position on veiling???

[Saints_Alive]

St Paul…

Any man who prays or prophesies with his head covered brings shame upon his head. But any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled brings shame upon her head, for it is one and the same thing as if she had had her head shaved. For if a woman does not have her head veiled, she may as well have her hair cut off. But if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should wear a veil.
1 Cor. 11:4-6

 

[Filii_Dei]

Veiling is a good practice, but it needs to be done in good taste as well. A proper veil or headscarf is necessary. Simply throwing a kerchief or napkin on your head doesn’t really help. Anyway, I find dressing modestly generally is more important than the veil itself. I have no issue with people not bringing a veil. I would just wish more Catholics male and female alike would dress more seriously in the place of God.

Also, some girls might prefer headscarves as an alternative, which is especially useful for young girls or anyone else who thinks that veils might be a bit too hard to keep on on their head. They’re also popular amongst the younger generation as a way to dress fashionably but modestly.

 

[Megan7]

St Paul…

Any man who prays or prophesies with his head covered brings shame upon his head. But any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled brings shame upon her head, for it is one and the same thing as if she had had her head shaved. For if a woman does not have her head veiled, she may as well have her hair cut off. But if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should wear a veil.
1 Cor. 11:4-6

God bless.

 

[CB_Catholic]

St Paul…

Any man who prays or prophesies with his head covered brings shame upon his head. But any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled brings shame upon her head, for it is one and the same thing as if she had had her head shaved. For if a woman does not have her head veiled, she may as well have her hair cut off. But if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should wear a veil.
1 Cor. 11:4-6

The Church does not require a headcovering. Are you trying to say the Church is wrong in not requiring a headcovering and in their interpretation of this scriptural passage? One should not self-interpret and try to bind others to their personal belief when the Church has spoken otherwise.

Here is a very good discussion about this from the EWTN website:

ewtn.com/expert/answers/head_coverings_in_church.htm

Covering is a personal decision and people should not be judging a woman who decides either to cover or not to cover. It is up to them.

 

[Philomena123]

Also, I had a question, I hear different things about when to wear them. Some say only during the consecration and while receiving communion. Others say anytime in a church where the blessed sacrament is present. I personally lean toward the latter, but does that mean when you are anywhere in the church building or just when you enter the sanctuary. The latter seems to make more sense to me, but I don’t want to be disrespectful. I just don’t see it being the same if I am attending a RCIA meeting, a CCW meeting, or meeting with the Deacon, or eating in the kitchen during an event. It just seems to make sense to don it when entering the sanctuary…thoughts?

Hi, here’s a little something I wrote on the subject. I think it makes sense to wear your head covering anytime you’re before the Blessed Sacrament.

veilnation.blogspot.com.au/p/how-to-wear-your-chapel-veil.html

 

[Phemie]

Those I know, just wear it during Mass. The 1917 canon law is a bit unclear:

I interpret that as “During any rite during which a sacrament is administered. E.g., Mass, confession. But at least during Mass.”

I grew up under that Code and we had to cover our heads, even as little girls, whenever we stepped into a church, whether to go to Mass, to Confession or simply to visit one as tourists (as we often did on holidays and at Christmas to see the Nativity scenes). Mind you, in North America mantillas didn’t become popular until the early to mid 60s, after Jackie Kennedy wore one to meet the Pope, and the word ‘veiling’ would have elicited We simply “covered our heads” with whatever was available: hat, tam, bandana, kerchief, Kleenex, etc.

 

[SMHW]

I grew up under that Code and we had to cover our heads, even as little girls, whenever we stepped into a church, whether to go to Mass, to Confession or simply to visit one as tourists (as we often did on holidays and at Christmas to see the Nativity scenes).

Yes. Covering the head was required for women for entering a church. You might have been OK entering the vestibule without so long as it was a quick 5 minute trip. Maybe.

Mind you, in North America mantillas didn’t become popular until the early to mid 60s, after Jackie Kennedy wore one to meet the Pope, and the word ‘veiling’ would have elicited We simply “covered our heads” with whatever was available: hat, tam, bandana, kerchief, Kleenex, etc.

Yes.

Covering the head — very ***OLD ***practice for North American women.

Veiling — Relatively MODERN concept (as in not traditional) for North American women.

 

[Honour]

Covering the head — very ***OLD ***practice for North American women.

Veiling — Relatively MODERN concept (as in not traditional) for North American women.

It’s just terminology, I don’t see what is wrong with using the term “veil” as a verb.

 

[Phemie]

It’s just terminology, I don’t see what is wrong with using the term “veil” as a verb.

Because we weren’t required to ‘veil’, we were required to cover our heads. Veiling has a totally different connotation. Jackie Kennedy wore a pillbox hat and suddenly all women were wearing them. She wore a mantilla to the Vatican and suddenly mantillas were in style. Nobody wearing them thought of themselves as ‘veiling’, we were still covering our heads but doing it with something that was fashionable, easy to slip in a purse and looked better than Kleenex.

In the last decade or so the mantilla seems to have taken on a mystique &/or holiness that it never had before.

 

[Honour]

Because we weren’t required to ‘veil’, we were required to cover our heads. Veiling has a totally different connotation. Jackie Kennedy wore a pillbox hat and suddenly all women were wearing them. She wore a mantilla to the Vatican and suddenly mantillas were in style. Nobody wearing them thought of themselves as ‘veiling’, we were still covering our heads but doing it with something that was fashionable, easy to slip in a purse and looked better than Kleenex.

In the last decade or so the mantilla seems to have taken on a mystique &/or holiness that it never had before.

Veiling refers to all forms of covering your head, not just mantillas. Veils, scarves, hats, bandanas, kerchiefs, even headbands are referenced on sites and forums where people talk about “veiling”. I just don’t understand the negativity some express towards it. Yes, being a personal devotion instead of a requirement makes it different, but the essence is the same.

 

[dixieagle]

Because we weren’t required to ‘veil’, we were required to cover our heads. Veiling has a totally different connotation. Jackie Kennedy wore a pillbox hat and suddenly all women were wearing them. She wore a mantilla to the Vatican and suddenly mantillas were in style. Nobody wearing them thought of themselves as ‘veiling’, we were still covering our heads but doing it with something that was fashionable, easy to slip in a purse and looked better than Kleenex.

In the last decade or so the mantilla seems to have taken on a mystique &/or holiness that it never had before.

I grew up at the time when head coverings were required; the only women who wore mantillas or “veils” were elderly Italian ladies in my parish. We wore hats appropriate to the season, school beanies when we went to Mass as a class/school, or a little round chapel veil if we had nothing else. Easter bonnets were quite the thing!

I agree that there seems to be a recent “mystique” about mantillas or veils that is quite strange to me, and that does not grow out of any actual Church teaching. Covering one’s head as a devotional practice is admirable, though not required, but veils don’t possess any mystical quality that makes them superior to a simple scarf or hat.

 

[CB_Catholic]

Because we weren’t required to ‘veil’, we were required to cover our heads. Veiling has a totally different connotation. Jackie Kennedy wore a pillbox hat and suddenly all women were wearing them. She wore a mantilla to the Vatican and suddenly mantillas were in style. Nobody wearing them thought of themselves as ‘veiling’, we were still covering our heads but doing it with something that was fashionable, easy to slip in a purse and looked better than Kleenex.

In the last decade or so the mantilla seems to have taken on a mystique &/or holiness that it never had before.

I have to agree with this. I might get flamed for this, but 50 years ago nobody ever claimed to be called by God to wear a veil, except for those entering religious life. I do not understand where this is coming from. But each to her own. I am not going to criticize anyone who does or who feels that way. That is between them and God. It’s just that this is a new, not a traditional practice in this country, as people claim. They are attaching an importance to the veil it never had. Plain and simple, we wore hats or scarves, and even a kleenex if necessary. I just think the truth should be told in the matter so women who do not cover their heads aren’t made to feel they aren’t being as holy as the others.

 

[dixieagle]

Veiling refers to all forms of covering your head, not just mantillas. Veils, scarves, hats, bandanas, kerchiefs, even headbands are referenced on sites and forums where people talk about “veiling”. I just don’t understand the negativity some express towards it. Yes, being a personal devotion instead of a requirement makes it different, but the essence is the same.

Perhaps the “negativity” you perceive is due the fact that, today, “veiling” is often associated with other cultures that are considered repressive of women. People sometimes regard the covering of women’s heads as reflective of this, rather than as a personal, reverent devotion that grew out of a longstanding requirement and practice.

When covering one’s head was actually required of Catholic women, it was not referred to as “veiling”; this seems a recent construct.

 

[CB_Catholic]

Perhaps the “negativity” you perceive is due the fact that, today, “veiling” is often associated with other cultures that are considered repressive of women. People sometimes regard the covering of women’s heads as reflective of this, rather than as a personal, reverent devotion that grew out of a longstanding requirement and practice.

When covering one’s head was actually required of Catholic women, it was not referred to as “veiling”; this seems a recent construct.

I believe the term was only used in convents when a woman received her veil at her profession. It has never referred to hats, scarves, etc. until recently, but to tell the truth, most of the time it still refers to a mantilla or veil, not hat or scarf.

I think you are right about the “negativity” and perceived repression of women. In our own Church I think sometimes women also see the use of mantillas as returning to a time when women were not able to serve in the Church as they do today, so that is to some a form of repression. Also, some may feel as if they are not as “holy” as those who wear a veil, and in an insecure person, that can provoke a negative reaction.

 

[SMHW]

I grew up at the time when head coverings were required; the only women who wore mantillas or “veils” were elderly Italian ladies in my parish. We wore hats appropriate to the season, school beanies when we went to Mass as a class/school, or a little round chapel veil if we had nothing else. Easter bonnets were quite the thing!

Exactly. Veils tended to have a cultural connotation. When we wore chapel veils they really were small too. The so called chapel veils I see for sale on line today are HUGE compared to what we wore.

I agree that there seems to be a recent “mystique” about mantillas or veils that is quite strange to me, and that does not grow out of any actual Church teaching. Covering one’s head as a devotional practice is admirable, though not required, but veils don’t possess any mystical quality that makes them superior to a simple scarf or hat.

I don’t get the mystique about veils either.

I have no problem with women wanting to wear veils. I might wear one if I attend the OF although I would be more likely to wear a beret. But the term “veiling” to refer to a head covering is kind of weird.

 

[SMHW]

Veiling refers to all forms of covering your head, not just mantillas. Veils, scarves, hats, bandanas, kerchiefs, even headbands are referenced on sites and forums where people talk about “veiling”. I just don’t understand the negativity some express towards it. Yes, being a personal devotion instead of a requirement makes it different, but the essence is the same.

We don’t say Jewish men are veiling when they wear a yarmulke to synagogue.

Why would we say that of a woman at Mass? I don’t get it. The chapel veils women often wore when I was young covered about as much of our heads as a yarmulke does.

 

[felsguy]

Talk about deja vu all over again…here’s a post of mine from a thread back in October, 2010. (By the way, I don’t think it was appreciated back then either)

Re: Question RE: Veiling

---

Hoping that this does not come across as offensive, insensitive, or hostile, it continues to amaze me that this topic comes up so frequently and with such controversy. If a woman wishes/chooses to wear something (veil, hat, scarf, whatever) on her head while attending Mass, why such anxiety and/or consternation?

At our Sunday parish Mass with about 800 people in attendance, you will see several hats and a few veils (although scarves are a rarity). I’ve never even heard it commented on except for a friend of mine who gets teased good naturedly because her hats tend be large and extravagant. Even so, I doubt that anyone thinks she is trying to be “holier-than-thou.”

I am somewhat puzzled why the practice frequently is referred to here as “veiling” and even more so by the occasional references to “being called by God to veil.” To me this hints of viewing it as some kind of formal religious practice rather than as simply a way of showing honor and respect.

For example, I usually wear a tie at Sunday Mass except during the summer. Not more than a dozen other men do so. I choose to do it because I wear one at work every day and Mass is certainly no less important. However, I don’t think this makes me more proper than anyone else, I don’t worry that others do or do not wear them, and I’ve never thought of it as “tieing” or a “calling.”

.

 

[maryjk]

Exactly. Veils tended to have a cultural connotation. When we wore chapel veils they really were small too. The so called chapel veils I see for sale on line today are HUGE compared to what we wore.

I remember them looking like a doilies. Maybe 7 - 8 inches across and they sat on top of your head.

I don’t get the mystique about veils either.

Me either.

I have no problem with women wanting to wear veils. I might wear one if I attend the OF although I would be more likely to wear a beret. But the term “veiling” to refer to a head covering is kind of weird.

I have tried some on. I look absolutely ridiculous. If I ever need to wear a covering, it will be a hat. (Although honestly they don’t look great either.)

 

[SMHW]

For example, I usually wear a tie at Sunday Mass except during the summer. Not more than a dozen other men do so. I choose to do it because I wear one at work every day and Mass is certainly no less important. However, I don’t think this makes me more proper than anyone else, I don’t worry that others do or do not wear them, and I’ve never thought of it as “tieing” or a “calling.”
.

Yes!!! Perhaps more men should feel the call to practice “tieing”.

 

[SMHW]

I remember them looking like a doilies. Maybe 7 - 8 inches across and they sat on top of your head.

Yeah. Usually held in place with a bobby pin or two.