(This was posted to the Catholic Friends Group at Multiply.com. Reposted with permission of Catholic Friends poster Simon.)
“How we act at Mass should help us pray, listen and worship as well as help our neighbors do the same.
We should remember:
1. that Mass is holy.
2. to dress appropriately. (please see “What to Wear”)
3. to be on time. It is distracting when people arrive late to Mass. If you are delayed or late, be thoughtful of others and sit in the back so as not to disturb those already into prayer of the Mass.
4. to turn cell phones and pagers off.
5. to genuflect toward the tabernacle before sitting down. Genuflecting is bending the right knee to the floor and rising up again. If one is physically incapable of genuflecting, they should instead make a profound bow. The purpose of this is to show respect to our King and to acknowledge His Presence in the tabernacle.
6. to sit quietly. Once we’ve found a seat, we should sit or kneel quietly to pray or meditate. This isn’t the time to socialize with our friends. If we must talk quietly, we should make it brief. The purpose of this is again to show respect of the Blessed Sacrament, and to show that WE BELIEVE HE IS TRULY PRESENT—Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity! If we do not believe this, we need to be considerate of those who do and use the quiet time to contemplate this Truth.
7. to respect boundaries. At the Our Father, for instance, we should be sensitive of our neighbors’ needs to, perhaps, deeply speak to “Our Father”, which can be interfered with another’s need to hold hands.
8. to stay until the end of Mass. Judas was the first one to leave Mass early at the Last Supper. Let’s not follow in his footsteps. Mass ends when Father says: “The Mass is ended, go in peace” and we say: “Thanks be to God.” It is most polite to stay in our pews until the end of the recessional hymn. Emergencies will arise from time to time; in such cases, we should be as discreet as possible so as not to disrupt the Mass that has not yet ended.
9. to reverently, gently, & silently leave the church. Again, this is to show respect of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. There is a custom where some stay several minutes after in thanksgiving for the Eucharist they have just received; the church should also be quiet out of respect for this deep union taking place. We can talk all we want once we’ve reached the vestibule, and we are encouraged to really yack it up at the coffee hours that follow many Masses!
What To Wear, What To Wear
We should wear to Mass what we would wear if a King invited us to his home for a feast. That is, we should wear our best.
Our best should never draw attention to ourselves but give the utmost respect to the King (and His family) of whom we are special guests.
What Not To Wear*
1) Immodest or revealing clothing is never acceptable.
Like what?
For Women
†Any clothing that bares midriffs or cleavage
†Tight clothing meant to accentuate (to draw attention to) various body parts that God considers, and that we ought to consider, sacred.
†Short skirts (above knee) or miniskirts
†Shorts (capri’s are okay if they hit below the knee—but still discouraged)
†Sleeveless tops (short sleeves are okay)
For Men
†Shorts (yes, even in the summer months)
†Tanktops
But Why?
Immodest dress (especially with women) distracts others and could cause them to sin in their thoughts, which is not why we are at Mass.
2) Dirty clothes are never acceptable.
3) An unkempt body is never acceptable (e.g., dirty hands or fingernails).
*There will be times that our only opportunity to attend Mass is after a physically demanding job or after helping Grandma bail out her flooded basement. There is nothing to worry about in such times. We should never let circumstances that are out of our control keep us away from the Sacraments! God knows what we’ve been through, and it’s no one else’s job to judge us. By all means, come to Mass!
Still, modest dress is always in our control – if we dress modestly every day, this will never be an issue.
St. Thomas Aquinas Church”"
Furthermore… Some immodesty offends because its perpetrator is alluring. Other immodesty offends because its perpetrator anything but alluring.
