Modesty, A Fruit of the Holy Spirit

[ Creed ] [ Devotions, Prayers and Practices ] [ Catholic Teachings ] [ My Parish ] [ Writings ] [ Links ]

[ Modesty, A Fruit of the Holy Spirit ] [ J.O.Y. Allows Us to Conquer the Single's Blues ] [ Flirting, Does it Have a Place in a Christian Life? ] [ Boundaries and Christan Dating ] [ Denial of Communion ] [ Martha or Mary? ]

”I agree with your view that the object of modesty is internal and individual w/God's guidance. On the one hand, it would be very nice if the Church WOULD give specific guidance - I know that I read somewhere that either a Cardinal or a Pope had written some sort of guidelines, but that was from quite a while ago. It might be worthwhile for the Church to consider doing that again! Thanks and God bless, ...”

In response to the above thought, the foremost thing in my mind lately has been that modesty is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.

(Galatians 5:22, 23) The Catechism tells us, "The moral life of Christians is sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. There are permanent dispositions which make man docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit." (CCC 1830)

This means that modesty is more than a series of rules or guide lines to follow. In fact, a woman can cover every inch of her body and still be immodest due not following the promptings of the Holy Spirit. What the Church and God want us to do is to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit. "The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory." (CCC 1832) A set list of rules or guidelines would only lead to legalism instead of us individually reaching to God as we are being called to do. This makes modesty as individual as any part of a person's spiritual journey which begins with sound formation of conscience and the gifts of the theological virtues: Faith, Hope and Charity.

I would hope each of us would want to come to the full perfection of the Holy Spirit by listening to what God is telling us individually and sharing these experiences. That is what this group is suppose to be, supporting each other on the part to modesty and the sharing of where God is leading us as individuals. By sharing our paths, I believe we would find our sharing helps strengthen and encourage. Let’s try to avoid the desire for a set of rules. I would suggest spending time in prayer, asking God what He wants from you. Ask God to give you his guidelines and show you how to grow spiritually, because the path to modesty is about growing in our relationship with God through the Holy Spirit. I have spent most of my prayer doing this lately and it is amazing what God has told me during this time.

If you are interested in growing in modesty check out:

Catholic Modest Ladies Yahoo! egroup : This is a Yahoo! egroup for Catholic ladies who strive for modesty in their daily lives. Many of us wear head coverings at Mass if not continually.

[ Creed ] [ Devotions, Prayers and Practices ] [ Catholic Teachings ] [ My Parish ] [ Writings ] [ Links ]

WARNING: All poetry and writings posted here are copyrighted by owner of website unless otherwise noted and cannot be used without the consent of the author and proper recognition given.