Post-Lenten Reflection 2009

I decided for Lent in 2009 to not talk about my fast here on blogger until after celebrating Easter. I decided this mostly because posting what ones fast is at the beginning of lent doesn't leave much to say. It is a post that says "I am fasting from this. THE END." Now that we are celebrating Eastertide,I think it is due time for me to discuss my Lenten happenings.

This Lent I gave up pants with the exception of pajama pants in the privacy of my own home. Now, giving up pants may seem like a strange sacrifice, but in the past year and a half I have come to the realization that modesty is a necessary part of a Catholic woman's life;pants are not meant to be women's clothing and when worn by women, they are not modest. Despite having attempted to be pants free for almost a year, I have run into my own human nature on several occasions. I often found myself wearing pants because they were more comfortable or better protection from the cold. I kept coming up with excuses as to why I was wearing pants instead of choosing modesty and feminity. As Ash Wednesday rolled in the Lenten season this year, I was in a pants wearing slump choosing them over modest skirts and dresses most days of the week. God would understand me wearing immodest clothing and being an occasion of sin for others so I wouldn't be so cold waiting for my bus in the morning--that was my rationalization for my sin. Wearing modest clothing as my Lenten sacrifice this year was an obvious choice as I found myself constantly making excuses for my immodesty.

Do I think it was a worthwhile sacrifice? Yes. Not wearing pants was an incredibly difficult choice for me in a harsh New England winter, but each morning as I pulled on my skirt, I felt as though God's call for women to return to feminity in a culture rattled by "feminists" telling us to objectify ourselves before men get the chance became ever clearer. Cold mornings were not easy, but they were a lesson in how following God's will is not always easy. In this case it meant physical discomfort and often pain as having cold legs causes shooting pains in from my ankles up to my shoulders. This pain often led me to long for the warmth and comfort of pants.

This Lent led me on a journey to be pants-free from now on. To anyone reading this who feels led to dig deeper into what it means to dress modestly, I highly recommend Colleen Hammond's book Dressing With Dignity. This book has had a profound impact on my life. May it help you on your path to a more modest existence.

Latin Mass...

Ishmael and I have been attending Latin Mass most weekends.  At first we both had an incredibly difficult time following everything.  Today I felt like for the first time I really understood what was going on enough so that I wasn't panicked when I lost my place in the missal.  

On a related note, it is so nice to be at Mass with other women who wear chapel veils and dresses/skirts.  I am beginning to appreciate modesty at Mass more than ever.  Modesty is pretty much the norm at the church we have been attending.  It makes it really shocking to return to Novus Ordo Mass where women and girls are dressed in short shorts and spaghetti strap tanks or  hooded sweatshirts and ratty jeans now that fall weather has hit.

Cure--A good dose of chastity education

I was browsing CNN's website and found this atrociously disturbing article.  There was a study done that found that 1 in 4 teenage girls (in the US?) has and STD.  I know there are some ways to contract STDs other than sexual behavior, but that does not explain the findings of this study.  The teenage population, male and female alike, need a good dose of chastity education.  Pope John Paul II devoted a lot of time to defining chastity and sexuality through his Theology of the Body.  Although it explains chastity and sexuality through a Catholic lens, much of it can be applied in a secular way.  For an easier to understand version of the Theology of the Body, check out publications by Christopher West.  

To veil or not to veil that is the question

I have been in this constant debate with my pride as to whether or not I should cover my head at mass.  When I say constant, I mean that I have been debating this since my reversion to the Catholic faith.  My ideas about modesty have been a long time in the development, and they are finally starting to unveil themselves.  I have had this notion since summer of 2005 that I am supposed to cover my head.  For a while I covered it every day.  That lasted for summer of 2005.  I gave up my uncovered ways for Lent in 2006 and 2007.  Both of these periods of time in my life were so fruitful spiritually, but I do not any longer feel called to cover my head at all times in public; I do, however, seem to like to ignore God's call to me to at least submit and humble myself during mass.  I stumbled across this article today that really put a lot of how I feel into words.  If you think of it, pray for me that I may have the strength of conviction to do what I know I am being called to do.