Newsletter #126
Dear Friends and Benefactors,
The beautiful Canticle of the Blessed Virgin Mary, called the “Magnificat”, was first sung when Our Lady visited her cousin Saint Elizabeth. From the earliest times it has been in use in the Church. Saint Benedict was the first to make it a part of the evening Office of Vespers.
We will continue in this newsletter (the first part was given last newsletter) explaining the remaining verses of the ‘Magnificat’ (St. Luke I: 50-55) from the commentary of Saint John Eudes. Afterwards, there will be a closing section on Christian Modesty in Dress, a short reminder for new parishioners and supporters of Our Lady of Mount Carmel as we approach the warmer weather of summer.
“HIS MERCY IS FROM GENERATION UNTO GENERATION, TO THEM THAT FEAR HIM”
What is this mercy? “It is our most bountiful Saviour,” explains St. Augustine. The Eternal Father is called the Father of Mercy, because He is the Father of the Word Incarnate Who is uncreated mercy itself. It is this mercy which the royal prophet David begged God, in the name of the whole human race, to send into the world through the mystery of the Incarnation, when he prayed: Show us, O Lord, Thy mercy, and grant us Thy salvation. (Ps. 84. 8) The Word Incarnate is all love and charity; therefore, He must be all mercy. God is naturally and essentially all-merciful, says St. Jerome, and always ready to save by His clemency those whom He cannot save according to His justice. But we are so wretched and so inimical to ourselves that when mercy is offered to us for our salvation, we turn our backs on it in scorn.
It is through the Incarnation that the Son of God exercised His mercy on our behalf, and His great mercy, according to these words of the Prince of the Apostles: “According to his great mercy (He) hath regenerated us.” (I Pet. 1, 3).
But what is the meaning of the following phrase: “From generation unto generations, to them that fear Him?” According to the explanation of holy Doctors, these words mean that, since our Saviour was made flesh and died for all men, He also pours the treasures of His mercy upon all those who do not oppose but rather fear Him. Being the inexhaustible fountain of grace and mercies, God also derives a sovereign pleasure from bestowing them continually upon His children, everywhere and at all times.
Although, according to St. Bernard, divine Mercy is equally shared by the Three Divine Persons, together with all the other divine attributes, it is nevertheless attributed particularly to the person of the Son, as power is to the Father and bounty to the Holy Ghost. It is particularly the Incarnate Word who, through His great mercy, delivered us from the tyranny of sin, from the power of the devil, from eternal death, from the torments of hell and infinity of evils and miseries, and acquired for us, at the cost of His Precious Blood and His Divine life, the same eternal empire which His Eternal Father had given to Him.
But Our Lord did not will to accomplish this great work by Himself. In addition to doing all things in union with the Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost, Christ also willed to associate His most holy Mother with Him in the great work of His mercy. “It is not good for man to be alone,”(Gen. 2, 18) said God when He willed to give the first woman to the first man; “let us make him a helpmate like unto himself.” So also does the new Man, who is Jesus Christ, choose to have a helpmate in Mary, and the Eternal Father gives the Blessed Mother to the Beloved Son to assist Him and cooperate with Him in the great work of the salvation of the world, which is the work of His great mercy.
The Blessed Virgin Mary does this continually with regard to individuals, kingdoms, provinces, cities, houses and even the whole world, according to these words of one of the holiest and most learned Fathers of the Church, St. Fulgentius, who lived almost twelve centuries ago. “Heaven and earth,” he says, “would long since have been reduced to the nothingness out of which they were created, had not the prayers of Mary sustained them.” These words must be understood to include not only the firmament but also the other skies which contain the sun, the stars and the moon.”
“HE HATH SHOWED MIGHT IN HIS ARM”
The great God, she says, hath put down the mighty with His arm. What arm is this? St. Augustine, St. Fulgentius and St. Bonaventure all maintain that it is the Word Incarnate, according to the prophet Isaias; “And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” which text St. John applies to the Son of God. (St. John 12,38)
Since it is with his arms that man performs his actions, it is similarly through His Divine Son that God accomplishes all things. “Just as man’s arms,” says Albert the Great, “extend from his body, and his hands from both the arms and body, so also does the Son of God extend from the Almighty Father, while the Holy Ghost proceeds from both the Father and the Son.”
But what is the meaning of the words “He hath showed might?” They mean that God has acted powerfully, and that His power has produced admirable effects in his arm, through His Only-begotten Son and Incarnate Word, who is His arm. It is through Christ that the Eternal Father created all things; it is through Christ that He redeemed the world; through Christ He vanquished the devil and triumphed over hell; it is through Christ that God opened heaven to us; it is through Him that He performed an infinite number of other miracles. “The words that I speak to you,” says the Son of God, “I speak not of myself. But the Father who abideth in me, he doth the works.” (St. John 14, 10)
Oh, what wonders are wrought by Divine Might in this ineffable mystery of the Incarnation! What a miracle to behold two natures, infinitely removed from each other, so closely united that they form but a single person! What a Miracle to behold the Word Incarnate come forth from the consecrated womb of a virgin without destroying that virginity! What a wealth of miracles in the institution of the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar! What a miracle, last of all, for Divine Might to have elevated a daughter of Adam to the dignity of Mother of God, and to have enthroned her as Queen of the angels and of the whole universe!
Among the works of God, some are attributed to His hands and fingers, like the heavens: “The heavens are the works of thy hands” (Ps. 101, 26) of will behold the heavens, the works of thy fingers.” (Ps. 8, 4) Others are attributed to one of His fingers, “This is the finger of God,” (Exod. 8. 19) like the wonders that He performed through Moses in Egypt. But the incomparable work of the Incarnation is attributed neither to the hands or fingers of God; it belongs to the arm of His divine Might because it incomparably surpasses all the other works of His adorable Majesty.
“It is an admirable thing,” says St. John Damascene, “that He who is perfect God becomes perfect man. This God-Man is the newest of all things; indeed, He is the only new being that has ever appeared or ever can appear under the sun, in whom the infinite power of God is made manifest far more than in all that the universe encompasses. For what is there greater and more admirable than to behold God made man?”
Here are two additional factors of the highest importance. The first is that nowhere is divine Might more apparent than in the remission and destruction of sin, according to these words of Holy Church: “O God, Who dost manifest Thine omnipotence more in forgiving us our sins and showing us mercy than in anything else.” The wrong done to God through sin is so great, that only the infinite might of an immense bounty can pardon it, and sin is such a frightful monster that only the arm of the Almighty can crush it.
The second wonderful manifestation of this adorable Might is the virtue and strength that it imparts to holy martyrs and to all persons who suffer extraordinary afflictions, that they may bear them generously and in a true Christian manner for the love of Him Who suffered the torments and death of the Cross for their sake.
This is a brief summary of the countless miracles performed by the all-powerful arm of the Word Incarnate, miracles which He continues to perform daily for the glory of His divine Father, the honor of His most admirable Mother and the salvation and sanctification of mankind, to incite men to love and serve Him with all their hearts, as He loves them with all His Heart.
“HE HATH SCATTERED THE PROUD IN THE CONCEIT OF THEIR HEART”
Who are the proud? The holy Fathers explain this text in various ways. Some of them say that they are the rebellious angels whom God drove out of heaven and cast into bell for their pride. Others understand them to mean Pharao, Sennacherib, Nabuchodonosor, Antiochus and other enemies of the people of Israel. St. Cyril and St. Augustine explain them with reference to the demons that our Lord drove out of the bodies and souls of men when lie came into the world. St. Augustine writes further that we may also infer these proud to mean the Jews who scorned the humble coming of our Saviour, for which they were rebuked.
Hugh of Saint Victor and Dionysius the Carthusian say that these words designate all men dominated by pride, while Cardinal Hugues declared that these proud are the heretics whose minds are divided and at variance because Of the diversity of their thoughts and errors. There are still others who assure us that these prouds are sinners in general who rebel against the divine will.
Finally, certain holy Doctors write that we must apply these words to the emperors, kings, princes, philosophers and all the tyrants who have opposed the proclamation of the holy Gospel, personages whom God has exterminated and cast into hell fire. These also include all men, who will persecute the Church until the coming of the antichrist, for the majority of the words of the Magnificat are prophecies expressed in the past tense, ‘dispersit superbos’, (hath scattered the proud) as if those things were already fulfilled, in order to show that they will just as certainly take place as if they had already happened.
“HE HATH PUT DOWN THE MIGHTY FROM THEIR SEAT, AND HATH EXALTED THE HUMBLE”
The time being ripe when the Father of Mercy was pleased to fulfill His intention from all eternity to save mankind, His divine wisdom, whose resolutions are impenetrable, willed to employ means to that end which apparently bad no capacity for or conformity with the greatness of this mighty work.
What are these means? Here they are.
God sent His Only-begotten Son into the world in a perishable and mortal state, in such abjection and lowliness that He Himself says, “I am a worm and no man” (Ps. 21, 7): bearing as a tide of honor in Scripture, (Isaias 53, 3) “the most abject of men.”
This adorable Father wills His Only-Begotten Son, generated in His bosom from all eternity, and equal to Him in all things, to be born of a Mother who is in truth most holy, but so lowly and humble in her own eyes and in the eyes of the world that she esteems herself the least of all creatures.
Furthermore, this divine Father, wishing to provide helpers and coworkers to work with His Divine Son in this supreme work of redemption of the world, chose twelve poor fishermen without learning, eloquence or any other qualities that might have distinguished them among men. He sent these twelve fishermen throughout the land to destroy a religion based on conformity with human inclinations, a religion rooted for several thousand years in the hearts of men, and to establish instead a completely new religion which is opposed to the first and contrary to all the inclinations of human nature.
These twelve poor fishermen went everywhere to preach and establish this new faith while destroying the first religion. But how were they received? Everyone rose up against them – the great and the lowly, the rich and the poor, men and women, the learned and the ignorant, philosophers and priests of false gods, kings and princes; all men in general expended every effort to oppose the preaching of the Gospel which twelve fishermen strove to proclaim. They were seized and cast into prison with chains on their hands and feet, they were treated like rogues and magicians, they were beaten, burned, stoned, crucified; in short, they were made to suffer all the most atrocious torments.
But what happened? They emerged victorious, they triumphed gloriously over the great, the powerful, the wise and all the monarchs of the world. They annihilated the religion, or rather the irreligion and abominable idolatry which hell had established throughout the world, and they established the Christian faith and religion in its stead. Finally, they became the masters of the world, and God bestowed on them the principality of the earth: “Thou shalt make them princes over all the earth.” (Ps. 44,17)
God upset the thrones of kings and the pulpits of philosophers; He conferred the first empire of the world to a poor fisherman, whom He elevated to such eminent power and glory that rulers and magnates considered it a great honor to kiss the dust of his sepulchre and the feet of his successors.
What is all that, if not the fulfilment of this prophecy of the Blessed Virgin, ‘Deposuit potentes de sede, et exaltavit humiles’. “He hath put down the mighty from their seat and hath exalted the lowly and humble?”
Thus, it is that Christ humbles and destroys the great and powerful of this earth who misuse their power, and exalts the lowly and humble who practice the words of the Apostle: “Be you humbled therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in the time of visitation.” (1 Pet. 5, 6.)
This Christ has always done from the beginning of the world; and He will continue until the end of time, even to the coming of the antichrist, who through his abominable pride will attempt to exalt himself even above God Himself: “Who opposeth, and is lifted up above all that is called God.” (2 Thess. 2, 4) But He who annihilated Himself in order to confound the arrogant and exalt the humble will kill him with a single breath: “The Lord Jesus shall kill with the spirit of his mouth,” (2 Thess. 2, 8) casting him into the lower depths of hell; and having resuscitated His two prophets Elias and Enoch, He will bring them publicly and gloriously into heaven to shame their enemies who behold them.
“HE HATH FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS: AND THE RICH HE HATH SENT EMPTY AWAY”
Some Doctors of the Church explain these words with reference to the Gentiles converted to God by the Christian faith, and to the Jews remaining in their blindness. The Gentiles before the coming of the Son of God on earth existed in extreme poverty (which is indicated by the word ‘esurientes’, hungry), because they had no knowledge of their Creator and adored no other god but the devil. And when they embraced the Christian religion, God enriched them with its inconceivable treasures. The Chosen People, on the contrary, having uncompromisingly rejected the Saviour of the world and remaining obdurate, were stripped of all the gifts, graces and favors with which God had honored them: “The rich he hath sent empty away.
St. Augustine applies the word ‘esurientes’, hungry, to the humble, and ‘divites’, rich, to the proud. “The humble,” he says, “realize that of themselves they are nothing, and that they stand in extreme need of the help and grace of heaven; but the proud are convinced that they are full of grace and virtue. That is why God takes pleasure in showering His gifts on the former and in depriving the latter of His bounty.”
These same words are also understood to mean all the poor whose hearts are detached from the things of earth, who love and embrace poverty for the love of Him who, possessing all the treasure of divinity, willed to become poor for love of us so that we might possess eternal riches. But we must understand the text to refer particularly to those who have voluntarily stripped themselves of all things through the holy vow of poverty, in order to imitate our divine Saviour and His most holy Mother more perfectly in their state of poverty, which was so extreme that the Son of God uttered them words: “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests: but the son of man hath not where to lay his head.” (St. Matthew 8, 20)
Oh, how dangerous is the possession of worldly wealth, since He Who is eternal truth also said: “Woe to you that are rich, for you have your consolation!” And speaking through St. Paul, He utters these terrible words: “They that will become rich, fall into temptation, and into the snare of the devil, and into many unprofitable and hurtful desires, which drown men into destruction and perdition.” That is why, if you love riches, do not love the false riches of this world but the true wealth of heaven, which is the fear and love of God, charity toward your neighbor, humility, obedience, patience, purity, and the other Christian virtues which will lead you to the possession of an eternal empire.
“HE HATH RECEIVED ISRAEL HIS SERVANT”
Almighty God fashioned two orders of creatures at the beginning of the world, angels and men; the angels in heaven, men on earth. Both of them were so ungrateful that they revolted against their Creator, the angel through pride and man through disobedience to the commandment of God. The sin of the angel, being a sin of pride, was found to be so enormous in the eyes of God that divine Justice obliged Him to drive the angelic sinner out of paradise and cast him into hell.
But His Mercy, seeing that man had fallen into sin through the temptation and seduction of Satan, took pity on him and resolved to withdraw him from the miserable state to which he had been reduced, even making a pledge to that effect. And even the countless and enormous sins committed by the Jews, the Gentiles and all men since that promise were not capable of preventing its fulfilment, but they did delay it for many centuries, during which time the whole race of Adam, condemned and cast out by God, was plunged into an abyss of darkness and a whirlpool of inexplicable evils from which it was impossible for it to emerge unaided. The more humanity went forward, the more deeply mired it became in this gulf, the more it wallowed in the mud and filth for its sins.
God was known only in Judea, and even there He was known very imperfectly and by very few persons. All the others were enshrouded in the darkness of hell, the whole earth was covered with idols and idolators, and the tyranny of Satan oppressed the whole world. The law of Moses revealed sin, but it did not cure it. Thus, it seemed that God, by an eminently just judgement, had entirely forgotten mankind abandoned in this deplorable state as a punishment for its crimes.
But finally, the Son of God, mindful of His mercy which He seemed to have forgotten for more than four thousand years, ‘Recordatus misericordiae suae’ and of the promise He had made to Adam, Abraham, David and a number of other prophets, to draw the human race from the pit of evils, Himself descended from heaven into the virgin bosom of the handmaid, Mary, where to His divine Person He united the wretched human nature which He had abandoned, becoming man in order to save all men who long to be numbered among the true Israelites; that is, who seek to believe in Him and love Him.
That is what the Blessed Virgin announces to us through these words: “He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy,” for several holy Doctors explain them as the mystery of the Incarnation.
But what is this Israel? Several saints affirm that these words must be applied first of all to the people of Israel, the Son of God having willed to be made man and take birth from the Israelites notwithstanding their past ingratitude and the outrages that He was to receive at their hands. I say “first of all,” for the divine Word also united Himself with all human nature and not only with the people of Israel.
But why does the Blessed Virgin my, “He hath received Israel his servant?” It is the Holy Ghost speaking through her and imparting two meanings by the word ‘puerum’. In the first place, He gives us to understand that the Son of God became not only man in order to make us God-like, but He also became an infant to make us children of God.
Secondly, the Incarnate Word is placed before us not only as man and child, but also as servant. It is the same thing that the Holy Ghost declares to us through the mouth of St. Paul in these terms: “He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant.”
And do we not hear the voice of Our Saviour telling us Himself that He came not to be served, but to serve? O superabundance of incomparable love! The sovereign Monarch of the universe takes the form of a servant, in order to deliver us from the bondage of Satan and make us children of God! O my Saviour, we are unworthy to be Thy slaves; yet Thou, not content to call us friends and brethren, hast made us children of the same adorable Father whose beloved Son Thou art, and consequently His heirs and Thy coheirs.
“AS HE SPOKE TO OUR FATHERS, TO ABRAHAM AND HIS SEED FOREVER”
The final verse of the Magnificat sets before us the truth of the word of God and His fidelity to His promises. In Sacred Scripture He is justly called “faithful and true,” being not only true to His words, but very truth itself – essential, eternal and impregnable truth. Not only is God faithful to His promises, but He is fidelity itself, infinitely powerful, wise and good: infinitely powerful in overcoming all obstacles to the fulfilment of His promises; infinitely wise in fulfilling them most appropriately at the most suitable time and place, infinitely good in fulfilling His word in the manner most useful and advantageous to those to whom the promises were made.
God promised Adam and the other patriarchs and prophets to deliver men from the dark perdition of sin, and then He was not content simply to withdraw them from this wretched state and to free them from the bondage of Satan; He also became man in order to make them like God; He became the Son of man so that men might become Children of God; and He descended from heaven to earth to transport them from earth to heaven.
It is these promises made to Adam, Abraham and the other Fathers and patriarchs which the Blessed Virgin mentions in the final words of her divine canticle, “As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever; a promise that He fulfilled when He took flesh in her blessed womb. He declared this truth to the Jews when He said to them: “Abraham your father rejoiced that he might see my day,” (St. John 8, 56) that is, the day of my Incarnation and birth, of my dwelling on earth, whence he hoped for his salvation and that of the whole world. “He saw it,” that is, he knew Christ by faith, or else he knew Him through the revelations that the Heavenly Father made to him, “and was glad.”
We see, therefore, how God is true to His words and promises, a fact which should afford us wonderful comfort, because this most faithful fulfilment of the pledges of God provides us with infallible assurance that all His other promises to mankind will likewise be perfectly realized.
What are these promises? There are two kinds: those which belong to this life, and those which concern the life to come.
What does God promise us in this life? He promises that He will preserve us from evil if we live in fear of Him: «No evil shall happen to him that feareth the Lord.» Yes, for all things work together for the good of those who love God: “To them that love God all things work together unto good.” (Rom. 8,28)
He promises to keep track of every step that we take in His service: “Thou indeed hast numbered my steps;” to feel the wrongs that are done to us as if He Himself were wounded in the pupil of His eye: “He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of my eye;” (Zach. 2,8) to cherish our good works like the apple of His eye: “The alms of a man is as a signet with him: and shall preserve the grace of a man as the apple of the eye.” (Ecclus. 17,18)
These are the promises made to us by our Saviour concerning our present life, but there are many others referring to the life in Heaven.
Our most benign Saviour promises us that on the day of the general resurrection, not only will He cause our bodies to rise again, but He will also clothe them with the brilliance, incorruptibility, immortality and glory of His own most holy body: “Who will reform the body of our lowness, made like the body of his glory”; He will have us dwell with Him not only in heaven but also in the bosom and heart of His Father: “Father, I will that where I am, they also whom thou hast given me, may be with me”.
He will make us kings of the very kingdom that the Almighty Father conferred upon Him: “And I dispose to you, as my Father hath disposed to me, a kingdom”; He will make us His Father’s heirs and His own co-heirs; He will share all His possessions with us; He will give us the same glory that His Father has given to Him; He will associate us with His angels, seat us on their thrones, have us live their lives and enjoy their felicity; He will permit us to dine at His table; He will seat us on His own throne; we shall be through grace and participation what He is by nature and essence; and, finally, we shall be but one with Christ and His Eternal Father Who are also but one.
Those are the marvelous promises of our most bountiful Redeemer. But is it possible for such great wonders to be fulfilled? Yes, that is ascertain as it is that God is God. lt is what the Blessed Virgin tells us: “As he spoke to our fathers: to Abraham and to his seed forever.”
CHRISTIAN MODESTY REMINDER
With the warmer weather already here and the month of summer around the corner, we should benefit from a few words concerning modesty of dress. There is always the temptation for anyone of us to dress like 99.9 % of people in this morally corrupted society.
Modesty is a virtue for everyone, male and female, young and old. A virtue – which means it must be practiced ALWAYS and EVERYWHERE! Modesty is the moral virtue that guards and protects chastity. Holy Scripture tells us: “Let your modesty be known to all men” (Phil. 4:5). Let it be known to men, not hidden. This virtue is not passive, but active. We should be boldly modest and openly fight impurity. If we do not act this way, we will end up making a pact with impurity and impurity will win. Therefore, as Shibler writes, we must be MORE modest than the MINIMUM standard of decency. Our modesty should shine for all men.
Our very manner should breathe modesty as a constant reminder to those around us. St. Francis of Assisi said that we should preach at all times… and when necessary – with words. Our pure and respectful manner of dressing and acting can be a constant sermon to those who look upon us.
Unfortunately, many Catholics misunderstand modesty. They consider it a restraint imposed by Holy Mother Church to cause us discomfort on hot days. The more progressive look upon it as old fashioned, stuffy, prudish, designed to keep women “subjugated.” However, modesty is nothing of the sort. It is rather our most effective protection against the attacks of the enemy. Modesty is a strong barrier against the assaults of our enemies who would like to rob us of our most precious treasure – our chastity.
Chastity is the angelic virtue that makes men like angels. Through chastity we see the higher aspects of life, the spiritual aspects. “Blessed are the clean of heart for they shall see God” (St. Matthew 5:8).
Catholic theologians and mystics concur that there is a special place in Heaven close to the throne of God reserved for those who maintain their chastity intact throughout their lives (Apocalypse 14:4). But this ability to see God extends even to those on earth. St. John, the Beloved Apostle, the Pure One, was able to recognize Our Lord long before every other Apostle after the Resurrection. It was always he who, full of wonder, exclaimed, “It is the Lord” (St. John 21:7).
QUOTATIONS FROM SAINTS ON PURITY AND MODESTY
- “Holy Purity, the queen of virtues, the angelic virtue, is a jewel so precious that those who possess it become like the angels of God in heaven, even though clothed in mortal flesh.” – Saint John Bosco
- “We must practice modesty, not only in our looks, but also in our whole deportment, and particularly in our dress, our walk, our conversation, and all similar actions.” – Saint Alphonsus Liguori
- “More souls go to hell because of sins of the flesh than for any other reason.” – Our Lady of Fatima
- “Filthy talk makes us feel comfortable with filthy action. But the one who knows how to control the tongue is prepared to resist the attacks of lust.” – Saint Clement of Alexandria
- “The man of impure speech is a person whose lips are but an opening and a supply pipe which hell uses to vomit its impurities upon the earth.” – Saint John Vianney
- “Either we must speak as we dress, or dress as we speak. Why do we profess one thing and display another? The tongue talks of chastity, but the whole body reveals impurity.” – Saint Jerome
- “Chastity is the lily of virtues, and makes men almost equal to Angels. Everything is beautiful in accordance with its purity. Now the purity of man is chastity, which is called honesty, and the observance of it, honor and also integrity; and its contrary is called corruption; in short, it has this peculiar excellence above the other virtues, that it preserves both soul and body fair and unspotted.” – Saint Francis de Sales
- “You carry your snare everywhere and spread your nets in all places. You allege that you never invited others to sin. You did not indeed, by your words, but you have done so by your dress and your deportment.” – Saint John Chrysostom
- “Let your modesty be a sufficient incitement, yea, an exhortation to everyone to be at peace on their merely looking at you.” – Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Holy chastity and modesty, understood and practiced, will undermine the rottenness of sensuality. In a world where vice and sin are everywhere the norm, we must, with the help of the most Blessed Mother of God, resist and overcome. We must launch a mighty Crusade of ideals, prayer and action against the world, the flesh and the devil.
THE MARY-LIKE STANDARDS FOR MODESTY IN DRESS FOR LADIES (Pre-Vatican II)
1. “Marylike” means modesty without compromise – “like Mary”, Christ’s pure and spotless Mother.
2. Marylike dresses have sleeves extending to the wrists; and skirts reaching the ankles.
3. Marylike dresses require full and loose coverage for the bodice, chest, shoulders, and back; the cut-out about the neck must not exceed “two fingers breadth under the pit of the throat” and a similar breadth around the back of the neck.
4. Marylike dresses also do not admit as modest coverage transparent fabrics – laces, nets, organdy, nylons, etc. – unless sufficient backing is added. Fabrics such as laces, nets, organdy may be moderately used as trimmings only.
5. Marylike dresses avoid the improper use of flesh-colored fabrics.
6. Marylike dresses conceal rather than reveal the figure of the wearer; they do not emphasize, unduly, parts of the body.
7. Marylike dresses provide full coverage, even after jacket, cape or stole are removed.
8. Marylike fashions are designed to conceal as much of the body as possible, rather than reveal. This would automatically eliminate such fashions as slacks, jeans, shorts, culottes, tight sweaters, sheer blouses, and sleeveless dresses; etc. The Marylike standards are a guide to instill a “sense of modesty”. A girl or woman who follows these standards, and looks up to Mary as her ideal and model, will have no problem with modesty in dress. She will not be an occasion of sin or source of embarrassment or shame to others.
STANDARDS FOR MEN
Saint Paul says that women should appear “in decent apparel; adorning themselves with modesty and sobriety.” (I Tim. 2:9)
And although, as already mentioned, this is more important for women, Saint Francis de Sales commenting on this passage does not hesitate to remark that “the same may be said of men.”
Yes, men also must dress with proper Christian dignity. How overly casual they have become. It is NOT acceptable for Christian men to go about their daily business in sportswear or other scanty clothing that covers the body little more than the clothing of savages. Remember that missionaries throughout Church history in converting these savages, taught them to cover themselves according to Christian decency.
Although the Church has not provided a universal standard for men’s clothing, still, some guidelines can be found. In May 1946, the Canadian Bishops directed these words on modesty to men:
“Man himself does not escape from the inclination of exhibiting his flesh: some go in public, stripped to the waist, or in very tight pants or in very scanty bathing suits. They thus commit offences against the virtue of modesty. They may also be an occasion of sin (in thought or desire) for our neighbor.”
STANDARDS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH
Finally, with regards to our precious young souls, the Church teaches that even small children should be instructed in the practice of properly covering and adorning the body. In this way, by the time they reach puberty their sense of modesty will have become very acute, and the observance of modesty an ordinary part of their daily lives. In reality, then, there should exist little if any difference between the way adults and children observe modesty. Looking at pictures of the three Fatima children, we find good examples.
They are but young children tending sheep, yet see how they are fully dressed, the boy like a male and the girls like females. And the youngest among them, Jacinta, gives us this beautiful example in her final illness. At only ten years old she had to undergo an operation at the insistence of her doctors. Though the anesthesia of those days “by no means took away her pain”, it is said that she “suffered more from the humiliation of having to expose her body…than from the physical pain.”
The 1930 Letter of the Sacred Congregation of the Council decreed, in part, the following:
“Parents, conscious of their grave obligations toward the education, especially religious and moral, of their offspring, should assiduously inculcate in their souls, by word and example, love for the virtues of modesty and purity, and since their family should follow the example of the Holy Family, they must rule in such a manner that all its members, reared within the walls of the home, should find reason and incentive to love and preserve modesty. … Let parents never permit their daughters to don immodest garb.”
Later, that great champion of Christian modesty, Pope Pius XII, gave these strong admonitions to parents:
“Woe to those fathers and mothers lacking in energy and prudence, who cede to the caprices of their children and surrender that paternal authority written on the brow of man and wife as a reflection of the divine Majesty.”
“…O Christian mothers (and fathers), if only you knew the future of distress and peril, of shame ill-restrained, that you prepare for your sons and daughters in imprudently accustoming them to live hardly clothed and in making them lose the sense of modesty, you would be ashamed of yourselves and of the harm done to the little ones whom Heaven entrusted to your care, to be reared in Christian dignity and culture.”
The Reign of Jesus Christ and His Blessed Mother Mary will NOT be constructed upon the rotten foundations of immorality. The angelic virtues of chastity and modesty are KEY to overthrow our wayward culture. Let us then subjugate our bodies and fashion our spirits in conformity with the doctrine and teachings of Holy Mother Church throughout the ages, so that we may be a strong foundation for the coming Reign of Mary foretold by Saint Louis de Montfort, and prophesied by Our Lady herself at Quito, Ecuador and Fatima, Portugal.
AVE MARIA!
Father Joseph Poisson
Consecration of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel to Immaculate Heart of Mary
http://ourladyofmountcarmelusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Consecration-to-Immaculate-Heart-by-Our-Lady-of-Mt.-Carmel-SSPX-Marian-Corps.pdf
Featured Sermon
Given By His Excellency Bishop Pfeiffer