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Why is the Church Afraid of Modesty?
 

 

 

"A thorough cleansing must be made within the House of God--the Church. Women shall not receive My Son dressed as pagans, naked and without absolution! " - Our Lady of the Roses, December 31, 1974

 

Commentary by Randy Alcorn, Eternal Perspectives Ministry

November 1, 2010 (OregonFaithReport.com) - QUESTION: My husband and I are glad that the church is finally talking about the problem of pornography and purity in the Body of Christ, and helping men address this issue. But why do we never hear about purity for women in the way they dress? I’m talking about women who profess to be Christ-followers. They become a stumbling block to their brothers when they dress seductively or dress to be sexy as the world has deemed fashionable. Please address the issue of modesty.

ANSWER: That is a great question, and it’s very problematic. Just recently I was speaking at a church, and found I could not look a certain direction at the congregation because of how one woman was dressed. This happens frequently. I’ve been in churches where I can’t look at the worship team because of how a woman is dressed and swaying seductively while holding the microphone. It’s something you would expect in a nightclub, yet it’s in the church — the Body of Christ.

I’m all for sex and I think it’s great for a woman to be sexy with one person — her husband. The irony is there are cases where women have gotten so used to appearing sexy in public yet actually have no sexual relationship with their own husbands. So we have two issues going on related to the issue of modesty — modesty in public, and modesty when the Body of Christ is assembled. And this latter one is huge.

When I was a youth pastor, many years ago, we had a problem with swimsuits that is much worse today for church youth groups because of the change in fashions. The way girls wore their two-piece swimsuits, and even many one-pieces, showed so much. You have young men on a church retreat who are looking at these girls — their sisters in Christ — and thinking what young men think and being led into temptation.

I’m not justifying the way men think. It is a problem, but it is also true — as the person indicates who asks this question — that there’s a responsibility here for girls, and certainly for their dads and moms, to seriously consider this.

As for the part of the question asking why this is not being addressed like it should be in churches, I believe the answer is fear. I think there are many pastors and church leaders, who, like many husbands and fathers, are afraid to speak up for fear of offending women who are fashion-conscious. Some women think that to be fashionable, you have to have outfits that are sexy—including the split skirts, the very tight skirts and pants, and low-cut tops. All of these things send a message to men, and pastors are very self-conscious about speaking up because they think, There are women who will think I am a pervert for even mentioning this. “Oh, is that what the pastor is thinking about when he’s up front?”

It’s a difficult situation, but it’s an issue I believe male leaders of the home and church need the courage to speak up about and address directly. We also need godly women (especially godly women who can be reasonably fashionable and attractive in the right sense of attractive—not sexually attractive) who will lovingly challenge other women and let them know they are sending a wrong message. And if they don’t care about the message they’re sending, then something’s really wrong and they need to repent. We need open, clear discussions about this so women can become aware and understand the issue.

The Bible says our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. That compels us to honor God in all we do and say. Sadly, many inappropriate relationships develop in the church. Sometimes they start in small groups; others start through working relationships between church staff. There have been adulterous relationships that began during small group retreats, where women and men dressed and acted a certain way. Many of these relationships could be avoided if we paid closer attention to how we dress, how we come across, and the kind of affection we show.

I love to show physical affection. I often side-hug women I care about and know—if I have a close, appropriate brother-sister relationship—by putting my hand on their shoulders and pulling them toward me. But I avoid full-frontal hugs. Women sometimes are not aware how these kinds of hugs can affect their brothers in Christ.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss has excellent material on modesty and purity. She has a wonderful booklet titled The Look: Does God Really Care What I Wear? as well as several resources about the freedom of modesty at her ministry’s website, www.reviveourhearts.com.

I do believe modesty is something we need to take a very close, careful, prayerful look at in the Body of Christ. We need to not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

 

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Pastor speaks out against immodesty of dress
 

 

 

(The following is an article written by a parish priest):

Dear Parishioners,

One of the first things I have noticed in my new assignment here in [name of town] and its missions is that some are coming to church not modestly dressed. This is a common problem throughout our society brought on and encouraged by our modern media. We are taught in our Catholic faith that we are not to conform ourselves to the world, but to be conformed to Christ. If we ignore this warning, we risk not only the eternal loss of our own souls, but the loss of others as well. Parents have the grave obligation before God to always see to it that their children are modestly dressed, especially when coming to church. Modesty does not come naturally, it is taught and cultivated, it is a virtue very pleasing to God. On the other hand, immodesty is very displeasing to Him. But what if the parents are dressed immodestly themselves, how will they be a model to their children?

It is possible that they have not been taught the virtue of "modesty." For this reason I will set down some age-old guidelines for modesty in dressShorts, mini-skirts, tank-tops, blouses that expose the shoulders and arms up to the shoulders, low cut necklines which expose the busts and other private parts of the body are examples of dress not appropriate for Mass.  Indeed, these kinds of dress are not appropriate at any time for any who would call themselves Catholic.  Skirts that do not come at least 3" - 4" below the knees (when sitting) are immodest and unacceptable. We as true Catholics must constantly call to mind the fact that we are not our own, we belong to God, and therefore are temples of the Holy Spirit. We have a grave obligation to take proper moral care of God's property. The practice of modesty in dress protects the dignity of our persons as "temples of the Holy Spirit." If we do not dress modestly we are no longer temples of the Holy Spirit, but tools of the devil roaming about as grave occasions of sin for others. This does not mean that the body is evil in itself, but we must remember that we are all under the influence of the original sin. You will remember in Genesis that the first thing God did after Adam and Eve sinned is to make them some clothes to cover their nakedness. Through their sin and the loss of grace, Adam and Eve could no longer see the goodness of the body, so it had to be covered.

Our Lady revealed to us at Fatima that, "More souls go to Hell because of sins of the flesh than any other sin." Jesus says that, "If you even look at a woman with lust, you have committed adultery with her in your heart." A young women immodestly dressed promotes these adulterous glances, and is therefore an occasion of grave sins of the flesh to the men of the community. They are also a distraction at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, stealing the attention of the people which is strictly owed to God. This occasion of sin is in itself a grave sin for those who dress this way. The question arises, "are these girls and women 'suited' to receive the Lord?" In moral theology we would say that, objectively (what we can see on the surface), they are in mortal sin because of the grave temptation they pose, especially to the men of the community. So the answer is that they are not properly disposed to receive the Lord, and are most likely committing an even greater sin of "sacrilege" by doing so. Yet, young women do not hesitate to go to Communion in the very act of sinning by being immodestly dressed. In this way they offend God by a sacrilegious communion themselves and cause others to do the same.

If we do not dress modestly we are demonstrating our lack of respect for our own bodies and our lack of respect for others. Moreover, those who dress immodestly demonstrate that they could care less about the salvation of their own souls or the salvation of the souls of their neighbors. Immodesty in dress is a cheap form of advertising one's loose moral standards. This gross indifference to the practice of chaste moral standards is nothing new. St. John Chrysostom, who died in the year 407 wrote the following on this very same subject. Speaking to those who offend against immodesty, he says:

You carry your snare everywhere and spread your nets in all places. You claim that you never invited others to sin. You did not, indeed, by your word, but you have done so by your dress and your deportment and much more effectively than you could by your voice. When you have made another sin in his heart, how can you be innocent? Tell me, whom does this world condemn? Whom do judges in court punish? Those who drink poison, or those who prepare it and administer the fatal potion? You have prepared the abominable cup, you have given the death-dealing drink, and you are more criminal than those who poison the body; you murder not the body but the soul (for example, cause others to commit moral sins of impurity). And all this for your foolish vanity and pride.

I, as your pastor, have a grave obligation before God to correct this problem. Because of its seriousness and inflammatory nature, in the future Father will not give communion to those not properly dressed. This applies as well to those who do the readings, play the organ, or for any other liturgical act. Those scheduled to be married must not make their wedding an occasion for immodesty of dress. As pastor, I am very serious about this problem because of the ease with which these sins are given in to, and because of the grave danger to the salvation of souls. It is my duty as pastor to guide the community in these, and all matters dealing with morality. Please cooperate with these guidelines for the moral good of the whole community. Remember, I will not hesitate to turn that person away from the reception of the Lord in communion if they come up immodestly dressed. If you have any doubt about the code for dress mentioned above regarding the length of the dress or the shortness of the sleeves, choose the longer ones. In this way, you will save yourself from two things. You will save yourself from the embarrassment from being turned way from communion, but most of all, you will save yourself from the possibility of dying in grave sin.

The Iron Law, it is an appropriate adage which applies here in terms of Doing Good and Avoiding Evil:

SENSE EXPERIENCE TENDS TO BECOME THOUGHT;
THOUGHT TENDS TO BECOME DESIRE;
DESIRE TENDS TO BECOME ACTION;
ACTION TENDS TO BECOME HABIT;
HABIT FORMS CHARACTER;
AND OUR CHARACTER DETERMINES OUR ETERNAL DESTINY. THINK ABOUT THAT!

                                                            In Jesus, Mary and Joseph,

                                                            (signed)
                                                            Pastor

 

"Impress, My child, upon your world the existence of hell that man seeks to deny. There are fires of hell. These fires will be felt on those who have lost their modesty to modernization, who expose the sacred temple of God, placed when their spirit entered their body—expose them to ridicule! The flames will burn every inch of that which is exposed." - Our Lady of the Roses, November 20, 1971 

"Parents, how dare you allow your daughters to be looked upon with lustful eyes! Have you no shame? What is your example? Are you pagans?" - Our Lady of the Roses, May 30, 1972

 

Our Lady of the Roses Bayside messages:

These prophecies came from Jesus, Mary, and the saints to Veronica Lueken at Bayside, NY, from 1968 to 1995.

A  WAY  OF  LIFE
"I ask that a task force be set upon the world to eliminate the products of the forces of evil that seek to debase, destroy the souls of your children. Remove from your homes the corrupters of souls: the pornography, the infernal box—your television—and the destructor of souls, modesty and purity—the nakedness of the body.
   "Parents, you shall be judged for the destruction by permissiveness, of your children's souls. Clothe them in goodness, holiness, and piety, and make modesty a way of life for the young." - Our Lady, August 21, 1975

EXAMPLE  OF  QUEEN  OF  HEAVEN
"The world must follow the example of the Queen of Heaven. Modesty, purity of heart and purpose." - St. Michael, December 7, 1973 

SACRED TEMPLE  OF  GOD
"Impress, My child, upon your world the existence of hell that man seeks to deny. There are fires of hell. These fires will be felt on those who have lost their modesty to modernization, who expose the sacred temple of God, placed when their spirit entered their body—expose them to ridicule! The flames will burn every inch of that which is exposed." - Our Lady, November 20, 1971 

AS  BEFITS  A  WIFE  AND  MOTHER
"Women shall not approach the sacred Body dressed as pagans, exposing the temples of their spirit to shame! Cover yourselves, My children, or you will burn!
   "I repeat: women will dress as befits a wife and mother, clothing themselves with modesty and holiness. Children will follow the example of their parents. Therefore, if your example is poor, your children will be your thorns. The sins of the parents are surely visited upon the children." - Our Lady, March 18, 1975 

ARE  YOU  PAGANS?
"Parents, how dare you allow your daughters to be looked upon with lustful eyes! Have you no shame? What is your example? Are you pagans?" - Our Lady, May 30, 1972 

DO  NOT  LEAD  YOUR  CHILD  INTO  DANGER!
"Mothers, why are you permissive with your children? Do you not recognize the plan of satan? Do you wish lustful eyes cast upon the innocence of your young child? Do not lead your child into danger!" - Our Lady, June 8, 1972 

CHAIN  OF  EVIL
"Foolish virgins! Why do you choose to live in this world of earth? Have you become blind to modesty? Has vanity invaded your hearts? Woe to those who cause the downfall of Our dedicated by their examples. You are all following the evil circle, My dedicated; for it is like a chain of evil, link by link. By your example you build a solid chain to hell. For woe to those entrusted with the souls of the little ones, and who lead the little ones to hell!" - Our Lady, November 21, 1970 

SAFEGUARD  THEIR  PURITY
"As parents your duty is manifold. You must teach your children within your homes. You must safeguard their purity. Modesty! Mothers, your daughters—do you permit them to expose their flesh to lustful eyes? Are you stripping from their young souls modesty and purity of purpose and spirit? What kind of example are you giving as parents in your homes?" - Our Lady, October 2, 1975 

PERMISSIVE ATTITUDES
"Nakedness! Abomination! Aberrations have become the way of life in your country. Nakedness! Have you no shame to expose your body and cause another to fall? Mothers, you allow your daughters to sin and cause others to sin in your permissive attitudes. Have you no protective instincts for your children? Do you subject them willfully to the ravages of satanic agents?" - Our Lady, March 25, 1972

EYES:  MIRROR  OF  YOUR  SOUL
"Modesty must be retained. Modesty must be taught to the young. Keep pure and holy thoughts in your minds and the minds of your children, for your eyes are also the mirror of your soul." - Jesus, May 18, 1977 

"CHASTITY",  "MODESTY"
"You see, My child, you use the word 'Marylike,' but the word is truly 'chastity,' 'modesty.' It is a word, chastity, the word modesty, soon forgotten on your earth." - Our Lady, June 15, 1974
 

Directives from Heaven

D128 - Modesty   PDF LogoPDF
D200 - Lust  PDF LogoPDF
D201
- Vanity   PDF LogoPDF
D216 - Pornography  PDF LogoPDF
 

 

Videos online:


Vatican II
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World Monetary Crash
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Deception of the Century
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Third Secret Fabrication
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The Miraculous Story of Bayside
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A Pilgrimage to Our Lady of the Roses Shrine
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Jacinta's Third Secret vision: She saw Pope Paul VI
Watch here...

Consecrate Russia
Watch here (Part 1)
(Part 2)

 

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Revised:
April 11, 2018