SLIDE 1 (TITLE) Veiling by Jeannine Washburn

(TITLE) – Veiling – By Jeannine Washburn

Let’s imagine the beauty of the churches- the statues, the altar rails, the smell of incense – how does it make you feel? Imagine kneeling before the altar as the priest consecrates the host. Think about the feeling you have inside your heart as you hunger for the Eucharist, to have Jesus in you in the form of bread and wine.

Then let us gaze on the image of Our Blessed Mother Mary, mother of the Church and role model for women. What are they wearing? Are they covering their heads?

In preparing this talk, I want you to know that I am biased toward the devotion of veiling. I adore our Catholic faith’s rich history, traditions, sacred art, and beautiful churches. I love the continuity as it has been passed down to us from Jesus through the successors of the apostles, to today and will be until end time. With that disclaimer, I will share with you what a priest told me. Our church is like a rough diamond- it can be polished in so many ways. As there are many different religious orders that all have different charisms and ways of connecting with God and the church, there are many different devotions that we can do that will lead us down the path of holiness. They are all different, but right. Veiling is one of those devotions.

Now, back to the beautiful subject of veiling.

For more than 2000 years Catholic women have veiled themselves before entering a church or anytime they are in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. So why do women veil?

Let’s look to the bible in 1 Corinthians 11:1-17. According to St. Paul, we veil ourselves as a sign that God’s glory, not ours, should be the focus at worship and as a sign of our submission to authority. It is an outward sign of our recognizing headship, both of God and our husbands and a sign respecting the presence of the Holy Angels at the Divine Liturgy. In veiling, we reflect the divine invisible order and make it visible.

That is a lot of information in one sentence. We will revisit these reasons and it will be clearer in a few minutes.

But before we get into the details, it is important to know that although it was mandatory for a woman to cover her head in church or in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament for almost 2,000 years, this obligation was officially removed in 1983.

Prior to that, veiling had started to go out of favor with the rise of radical feminism in the 1960s. The symbolism of this simple piece of cloth was so powerful that in 1968, NOW called upon Catholic women to burn their veils. Imagine the power in the veil and by extension, the true power of a woman as God intended, that the evil one would go after this symbol to this degree.

So why are women of all ages and backgrounds rediscovering this beautiful tradition? What is the symbolism of the veil that is so meaningful, transformative and powerful? A quick answer is this quote that I found - "The veil is a visual sermon, ... a public proclamation before the Lord that He IS the Lord and that we love Him and that we are ready to obey him. It's a totally counter-cultural statement proclaiming obedience in the midst of a culture that is totally permeated with this attitude of 'I will not serve".

My personal journey to the veil began after college in my early 20s. My priest at the time was in his late 30s, very traditional, didn’t hesitate to speak the truth and faithfully obeyed the Magisterium. His actions followed his strong faith, he was a soldier in Christ and a beacon of light in the community. One day, I stopped into church to pray after work and decided to veil. As I kneeled in the corner of the last pew, this priest walked in, sat next to me and waited for me to finish praying. I will never forget as long as I live his face when I looked up. His normally stern “priest face” was transformed- and for that moment I understood what I know now to be “the feminine genius”. I remember thinking that this is the power that God has given to women to be used for His good.

Fast forward many years, I know live in Raleigh, married with 3 kids. By God’s providence, I attended a “Latin Mass” for my Goddaughter’s baptism and saw many ladies veiling. I fell in love with it again. As God works, when He wants you to do something, He will not leave you alone until you make your “yes” to Him. Shortly after, it was brought up by two different priests in individual conversations. I then discussed it with my husband who was very encouraging, helped me pick one out and I think might be buying me a new (and more beautiful) veil for Christmas!

Now let’s go back to St. Paul’s reasons for wearing a veil and review them one by one.

REVERENCE: Real presence

Let’s reflect back on that first life transforming moment when you knew with every fiber of your being that Jesus is really present in the sacrament. Sure, as cradle Catholics we were taught that Jesus is in the Eucharist or we learned it in our RCIA classes but did we “get” it? For some of us it might have been a gradual spiritual maturity, for others a major “AHA” moment or maybe it still is a spiritual battleground depending on the day.

How does this knowledge of the Real Presence convert your heart and your life? Do you view the mass and your faith differently? Knowing that our God is present within every mass, that the altar is a gateway to the divine and in the mass the priest is calling all the angels and saints down to join our voices together…how could we not be on our knees before this? How could we not dress for a King? Having been given this magnificent Gift by Jesus himself, every Catholic church holds something not found anywhere else: the true, living presence of our Bridegroom, hidden under the appearance of bread and wine.

St. John Paul II called the church to rekindle a Eucharistic "amazement." Giving due reverence to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is the fruit of this amazement. Our veils are a sign of this reverence and can reignite in our hearts the faith, awe and wonder of the Real Presence. Through it, the entire Church can be edified precisely because we testify to the truth of this most sacred Mystery.

ANGELS:

St. Paul tells us that the woman should veil during mass "because of the angels." St. Paul tells us that the angels participate with us during mass, and this is reinforced by the writings of St. John: "And another angel came and stood before the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given to him much incense that he might offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which is before the throne." (Revelation 8:3, see also Matt. 18:10).

I want to add something personal about how this idea was brought home: During a homily a priest told us a story about a person who asked him how many people attended Saturday night mass. His response was that there were about 300 warm bodies in the pews, but he couldn’t tell him how many saints and angels attended. That image of angels and saints participating in the mass in the church with us, filled me with amazement, awe and added to my desire to veil.

HUMILITY BEFORE GOD AND SUBMISSION TO HIS WILL:

Women also veil as an external sign of our interior desire to humble ourselves before God to submit our will to His, and of our commitment to answering the universal call to holiness and continual conversion. To hear what God wants from us and to make our “yes” to Him requires a lot of strength. Submitting to God’s will is NOT a weakness.

VEILING SACRED VESSELS: WOMEN’S HONOR AND DIGNITY

Let’s think about the sacrifice of the mass. Let’s picture in our minds the tabernacle that holds the living God and the chalice that holds His Precious Blood. What do they all have in common? They are veiled. Why? The veil draws attention to the spiritual reality of the Real Presence. Through the hands of the consecrated priest at the altar, we are in real contact with the Holy Mysteries.

Women are also touched by God through the special gift of motherhood. In that, God touches them in a way no man has ever experienced. The Scriptures tell us that God Himself fashions the unborn child in the womb, and plants a living human soul inside the body of a women when she becomes pregnant (Psalm 139:13-1). This makes the woman's body a sacred vessel of God's creative powers. It is something that is particularly holy, and must be respected as such.

The veil is a sign of this great dignity inherent to a woman, who has the potential to receive life within herself... both human life and the supernatural life of God.

DIVINE HIERARCHY and SYMBOL OF THE CHURCH: St. Paul also teaches us that we veil to acknowledge headship. Our veil is a visible sign to an invisible reality of a divine hierarchy. In preparing this talk I prayed about whether we should discuss this aspect because it can be controversial. Not controversial because it is a matter of personal opinion, but controversial in that what our faith teaches is not accepted in our society today. For most of us it would require completely de-forming ourselves to the ways of the world and re-forming ourselves to the way of Christ. After praying, I decided to leave it in because it is important for us to know the truth. Since I’m a bit uncomfortable discussing it, I thought we could listen to an excerpt of a homily by Fr. Phil Wolf We will also hear how the veil is a symbol of the church.

Click on link and listen to minute 9:53-12:30. Or click on the audio in the slide show. http://www.romans10seventeen.org/audio-files/20090329-The-Theological-Significance-of-Veils-and- Consequences-of-Unveiling.mp3

MODESTY

St. Paul also discusses modesty. In a culture where everything goes, less is more, “if you got it, flaunt it” mentality, we don’t often think about modesty. As we have discussed at previous meetings, lack of modesty objectifies women, creates insecurity and competition among girls, and may lead men- especially teenage boys-to a near occasion to sin. If you want to know more, Catholic Answers has a great pamphlet on Modesty. Incidentally, I found out something interesting this summer. When I lived with family in Rome I took advantage of going to the Vatican many times. One thing I noticed was that there were guards turning away ladies who had their shoulders exposed, were wearing short skirts and telling men to take off their baseball caps. They had a dress code. This summer back in NY, I went to mass at my childhood church and there was the same dress code in the bulletin! When I asked the priest about it he told me that the dress code at the Vatican applies to all churches. This means shirts with at least ¼ sleeve, a neckline not cut lower than the span of two fingers, a skirt that is below the knee when sitting, loose pants are OK but no tight fitting or see through clothes.

So, do you hear God’s gentle whispering calling you to veil or maybe it is more like being hit over the head with a 2x4 but you still have concerns? When praying about it, remember this: God will always give you the graces needed to do His will. However, addressing a few common concerns and practical points can’t hurt either…

Shouldn't I avoid drawing attention to myself at Mass? We should never seek to become the object of others' attention, especially at Mass. It is important to periodically question our motivation: Am I seeking other people's attention or do I want to love and honor my Lord?

However, our veils are meant to be a visual statement of our love and reverence for the Lord. This reverence is meant to call attention and be a signpost to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Let’s look at our consecrated sisters in habit-they stand out as a reminder of God in the midst of a world that has renounced Him. We are all called to be the light of the world - witnesses to Christ's love, which is real and alive.

I'm worried about what other people might think if I wear a veil. It’s natural to be concerned with what other people think. However, making sure we have the correct interior disposition and do it out of love for God we should take the advice from the Bible and “Be Not Afraid.” Personally, my experience has been good wherever I have veiled. Mostly no one pays attention usually lots of smiles and right here at St. R, a few thank yous. Also, one thing I noticed veiling in NY that really touched me…Many times in NY people are in a rush at church, they want to get in and out and even the men will knock you down, but when I veil, the men always stop, let me go first, are helpful with the kids, talk to my husband, etc. It is really beautiful. SLIDE 20 - DOES GOD NEED A VEIL TO KNOW YOUR PIETY?

Absolutely not! But it is a visible reminder that something special is going in the mass or in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

Let’s use the cross we wear around our neck as another example. Doesn’t God recognize piety without a cross? Of course He does, but it gives us a visible reminder of the mystery of our salvation.

Last but not least, if you do feel the call to veil, yet are uncomfortable with it, please consider giving that discomfort to God as reparation for all the years of indifference to Him in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

A few last practical points to make veiling easy!

Wear your veil anytime you are in mass or in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.

Any type of head covering is OK- I like lace mantillas because they are beautiful but you can use hats, infinity scarves – anything respectful. Since it is a symbol, your hair does not need to be completely concealed.

Traditionally, married women would wear black or darker colors and unmarried women, white or lighter colors. Currently there are really no hard rules to follow – wear what you like!

Many of us have daughters who will see us veil and may want to copy us. Other girls might choose to wear one after First Holy Communion and others may never be interested. Some mothers may encourage their older daughters to take the initiative if they have the desire to do so. No matter what you do, remember that Holy Mother Church gives us freedom in this matter, and it is not a sin to go without a veil.

Use a hair pin, sewn-in clips, headbands or combs to keep the veil on your head and safe from tugging toddlers!

Veiling is a devotion that one should feel called to do out of freedom and love. Wearing a veil is one of many ways that expresses the interior disposition of the heart but does not make one more devout, reverent or humble than a woman who chooses not to wear one.

Just as the Church does not mandate that every person pray the Rosary, neither does she mandate that every woman wear a veil. This does not mean, however, that they are not worthy devotions. All devotions are pleasing to God when done out of love for Him!