opinions please

[AngelEyes4Jesus]

A few years ago I felt called to cover my head. I wore a large hankerchef type thing and tied it under my chin. I had started doing this because I felt God had placed in my heart that He wanted me to do thsi to show my devoion to HIm. I found after doing this that it acted like a ‘beacon’ and everyone and their brother was asking me why I ‘covered’. The constant Q’s and ridicule by many became too much and I stopped covering.

Shortly after I stopped covering I began to feel guiilty and couldnt stop thinking about it. I chose to ignore it. whenever I saw someone covering their head (rarely) I would feel a sense of loss and sadness.

This week, the idea of covering crept back in my head. I hadnt said anything to my husband when he approached me last night and said he wondered if I should start covering again. I began to think on this last night and realized that even though I felt God asked me to cover, I chose not to. About 6 months after I stopped covering my husbands busines went bankrupt, we lost the home we were living in, amongst many other things. This got me wondering, if my refusal to show my devotion the way God had asked me to led to the ‘fall’ of our lively hood etc. I wonder to myself, if i cover now will God restore us to where we were? My husband woke up this AM w the same questions I had regarding this sayign soemthing along the lines of…I wonder if we lost everything d/t ur disobedience. wdyt?

 

[Chantal25]

It seems to be a priest question.

Your story remind me of the story of Jonas that decided to ignore his calling. As you know while in the boat, the sea got agitated and only calm down when Jonas went in the sea and swallowed by the whale.

Anyway, first seek a priest to be able to discern if this is from God.

Pray God for guidance, personally we aren’t require to cover and i don’t. If you want to do this for God out of love, then do it.

The only glint that i see in your story is your intention. You valued the good opinion of others versus what God may feel about you.

So again, it is a good idea to see a priest and make peace with this.

You are the one to know the answer and if you feel that it makes God happy, then you shouldn’t worry about what others think.

Blessings and love!

 

[Joe_5859]

I think this is a quetion best posed to a priest under spiritual direction.

For what it’s worth, I don’t think for a moment that God would “punish” you and your husband for you not covering your head. Whether or not he might restore those things in light of an act of faith on your part – that is a question I would defer to a competent spiritual director for an answer to it.

 

[starryheart]

I know how you feel… in the church I attend weekly most women wear chapel veils and I wear mine without thought. It’s only when I go elsewhere that I’m tempted to ditch my veil. Knowing that I’m doing it for God helps me. It’s not a fashion statement, but rather for God. I hope that helps. Plus it’s in the Bible too. It’s not necessary to cover my hair, but I do it anyways. Sometimes feel self conscious, but I let it go.

 

[Aelred_Minor]

As far as a single man can have opinions on women’s issues, I am all for head covering. I think it is a beautiful and modest custom, of such antiquity and with such a strong and explicit Biblical mandate that its decline was one of the chief events of the twentieth century.

That said the Church has ruled it a changeable cultural matter, and has accordingly changed it to fit a sudden cultural fad. It is therefore not for us to say that women not covering their heads in mass is in any way wrong.

It seems like your fears on this subject are disproportunate and possibly superstitious, and like your husband is making a mistake or doing you an injustice by deflecting blame for your family’s financial problems from his business to your choices of dress.

I would encourage talking to a good priest about it if one is available to you.

You also might want to resume covering your head in mass, not out of superstition but in order to assert your own control over the subject and to be consistent with what you clearly inwardly would prefer. This doesn’t have to be with a chapel veil or handkerchief. Hats are just fine and quite “traditional” in many countries including the United States.

 

[Carolus_Martell]

Around here I’m starting to see younger girls wearing a lace head covering in church too and I think it’s awesome. But not worn like an east European kerchief…worn differently.

Back in the 50’s kerchiefs for daily mass was common practice. Ladies would all wear hats on Sundays.

Occasionally priests would sermonize against Church becoming more of a fashion show … all hats and little adoration and all.

…those were the days.

There in nothing wrong about you wearing a head covering. imo it shows respect, after all, we’re in the actual presence of God.

 

[PaulfromIowa]

We are all doubtless guilty of many sins of omission in falling short of our calling as Christians. I think that it is wrong to suspect that God would punish you over such a relatively trivial matter as head coverings. In the grand scheme of eternity, there are so many thousands of things much more important.

 

[WaitingForJesus]

I don’t think God would punish you for something like this. I like the idea to discuss it with the priest if you having difficulty with a decision. Obedience, even in small matters, is important. Given what you have said, I do think you would have more peace if you were to cover.

I wear a headcovering myself, but only when I am in adoration. I am one of the last women you would expect to do this. But, I just started to feel like I needed to when I was so close to HIM. It ate at me for months, and I finally gave in. I don’t cover during mass because I have never got that feeling there, but I would if I did.