Why Must Catholic Women be Modest when Swimming

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Why Must Catholic Women be Modest when Swimming

By Rita Davidson

 

I recently seen this comment on my Facebook page about swimming and it got me thinking, “the hardest thing is to find modest swimsuits for girls and women.” I was taken aback since in the 17 years since I’ve been writng and researching on modesty I thought everyone was aware of the many modest swim resources for Catholic women and girls. I guess I was wrong?

But, many are still unaware of why we must be modest when swimming. After all, it seems even today women go to Church wearing not much more than beach wear.  Sad to say, this is the way it is in many Church’s today. Why Catholic women do not understand this is beyond me, but in some ways it is hardly their fault.
Many priests refuse to speak about modesty, in fear they will lose parishioners. Other priests do not understand the importance of modesty themselves, let alone tell their parishioners, what is right or wrong. There has been a real conspiracy of sorts keeping the truth about modesty hidden.

So why must Catholic women be modest when swimming? Well, out of true charity we owe it to our brothers. Out of self-respect, we owe it to ourselves to remain covered. Lastly, we owe to God because He has made us in His own image and taken up a dwelling place in our souls. We pay respect to God by keeping hidden what He considers precious.

Many traditional Church’s will have some kind of mention of modesty at the pulpit or in their bulletin, but many other Church’s need to step up to the plate.

But what does beach attire matter? After all it’s not Church? Well, dare I say, modesty doesn’t end at the Church doors. No, no, modesty is a way of life, a path of perfection. Something to help you see with the eyes of God, beyond this mere mortal flesh.

Swimming is literally, a brand new sport. In fact just 100 years ago, it was hardly practiced at all. So, to say how much we ‘miss swimming’, seems ironic since some 1800 years since the founding of the Church society rarely seen any kind of swimming done, except for bathing. And even that was limited in the Victorian times when water was thought to make you sick!

For families hoping to have some fun this summer near water and without making this blog post a complete treatise on Why and How (read my book, 3rd Edition Immodesty, Satan’s Virtue coming soon- pre-order NOW)

Without further do, here is our favorite Modest Swimsuit Resources that we highly recommend you check out for a modest swimsuit for your young ladies this year.

Rita Davidson’s Modest Swimwear Resources for 2013:

 For those who like to save and sew their own,

we offer a Modest Swimsuit Pattern here.

 

Here are my 2013 online sources for modest swimwear!

http://www.swimmodest.com/

http://www.wholesomewear.com/

http://www.simply-modest.com/

http://www.dressingforhisglory.com/

http://modestswimwear4u.com/

http://www.marseamodest.com/

http://www.stitchintimes.com/

http://seasecret.biz/

http://hydrochic.com/

http://www.modestlyyoursswimwear.com/

http://www.undercoverwaterwear.com/

http://modestsea.com/

http://modestswimsuits.net/

http://meanttobemodest.com/

http://modestactivewear.blogspot.ca/

http://www.coverupforchrist.com/

http://modestswimwearguide.com/

We hope when you find some sun and water, your family will be upholding our Catholic tradition of modesty and keep your children and family covered appropriately to save their souls. Since their souls are more important than even their “fun in the sun”!

God bless!

love

Rita 🙂

 ©Copyright 2013 Rita Davidson All Rights Reserved.

RitaMarkNov2012Painting2Rita is a Catholic wife and mother of seven children. Mark is her ever patient husband. She reverted back to the faith when her oldest was making her First Communion. By then, she had completed degrees in Hairdressing and Make up artistry. She went on to receive a degree in Natural Health and another degree in Art. At age 26, Rita suffered a minor stroke. With no lasting effects, this dramatically changed her outlook on life. In 1996, Rita began ‘Little Flowers Family Apostolates’ to reach out to other families with her new found faith, by creating unique Catholic books and resources.. In 1999, she wrote the bestselling, ‘Immodesty; Satan’s Virtue’. She was editor of ‘The Catholic Health Letter’ for 7 years. She has been a homeschooling mom for 20+ years, and has written for various magazines. She is honored that families have trusted her with their questions, needs and concerns over the years. She continues to write and reach out to Catholic families with her husband, Mark and their 4 boys through http://www.LittleFlowersFamilyPress.com

 

Comments

9 responses to “Why Must Catholic Women be Modest when Swimming”

  1. Luanne Avatar
    Luanne

    One must always be modest—no exceptions. That said, modesty doesn’t exactly mean wearing more. It’s perfectly modest to wear nothing if one is taking a shower. The swimsuit with the most coverage is still not suitable to wear to Church. It does no good to cover up if one’s behavior is immodest. Modesty means behaving correctly, including, but not limited to, wearing what is right.

    1. Amy Frank Avatar
      Amy Frank

      Very true. One of the first things I learned is modesty has to be in your heart first

  2. Amy Frank Avatar
    Amy Frank

    Some of those swimsuits are of course better than anything you can find in stores etc. However, I feel the Mary like standards apply even to swimwear so I am making a swimsuit with sleeves to the elbow and skirt below the knees. I have found a few orthodox jewish sites with real modest suits following exactly the Mary like standards. I will find it for you again and post so others can purchase them. Blessings amy

  3. Amy Frank Avatar
    Amy Frank

    Here is my favorite swimsuit place http://aquamodesta.com/Modest-rash-guards-swim-tops- However they are not cheap. That is why I purchased a pattern and modified it to Mary Like standards and purchased swim suit fabric. My swim suit will mostly look like the ones at aqua modesta. Only I like my skirts to be mid calf because of my body type so it doesn’t ride up above the 4 inches below the knee while I move. Blessings Amy

  4. Amy Frank Avatar
    Amy Frank

    Well you had a couple of sites that really had some truly modest swimwear with Mary Like standards like the one link I sent. Good!!! There starts to be more and more as time goes by. Blessings Amy

  5. Melanie Avatar
    Melanie

    A parish we attended 13yrs ago had a sign up in the back of church on proper dress for church. He was not shy about how women and even men should come to church. He always made it very clear to us, especially when summer rolled around. He has since retired. Fr. Heyman is his name, please keep him in your prayers as he still faithfully fulfills his duty.

    1. Rita Davidson Avatar
      Rita Davidson

      Thank you for sharing that Melanie. We need more steadfast, brave priests today. It’s sad that Fr. Heyman is retired, when he still faithfully fulfills his duty? Priests never used to retire. 🙁
      God bless you all,
      Rita/LFFA

      1. Ken Aydlott Avatar
        Ken Aydlott

        “Priests never used to retire.” So, can they? No, nor bishops, nor the Pope. They either resign or God takes them. There is no “retire”.

        1. Rita Davidson Avatar
          Rita Davidson

          I don’t believe priests, nor religious can or should retire.When God calls someone to the religious life, it is not a blue collar job, that has an end, no it is a way of life. In the case of a priest or bishop or pope they have a sacramental character on their souls. They are shepherds of souls whether they are spry and young, or old they serve souls with their lives. Suffering with being old, and infirm they can still bring grace to this parched world and build up the Church Militant while they have breathe. Our Church is suffering from lack of grace. God help us!
          Rita/LFFA

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