Modesty at Mass

This is one of the most discussed topic in our house of teens. We have a modesty check of the skirt wearing young ladies BEFORE they enter the van to go to Mass. We don't do veils all the time,unless we are going to Latin Mass,  but we dress up in skirts and modest tops, nice shoes, shirts and dress slacks for men.
We change as soon as we get home so the clothing will last longer.
Here is a fasinating article from Msgr Pope of the Archdisocese of Washington on modesty in church.
HT Spirit Daily.

There's a new climate of modesty?

Modesty is in, what a concept!
I wouldn't have believed it, but Raymond Arroyo was discussing a recent fashion show on "The World Over", with a Nashville Dominican Sister, referencing a  report by the New York Times which stated that there is a "new climate of modesty" in fashion.

Six months ago in her debut show for the French house Céline, Ms. Philo, a British designer, showed easy, jaunty sportswear. Confronted with the utter logic of doing something beautiful that also jibed with a new climate of modesty, American designers began stripping away a decade’s worth of postmodern significance to reach a plain A-line skirt.

Read it for yourself here. and decide if the clothing in the photos really meets the criterion. I say great, you covered the skin, now try and let the skin breathe without having something so tight stuck to it. And what about those knees?
The guidelines for modesty I follow are; from just below the breastbone to the knees, covered and flowing. Let the woman's face be the center of attraction; not her curves.

Modest Bridal Gowns: what a concept!

Thank heavens someone is addressing the issue of immodest bridal gowns!!
It seems that, no matter the season, all bridal gowns are strapless affairs which have no place in church. Perhaps it's because fewer couples are marrying in church or synagogue. But, there is a trend, however small for bridal gowns with a sense of mystery. . .and decency.
"'Customers will say, 'I'm having a religious wedding, what can you do to these dresses to fit my standards?' -- usually arms covered, neckline covered, no cleavage, very little skin," Sarra said.
Much of the country has seen an increase in conservative branches of mainstream religions.
The Camille La Vie store at Palisades Center in West Nyack, N.Y., tends to get more Orthodox Jewish brides, while the California stores have many Islamic customers, and an Arizona shop gets requests from Mormon customers.
These brides, Sarra said, don't want plain when they ask for "modest." "They still want the look that's hot. That's why we offer more options to add a sleeve, add a neckline," she said. "

I'm embarrassed that no one mentioned Catholic brides, the only link I could find was for Mormons! What's wrong with Catholic brides? We have Our Lady as a role model, and we are not interested in modest bridal gowns? Just look at how modest Our Lady is and use that as a guide. Here are some more guidelines from EWTN on how a Catholic bride should dress.
Read the entire story here.
HTJewish World Review

The Modesty Survey

The guys at Rebelution have done a professional job polling young men on what types of dress they find stumbling blocks in their efforts to remain pure for their future wives. The questions were submitted by young women. See it here.
The comments are particularly moving, the guys don't blame girls for their lustful thoughts, they just ask them for help avoiding them, in a brotherly way. It was surprisingly moving.
Make sure your daughters read this.

My friend Mary Ellen wrote a great article on modesty

In this week's Long Island Catholic. I couldn't have said it better myself, Mary Ellen!

I have spoken about modesty here and author of "Dressing with Dignity" Coleen Hammond wrote a post for me here, so I appreciate Mary Ellen's broaching the subject in a more public forum. Especially Long Island an oversized beach community where we are about to embark on 'skin season'. I have shared about an incident where I was praying in a church basement after communion, when I opened my downcast eyes, I found myself looking straight down a young woman's bare backside. Her low-cut jeans and missing undergarments made it possible for me to see MUCH more than I should have, and I was mortified! I nearly spoke to her mother, by her side, but decided it would be taken as an attack, and just prayed for her.
Mary Ellen, you voice the concerns going through many a mother's heart in these troubled times, including my own, only you have the courage to call society on it's exploitation of our youth.
Brava!

In Celebration of the Pure Life

As my oldest daughter makes her way through adolescence, I have become interested in Purity Balls. Here is a video of a ball given on June 10, 2007.

A Word from Colleen Hammond

I sent this post to the author of Dressing with Dignity, Colleen Hammond, and here is her response, orginally a comment, but I felt it deserved it's own post so you could access the links.
Colleen Hammond said...
It's great to see modesty back in the news, and the interview I did with Focus on the Family (that Letitia quotes above) earned me a place as a member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2007/07/from_shoulders.html What an honor!!! :-)
I've been interviewed these past two weeks by news outlets from all over the world, but what concerns me is that manufacturers are starting to see a 'market for modest clothing' and are producing and selling clothing that they label as 'modest' that aren't decent...even being labeled "hot and modest". I Blogged about it here: http://colleenhammond.blogspot.com/2007/07/more-girls-go-mild-in-modesty.html
Like Letitia said, shop a bit and select a few outfits before you show your daughters. That's one of the reasons I did my other Blog--to show fashions from the runways of Paris that fit the Vatican Guidelines:
http://dressingwithdignity.blogspot.com/
Keep in mind, too, that a woman's real power is in her virtue--obtained and sustained through the grace of God. When we raise our children to be pure, humble, and charitable, the rest of society benefits as well.
GOD BLESS!!!

A Return to Modesty

Colleen Hammond, the author of Dressing with Dignity, tells girls that their choices could transform our nation.
Despite the devastating influence of today's culture, some are trying to teach girls they don’t have to dress immodestly in order to be true women.
“It’s fine to follow some of the fashions just as long as we realize that you don’t want anything too tight, nothing too clingy, nothing too sheer and just make sure that ‘from the shoulder to the knees, nobody touches, nobody sees,’” author Colleen Hammond told Family News in Focus.
She said girls need to understand that their choices can influence others.
“We’ve learned from history that as the morality of women declines, the culture follows with it,” Hammond said.
Pure Fashion attempts to help girls with modest choices and has hosted 13 modest fashion shows around the country this year.
“We’re not necessarily afraid of the body. God created the body, and it is good and it is holy, and it is sacred,” said Brenda Sharman, national director of Pure Fashion. “It’s just that we want to have a reverence and a respect for the human body.”

HT Citizen Link

This kind of talk is music to the ears of mothers, who, like myself have a beautiful teenage girl who is bursting on the social scene, dying to express her taste and decorate the lovely form God has given her. Instead of keeping her under wraps in a shapeless jumper, where she is unattractive, and feels resentful that her beauty is somehow rejected, she can dress like the girls in the Pure Fashion show above, feminine, hip, and MODEST! This is the Theology of the Body in practice, being respectful of the gift of our bodies, treating them with dignity, while not tempting our neighbor's sons into sin. For my three daughter's sake, I pray for movements like this. They seems to be catching on.

Last week, Laura Ingraham had a discussion with Wendy Shalit, who spoke about her new book, Girls Gone Mild, a take-off on those exploitative videos of poor girls with no self-esteem."It's about how people misunderstand the 'good girl,'" she said in an early July interview here. She believes society often ostracizes these girls or views them as "people pleasing." Instead, she said they are actually "rebels" in choosing to go against teachers and parents to live a chaste lifestyle.
Shalit wants to provide an opportunity through her book for these young women to share their stories and become role models for other young women.

HT Catholic News Service

ABC News and Newsweek are taking notice. Let's fan this flame!

Last night, at the opening prayer meeting/Holy Hour healing service for Youth 2000, I was spending some time with Fr. Terry of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. He remembers my three girls from Divine Mercy Sunday, when he complimented Gabbi's care taking of her little sister, Christina. This time, he put his arm around her and told her how pretty she is, and how, when young men come to her and tell her this, not to be deceived, as often their motives are impure. To be careful and protect her beauty. His eyes welled up with tears, as he contemplated her pristine innocence, as he recalled, in his heart the tragic stories of other lovely young ladies, whom he has ministered to, whose childhood ended in tragedy in the mean streets of New York. Instead of idolizing these girls in rap videos, we should pray for them. Pray for a return to modesty, for a transformation of our culture. In 1917, Our Lady of Fatima told the visionaries that there were many fashions that offend our Lord. In 1917! Can you imagine how the dress of today's men and women offend Him?!