Is it okay to wear leopard-print shoes to church? Or does it matter what we wear to church just as long as we show up? I was faced with answering this question this year after I arrived to the 7:00 p.m. Ash Wednesday Mass following a long day at work. As I sat during mass, I found that the shoes that were acceptable for work were not appropriate for mass. Or were they?

For some time I had pondered the idea of come-as-you-are for mass. But coming as we are for some people is an acceptable affair of a blouse or shirt with a collar and a skirt or slacks of appropriate size and length; and for others it may be a personal disaster of last night’s jeans, straps, and a t-shirt or it may even be a pair of leopard-print shoes. No matter the case, we have arrived to worship.

So returning to my story, when I arrived at Ash Wednesday mass this year wearing a my respectable brown suit, tastefully tame hairdo, and a sturdy winter coat, I felt as though I was out of my usual element for mass in my pair of leopard-print high heels. But what was I to do? It was either the pair of leopard-print high heels that matched my outfit or it was the pair of pink and white Nikes that were in my car that matched nothing I was wearing. I was tempted to change, but I could not understand why I was so troubled by a pair of shoes that I had been so fortunate to own. I weathered mass in my shoes, and I vowed never to wear them to mass again. Of course, a dear parish friend joked with me about those shoes a week later, and I had to express my embarrassment. I suppose that I felt out of place in those shoes because I was accustomed to wearing my Sunday best.

As long as I can remember, I was to attend mass wearing my Sunday best. It was a standard that my mother had set for my siblings and me and that her mother had set for her. As a child, when I attended mass, I knew that everyone there was also dressed in Sunday best. It was not to be mistaken for a fashion show during service. Sunday best are those special garments set aside to be worn on Sundays and if need be, weddings, funerals, and other assorted special occasions. These clothing were not worn on any other day of the week unless specified by Mom, the one who had gone through the trouble of selecting, purchasing, altering, and pressing the clothing and bringing you, the poor soul, along for the ride.