Head Covering Length

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MaryTherese1

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Hello all! Are women’s head coverings supposed to cover the full length of a woman’s hair? I feel drawn to veiling at the Latin mass but my veil only covers the top of my head and some of the sides and so most of my hair is exposed…Is this acceptable? Should I be wearing a veil that covers the full length of my hair? My hair reaches the middle of my back… Thanks! Pax Christi…
 
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When I was a kid, my mom would bobby clip a small Kleenex (from one of those little portable Kleenex containers that Mom’s are required to carry) to the top of my head if I forgot my lacy head scarf
 
BTW, you could also put up your hair, then a shorter head covering would suffice.
 
Not to derail the thread OP, but could someone explain the idea behind wearing a veil to me?
 
I read the first article and about half of the second - not a fan of Michelle Arnold. Could you sum it up in a sentence? Is it about modesty, “humble hiddeness” as the author puts it, or what are the main reasons women feel the desire to do this?
 
Ok, thanks a lot for your answer! I always wondered about this. It’s not common where I live, actually it doesn’t really exist, so when I see some visiting Americans doing it I have mixed feelings about it. But your explanation helps. 🙂
 
It’s about personal preference.

I have a friend with very long hair (down to her waist) and she wears the small, circular chapel veil.

Her sister has short hair (shorter than shoulder length) and she wears the triangular lace veil.

Another woman I know pins her hair up (I don’t know the length) and she wears a long scarf that covers the crown of her head and she crosses it over her shoulders.

My hair is to the middle of my back and I wear a lace “infinity veil” which covers most of my hair.

I wear it to help me stay focused on the Mass and it is partly cultural because I am Hispanic.
 
sealabeag said:
Not to derail the thread OP, but could someone explain the idea behind wearing a veil to me?
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The old canon law of 1917 had the following but it was removed in the current canon law:
1. It is desirable that, consistent with ancient discipline, women be separated from men in church.
2. Men, in a church or outside a church, while they are assisting at sacred rites, shall be bare-headed, unless the approved mores of the people or peculiar circumstances of things determine otherwise; women, however, shall have a covered head and be modestly dressed, especially when they approach the table of the Lord.
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CDF document Inter Insigniores (1976) stated:
It must be noted that these ordinances, probably inspired by the customs of the period, concern scarcely more than disciplinary practices of minor importance, such as the obligation imposed upon women to wear a veil on their head (1 Cor. 11:2-16); such requirements no longer have a normative value.
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http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/c...cfaith_doc_19761015_inter-insigniores_en.html
 
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There’s no rule. You can wear a little doily, cap or pillbox hat on top of your head, or you can wear a full veil/ hijab, or anything in between that you like.

Head covering is more about the intent of why you’re doing it than what kind of a head covering you choose, assuming it’s appropriate for church and not so huge or way-out as to be a distraction to others worshipping.

In past centuries, women would often wear whatever type of head covering they normally wore to leave their home on a daily basis, which could be anything from a bonnet to a shawl to a kerchief to a fashionable little hat.
 
sallybutler said:
When I was a kid, my mom would bobby clip a small Kleenex (from one of those little portable Kleenex containers that Mom’s are required to carry) to the top of my head if I forgot my lacy head scarf
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Yeah, my mom said that in her day, women who were going into church and didn’t happen to have a scarf or veil or hat would grab a paper napkin from a coffee shop and put it on their head.
 
@LumineDiei I’m sorry to see you deleted your post in reply to my question about the veil, I thought it was a good post and very helpful.

As regards the concept of the celebration of the Eucharist as a marriage feast, that kind of language is perfectly acceptable, theologically, and the kind of language I’ve heard used before. For example from Revelation: “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”, could well be interpreted as being about the Mass. And if we wanted to use spousal language, since the Church is the bride of Christ, in some ways he consummated his relationship with the Church by his death on the cross, and the Eucharist is a re-presentation of that act.

It’s not an either or - sacrifice or wedding feast - it can be, and is, both.
 
MaryTherese1 said:
Are women’s head coverings supposed to cover the full length of a woman’s hair?
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There is no rule as to length, (nor was there in the 1917 Code) unless or until you come across someone who has an “opinion” and believes themselves an authority on the matter and free to tell others “how it is”.

Hopefully you will not (or have not) come across such busy bodies.
 
I concede that it is possible for it to be both. I am not big on emphasizing the “feast” aspects of Mass (despite the line about “Blessed are those who are called to the supper of the Lamb” which used to be “Happy are those who are called to His supper”) because to me it suggests all the “community meal” emphasis that I grew up with post-Vatican II, where the sacrificial aspects were pretty much non-existent and no one ever heard about or understood them. So I reckon I had a knee-jerk response.

I would say more to this point, but it seems like the original post to which I responded has been deleted for some reason (IDK why as I did not flag that post), so I’ll just leave it at that.
 
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It’s all about covering you head, not your hair.

Mantillas aren’t required by the way if you desire to wear headcovering.

You can wear a hat or a scarf if you want.

It’s usually Hispanic women that wear mantillas.
 
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I wear one because it is pretty & because it’s a unique garb to a unique place: the house of God. I may wear my Sunday dress to a date with my husband, but I only wear my mantilla to Mass. so it feels special. And it feels beautiful which seems appropriate to me when it comes to Church.

As for the length, it can be whatever length you want. I certainly don’t wear mine to hide my hair or anything. Maybe if that’s your goal you would want to cover your hair, but not me. You could wear a hat.

Bottom line: mantillas are optional and there are no rules!
 
Or people who live in parts of the country originally settled by Spain (California comes to mind) or people from countries that had a huge Spanish (as in that European country) influence.
 
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