What Should We Wear To Church?

Does God care what we wear when we go to Church? Or does God look only at the heart?

There is no lack of argument from various sides when it comes to dress codes for Church, especially for Catholics when going to mass. Some people seem more on the lenient side, not caring about one’s clothes as much as caring about one’s sincerity. Others are stricter and have more specific requirements when it comes to the appropriate Church attire.

What does God think? Are we willing to know what He desires and follow His will?

Here are some of the things we may need to consider when we think about the proper clothes to wear for Church:

1. Remember before whom you were invited to come

May we never forget in whose presence we go when we go to Church. When we gather for Church on Sundays (even on week days), we don’t merely attend a seminar or a group meeting. We come to God, participate in the mass and approach Him who is the King of kings.

If we can take the time to look our best when we are invited to attend a gathering with a famous celebrity or a high-ranking official, must we not also try to dress appropriately when we appear before God Himself?

2. God looks more at what’s in our hearts

Although God may care and deeply appreciate what we wear, He looks more deeply at what’s in our hearts. What good is it if we wear our best clothes if our hearts are full of bitterness, pride, envy or greed?

No matter how great we may look externally, we would still fall short of presenting our best to God if we can’t present to Him a clean and contrite heart.

3. What we wear on the outside often reflects how we feel on the inside

Giving value to what’s in our hearts should not lead us to believe that it doesn’t matter anymore how we dress before God.

Let us keep in mind that if we truly love God deep within, that love and respect should be shown in our external actions and appearance as well.

4. Let’s not make this an occasion to judge or to look down on others

There is a certain temptation that comes whenever we urge people to look their best. And this is the part when we’re tempted to compare our attire with what others wear to the point that we judge each other and look down on others who are not as well dressed as we are.

Don’t allow this to be an occasion for judgment or prejudice for others.

5. The appropriate attire varies depending on many factors

While we may have a general idea in mind what this appropriate attire should be, let us not fail to keep in consideration the various factors that may affect what people should wear.

We should consider the time, place, culture and other circumstances before we promote a specific dress code for Church. What country is it and what are their customs? What do we consider to be normal “Sunday clothes” in that particular area? Has a natural disaster just taken place and people have just lost everything except for the clothes on their backs?

6. We should not keep anyone from drawing near to God

Teaching people to dress properly for Church and strictly imposing a dress code to the point of driving people away without a proper understanding of their situation is another.

If a homeless person with no other clothes to wear suddenly walks in to pray, should he be driven out of the Church because he has failed to satisfy the dress code being imposed?

What we wear should not draw other people’s attention away from Jesus

If we still find it hard to determine whether we’re wearing appropriate clothes for Church, let us try to think about how our attire can affect the other people going there.

With this in mind, we would realize that dressing in a flashy coat and tie may not always be the appropriate thing to do. Why? Even if you can afford it, and even if you’re not wearing anything against the imposed dress code (no shorts, no sleeveless dress, no revealing outfits), but if you’re dressing so formally and expensively that everyone’s attention would be drawn to you, it may not be the wisest choice of clothes to wear.

When we go to mass, we look forward to being in God’s presence. For Catholics, this often means looking towards the crucifix and seeing the wounded body of Jesus Christ. That is where our attention needs to be.

May fixing our gaze upon the crucified body of Christ make us reflect upon ourselves. Do we bring to Him a contrite and humble heart that is sorry for our sins? Did we do our best to reflect the dignity that God has bestowed upon us? What do people see when they look at our lives?

“We are all lepers. Even if we hide our sores under the finest clothes, and lie to each other, to convince ourselves that we are healthy and happy; Forgetting the only real reason we should be happy: that God loves us, despite the sores we hide. God loves us so much that He became one of us, and was nailed naked to the cross, showing His sores to the world.” -St. Francis (Clare and Francis Film)

“He had no majestic bearing to catch our eye, no beauty to draw us to him. He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, knowing pain, Like one from whom you turn your face, spurned, and we held him in no esteem. Yet it was our pain that he bore, our sufferings he endured. We thought of him as stricken, struck down by God and afflicted, But he was pierced for our sins, crushed for our iniquity. He bore the punishment that makes us whole, by his wounds we were healed.” – Isaiah 53:2-5 NABRE

Is Jesus in the Eucharist? Read the answer plus other questions and answers about the Catholic faith. See Jocelyn Soriano’s book Defending My Catholic Faith.

“Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope.” – 1 Peter 3:15 (NABRE)