It's Summer and I'm Covering Up

 Although I have been focusing on posts about the Sacred Heart for June, I'm going to veer off a bit and tackle a different subject, just for today. Since summer has begun, it seems appropriate to chit chat about modesty. Living in California, it can get pretty hot here on the West Coast, especially during the summer months. Although I throughly enjoy living in California, with all of its perks and posies, I do not take the heat very well. Some people thrive in the warm weather and look forward to summer, but not I, said the easily-overheated girl. I'm simply not a summer person. During the blissful autumn and winter months, cozy in my scarves and coats, I cringe at the thought of the uncomfortable heat rolling around again. Well here we are, at the beginning. 

 But aside from the excess warmth, my main reason for disliking summer is due to the fashions that emerge. The outfits (or small tattered pieces of cloth, call it what you want) that I see my fellow female peers strutting around in are simply scandalous. It saddens my heart to go out to the mall or any other public place, and catch boys (note: I say boys even though most are men, because real men aren't perverts) ogling and inappropriately staring at girls and women. We can blame it on the pornographic mentality of this culture all we want, but the bottom line is that the way women dress and behave also plays a huge roll. 

"To a great extent the level of any civilization is the level of its womanhood. When a man loves a woman, he has to become worthy of her. The higher her virtue, the more her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness, the more a man has to aspire to be worthy of her. The history of civilization could actually be written in terms of the level of its women."
-Ven. Fulton J. Sheen

Yes, all men should be gentlemen and have respect for women, regardless of the way they dress. But women should also have enough respect for themselves and those around them as to not flaunt the distracting beauty which should remain hidden, preserving it for the only one worthy to fully behold it... their spouse. This also goes for men, even they should practice the virtue of modesty. If all women were to dress and behave modestly, a generation of gentlemen would rise up. Here is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church has to say on the matter of modesty. 

"Purity requires modesty, an integral part of temperance. Modesty protects the intimate center of the person. It means refusing to unveil what should remain hidden. It is ordered to chastity to whose sensitivity it bears witness.  It guides how one looks at others and behaves toward them in conformity with the dignity of persons and their solidarity." CCC, 2521

How I wish that all ladies would realize that their bodies are treasures to be revered, and not to be visually handed out everywhere. If we as women desire to be loved beyond our figures, then we should veil them to help our brothers focus on and value our whole selves, which goes way beyond the flesh. At the core of every woman is the yearning to be loved, not ogled at. The heart whispers for only one. To choose the first option is not easy and it is definitely counter-cultural. However, from experience I can promise you that it is the most rewarding of all. 

  It would seem that because I become easily overheated and I'm young with God-given physical beauty (which I say with all humility, all glory goes back to Him) that the solution would be to wear less or shorter clothes, and voila, problem solved. 

This is where I become a hipster and go against the machine. To that idea, I say no. I'll give an example. Simply because it is summer and I happen to be at the beach or pool, that doesn't give me the excuse to run around in a bra and underwear, aka a bikini. My logic is this; I would not be comfortable with anyone staring, looking or glancing at me in underwear. Therefore, I will not give anyone the opportunity to do so while wearing a bikini, or any other overly-revealing clothes. I find it interesting that the first woman to model a bikini was actually a prostitute, because the other models refused to wear it. I won't further ponder on that sentence, because it is self-explanotory. 

 As a young lady, I feel that it is my duty to protect my brothers in Christ visual and mental purity, as they do the same for me. By dressing immodestly and revealing what should remain hidden, I would become a stumbling block and open the door wide open for sin to enter. Because I care for my brothers souls and desire for them to be pure and holy, I refrain from the short-shorts, bikinis, spaghetti tanks and so on and so forth. Itty-bitty outfits probably would make me more physically comfortable in the warm weather, but to be uncomfortable for the sake of my brothers is a sacrifice that I'm willing to make. Another golden benefit of modesty, is that it also silently makes the modest woman a teacher. Through her modesty, she is teaching men to properly respect, love her and it challenges them to be gentlemen. But does that mean that I wear potato sacks and mumu's all the time? No way Jose. One misconception about modesty is that it equals frumpy, ugly clothes and swimwear. It doesn't have to be that way. It is very possible to dress in a modest yet becoming way. Just look at Leah Darrow and Jackie Francois! Aside from all of what I have spoken about, my favorite reason to practice modesty is because Our Blessed Mother is the perfect example of this virtue. In everything, she exudes flawless, feminine modesty.

 The point of this post was not to slam or belittle those who happen to dress immodestly. I hope that this will encourage my sisters in Christ to see that they have a greater worth that goes beyond their bodies, and also learn to treat their bodies with the dignity and reverence they deserve. When practicing modesty we are not only imitating the Blessed Mother, protecting our brothers and respecting ourselves, most importantly, we are honoring God. We are honoring He who created us in the image and likeness of His self. Until next time, the last quote I leave you with is from Jason Evert, "The woman who's modest is like a candle, there's something more mysterious about her, something more illuminating , warm and radiating, like she has humility of the body. Humility is the proper attitude towards greatness, and I think modesty is the proper attitude towards a woman's body: greatness."

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us,
Mater Dolorosa, ora pro nobis.

-Yvonne Gemma