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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
Re: Bodybuilding supplements	Carole	Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Question: Bro. Ignatius I just finished reading your response to Graeme regarding his possible use of bodybuilding supplements. You pointed out that this may be an issue of vanity and also gave other examples such as dyeing one's hair, having cosmetic procedures, etc. I understand where you are coming from as there are indeed people (especially those Hollywood crazies) who are always under the knife trying to make themselves look sexy and desirable. Instead they look like frightening wax figures. No matter what, age and illness takes away good looks and it happens to all of us. I personally dye my hair and wear makeup to enhance my features, as most women do. I try to make a nice appearance and be well-groomed. My question for you is where does one draw the line? Am I vain and not appreciative of what God gave me because I don't like my natural dishwater blonde and gray hair and prefer to tint it to the color of my youth? Does God perhaps get angry with us because we don't like how he made us, our noses, our smiles, etc. I've also had some dental work done to improve my smile. My issues were of low self-esteem because I was teased about my looks as a child and wanting to feel confident, not to be a "sexpot". Despite that I am overweight and no longer have a youthful figure; I am still attentive to grooming and makeup to enhance my overall appearance. I consider myself to be a good and faithful Catholic, I fall at times but do my best as we all do. There are tons of women who want to look their best - again, where do we draw the line between healthy self-esteem and vanity? After all my devotions, prayers and attempts to live a holy Catholic lifestyle, I would hate that God condemn me for being vain. Thank you for providing this wonderful website. God bless
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM Dear Carole: Well, you know the issues and the dangers, so this will be a matter for your conscience. My personal opinion is that trying to look younger by dying one's hair is vanity, and more than that, an affront to the beauty God made for older women. A woman with gray hair is beautiful. It was vanity, marketing, and societal fetish that lead to dying hair to look young a common practice. We should value age. It is part of life and how God made us. Gray hair and the like is a badge of honor, a sign of wisdom, that is proper to come with age. Why deny our age? except for vanity-sake. I understand that this notion is very difficult for women in this society. Trying to look younger by dying one's hair and hiding their age is a mark of a lack of self-esteem. But, the lack of self-esteem is not resolved by denying our age; it indulges our lack of self-esteem. Self-esteem comes from embracing our age and the wrinkles and gray hair that comes with it. Trying to make a nice appearance and be well-groomed is not a problem as long as we are not dishonest about it. One can have a nice appearance and be well-groomed with gray hair. Using make-up to "enhance" one's natural features is not a problem. It is in the changing our appearance to artificially look younger or meet some goal of appearance that is not "us" that is the problem. The main point is that this is not self-esteem vs. vanity. This is about indulging our self-esteem by trying to be something we are not vs. the true self-esteem that accepts who we are. Vanity can come in two forms: 1) a conceit about our appearance; or 2) a denial of who we are and an attempt to change that reality; which oftentimes leads to the conceit in the changed and false appearance. I think that Father Tadeusz Pacholcyk said it well in his article, Plastic Perfection? The Ethics of Breast Implants: The temptation to reduce feminine beauty to a kind of plastic and exterior measure is surely a failure to realize how a woman's physical beauty is meant to be but a gentle hint, a pointer towards an abiding beauty within. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary Footer Notes: This forum is for general questions on the faith. See specific Topic Forums below: Spiritual Warfare, demons, the occult go to our Spiritul Warfare Q&S Forum. Liturgy Questions go to our Liturgy and Liturgical Law Q&A Forum Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) Questions go to our Divine Office Q&A Forum Defenfing the Faith Questions go to our Defending the Faith Q&A Forum Church History Questions go to our Church History Q&A Forum

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

Re: Bodybuilding supplements

Carole

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Question:

Bro. Ignatius

I just finished reading your response to Graeme regarding his possible use of bodybuilding supplements.

You pointed out that this may be an issue of vanity and also gave other examples such as dyeing one's hair, having cosmetic procedures, etc.

I understand where you are coming from as there are indeed people (especially those Hollywood crazies) who are always under the knife trying to make themselves look sexy and desirable. Instead they look like frightening wax figures. No matter what, age and illness takes away good looks and it happens to all of us.

I personally dye my hair and wear makeup to enhance my features, as most women do. I try to make a nice appearance and be well-groomed. My question for you is where does one draw the line? Am I vain and not appreciative of what God gave me because I don't like my natural dishwater blonde and gray hair and prefer to tint it to the color of my youth? Does God perhaps get angry with us because we don't like how he made us, our noses, our smiles, etc. I've also had some dental work done to improve my smile. My issues were of low self-esteem because I was teased about my looks as a child and wanting to feel confident, not to be a "sexpot". Despite that I am overweight and no longer have a youthful figure; I am still attentive to grooming and makeup to enhance my overall appearance.

I consider myself to be a good and faithful Catholic, I fall at times but do my best as we all do. There are tons of women who want to look their best - again, where do we draw the line between healthy self-esteem and vanity? After all my devotions, prayers and attempts to live a holy Catholic lifestyle, I would hate that God condemn me for being vain.

Thank you for providing this wonderful website.

God bless

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM

Dear Carole:

Well, you know the issues and the dangers, so this will be a matter for your conscience.

My personal opinion is that trying to look younger by dying one's hair is vanity, and more than that, an affront to the beauty God made for older women. A woman with gray hair is beautiful. It was vanity, marketing, and societal fetish that lead to dying hair to look young a common practice.

We should value age. It is part of life and how God made us. Gray hair and the like is a badge of honor, a sign of wisdom, that is proper to come with age. Why deny our age? except for vanity-sake.

I understand that this notion is very difficult for women in this society. Trying to look younger by dying one's hair and hiding their age is a mark of a lack of self-esteem. But, the lack of self-esteem is not resolved by denying our age; it indulges our lack of self-esteem. Self-esteem comes from embracing our age and the wrinkles and gray hair that comes with it.

Trying to make a nice appearance and be well-groomed is not a problem as long as we are not dishonest about it. One can have a nice appearance and be well-groomed with gray hair. Using make-up to "enhance" one's natural features is not a problem. It is in the changing our appearance to artificially look younger or meet some goal of appearance that is not "us" that is the problem.

The main point is that this is not self-esteem vs. vanity. This is about indulging our self-esteem by trying to be something we are not vs. the true self-esteem that accepts who we are.

Vanity can come in two forms: 1) a conceit about our appearance; or 2) a denial of who we are and an attempt to change that reality; which oftentimes leads to the conceit in the changed and false appearance.

I think that Father Tadeusz Pacholcyk said it well in his article, Plastic Perfection? The Ethics of Breast Implants:

The temptation to reduce feminine beauty to a kind of plastic and exterior measure is surely a failure to realize how a woman's physical beauty is meant to be but a gentle hint, a pointer towards an abiding beauty within.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

Footer Notes: This forum is for general questions on the faith. See specific Topic Forums below:
Spiritual Warfare, demons, the occult go to our Spiritul Warfare Q&S Forum.
Liturgy Questions go to our Liturgy and Liturgical Law Q&A Forum
Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) Questions go to our Divine Office Q&A Forum
Defenfing the Faith Questions go to our Defending the Faith Q&A Forum
Church History Questions go to our Church History Q&A Forum