Sense of Style

It is a statement, a necessity, a style and an identity. Without them, we are deemed improper. We have been told since the beginning of our lives to be covered, to be clothed. It is usually the first thing we do in the day. We dress, protecting our vulnerability and to avoid the shame of nakedness that was a gift from our first father and mother, Adam and Eve. But two thousand years ago a new style came into the world. One that is more powerful and meaningful than the skinny jeans that are worn by the tweens at the mall. More radical than the poodle-skirted fifties and disco-panted seventies. Well, at least it is supposed to be more powerful and meaningful, more radical. But we often forget to put that outfit on.

Jeans, Tshirts, shoes, blouses, socks, sweatshirts, button downs, even scarves. Some clothes are necessary – no shirt, no shoes means no service. Others are decoration or outfit completers, the perfect accessory, hat, or tie. But each has a purpose. Clothes cover us, offers us protection, it is a practical arrangement society has made. Clothes also are used as identifiers. Plaid skirts from the private high school, embroidered company polos, and other styles that change from continent to continent, from region to region, even from town to town, all of these are used by the public to distinguish who the person is, what they are about, where they are going. The silent communication of clothes is present and affects us, perhaps more than it should. We won’t forget the brand named sunglasses, the perfect shoes, or new jeans when we dress in the morning. But what about the style that should be the hurricane force in our lives?

Patience, joy, wisdom, generosity, purity, fidelity, mercy, even kindness. Virtues, for each individual, some are harder to wear than others, but that is what the body of Christ completes. We are covered by the invisible grace of Christ; we wear the grace in our actions. They will know we are Christian by our love, by our work, by our interactions, by what we wear. But we are called to wear something more than a Jesus shirt. Each person has their own style, their own gifts, the patience of a button down, the wisdom of a raincoat, the fidelity of your favorite shoes. Our love for God should fit in our lives as easily and comfortably as our favorite pair of jeans. It should be something that we turn to, that we are recognized by. Our style of Christ may be unique to our talents, but it should never be unnoticed.

Clothes are the outermost part of our identity. We are clothed with Christ. But, he is not simply the over coat that covers our live and keeps us warm. Instead, the cloth of Christ comes from the innermost part of our identity. Each week at Holy Mass we invite the creator of our souls into what He created. It is from there that we are given our new clothes and sense of style. We can choose to be transformed, and in a way that is much more permanently than Extreme Makeover. The deep transformation, and healing, and growth of the soul is so strong that it must pervade throughout the body, the mind, the actions.

We are forever clothed in Christ, but still must choose the outfit. It should be the first thing we do each day, cloth ourselves in Christ, and put on virtue, growing, and showing His love.