One evening I was in church for a group meeting. Realising I was early, I wanted to go to the adoration room to spend some time with Jesus. However, I was wearing shorts. I have always believed that when we go for mass, we should dress well (not in shorts or spaghetti straps for ladies) for mass because it is a form of respect for God as we enter into His house. Since we need to dress appropriately when we attend mass, can we enter the adoration room if we are not dressed appropriately?
Thanks for the question. It’s nice to know you make efforts to dress well for mass. First of all, let me assure you that you can enter church even in shorts. There is no rule in the Church that bans worshipers from entering because they are dressed poorly. If there is any ‘rule’, it is an unwritten one.
Let’s look at what the key issue is here. The core of this unwritten rule is simply to pay reverence to the Lord. Jesus is Saviour and King. When we enter God’s house (no less), it is only right we dress appropriately.
Think about this: we’ll never enter the home of our President or of President George Bush without dressing up. At mass, we are entering the presence and the home of God! Surely it makes sense to dress well, as you correctly pointed out. We’re also keen on dressing well when we attend wedding banquets. Yet, every weekend, we attend a Eucharistic Banquet, higher than any other banquet. Why should we slacken?
There is an argument that will tell us: the Lord loves you the way you are. He will accept you even if you came in dirty and dressed badly. That’s true. Jn 15 tells us that Jesus the King indeed treats His servants (that’s you and me) as friends. Yet, true servants will never be overly informal to the point of disrespect.
If you treat your domestic help as part of the family – maybe by allowing her to eat with you at your table – she would still never dare to lie on your bed, or switch the TV channel when you are watching it. Even though you treat her as family, she still understands there is a certain level of respect between the two of you. Similarly, while God allows us to be friends with Him, we must ourselves pay due reverence.
Based on the above logic, then, it is easy to see how the same applies for visits to adoration room. There, we have the chance to experience the majestic presence of Jesus. It is only right that we dress appropriately when going in. That’s also why it’s important to be quiet and respectful when we’re in the prayer room.
That being said, we must be careful not to let the etiquette or the law get over our love for God. There will be times (particularly on weekdays) where you have no intention to attend mass or to go to church, but suddenly feel the need or desire to. If you’re dressed inappropriately then, and you have no chance of going home to dress up, you should not stop yourself from going to church, because laziness has not caused you to dress inappropriately. If you intend to go for mass or the adoration room, make the effort to dress appropriately.
It’s important to understand that we follow the law because we love God, we don’t love God because we’re following the law.
- Updated 9 Apr 2007
Friday, 6 April 2007
Tuesday, 3 April 2007
Confession of sins
I was reading my Bible and I came across Lk 7:36-48 (Jesus’ feet are anointed by a sinful woman). The story helped me understand that Jesus will forgive my sins, no matter how bad they are, if we really repent and if we want to change for the better. However, if God forgives all our sins, why do we even need to go for confession? Why should I go to a priest to confess when I can confess to God directly?
That’s a good question, which many people may have, but dare not ask. Your asking is a sign of trying to understand your faith and tradition. That’s good! There are several reasons for the need to confess our sins regularly.
Firstly, the priest is a representative of God in the community of believers. In the Church, many rituals are done with an appointed mediator. In Matthew’s gospel, God empowered St Peter, our first pope – he was just a man – to forgive sins. Jesus said to him, “I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (16:19). In Jn 20:23, Jesus is more explicit: “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven”.
Next, we need to understand that God does not need our confession; we do. Whenever we commit a sin, our first response should be to appeal to God for mercy and forgiveness, not because He doesn’t already know. He’s God! God is omnipresent - this means He is everywhere. Whether we confess within ourselves or to a priest, we are not telling Him anything that He doesn’t already know. Rather, we are acknowledging our own sin and taking responsibility for our actions. We are the ones who need to confess. Sometimes we do something terrible and don’t realise how bad it is until we voice it out. That’s human. Confession serves as a reminder of our weakness, and helps us see a need to change. God’s gift of the forgiveness of sins is tailored to meet our needs.
Thirdly, we need to shame the devil that lives in us. The Lord spoke through Isaiah: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” (55:8), and again through Jeremiah: “The [human] heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure...” (17:9).
While God created us perfect and pure, in His image and likeness, original sin has made sin a big part of our human nature – it has become our inclination, to sin (CCC#405). That’s why it’s dangerous to follow what the world encourages: “Be yourself. Don’t care what people think.” We don’t, in fact, belong to ourselves. Jesus came to us, gave His life up to redeem ours. We were purchased by His body and blood, and thus belong to Him. We must stop doing what we think is right and start doing what God thinks is right.
It might be worth noticing we don’t usually question the need for priests for Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Matrimony, Holy Orders, or even the Anointing of the Sick? But we seem to be extra cautious over the need for a human mediator in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Why? Because it hurts our pride! Understandably, confessing our sins to another human being is difficult, and often embarrassing. Part of the power of sacramental reconciliation is that it makes us shame the evil one (provided we confess honestly). More importantly, regular confession keeps us humble before God.
Lastly, we can take consolation in the fact that confession frees us from the slavery of sin. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:9). Can you begin to see the beauty in the idea of confession? Confession is a gift; it helps us become aware of our failures as humans, and plays a vital role in freeing us from the trap of sin. Confession is done for our good, not for God’s good! When you go for your next confession, be 100% honest. Confess wholeheartedly and be truly remorseful for your sins. You will come out feeling a load lighter, and ready to love the Lord fully again!
- Updated 8 Apr 2007
References:
That’s a good question, which many people may have, but dare not ask. Your asking is a sign of trying to understand your faith and tradition. That’s good! There are several reasons for the need to confess our sins regularly.
Firstly, the priest is a representative of God in the community of believers. In the Church, many rituals are done with an appointed mediator. In Matthew’s gospel, God empowered St Peter, our first pope – he was just a man – to forgive sins. Jesus said to him, “I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (16:19). In Jn 20:23, Jesus is more explicit: “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven”.
Next, we need to understand that God does not need our confession; we do. Whenever we commit a sin, our first response should be to appeal to God for mercy and forgiveness, not because He doesn’t already know. He’s God! God is omnipresent - this means He is everywhere. Whether we confess within ourselves or to a priest, we are not telling Him anything that He doesn’t already know. Rather, we are acknowledging our own sin and taking responsibility for our actions. We are the ones who need to confess. Sometimes we do something terrible and don’t realise how bad it is until we voice it out. That’s human. Confession serves as a reminder of our weakness, and helps us see a need to change. God’s gift of the forgiveness of sins is tailored to meet our needs.
Thirdly, we need to shame the devil that lives in us. The Lord spoke through Isaiah: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” (55:8), and again through Jeremiah: “The [human] heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure...” (17:9).
While God created us perfect and pure, in His image and likeness, original sin has made sin a big part of our human nature – it has become our inclination, to sin (CCC#405). That’s why it’s dangerous to follow what the world encourages: “Be yourself. Don’t care what people think.” We don’t, in fact, belong to ourselves. Jesus came to us, gave His life up to redeem ours. We were purchased by His body and blood, and thus belong to Him. We must stop doing what we think is right and start doing what God thinks is right.
It might be worth noticing we don’t usually question the need for priests for Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Matrimony, Holy Orders, or even the Anointing of the Sick? But we seem to be extra cautious over the need for a human mediator in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Why? Because it hurts our pride! Understandably, confessing our sins to another human being is difficult, and often embarrassing. Part of the power of sacramental reconciliation is that it makes us shame the evil one (provided we confess honestly). More importantly, regular confession keeps us humble before God.
Lastly, we can take consolation in the fact that confession frees us from the slavery of sin. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:9). Can you begin to see the beauty in the idea of confession? Confession is a gift; it helps us become aware of our failures as humans, and plays a vital role in freeing us from the trap of sin. Confession is done for our good, not for God’s good! When you go for your next confession, be 100% honest. Confess wholeheartedly and be truly remorseful for your sins. You will come out feeling a load lighter, and ready to love the Lord fully again!
- Updated 8 Apr 2007
References:
- CCC#405: "Although it is proper to each individual, original sin does not have the character of a personal fault in any of Adam's descendants. It is a deprivation of original holiness and justice, but human nature has not been totally corrupted: it is wounded in the natural powers proper to it, subject to ignorance, suffering and the dominion of death, and inclined to sin - an inclination to evil that is called concupiscence". Baptism, by imparting the life of Christ's grace, erases original sin and turns a man back towards God, but the consequences for nature, weakened and inclined to evil, persist in man and summon him to spiritual battle."
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