Personal Modesty and Courtesy for Others A final and more general word on this account is that modesty is usually referred to with regard to the way people appear in public, but there is also a personal modesty when we are utterly alone. It is not appropriate even when alone to be entirely unclothed (except of course when taking a bath or showering). We must always have the sense of the presence of God and His angels who surround us at all times. Even though they are obviously not tempted by the naked human body, we should, out of respect for their majestic presence, humbly appear before them clothed not only with the garment of grace, but also with the garments of human dignity, for our body, although created by God and very beautiful, is nevertheless, and until the final resurrection, wounded by sin and concupiscence, ever inclined to seek its own pleasure instead of the will of God. St Thomas has some very insightful words on this: “In the state of corrupt nature, man needs grace to heal his nature in order that he may entirely abstain from sin. And in the present life this healing is wrought in the mind, the carnal appetite being not yet restored”.50 In other words, if by cooperation with God’s grace it is possible to avoid all mortal sins, the complete healing of the flesh won’t take place until after the final resurrection. Hence, even great saints still have involuntary movements of the flesh and can thus commit venial sins in this realm. This is another reason for modesty in dress: we do not want to prevent only mortal sins, but even venial ones. Modesty in dress goes a long way towards that. One day there was a priest who was travelling with an older couple when they stopped in to pay a brief visit to their son and his family. It was hot, and the children were in the pool. The parents called them to come and say hello to the priest. The older lady, a solid Catholic formed in the true ways of modesty, immediately saw the unbecomingness of the situation and promptly stepped in while her adolescent granddaughter was still at a good distance, and had her cover herself with a towel. It was the perfect example of a grandmother saving a situation that her son and daughter-in-law, sadly, had not even noticed, sparing a man of God the awkward situation of having to greet a barely dressed female. There are also situations where women at a particular gathering will dress more modestly out of respect for a priest they know will be present. This is a very good instinct in Christian women who should be more careful around priests or religious, for even the best of them are frail men, and you do not want to 90
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