Is The Chapel Veil Coming Back?

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Sarabande said:
My apologies if the term offends you. I can understand how you take it to have a connotation of Islamic idealogy. Interesting how words can be construed in many different ways.

Actually “veiling” was used as a term for becoming a nun. I remember reading it in books and it’s probably where I got the term. (I used to use the word “nunnery” as a kid because I read it in old Victorian novels and Shakespearean plays, until people started laughing at me and told me not to use that term anymore.) So, most definitely does it have different meanings. Right now, it may perhaps have an additional connotation of covering everything such as in Muslim faith, but it was not always referred to as that. But it’s all semantics. But again, I apologize for it offending your sensibilities, though. God bless.
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I accept your apologies. However I have relatives who are nuns and we never and they never said they were “veiled” or “veiling” they said they had “accepted” a veil, which meant in those days the “receiving of the habit” in the order they joined.

I have nothing against wearing a headcovering for those who wish and in fact wore one myself for years. However I have been following with interest this whole new idea being promoted on the web the past few years and I have found that the terminology “veiling” has been coming from certain sites, mainly SSPX and certain ultra-traditionalist sites. They wish to start a ‘movement’ in this direction hoping that this will ‘catch on’ and return the Church to the way it was before the introduction of the NO.

One big problem I see with this is their usage of certain scriptures, notably St Paul, to justifiy their return to wearing a headcovering, and although their sites seems VERY Catholic, they are in fact using a very protestant means (sola scriptura) to justify their need for a return to a headcovering.

If the Church, in her wisdom, has seen fit to no longer require for women to wear a headcovering, than our own “private interpretation” of scripture does not counter the teaching of the Church. So this justification is not in fact a rational justification for the practice.

A true understanding of St Paul would clearly show that he was requiring women to show modesty and reverence as was the custom of the day…that is having one’s head covered.

My concern is that so many falling for the information posted on these aberrant sites are those who are either converts or reverts who do not grasp that it is not the outward appearance that indicated piety but the inward development of the virtues. Better to spend time cultivating humilitiy and modesty rather than worry about following someone else’s agenda as to what makes one a “devoted catholic.”

I wonder how many women would even bother with this topic if they had not been influenced by these sites and groups.

Ask yourself what really led you to all of the sudden decide that you wanted to “veil”.? I think in most cases, you will find you were very subtly influenced in this direction. It certainly wasn’t a “call from God” who would not call you to to something the Church has not required.
 
My decision was through study of Holy Scripture in Bible Study classes in my parish and the writings of Archbishop Fulton Sheen and studying of Theology of the Body, the teachings of John Paul II. Some of us women from my parish decided to buy some veils and start wearing them. Some of the women decided to wear a simple hat and others decided to wear a veil. Some bought a few extra veils for anyone who wanted them. EWTN also had some influence seeing that other women across the country were also doing likewise. I don’t go for any websites that are not loyal to the Holy Father and the Magisterium. God can call us to things that the Church does not require. He did me. If my Pastor or Bishop, or the Holy Father said not to wear a headcovering I would obey. Those in authority don’t seem to mind.
 
I would like to add that Pope Benedict XVI Motu Proprio is what filled me with a desire to go to the traditional latin Mass, and my Bishop provided a new Pastor that volunteered to offer it on Sundays in addition to his other Masses. When I decided to wear a chapel veil to the traditional latin Mass, I decided that because the NO is the same Mass as the Extraordinary Mass, just a different form, I would wear a headcovering to both. Pope Benedict stressed that there is only one Mass, just different forms. I actually think that if it wasn’t for Pope Benedict XVI bringing back the traditional latin Mass, and praying about it all, I wouldn’t have come to this decision.
 
jrabs said:
Possibly I read this wrong? How can a veil make any kind of testament to the Real Presence? The veil does not = the belief.

Is that to say women who do not veil do not have reverence and do not believe in the Eucharist is the Real Presence of Jesus?

Because my parish is filled with devout woman at daily mass and adoration and none are veiled yet I absolutely know they believe this.

I don’t think the veil will make a come back unless the Holy Father mandates it.
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My sentiments exactly. There won’t be one on this head until the big guy says there must be. I went to Mass in grade school wearing the little round chapel veils, a beanie, a handkerchief and once a nun slapped a large leaf on my head because I didn’t have my beanie. Kind took the value out of the whole thing for me.
 
byers said:
I, too, wore chapel veils and lace mantillas, but it was not the norm, although it was not infrequent. Just as many wore scarves and hats.
I’m sorry but “veiling” is a new terminology, NEVER before used by Catholic women, and it offends my catholic sensibilities. Even on her wedding day women would not say they were “veiling”…they would say they are wearing a veil. “Veiling” has a greater connotation than just wearing a headcovering. Muslims use it often and it meaning is, I assure you, not just wearing a headcovering.
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I don’t like the term either, basically for the same reasons.
 
beckers said:
I am shocked we have gotten this many replies on this thread. Normally they get shut down pretty fast. Maybe we have all learned to play nicely in the sandbox?

I do find it odd that so many people are so against Headcoverings. It’s not like us women are forcing it on you. We don’t stand in the back of chruch passing out and demanding that you wear a covering. We also don’t think of ourselves as more holy or better than any other person simply because we cover. We are sinners who are trying are hardest to simple recognize our position as women in the church and trying are hardest to submit to God’s will. Why are you trying so hard to push us down? Why do you have to demean us and call us selfish or attention grabbers? Why can’t you support us?

Who is doing that? I didn’t see anyone demean you, call you selfish or an attention grabber. You want to wear a veil, wear one. I just don’t want to wear one myself.

Headcoverings are making a comeback. I live in Houston and i can name tons of women who wear them at NO masses and right now i am involved in a discussion with about 10 or 15 women in the 20’s who are thinking about wearing them. They feel the calling to wear a headcovering in Jesus’s presence but they are all being held back by one thing. They feel that they would draw too much attention to themselves in church if they were the only one’s covering their heads.

Maybe if they started out wearing a little round chapel veil in whichever color is closer to their own haircolor, then gradually move to the mantilla, it wouldn’t cause much attention. If I wore a black one on my dark brown hair, no one would even know it’s there. The ones that are red with gold edging or black with silver edging (maybe they don’t even make those anymore, but I remember them from my youth) would stick out anywhere unless you were an extra in Carmen.

It’s hard to describe how it feels to wear a covering and how it really does help during mass. I stay so much more focused. I am constantly reminded of submitting to God and by it’s very nature it takes away distraction. I don’t think it’s as distracting or as an attention grabber as people think. Take Christmas day mass. I was the only one in the church wear a veil. When i turned behind me for the Sign of Peace i recognized a friend that was sitting behind me. He didn’t even know it was me. The veil helped make me invisible in a sense to others. I bet there are lots of women that if they saw more women wearing a headcovering would do it themselves. Maybe that why God has chosen some of us to be the first wave of head covers.

I always worried about it falling off, or hanging to one side attached only by the bobbi pin. I found it distracting to wear.

Why veils? For me it’s a preference. Do you know how hard it is to find a hat? Plus my generation didn’t grow up wearing them. I have no idea how to wear them correctly. Do you wear them to the side or straight forward? Do they tend to move a lot? Do they fall off easily? A veil is just very easy to carry. You can keep it in your purse or car so when you pop into daily mass or go to adoration that you have it with you.

To wear a covering was not a decision anyone women comes to easily. For me it was something that was in my heart for awhile and after about a year I asked a friend who went to a TLM mass if she knew were I could buy one. She opened her trunk and gave me a black veil. I kept it for a few weeks without wearing it but it kept looking at me. I finally wore to a daily mass. I was so nervous but I had a good friend who wore one that went with me. That following Sunday I didn’t wear it and I can’t tell you how I felt. I felt naked in front of the Lord. I felt like I was being a disobedient child. He had put something in my heart and I was disobey his calling. I’ve worn it ever since.
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Good for you. That wasn’t in any way meant sarcastically. I’m glad you find some value wearing your veil. I just don’t want anyone to try to force one on me.
 
Mrs_Mac said:
I would have a lot of difficulties with it if it became common practice because I believe that as a redeemed child of God, I have nothing to be ashamed of.
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What does being ashamed have to do with anything. Wearing a head covering is not a sign of shame, rather it is a sign of reverence.
 
byers said:
Cannot speak for 2 of the sites, but catholicplanet is not a reliable site and is not in line with the magisterium. It is run by ron conte who has a bs in theology and who gives “his own personal opinions” on many topics. I certainly wouldn’t base any opinions on what you find there.
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Well thank you for letting me know about the status of the sites. I happened to do a google search and came up with these sites.

For me it wasn’t anything that i learned from any site or reading anything but from watching and pondering during mass over the years. It was werid because about 2 years ago i made a comment that I would never wear a covering and that no one could force me to wear one because I shouldn’t be treated differently then a man in god’s prescence.

Over the last year and half my life has been transformed in many different ways.It was like the blinders slowly came off. I have learned the beauty of being a women. I’ve learned that men and women are different and that is okay. Covering myself at mass/adoration is just one of the steps in my journey. I’ve also picked up the rosary and adoration and am throwing off habits that keep me from being truly one with God. I realize that my journey is not just for this short haul or something that suddenly you have done all the right steps and have completed the program. I realize that i am like a flower and God will for the rest of my life continue to purne me.

One reason i love about being Catholic is the church realzies that not everyone learns or pratices their faith in the same way. That is why there are so many different forms of prayer, medition, rosary, different saints lives to study, different masses, some audio (like chants) or written works… etc…there is something for everyone to help there faith grow. Coverings are also one of those things that people can do. I never get into arguments about if it is still required by canon law for that is not my strong suit when it comes to my faith. I only get into the discussion when people assume that its not something we should be allowed to do or that we do it for attention or to make a statement about our holiness. It’s something beautiful not something to be looked at with scorn and destain.
 
daeve said:
Good for you. That wasn’t in any way meant sarcastically. I’m glad you find some value wearing your veil. I just don’t want anyone to try to force one on me.
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I don’t think you’ll ever have to worry about that happening again. Forcing women to veil sort of defeats the whole purpose of veiling. I’ve written more about that here.
 
Well, I’m going to throw a monkey wrench into this discussion.

I am a woman, and I think veils are sexy and seductive.

I’m not sure why. It’s probably society and cultural influence over the years.

This isn’t so weird. There are other examples of how things have different meanings to different people.
  1. From what I understand, the reason that liturgical dance is banned in the United States and not in other countries is that in the U.S., dance is associated with “sex,” something that isn’t true in the rest of the world.
  2. In other countries, many people drink alcohol at meals and around children, and they wouldn’t dream of driving drunk. But in the U.S., alcohol is generally not consumed at family meals (although I have heard on this board that this is becoming more common). And people in the U.S. drive drunk all the time, which is one reason why no one ever gets punished for it.
So sorry, everyone, but to me, a veil makes a woman look sexy, and so for me, this is a darn good reason NOT to wear one. My husband would never be able to concentrate on the Mass!
Another
 
Cat said:
So sorry, everyone, but to me, a veil makes a woman look sexy, and so for me, this is a darn good reason NOT to wear one. My husband would never be able to concentrate on the Mass!
Another
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Does he feel that way when he sees an image of Our Blessed Mother? Nuns? Mother Theresa? Middle Eastern women? Or is it just lace he has issues with? Sexualizing the practice of covering one’s head for Mass would be the same as a woman saying she gets turned on when she sees a priest in a cassock. It is a disordered perception of reality.

I’m sorry - but I’m not buying it. But I will pray for both of you.

~Liza
 
Cat said:
Well, I’m going to throw a monkey wrench into this discussion.

I am a woman, and I think veils are sexy and seductive.

I’m not sure why. It’s probably society and cultural influence over the years.

This isn’t so weird. There are other examples of how things have different meanings to different people.
  1. From what I understand, the reason that liturgical dance is banned in the United States and not in other countries is that in the U.S., dance is associated with “sex,” something that isn’t true in the rest of the world.
  2. In other countries, many people drink alcohol at meals and around children, and they wouldn’t dream of driving drunk. But in the U.S., alcohol is generally not consumed at family meals (although I have heard on this board that this is becoming more common). And people in the U.S. drive drunk all the time, which is one reason why no one ever gets punished for it.
So sorry, everyone, but to me, a veil makes a woman look sexy, and so for me, this is a darn good reason NOT to wear one. My husband would never be able to concentrate on the Mass!
Another
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The world likes to take what is sacred, holy, or “Catholic” and profane it. Some think Catholic school girl’s uniforms are sexy, too. Some people find the idea of confessing sins as sexy. Hollywood is good at distorting this. Satan likes to take what is good and beautiful and is used to praise God and distort and attempt to profane it. It is the battle of Good vs Evil. We know who wins at the end. Fr. Corapi has a great DVD called The End Game (Unity, Truth, Good, Beauty Caught In the Crossfire Attack/Counter-Attack) where he addresses this.

www.fathercorapi.com
 
Cathryn said:
The world likes to take what is sacred, holy, or “Catholic” and profane it. Some think Catholic school girl’s uniforms are sexy, too. Some people find the idea of confessing sins as sexy. Hollywood is good at distorting this. Satan likes to take what is good and beautiful and is used to praise God and distort and attempt to profane it. It is the battle of Good vs Evil. We knows who wins at the end. Fr. Corapi has a great DVD called The End Game where he addresses this.
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Sexy does not equal sinful.
 
I think this thread should stay on chapel veils. As Fulton Sheen has written we need to keep our eyes on what is up and not down.
 
I know in the traditionalist circles of the Orthodox the males beard is looked upon with the same thought as the womans veil. It’s just what is expected of us.
Is there such a practice in the west? If not is there a comparable practice?
 
As Joannm said veils were not common before Vatican II so I question the idea that chapel veils are coming back. Look at the photographs of Masses taken in the 1940’s or 1950’s or the pictures in children’s missals from that time. No woman would be wearing a veil except a bride, a nun, or a little girl making her first Holy Communion. However, we would never dream of entering a church without covering our heads, so we might have a little circle of lace in a plastic case in our purses for unplanned visits to the Blessed Sacrament. If we were desperate we would use a hankie or even a kleenex! On Sundays we always wore hats. As a teenager, I had lovely hats that matched the dresses and suits I wore to Mass on Sunday. (My mother, who sewed beautifully and made those dresses and suits that my sister and I wore, even took a millinery class so that she could make the matching hats!) My Italian grandmother, who was born in 1881, never wore a mantilla. To us they were only worn by Spanish or Mexican ladies. Jackie Kennedy wasn’t much for hats, (although in the many pictures taken of her going to Mass, she always had her head covered), and she was such a style setter that after the early 1960’s hat went out of style for every day wear. I do feel that it is a sign of respect for women to cover their heads in Church (as many posters have pointed out, some of them need to cover more of the rest of their bodies, too), and I often wear a hat to the NO Mass, especially if it is in the morning. When I attend the EF Mass, I always wear a mantilla, because it seems to be the sign of respect that means the most to people today.
 
Marysann said:
As Joannm said veils were not common before Vatican II so I question the idea that chapel veils are coming back. Look at the photographs of Masses taken in the 1940’s or 1950’s or the pictures in children’s missals from that time. No woman would be wearing a veil except a bride, a nun, or a little girl making her first Holy Communion. However, we would never dream of entering a church without covering our heads, so we might have a little circle of lace in a plastic case in our purses for unplanned visits to the Blessed Sacrament. If we were desperate we would use a hankie or even a kleenex! On Sundays we always wore hats. As a teenager, I had lovely hats that matched the dresses and suits I wore to Mass on Sunday. (My mother, who sewed beautifully and made those dresses and suits that my sister and I wore, even took a millinery class so that she could make the matching hats!) My Italian grandmother, who was born in 1881, never wore a mantilla. To us they were only worn by Spanish or Mexican ladies. Jackie Kennedy wasn’t much for hats, (although in the many pictures taken of her going to Mass, she always had her head covered), and she was such a style setter that after the early 1960’s hat went out of style for every day wear. I do feel that it is a sign of respect for women to cover their heads in Church (as many posters have pointed out, some of them need to cover more of the rest of their bodies, too), and I often wear a hat to the NO Mass, especially if it is in the morning. When I attend the EF Mass, I always wear a mantilla, because it seems to be the sign of respect that means the most to people today.
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Remembering the general simplicity of head covering from Pre Vat II the increased use of mantillas today does stand out as being showy.
 
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