samedi, février 17, 2007

Modesty: the example of a Saint

"Padre Pio wouldn't tolerate low-necked dresses or short, tight skirts, and he forbade his spiritual daughters to wear transparent stockings. Each year his severity increased. He stubbornly dismissed them from his confession, even before they set foot inside, if he judged them to be improperly dressed. On some mornings he drove away one after another, until he ended up hearing very few confessions. His brothers observed these drastic purges with a certain uneasiness and decided to fasten a sign on the church door."

"By Padre Pio's explicit wish, women must enter the confessional wearing skirts at least 8 INCHES BELOW THE KNEE. It is forbidden to borrow longer dresses in church and to wear them to confession."

"The Church is the House of God. It is forbidden for men to enter with bare arms or in shorts. It is forbidden for women to enter in trousers, without a veil on their head, in short clothing, low necklines, sleeveless or immodest dresses."
(Taken from Prophet of the People by Dorothy Gaudiose, published by Alba House)
"Terribilis est locus iste: hic est domus Dei, et porta caeli, et vocabitur aula Dei."
(How terrible is this place! this is no other but the house of God, and the gate of heaven.)

2 commentaires:

Anonyme a dit…

Well, Father, this is a good quote and it arrives just before Lent. I admire Padre Pio and was aware of his demands of modesty. However, it is not easy to have skirts ... that long. I don't mean to have them above the knees but 8 inches below the knee ... kind of hurts my "sense of fashion". I don't wear pants anymore, but with my skirts' length I am not there yet.
Opus Dei numeraries (the lay women consecrated)are allowed to wear pants, even to Mass. Isn't it a contradiction?
If you have some good advice for women like me, please do.
Have a blessed Lent.

Father Demets a dit…

Well, don't worry ! We will not measure the exact size of dress. I by the way, I even don't know how long are 8 inches. Probably many centimeters !

The advice I can give is that modesty has to go along with simplicity and good taste. Elegance doesn't contradict modesty. It helps women to be recognized as such with their own dignities in a society which needs some marks.

I think that fashion reflects in a certain way the moral and spiritual state of a society. I also believe that the way we dress has more impacts than we can imagine.

Good subject of meditation, isn't it ?

Have a good Lent too

Father Demets