What's the Deal with "Your Sunday Best"?

Mass Etiquette with Fr. Jon, Part 2

In his latest church bulletin, Fr. Jon Schnobrich from the Most Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Morrisville, Vermont, takes on the question of what to wear in church.

Here’s his take:

Dear Parishioners,

Continuing with our Mass Etiquette for this column, this is entry 2 offering some different aspects of conduct for your consideration.

It’s commonly accepted that as a state, Vermont is a generally “less formal” on the spectrum of formality. It wasn’t always that way, but even culturally, there has been a more casual approach to those events in our lives that traditionally were more formal.

Many of us are familiar with the phrase, “Sunday Best,” but perhaps don’t recognize its origin.

The origin is traced back to the 19th century when most people (culturally speaking) attended Sunday Mass or Sunday services, and as a distinction from their everyday working clothes, folks would wear their “Sunday Best’”to Church as a way to distinguish the focus of that day as something different, something special, something set apart from the rest of the work week. Sunday was set apart for worshipping God.

For many, it may strike us as being “no big deal.” Consider being invited to a family member’s wedding or a special invitation to join the governor for dinner—how might we dress for the occasion?

As a priest, our “street” clothes are black clerics, but when at Mass, you don’t see the blacks, but rather the priestly vestments. Wouldn’t it be strange if Fr. Paul or I decided not to wear our vestments at Mass one Sunday? How we dress and present ourselves communicates something.

Is it a sin not to wear one’s Sunday best to Mass… of course not! But I hope this might invite you to reflect on how you prepare yourself spiritually as well as physically or materially to enter into the worship and praise of Almighty God at Mass.

Men, take your hats off. Culturally speaking, it is still impolite for a man to wear a hat into a church. While this is a cultural norm, it is one that we ought to follow closely.

Just as we take off hats for the Pledge of Allegiance, we do so in church as a sign of respect for where we are. Have a blessed week!

With Mary, in Christ, Fr. Jon

My follow-up question:

What would be your suggestions for “Sunday Best”? Can you specify what to wear/what not to wear? How long should skirts/pants be? (One church in Steubenville requests that parishioners not wear shirts or dresses that leave the shoulders uncovered.) What about cleavage? What about other forms of (im)modesty, like wearing tons of jewelry to church?

Fr. Jon’s reply:

For women, when it comes to "Sunday Best," modesty is the guidepost.  Coming to Mass and participating in the highest activity possible this side of heaven highlights how much God thinks of our dignity as human beings made in his image and likeness; thereby, our attire should enhance or honor that dignity and not diminish it.

Have a blessed weekend… dress warmly and dress well!