Chapter LXVIII: Advantages of Modesty in Dress

I DO not mean to say that a good and pious working-girl should dress either shabbily or much out of the prevailing fashion. That would be a mistake of another kind, and would attract unpleasant observation upon her, and be disedifying. But I mean to say that she should study to dress neatly and modestly, and with economy; laying out as little of her earnings as she can on dress; avoiding expensive material, such as the wealthy can afford, and wearing that which becomes her better, and is at the same time far more suitable to her condition and her means.

A prudent girl will understand what I mean. She knows that while she does not spend more than a quarter as much as some others, she can dress quite as well; nay, in better taste and keeping.

Now let me speak of the advantages which such a course will procure those who follow it. Of course, the spiritual benefit to their own souls is the chief and greatest; but I do not wish to speak of that, as so much has already been said. It is also of very great advantage towards securing a happy and prosperous life here.

If a girl prefers to remain single, it will enable her to do a great deal of good; and what purer source of happiness is there than that?

It may be she has dear relations — father and mother, brothers and sisters — who need her help, and she, by her simplicity and economy in dress, can render them great assistance. What a delight it is to think of the happiness she has caused at home when she gets a letter filled with love and blessings from those who are so dear to her! Is not this far purer and sweeter than if, with cold-blooded selfishness, she had loaded all her money on her own back, to parade the streets and make a show of herself?

If she has no needy relations who require her help, she has the opportunity of doing something to help the wretched and afflicted poor; to feed the hungry and clothe the naked; and to receive the Lord’s benediction in return, the same as if it had been done for Himself, according to His assurance: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me” (St. Matt. xxv. 40).

Our Lord Jesus Christ showed once to St. Zita, in a miraculous manner, that He never forgets this promise.

One Christmas Eve St. Zita was going out of the house to attend the first Mass. It was very cold, and her master insisted on her wearing his own warm fur cloak. The first thing she saw when she got to church was a poor man, his teeth chattering with cold, and moaning bitterly. She went up to him and asked him if she could do anything to help him. He pointed to her cloak, and instantly she took it off her own shoulders and gave it to him, telling him to give it back after Mass, and she would lead him to a warm fire. When Mass was over she looked for the poor man, but he was nowhere to be found, and she had to go home without her cloak.

Of course her master was very angry, and scolded her without measure. All day she bore it with patience until toward night, when a poor man appeared on the principal staircase of the house; his countenance had a look of so much benignity that every one who saw him was charmed. The fur cloak was in his hand; and, in the presence of her master, he returned it to St. Zita, thanking her for her charity.

As they were about to speak to him he vanished like a gleam of lightning, leaving in their hearts such joy and consolation that they had no doubt that it was our Lord Himself who had appeared to them.

There are many such examples in the lives of the saints, to show us that when in the spirit of faith we deny ourselves to relieve the poor, we receive the same blessing as if it had been the Lord Jesus Christ Himself who had come asking alms, and whom we had the happiness of relieving in His necessity.

If you do not relieve the poor, you may, in imitation of St. Mary Magdalen, anoint our Lord’s feet with precious ointment. How can this be done? By contributing to the erecting and beautifying of churches and altars. The girls who live out have been called the church-builders, and it is a glorious title for them. Out of their hard earnings they have done so much for the glory and honor of God and for the salvation of immortal souls that God will never forget it.

King David exclaimed: “Dost thou see that I dwell in a house of cedar, and the ark of God is lodged within curtains?” (2 Kings vii. 2). And he gave his whole attention to provide for the erection of the Temple.

So what a heartfelt pleasure it must be to the pious girl to deny herself something in dress, in order that the Lord of Glory may have more suitable adornment in His House, where He dwells out of love to us! Surely it can be but little satisfaction to be bedizened out in the height of the fashion, and to see everything mean and unsuitable about the altar and tabernacle.

But maybe the good girl intends, in God’s good time, to settle down in life as the head of a family. If her heart and soul are in dress what kind of a husband will she be likely to get? I fear a very poor stick, as they say; some one as giddy-pated and thoughtless as herself; probably some dissipated young man, who is taken by mere outside show; for a more prudent and steady young man would think a good deal before he would make up his mind to take such a woman for a wife.

He might be attracted at first, but he would say to himself: “See here, before I go farther, let us see what a marriage with such a girl as this will be likely to bring me to. I can never earn enough to keep her in clothes, let alone the expenses of a family. Oh, no! she may be well enough to flirt with a little while, but I mean to look elsewhere for a wife.”

Let us suppose, however, by unusual good fortune such a girl gets a good husband. Now they start in life to maintain themselves and provide for the future. Had she been saving, she might have laid up a snug little sum that would have given him a good start in business or trade. As it is, he has nothing; and both of them are sadly put back, live in discomfort, and very likely will continue to do so the better part of their lives.

Many a girl who has made quite a show in the way of fashionable dress, has settled down into the most slovenly and dirty wife, and has finally been glad enough to get the commonest rags to cover her back.