturbed if the
priests showed up at the altar for mass in a tank top (ok---slowly get
THAT image out of your mind) and that’s because the priest is expected
to dress in a way that shows reverence. Should it be any different for
the rest of God’s holy people?
A new school year is starting --
new school clothes. How about considering “church clothes?”
Then let’s get back to praying!
