As the mother of three girls, we have always been concerned with modesty, it comes up every time we go shopping. Now that we are in skin season, where body parts I don't want to see are in front of my eyes on a daily basis (and that's at Mass!) it has become even more of an issue. I once was praying after Communion on my knees at a teen Mass, and was shocked to find myself , when I opened my eyes, looking down a young woman's jeans! She had NO underwear on, even though her mother was at her side. I was speechless!Here's the Holy Father's view of the issue, which as Catholics, means it's the final word:
"Speaking to youth in Australia on July 18, Pope Benedict XVI mentioned modesty as he told of how becoming fully human means rejecting those voices that lead us into worshipping 'false gods.'
"People sometimes treat others as objects to satisfy their own needs rather than as persons to be loved and cherished. How easy it is to be deceived by the many voices in our society that advocate a permissive approach to sexuality, without regard for modesty, self-respect or the moral values that bring quality to human relationships! This is worship of a false god. Instead of bringing life, it brings death."
The article goes on to introduce Pure Fashion a movement of Regnum Christi to support young women's modest, yet fasionable clothing choices. You don't have to be frumpy to be modest!
Guidelines I recently read at a Franciscan Friary are: four fingers below the breastbone for blouses, and nothing sleeveless, nothing above the knee (skirts or shorts) and nothing skin-tight or see-through. These are reasonable and doable. I was at Mass today and most of the immodest clothing was worn by Senior Citizens who should know better!
Some additional resources on modesty:
Some homeschooled teens on a popular blog called Rebelution, conducted an extensive survey on young men's thoughts on the issue called, The Modesty Survey.
I mention author Colleen Hammond's book "Dressing with Dignity" in this post.
Read the entire story here.
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