Dear Father,

I live in the USA, but I come from a country where modesty is very important in my culture. For instance, at our Masses in my country we always dress up, even though our weather is mostly hot. My people would never think to show so much skin as I and my family see here. My question is this: Does it matter what we wear to Mass? I want to teach my children the correct attitude. Thank you.

- Ebale


Dear Ebale,

From the priest’s view from the sanctuary, we see everything in the congregation. Sometimes that means we see “everything!” One might think that Mass is just another day at the beach.

It seems that there are two schools of thought about what to wear to Mass. One school maintains that the manner of dress doesn’t matter. T-shirts and flip-flops are just fine. What matters is that someone is at Mass. God doesn’t care because He sees the heart and looks past the externals.

The other school of thought is that we are going to God’s house and that we owe it to Him to dress up as a matter of respect for Him. What matters is that we are there to worship Him and our worship includes how we present ourselves. God cares about the externals as well as the interior heart.

I agree that God looks past the externals and sees into the heart. The Bible backs us up on this. We read in 1 Samuel 16:7: “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 

Our Lord Jesus doesn’t mince words about false externals: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matt 23:27). Revelation 19:8 teaches that righteous deeds are the fine clothing of the bride of Christ, which may lead one to think that actual garments don’t matter.

On the other hand, the Sacred Scriptures are full of references to proper dress for divine worship. From the beginning, when Adam and Eve were naked, while still living in the temple that was Eden, God clothed them Himself with animal skins. I sometimes wonder if God would like to put some clothing on the modern-day Adams and Eves who appear at Mass in all states of immodest undress.

Time and again in the Old Testament, God gives specific directions about what those serving in the Temple were to wear: special clothing that was often costly.

In the parable about the guests invited to the wedding feast, our Lord has harsh words for the improperly dressed man: “bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness” (Matt 22:13). 

And while I quoted from the book of Revelation that the bride’s clothing will be her righteous deeds, we also find in Rev 7:9 that the saints will wear white robes in heaven (not just the Dominicans!).

Our bodies are important, including how we treat them and dress them. We are not just our souls. We are embodied spirits and our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Our bodies will be resurrected in eternal life.

While it seems obvious that God doesn’t care about expensive clothing (especially the ripped jeans that sometimes retail for more than dress slacks), He is not fooled by how we dress. Whether it is incarcerated persons in prison garb or the business suit of the bank owner, God sees both, and knows whether the repentant inmate may be more a saint that the banker. But when the banker shows up at Mass in an outfit meant for a run in the park, is God blind to the apparent carelessness?

In the document “Happy Are Those Who Are Called to His Supper,” the U.S. bishops wrote: “We should also come to the sacred liturgy appropriately dressed. As Christians we should dress in a modest manner, wearing clothes that reflect our reverence for God and that manifest our respect for the dignity of the liturgy and for one another.”

Modesty, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2521-2522) teaches, “protects the intimate center of a person. It means refusing to unveil what should remain hidden; … modesty is decency. It inspires one’s choice of clothing. It keeps silence or reserve where there is evident risk of unhealthy curiosity. It is discreet.”

The way we dress and act, especially at Mass, reflects our interior state. Yes, God sees the heart but we don’t. Yes, we are not to judge others by their appearances, but we are also not to cause scandal or distraction or temptation to others, especially at church. St. Paul teaches that “those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty” (1Cor 12:23).

It is good, Ebale, that you continue to teach your children to respect themselves by how they dress and treat others, including how they show respect to God at Mass. 

It would be a good idea to speak to your pastor about guidelines for modesty at church. Maybe the phrase “our Sunday best” can have meaning again.