Applause

This blog is for all of you who've joined in the dress dare. CONGRATULATIONS! You have reached the finish line. Just one more day and you've made it an entire month without pants. The thing that I think is most worth of applause, is your openness. This dare, does not come easy to most women in our culture, and I think we've all encountered resistance at some point.

Women are made to be receptive. We were created, physically, emotionally, and spiritually to be receivers, and in order to fulfill this, we must open our souls to the Lord, to His grace, and to those He places in our lives to lead us. The beauty of those who've taken on this dare, is that despite whatever attachments you had, you've embraced the challenge to fight that, for the possibility of growing closer to Christ, and becoming more like His Mother. This alone, makes you more like Mary, because she is our model as the Lord's handmaid. She submitted her entire body and life to Him, though she had no idea all that it would entail.

The feast of the Annunciation is my favorite Marian feast because to me, that is where the moment where she chooses to trust the Lord. We are not all given direct questions by angels, as Mary was, but we are all given the opportunity to embrace God's will each day. We are all called to be His handmaids, His brides, to submit ourselves to Him, no matter what the sacrifice. No sacrifice of ours can compare with what He's done for us, but these sacrifices can be redemptive, and fruitful in our lives, both here on Earth, and in eternity.

Even if you don't see the changes that have occurred in the last month, know that you have likely grown. If nothing else, simply offering your body to Christ, to adorn it modestly, and more as Mary would have (since we've never seen her in pants, even in recent apparitions), and to give up an article of clothing that many find easier and more comfortable, can bear great fruit in your lives. I congratulate you all on being open to growing closer to Christ, and seeking out sanctification. Thank you all for joining me as Sisters in Christ! Knowing that we've been united in this challenge, despite living in various parts of the States and even the world, has made me feel all the more connected to the Body of Christ we find in Holy Mother Church.

P.S. One of our readers recommended this article in a comment and I thought it really captured a lot of our thoughts this month...Cardinal Siri, "Men's Dress Worn By Women"