Theology of the Beard

It seems if men have facial hair, and women don't, that men should grow beards. Seems reasonable. They can be vessels of new life, but we can grow velcro on our face! But what were the thoughts of the Fathers? Wikihelp to the rescue:

• St Clement of Alexandria
  • "The hair of the chin showed him to be a man." St Clement of Alexandria (c.195, E), 2.271
  • "How womanly it is for one who is a man to comb himself and shave himself with a razor, for the sake of fine effect, and to arrange his hair at the mirror, shave his cheeks, pluck hairs out of them, and smooth them!...For God wished women to be smooth and to rejoice in their locks alone growing spontaneously, as a horse in his mane. But He adorned man like the lions, with a beard, and endowed him as an attribute of manhood, with a hairy chest—a sign of strength and rule." St. Clement of Alexandria, 2.275
  • "This, then, is the mark of the man, the beard. By this, he is seen to be a man. It is older than Eve. It is the token of the superior nature....It is therefore unholy to desecrate the symbol of manhood, hairiness." St. Clement of Alexandria, 2.276
  • "It is not lawful to pluck out the beard, man's natural and noble adornment." St. Clement of Alexandria, 2.277

• St Cyprian
  • "In their manners, there was no discipline. In men, their beards were defaced." St Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.438
  • "The beard must not be plucked. 'You will not deface the figure of your beard'." (Leviticus 19:27) St. Cyprian, 5.553
• Lactantius
  • "The nature of the beard contributes in an incredible degree to distinguish the maturity of bodies, or to distinguish the sex, or to contribute to the beauty of manliness and strength." Lactantius (c. 304–314, W), 7.288

• Apostolic Constitutions
  • "Men may not destroy the hair of their beards and unnaturally change the form of a man. For the Law says, "You will not deface your beards." For God the Creator has made this decent for women, but has determined that it is unsuitable for men." Apostolic Constitutions (compiled c.390, E) 7.392. (1)

• Augustine of Hippo
  • "There are some details of the body which are there for simply aesthetic reasons, and for no practical purpose—for instance, the nipples on a man's chest, and the beard on his face, the latter being clearly for a masculine ornament, not for protection. This is shown by the fact that women's faces are hairless, and since women are the weaker sex, it would surely be more appropriate for them to be given such a protection." City of God (c. 410) book 22, chapter 24

St Josemaria on Detachement, Material Possesions

"Following this example we see in Our Lord, who is our model, I preach that detachment is self-dominion. It is not a noisy and showy beggarliness, nor is it a mask for laziness and neglect. You should dress in accordance with the demands of your social standing, your family background, your work... as your companions do, but to please God: eager to present a genuine and attractive image of true Christian living. Do everything with naturalness, without being extravagant. I can assure you that in this matter it is better to err on the side of excess than to fall short. How do you think Our Lord dressed? Haven't you pictured to yourself the dignity with which he wore his seamless cloak which had probably been woven for him by Our Lady? Don't you remember how, in Simon's house, he was grieved because he had not been offered water to wash his hands before taking his place at the table? No doubt he drew attention to this example of bad manners to underline his teaching that love is shown in little details. But he also wants to make it clear that he stands by the social customs of his time, and therefore you and I must make an effort to be detached from the goods and comforts of the world, but without doing anything that looks odd or peculiar.

As far as I am concerned, one of the signs that we're aware of being lords of the earth and God's faithful administrators is the care we take of the things we use: keeping them in good condition, making them last and getting the best out of them so that they serve their purpose for as long a time as possible and don't go to waste. In the Centres of Opus Dei you will find the decoration simple, attractive and, above all, clean, because poverty in a home is not to be confused with bad taste or with dirt. Nevertheless, it seems quite natural to me that, in keeping with your means and your social and family commitments, you should possess some objects of value which you take care of with a spirit of mortification and detachment."

Don't dress like the poverty of the beggar

Someone showing up in gym shorts and a t-shirt to everything is not living poverty - he's living sloth. Does he not have the time to dress like an adult? Does he not have the means to dress with dignity and actually prepare for how he presents himself? We wouldn't show up to meet royalty in gym shorts, so why do we slob it for the rest of society? Do we think them not worth the time? Maybe dressing with the simple dignity of a coat and tie would put some off, but eventually they'll get use to it and even appreciate it. I've had two older men pull me aside recently and thank me for the respect I show by wearing a coat and tie. By the way, coat and tie does not mean "dressed up", but that's another post.

A beggar who sees a man dressed like him talking to him might be delighted, but the man in the suit who talks to him and shows him respect lifts his dignity (not in reality, but in the beggars perception). He tells him that his clothes don't raise his dignity any more than the beggar's clothes lower his. Picture a beggar that assumes a man in a suit will pass him by. He's going to ignore him because he has means and maybe he'll toss a few coins. But what if that man stopped and talked with him? There's some worthy reflection in that. (Yes, I know clothes don't make the man, that's the point. But if both were naked the story would change drastically... so they mean something)

Personal presentation matters and can help lift society. Of course, the right understanding and intention is important.

Mother Teresa said, We would never dream of using dirty, torn clothes as a tabernacle veil which covers the door of the dwelling Christ chose for Himself on earth since He ascended into heave." She goes on to point out that we shouldn't cover our body in dirty worn out clothes if we believe it to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. This woman understood poverty, and she encouraged us to mend out clothes well, dress with dignity and dress well. This is right and fitting. Mother Teresa said our poverty is that of Christ's, not the beggar.

If you're looking for a first step. Here it is:

Get a blazer, tie and shirt that fit. We'll get a post up about fit, but you can google that for now. (This assumes you have some khakis too... please have some khakis if you're older than 7.) Then, wear this to Holy Mass. In fact, I don't care if you're in the Keys, commit to wearing your best for Holy Mass. Do you dress up for weddings? Well...