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DanielleBeanGirls Sent Home From Dance for Too-Short Dresses
Share by Danielle Bean Wednesday, September 29, 2010 6:00 AM Comments (11)
Well, I am encouraged!
Dozens of high school girls in Mesquite, Texas were sent home from a homecoming dance because their dresses were not modest enough.
Of course the girls were outraged.
And some of their parents too.
CBS reports that “several girls say because their dates bought the tickets they never received” a flier calling for “modest” clothing and warning against wearing anything “too short” or “too tight.” Regardless, the school left the “modesty” determination up to individual administrators, and some parents and students complain that there was no consistency.
Blah, blah, blah ... I don’t want to even listen to these girls and their parents argue about failure to warn them properly or an inconsistent enforcement of the dress code. Why are these girls choosing and why are their parents approving (and paying for) too-short, too-tight, and too-revealing dresses for a high school dance?
The Salon article calls the dresses “tame” but that is not what I see in the photo included there. Perhaps this makes me sound like an old lady (but as I approach 40 I find that “old ladies” make more and more sense), but apparently somewhere, somehow, between 1993 (when I attended my high school prom) and today, it became acceptable for young girls to wear teeny-tiny dresses with super high heels to formal school events.
The Salon article raises an objection about the fact that the modesty rules at Mesquite High seem to focus exclusively on females, at least in their enforcement. Come on! Boys wear suits or tuxes to these kinds of events. It’s many of the girls for whom “dressing up” means sporting skin-tight dresses, cleavage, and lots of leg.
I am not holding my breath for these kinds of modesty standards to become the norm at high school events, but it sure is nice to see this Texas high school attempting to protect young girls (and their parents!) from their own poor decisions by taking a stand against insanity. And it sure would be nice to see other high schools inspired to take similar actions against immodesty.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. There’s nothing “grown up” about young girls dressing sexy.
Filed under dress, high school, modesty
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Confession: Stronger than Exorcism
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We must insist on the need for frequent confession - in spite of all the difficulties existing today to the frequent reception of this sacrament - since both theologians and exorcists reaffirm its great efficacy.
The exorcist of the Archdiocese of Venice, Fr. Pellegrino Ernetti, of the Order of Saint Benedict, said: “The sacrament of the Confession, we know, is the second best 'safety belt', right after Baptism… Experience teaches us that it is most difficult for Satan to penetrate a soul that washes itself frequently with the Most Precious Blood of Jesus. This Blood becomes a veritable armor against which Satan may force, but never succeeds in opening, not even the smallest breach. The assiduous and constant frequency to this sacrament is a necessity, for both those who perform the exorcism and those who need the exorcism. I am convinced, after my long experience that the priest ought to wash his soul in the Blood of Jesus daily, if he wants to fight against the demon, side by side with Jesus, and be victorious. It is this, truly, the sacrament that Satan fears… Christ defeated Satan with His Own Blood. And the Apocalypse tells us explicitly: 'These are the ones that have conquered Satan by the Blood of the Lamb'."
Fr. Gabriele Amorth, exorcist of the Diocese of Rome, is equally forceful: "I have written many times that one causes much more furor to the demon with Confession - that is expelling the demon from the soul - than with exorcism, that expels him from the body… Confession is much stronger than exorcism."
A sovereign contempt for the demon
The Saints and spiritual authors also encourage a sovereign contempt for the demon.
Let us hear to what Saint Therese says:
"It is very often that these damned spirits come to torment me; but they inspire very little fear in me, because I know them well and they cannot even stir without God's permission… This should be well known by all: every time we show our contempt for the demons, they lose their strength and the soul acquires more predominance upon them… To see themselves despised by weaker beings is, in fact, a severe humiliation for these arrogant beings. Well, as we said before, humbly supported by God, we have the right and the obligation of showing our contempt: if God is with us, who will be against us? They can bark, but they cannot bite, unless in the cases that - by imprudence, or pride - we place ourselves in their power".
Evidently, we must not confuse this contempt for the demon with the vain pretension that we, by ourselves, have any power over the fallen Angels.
By our nature, we have no power whatsoever over them; on the contrary, by their superior nature, they are far more powerful than us. Therefore, the foundation of this healthy contempt for the infernal enemies must not be based on a rash disregard of danger. Rather, it must be supported by the most perfect humility and true confidence in the Creator and in the Most Holy Virgin. If these cares are taken, it is befitting to do what the great Saint Therese indicates with such propriety.
Above all, we should make every effort to live a life of serious and sincere piety, without superstition or sentimentality. This will certainly maintain the demon at a distance, as much as that is possible.