VEILING

Long white lace chapel veil for sale on Etsy

at Rosa Mystica Boutique

Several weeks ago, I was sitting in church, my hands folded in my lap, my head bowed, in deep prayer after receiving the body and blood of Christ when some woman broke from the communion line, came over to me and grasping my hands, said, "your hair is SO beautiful!" I was astonished and appalled.

I hasten to add that I had done NOTHING to feature my hair. In fact, it was a mess. I hadn't even brushed it before leaving the house, as I was late getting ready for my ride. I had just put a few home-made scrunchies in it at varying spots down the length of it to keep it in line. It is a combination of gray and my natural reddish auburn color, and is on the frizzy side, so it isn't something I wear like a trophy.

To cover or not to cover?

Over the last couple of years, I had been considering the issue of veiling in church. Women originally veiled for another purpose, but having my hair become a distraction to someone else's devotions as well as my own was yet another reason to give serious consideration to the practice.

Of course, my physical condition has deteriorated to such an extent that I am currently unable to sit through mass, but I am praying for healing and I am also losing weight in the desperate hope that it will have some effect, even though I know that my joints are now "bone on bone" and my spine is becoming fused in the lower back. Hope springs eternal, especially when one is Christian and we have a long tradition of miraculous healings, going back to Christ Himself. I may or may not be able to return to regular mass attendance, so I have to get this issue of veiling settled in my mind for when and if I do return.

I know, of course, that women are no longer required to veil in church, but many Americans fail to recognize that the requirement having been dropped does not signify that it has no value. It just means that there is no longer an official proscription against women going bare headed into the church and one will not be PUNISHED in any fashion. One is no longer penalized for failing to veil in church, but it does not mean the practice has no value.

I recognize, of course, that many people are violently opposed to this practice because they interpret it as a vestige of toxic patriarchy.

Long white mantilla style veil

at

ROSA MYSTICA

In all of the churches I have visited since I became Catholic about 9 years ago, I rarely see more than 2 or 3 women who are veiled. Many times, no one is veiled. I find no fault with that. It is just an observation about the current habit. Occasionally, I have remembered to bring a scarf or crocheted lace shawl with me to wear at church, and I noticed several women eyeing me as if I had broken some feminist code or something. Some women have told me that wearing a veil is a cooperation with the patriarchy that suppressed women for thousands of years.

I was struck today by a response from a Muslim woman, ironically, with regard to the wearing of the Hijab, the large scarf that covers the hair and necks of Muslim women.

Malaysian woman wearing an hijab

Hanna Yusuf makes the point that the wearing of the head scarf is a way to opt out of the sexist culture that views all women as sex objects to be used in everything from selling cars to actually selling themselves. By dressing modestly and "covering up," a woman may reclaim her body. Obviously, she is not talking about those instances where a woman is forced, sometimes with violence, to wear obscuring clothing. She mentions that in her video. She makes her own case much better than I can, so, if you are interested, please see her video HERE.

When I was in the Hindu convent, several of us "younger ones" regularly wore simple handkerchiefs that were folded into triangles that were then tied at the nape of the neck, especially when doing dirty jobs, when the weather was breezy, or just for the heck of it. The tendency toward modesty is natural among those attracted to monasticism, in most instances. Then, there are the artists, and you never know what kind of getup they will adopt. Guilty, here, with my occasional outbreaks of pink. I still wear one of those headscarves on many occasions, especially as fall approaches.  These days, it is usually black in color, as a friend gave me 5 for my wardrobe. She is a lay Carmelite and wears a scarf to church.

Here I am, in the Hindu convent, wearing the scarf I mentioned.

In researching this article and studying the topic for myself, I found numerous fascinating articles and videos about veiling, both within the Catholic tradition and in others. Orthodox Jewish women, for instance, are required to cover their hair all the time unless in the presence of their husbands alone. Some Jewish ladies wear wigs, but a growing number of them are adopting an arrangement of a collection of scarves wrapped ingeniously around the hair that has been bound up in a scrunchy. Pretty elastic bands and sparkly brooches are sometimes added for extra flair.

This is an example of the Orthodox Jewish

"Tichel" I described, above.

While it is assumed that covering one's hair is simply a matter of some perceived modesty, in the Catholic tradition, it pertains rather more to the mass and to the Eucharist and probably has little or nothing to do with considerations of modesty or demure appearance. It is, in fact, a declaration of woman's essential holiness and special relationship with the Lord.

Everything considered holy in the Catholic mass is veiled or covered in some way. Woman is holy because she has an extremely intimate relationship with the Lord in which she helps bring God's beloved children into the world. For 9 months, a woman's body sustains two souls. Like the chalice that holds the precious blood in the mass, woman is the carrier of God's precious ones, just as Mother Mary carried Jesus within her womb.

Remember that the "holy of holies"  that was the inner sanctum of the Temple of Jerusalem in which the Ark of the Covenant was kept was separated from the rest of the temple by a veil, so the veil has great significance in the context of the mass, and it is deep and layered in meaning.

Rather than symbolizing the inferiority of women, the veil announces a woman's authority and close relationship with the Lord. It recognizes the essential holiness of the state of womanhood, in general. It is her crown and her privilege to wear.

One shouldn't extrapolate this meaning from the universal to the particular and think that if one is not of childbearing age or is infertile that the honor is not for them. No matter the condition of fecundity of the particular woman, this honor is proper to all womankind, as it is her sex that is elevated by its nature in the Lord's scheme of creation. A woman's receptive nature lends itself easily to an intimate relationship with the Lord, of a different type than that which a man may experience. It isn't just a woman's body that is honored, but the necessary emotional openness to the Lord 's love with which her sex is endowed which is a part of the great mystery of her vocation.

Ages ago, when a woman would enter a convent, it was often referred to as "taking the veil," and all nuns did wear veils, not like today, when you can hardly tell the difference between a nun and a random person walking down the street.

If a particular woman does not want the honor that the veil endows, the Catholic Church will not force it on them, but why renounce it over some false feminist doctrine that seeks to strip man and woman of their essential differences? I am not saying that this is the reason why every woman who has given up the veil has done so; I am speaking in general terms pertaining to the age in which we live and the concepts that currently inform it.

Silver "Rose" Parnell
Copyright (c) 2015

DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE?

There is a lovely, very old, Catholic church near my house.  I just love it.  The interior evokes a by-gone era of reverence and awe in the presence of the Lord.  It is very small adobe structure in the Old Town of Albuquerque.  It is generally difficult to find parking, but when I am able to find a spot, I enjoy going there to pray.

The interior, though originally dating from the 17th century, has been well-maintained.  There are beautiful, well-made traditional statues and a restful color-scheme.  During "tourist hours" they play reverential classical music CDs, such as Gregorian Chant.  If there aren't too many tourists wandering through the church and talking loudly, it is a wonderful place to pray, and Jesus is there in a special way.  If the red lantern is lit, Jesus is present in the tabernacle in the form of the Holy Eucharist.

People will say that God is everywhere, and I believe that is certainly true, but Jesus arranged a special way in which we can physically touch Him and even take him into ourselves.  He told us that the bread was his body and that the wine was his blood.  He said that he who does not eat his flesh and drink his blood has no life in him.  He wasn't talking about cannibalism.

There is a lot of misunderstanding about the Eucharist, even among Catholics for whom the Eucharist is extremely important.

God loved us so much that he sent his only Son to be with us in our time-bound, physical plane.  God, who made us, understands our limitations in our ability to comprehend God's immensity, his timeless nature, his unlimited love for us.  He knew that we needed Him to come to us and speak to us in our language and to show us how to be with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and to partake of His divine nature.

At the point when the priest "confects" the Eucharist and it becomes the body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord, the timelessness of the Lord intersects our time-bound world.  Partaking of the Eucharist is a spiritual AND a physical union with our beloved Lord.  It is a bonafide, authentic, mind-boggling miracle.

Last Saturday night, I went to mass at this wonderful little church.  Walking into the cool and dimly lit building, I noted the lamp was lit.  Jesus was there, in the tabernacle.  I came early to be with Him before the mass started.  After getting myself settled, I began to pray the rosary and felt my heart begin to soar.

A few minutes later, two ladies came into the church and sat two rows behind me.  Immediately, they began to use the basest, most vulgar swear words.  They also used the Lord's name in vain many times, saying, "Oh God" this and "Oh God" that.  I felt my face begin to burn with embarrassment for those ladies and sorrow for the insults being given to our Lord.  I waited to see if they would calm down, and their chat fest continued on, unabated.  If anything, their voices became louder.  No one else was talking.  It was jarring.

Finally, I turned around and asked, "Would you just stop it?"  The ladies were fifty-ish, well dressed and coiffed.  One of them, the most vulgar of the two in her language, told me that she would "in a minute."  She was haughty and angry in her expression.

I replied, "Swearing and using God's name in vain in church?  You ought to be ashamed."  She appeared stunned that I had said this.  Her mouth dropped slightly and her eyes widened.  She had nothing to say in reply.  You could hear a pin drop in the church.  I turned around and, after saying a prayer for the two of them, continued praying my rosary.  Not a peep did I hear from those ladies.

In retrospect, I wish I had handled it differently.  Instead of heaping shame on their heads, it would have been better if I had found a way to remind them that we were in the presence of Jesus in that moment.  Of course, God is with us and sees all our actions and knows all our thoughts at all times, but He is not always physically present to us in our time space continuum.  The presence of the Eucharist in the church IS the presence of Christ: body, blood soul AND divinity.

This is why, when we enter the church, it is time to recognize the special presence of Christ and behave accordingly.  The mass is not an entertainment vehicle.  If we are sitting in the pews, chatting away, as if we are waiting for a film to start, we are oblivious to the presence of Christ in the tabernacle.  The way we behave in Church has a direct correlation to what we actually believe.

That night, after I received the Holy Eucharist, I went back to my seat to commune with the Lord.  With my eyes closed and my hands clasped, I gave thanks for this wonderful touch of God, this incredible gift that Christ instituted.

When I opened my eyes, I happened to glance at the long line of people that were filing past my seat, on the way to receive the Eucharist.  I was surprised to be looking directly at the bottom of a young teenage girl who was wearing cutoff shorts that barely covered her backside.  If she had to bend over at any time, she would surely be showing at least half of what should not be shown.  Never mind that this clothing is inappropriate in ANY venue, except maybe the beach, but for her to be wearing it in church was unfathomable to me.  A grandmotherly type was with her, and I wondered why on earth she allowed the girl to go out in public half naked, but I know the answer to my own question.

The degree to which one is cognizant of the presence of Christ in the church is the degree to which respectful behavior and clothing are employed.

The last "hymn" of dismissal sounded like Mexican polka music.  It was very peppy and very loud.  I just sighed to myself and prayed for all concerned as I exited the building.  I hope next time I am confronted people chatting loudly in church, I can do something to elevate my fellow Christian's faith.  I don't know how I might do that, but I will be praying about it.  Please pray for me in this regard.

In the meantime, God bless us all.

Silver Rose