The Sunday Best: Why Dressing with Care Matters

In our fast-paced world, where comfort often trumps formality, the tradition of putting on our Sunday best can feel like a quaint relic. It’s tempting to let kids wear the same soft sweats they wore yesterday, or to treat church like any other casual event. But I want to suggest that dressing our children with care for Sunday Mass or service is not about outdated rules, vanity, or being fussy—it’s about intention, respect, and the profound power of setting things apart.

The Power of Setting Apart

John Senior, in his writings on restoring culture, spoke of the necessity of bringing back a sense of the poetic and the real. Dressing for church is a small, quiet act of the poetic life. It is a way of using the visible, material world to acknowledge an invisible, spiritual reality.

When we dress our children nicely—a simple collared shirt, a neat dress, polished shoes—we are teaching them a tangible lesson: This hour is different. This is not the baseball field, the playground, or the grocery store. This is sacred time, spent in a sacred space, for a sacred purpose. We are, in effect, teaching them to participate in the tradition of reverence. We dress differently because we are approaching something greater than ourselves. This small habit builds a foundation of respect not just for the sanctuary and the service, but for the act of worship itself.

Beyond the Threads: A Lesson in Virtue

The benefits of the Sunday routine extend far beyond looking neat for an hour. It becomes a subtle but effective lesson in key virtues.

First, this routine teaches preparation and foresight, showing children the value of preparing for an important event. Having a specific outfit that is clean, pressed, and ready means the time spent ironing a shirt or shining a shoe becomes a physical act of anticipation and intention.

Second, putting on neat clothes, even if simple, gives a child a sense of personal order and dignity. It signals to them, and to others, that they are engaged in a serious and important undertaking. They are not merely observers; they are participants who have prepared themselves for the solemnity of the liturgy.

Finally, attending service is an offering of ourselves, and dressing nicely is a tangible part of that self-gift. It shows that we care enough about the occasion to present our best, physically, as we seek to present our best, spiritually.

The point isn't that God cares what brand of dress shoes your son wears; the point is that we care. We care enough to treat the most important hour of the week as the most important hour of the week.

So, the next time the Sunday morning rush tempts you to let your child roll out the door in last night’s clothes, pause. Take a moment to help them put on something neat, something set apart. In this small, simple tradition, you are giving them far more than a nice appearance—you are cultivating in them the poetic soil for wonder and reverence.

What simple Sunday tradition helps your family prepare for worship?