Veiling challenge

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somecanadian said:
I have always found it odd that they choose something that so obviously makes them a point of interest. Why mantilla veils specifically in a culture where mantilla veils weren’t necessarily the norm? From what I understand hats were.
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Agreed. Veils are beautiful. When I was a bride, I wore a long, lovely veil adorned with bits of floral patterned lace. I see mantillas and chapel veils which are equally adorned and I find it hard to believe that one wears such a beautiful veil as a sign of modesty and humility.
 
I have many friends who remember well the days when covering one’s head was mandated.
Not one of them has fond memories of the practice or was ever instructed to them that is was anything but a “rule of the Church.” There was no “spirituality” involved, one did what one was told.

Some young women were “shamed” by having to wear crumpled napkins or tissues on their head if they forgot their chapel veil. I have heard stories form one woman who was raised in an orphanage, who was bullied because she only had a tattered shawl to cover with, but it was also the only thing she had that had belonged to her mother. One day, one of the sisters felt she was being disrespectful, because of the condition of her head covering, tore it off of her and threw it in the garbage.

I understand that some women, especially young woman, who were never mandated to cover, might want to now and even see it as a spiritual thing. That’s fine, and I am happy for you.

However, there are many in the thread who do not want to take even a minute to look at the other side. I am far from liberal, and I don’t cover and probably never will. I don’t discount the experiences of women though, who have very bad memories of when covering was mandated.
 
The veils are stunning and make the women look so much more beautiful. I honestly can’t help but stare.

Then I wonder: THIS is a sign of humility? Something that enhances beauty and makes it stand out even more?
 
MagdalenaRita said:
I remember very clearly when we stopped wearing veils and since it is such a sore spot with feminists many in the Church have never addressed it, until recently as the practice is returning.
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I hate them (hats are fine), and I’m far from a feminist.

Bridal veils are fine. That is customary here.
 
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I think you are going to find as the practice grows, and it is, it will no longer be something that is odd or different to see and hopefully you will not find it disgusting.

And you’re right, women do not do it to call attention to themselves. Some women find it extremely hard to cover their heads at Mass. They do it because, as you said, of the Eucharist. Even though, yes the Holy Spirit, lives in each of us, when we are in the presence of the Eucharist, we are in the presence of the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ. His very presence, at Calvary. That is a different type of presence.

People do not realize anymore, the Sanctuary is the Holy of Holies for us. We are in a sacred place, when we are inside a Catholic church
 
Maybe it should be a thing to wear an unsightly or unbecoming headscarf, and that could also be a form of penance (to make oneself look worse on purpose).
 
MagdalenaRita said:
I think you are going to find as the practice grows, and it is, it will no longer be something that is odd or different to see and hopefully you will not find it disgusting.
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I will always find it disgusting, and I do not think it will grow.

And no matter what the reason, the women have to know it does put the focus on them. It’s not a sign of humility. A hat would be fine.
 
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A woman wearing a veil is not the controversy here.

It is obedience to spiritual authority which is.

This reminds of a story of St. Faustian who in spite of her spiritual director forbidding her a certain physical mortification decided to go ahead and do it anyway. After all this should be pleasing to Jesus right? She was wrong. Jesus came and reprimanded her on her disobedience.

The priest is not forbidding her to wear the veil as a parishioner but only as a choir director.

Also people who are for obedience to the priest are not also endorsing scandalous clothes in the pews as some posters seem to think. Where is this coming from?
 
ConstantLearner said:
I find the practice hideous and disgusting
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“Hideous and disgusting”? Wow, that just seems like a disproportionately strong reaction. I could see “kinda weird” or “not for me,” but hideous and disgusting?

All these negative reactions I see to wearing a veil or headcovering to Mass now make me feel super self-conscious about doing it. Before, I naively assumed that probably no one much noticed or cared one way or another.
 
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I think there’s a space between unslightly and unbecoming and fabulously and beautifully adorned lace. Haha.
 
I was around during the days of veiling, as was my mother and neither of us hated it nor do I have terrible memories of it. We both quit wearing them during the 1970’s when it was encouraged by feminists to go against Church ruling. My mother did not returned to the practice, as I have recently, but when she passed away and I was going through her things I found her precious veil, kept neatly folded and treasured in a special place with all her devotionals. She never threw it away or burned it as was encouraged at that time.

And I do not remember one school girl being shamed, bullied or complaining about veiling. If someone didn’t have one, they had some in the Church office or school office we could wear.
 
EnglishTeacher said:
“Hideous and disgusting”? Wow, that just seems like a disproportionately strong reaction.
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That’s how much I hate the lace mantillas. Not hats, though. Mantillas call attention to the woman the same as if I wore one of those British fascinators with huge, plumy feathers.
 
Just because you don’t remember these things, doesn’t mean they didn’t happen.
 
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Lace mantillas are more of a Spanish/Latin American thing.

Not being of Spanish or Latin American background I don’t see why I should wear a mantilla.

I mean head scarves, hats will also do.
 
Just as just because some women had poor experiences, doesn’t mean they all did.
 
ConstantLearner said:
Mantillas call attention to the woman the same as if I wore one of those British fascinators with huge, plumy feathers.
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A big fancy one or a bright one, sure. But a small plain one in a dark or neutral color? I guess I just don’t see that. But we all have different ways of viewing things, I guess.
 
No one still cares.

Don’t worry and wear it if you want.

I sometimes wear a head scarf the same color as my hair to make it discreet but I don’t wear a veil or a mantilla. No one cared.
 
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It is hard to realize that there are people at Mass feeling such horrible feelings toward someone just because they are wearing a headcovering.

For me, it makes me want to encourage it all the more, not to cause hard feelings but because I am realizing how much people do not understand why women cover and also because something must be going on that is causing such feelings in people when they see people trying to show respect in the Church. It makes me wonder what could be going on that causes people to hate something that is meant to show respect for the holiness of the Sanctuary.
 
There will always be those who had bad experiences with something here or there but that doesn’t make the devotion bad.
 
I never said they did.
My issue is that those experiences seem to get discounted.
I do not know one woman who was mandated to cover who covers now or has any desire to.

I have no problem with women who want to cover, but I also think it is being “romanticised” and being made into something it never really was.
 
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