I have often heard the phrase custody of the eyes but never really took time to think about it in today’s terms and life styles. One day, during a trip to the mall, I decided to try maintaining a strict custody of the eyes yet still do my planned shopping. That one trip to the mall showed me that it is near impossible to avoid seeing visual near occasions of sin without bumping into the people you are trying not to look at! Where has respect and modesty gone in this day and age?
You walk past the first store or shop and the mannequins in the window are dressed provocatively, showing off acres of enameled skin with all the details that can be put on a dummy. Even though these are not real people, little is left to the imagination - a near occasion of sin just waiting to be taken advantage of right there in public view.
If you are interested in refurbishing your underwear wardrobe, you will have absolutely no problem finding the department. There are numerous displays of garments that definitely should be kept under clothing. You and everyone else will know what is being worn under today’s clothing. My oldest son considers it gross right now but as he gets older what kind of impression will this make on him?
It isn’t easy telling the difference between the underwear and the bathing suit sections! Actually, there is more fabric in what is worn under clothing than is flaunted on the beach. How many times have you seen someone get flustered when a door accidentally opens and they are caught wearing just their underwear? Yet, these same ‘prudes’ go out in public with much less for the sake of fashion.
Weddings are not the pleasant occasions they once were in church. The brides seem to be having one last fling as they go down the aisle exposing excessive skin. The fashions they wear on their wedding day isn’t in line with what the purity of what a white wedding dress is all about. One woman told me that a deep, heart-shaped neckline was fashionable and it has always been the style to have a plunging back on the wedding dress. It is a classic style. Well, so is hell a classic.
One of the saddest fashion statements today can be found in the children’s section. Rack after rack of immodest fashions cut down for the four, five and six year old girls. Perhaps, the mothers think it is cute now but how will the child learn what is womanly and what is just, plain sinful. You can be a near occasion of sin at a young age and if the child doesn’t know better, wouldn’t you have to lay the blame at the parents’ door?
I often hear parents bemoan the fact that they have no control over what their children wear. Why not? If they aren’t over eighteen, who pays for the clothing. Do you just put up with super tight jeans and improper clothing for Mass to avoid confrontations? Today, the word ‘no’ is an underused word in the modern child-rearing vocabulary.
I think too many people go by what the majority do and figure that if everyone does it, then it is sanctioned by society. Of course, it is sanctioned by society but society hasn’t been a model for grace, spirituality and goodness for a long time. You don’t have to be of the world to be in the world. “To be merely modern is to condemn oneself to an ultimate narrowness . . .” G. K. Chesterton.
If you start thinking about how you appear to other people, perhaps you will go to greater lengths to protect the virtues God has given you. Do you want to be popular and a near-occasion of sin? Or do you want to be in God’s Graces? It is called free will.
“Modesty in human beings is praised because it is not a matter of nature, but of will.” Lactantius
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