Asked for a "sign" as to how to interpret a Scripture verse and

[MysticMissMisty]

Salvete, omnes!

(First, was not at all sure where to put this in the fora, so, please do feel free to move it if it is misplaced!)

Frist of all, let me give you the background on this situation: Several years ago, as a Protestant, I was having some serious questions about my faith/how I was living my life, brought on, by in large, by a Protestant Bible Study group with whom I was associating that eventually came out and said I was “unsaved” despite the fact that I had been baptized into the Disciples of Christ denomination when I was 14. After a bit of a falling out for this and other reasons, I was looking for another church home while at university. Since the DOC church in this town was far too liberal for me, I ended up going to a Baptist church.

I must note that, around this time, I also felt as if I was under very deep spiritual attack, again, for a number of reasons, one being that church group and another being the suicide of someone on my residence hall floor. (I went down to pray over the room where he took his life shortly thereafter and, very soon after that, was very frightened by some “negative feeling energy” (best way to describe it) that seemed to pursue me one night while walking in that same hallway.

All this is to say that, around this same time, I was having difficult, again, as a Protestant, interpreting a particular verse of Sacred Scripture (the one about head-covering), so, I prayed for a very specific sign as (I believe, if memory serves) to whether it was necessary for me as a woman to cover my head while in church. I was sincerely confused about this matter and, I think, was asking with the sincerest heart. I asked that, if this was the case, God send me a sign of someone bringing up head-covering in church that very night (again, if memory serves, this is what I asked). Thing is, while I was at church that night, someone (albeit jokingly) said that a man should take off his hat in church because men were to pray with their heads uncovered. Needless to say, I took this as the sign I needed so began covering my own head in church, feeling it a necessity, even though others around me probably thought me ridiculous.

As you see from my message header, I am now considering becoming a Catholic and, as I understand it, the Catholic Church does not now teach that head-covering is necessary for the woman, as it is a disciplinary matter, not one of faith/morals. So, now, I am in a quandry. Why would God apparently give me a very specific sign when I asked Him for just such a specific sign about head-covering being necessary when the Catholc Church, which I am considering, teaches that it isn’t necessary. If the teaching ofthe Catholic Church is true, then why would God, after I asked for a sign, seemingly give me such a specific sign in the affirmative? (I am not at all trying to be combative here. In fact, the oppostie is true; I am genuinely concerned with this matter, especially since it has to do with Protestant vs. Catholic teaching, and the accuracy of either, when I am considering coming to Catholicism.)

I do not recall whether or whether I did not also, in asking for this sign, ask that no demonic influence would come into play giving me a sign that was not from God. Also, as I said, I believe I was very much under attack during that time in other ways to begin with.

So, what do you guys make of all this? How would a Catholic respond to my situation, especially since it seems to contradict Church teaching on this matter?

Sincerely thanking you all in advance.

 

[Elizium23]

You have nothing to worry about. Veiling is considered disciplinary, not doctrinal. There is no Church teaching and never has been. Perhaps your sign was meant to cause you to begin a pious personal practice. Many women do it still, especially Traditionalists.

 

[JerryZ]

No it does not contradict Catholic teachings. The fact that GOD sent you the signal simply means HE deemed important to help you or nudge you toward the ultimate truth.

Which is that the Church that JESUS founded will take you in and appreciate your personal devotion to cover your head when you are in Church in front of HIM.
And that this Church is no other than the Catholic Church.

No one will scoff at you because of this. I pray that you will soon be a fully fledged Catholic and more important will avail yourself of the Sacraments that JESUS handed us through HIS Church,

…

 

[Rhubarb]

I remember one time I had a friend in high school. He was very religious. I never was much, but we’d occasionally have talks about faith and such. He was very gracious and wasn’t pushy and we actually had some interesting explorations - debates that weren’t trying to prove a point.

One time we were driving home from school; he had come to spend the weekend at my place. My brother was in the back seat of my car when we started talking. My little bro was a lot less gracious when it came to his disbelief. He had no patience for anything he couldn’t see or measure. Finally, as we were getting out of the car and going up to the porch he said “Look, if God is real and he can do anything, then let him prove it. Strike me with lightning and I’ll believe forever!” He was being facetious, of course, but right at that moment the porch light went ZZRRRRRRP! and made a loud POP with a bright glitter of sparks. Thankfully, we were under it but not close enough to be hit. My brother leaped out of his shoes from surprise and spun about to my friend and said with wide eyes “that doesn’t count.” My friend just smiled and shook his head. I bring this up because it’s not just an amusing anecdote. But this sign that was apparently sent to us was just my mother flipping on the porch light, and that happened to coincide with us arriving home from school. It surged, as sometimes lights do, and burnt out.

Now, you asked this in a philosophy forum. So, approaching the question as I would in philosophy, I’d have to ask a few questions:

1. Is what you experienced a reasonable explanation for what you encountered?
   -Is hearing a colleague talk about head covering a reasonable candidate for being a sign from God about the subject?
2. Are there any other reasonable explanations for what you encountered?

• If not, can it be explained in other ways? Was the passage you read about it in brought up recently? Do the colleagues have reasonable reasons to talk about it? Have you mentioned it before? Does chalking it up to coincidence seem reasonable?

1. If what you did encounter WAS a sign, does the answer jive with what you see around you?
   -The western churches don’t require head covering, by and large, and it’s not really a worry from the pulpit or from the people. If it was a sign from God that you ought to cover your head, does that explanation fit in with the greater beliefs about head covering?

And there are probably others you can ask. Now, these questions may come off as skeptical. I don’t mean them to. I don’t even know the answers to the questions from your point of view - it could be that you arrive at a conclusion that another person who asks these questions might. The point of them is to critically examine the situation you’re in, and the various factors at play, and see what makes the best sense. I think philosophy’s best and most important lesson is to always be critically evaluating our beliefs and thoughts.

All that being said, I don’t think a head cover would be out of place in a formal setting like church. I recall a lot of the elderly ladies wore head coverings and hats, and that was recently.

 

[Beryllos]

I assume you are referring to the writings of St. Paul (1 Corinthians 11) about head covering and hair length. You might investigate why he wrote that. I think it is purely cultural, as Paul seems to indicate at the end of that exhortation:

1 Corinthians 11:16
But if anyone is inclined to be argumentative, we do not have such a custom, nor do the churches of God.

In those days, I suspect, head covering and hair length communicated something, at least to the people of Corinth, about a person’s upbringing and behavior. In the Church today, they may still communicate something, but the signals are all different. Fashions change from decade to decade, and all the more from century to century (not to mention from place to place). However, the rule which applies in any place and time is that we should present ourselves for worship in a way that shows decency and respect according to the customs of our community.

 

[AnotherPenitent]

I don’t know if there are any Catholics who fully understand the reason behind each and every Church teaching. The reason is that the teachings are from God, and we are only human. I imagine most of us reach a “tipping point” where we have enough confidence in the Church to take the rest of what we don’t yet understand on faith. In a way, that’s the beautiful thing about it. We don’t have to worry about all the details–they’ve already been figured out!

And I do think this is a detail. Why? Because you genuinely want to do God’s will in this matter, whatever it may be, but He hasn’t made it clear to you. He knows that even better than you do. He’s not going to force you to arbitrarily choose a side and then punish you if it’s the wrong one. I think sometimes He tests us like this to see whether we trust Him as our loving Father. At times like this, I think it can be more profitable to put the issue aside, examine your life to see where there really is rebellion, and tackle that first.

 

[Used2beSherryG]

Welcome to CA forum. Searching that you may know and do God’s will in all things has led you here to learn more about his church and that is a marvelous thing. Head coverings are optional in the Catholic Church. As I grew up in the faith, no woman ever went into the Church with her head uncovered. I usually got a new hat every year at easter time and another around Christmas. Finally in the late fifty’s or early 60’s when “bouffant” hair styles became the fashion, wearing a hat would ruin your hairdo by flattening the top, so someone came up with the chapel veil to use to cover the top of your head without smashing your hair. There was a period in the Church customs in the US where head coverings began to decline and then were seen no more, In the past ten years or so, head coverings are reappearing. No one will comment or otherwise take notice if you do or do not wear a head covering. I saw a woman at church a couple weeks ago with two young girls and each one wore a pretty scarf. God prompted you to discern about this issue and here you are with us on the catholic forum. Stick around and learn more. Doing God’s will is our most important task in life. The Church can be your guide without fear.

 

[mamlukman]

I started this and then the power went off…a sign? No…see below!

First, read “revelation” and “inspiration” in the Catechism and Vatican II documents. They are online. Short–it will take you less than 10 minutes. A major difference between Catholics and Protestants is the interpretation of the Bible. Which came first: the Epistles and Gospels, or the Church? Since the first Epistle of Paul is about 50 AD, and the first Gospel, Mark, is about 60 AD, clearly the Church came first. It existed since Pentecost. So the Church interprets and validates the New Testament–not the other way around, as Protestants would have it. And that seems reasonable based simply on the Church’s existence before the New Testament was written. Next, if you read those references you will find two important ideas: 1) the revelation is a message from God–about religious truth; not science, not math, not the customs of 1st century Judaism, etc. 2) the writers of the New Testament–whoever they were, we don’t know–were very much men of there time, with their own types of rhetoric, customs, etc. So revelation is embedded in their writings, but we have to dig it out. Thus the role of the Church in interpretation.

Next, head coverings in 1 Corinthians. Roman and Jewish women covered their heads in prayer; Greeks didn’t. Corinth was a Greek city; Paul was a Jew and a Roman citizen. He opted for the customs he was familiar with. Not only that, but Corinth was the Las Vegas of its time, noted for wild sexual behavior. Note that Paul asks women to cover their heads “while praying.” Presumably in public. Now some people say, “Well, you’re supposed to be praying all the time…your life is a prayer.” Maybe, but that has never been the Church’s view (see above). Head coverings were institutionalized only in about 1907 in canon law; this law was changed in the early 80s. But fashion changed in the 1960s. If you notice, women stopped wearing head coverings to church in the 1960s, but the canon law was in force for about 20 years after that–and no one said a thing. Back to the interpretation of the Church. “What you shall bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven…” etc. To Paul, a head covering was a sign of the woman’s place in society. This place has changed. It was a custom, not a doctrine. It can change.

That brings me to a point I have noticed on these threads over and over–among Catholics especially, I’m sad to say. There is tremendous concern over trivia–like head coverings–rather than the essentials. God is–I believe–much more concerned about how you treat your neighbor. Remember that when Jesus is asked about what laws to follow, #2 is Leviticus 19:18–love your neighbor as yourself. So if you want to beat yourself up about how you cheated your customers, didn’t help your niece when you had a chance, and were nasty to your husband, great. But don’t give a second thought to trivia like covering your head. Please! Keep a sense of proportion.

Signs. Superstition lives. Coincidences happen all the time. Read some books on probability–a good one is “The Improbability Principle: Why Coincidencdes, Miracles, and Rare Events Happen Every Day,” David Hind. We can all give lots of examples of the improbable happening in our lives. So if we all have examples of this, how “improbable” are these things, really? The answer is that they are extremely probable. If you still doubt, spend some quality time with Youtube and the weird things they document. Watch some videos by Darren Brown (British magician) who debunks improbability. If you are troubled by something, guess what–everything will become a sign, you will dream about it, etc. That doesn’t mean God is trying to tell you something. You know the old joke: If you talk to God, you’re religious. If God talks to you, you’re a schizophrenic.

Keep in mind that Catholicism is a very logical religion and common sense rules.