Veils or Mantillas

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Hope1960

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I rarely see anyone at Mass wearing a veil or mantilla anymore. First off, what’s the difference between a veil and mantilla?

Secondly, today I went to Adoration in a different parish than mine and the woman who let me in wore a lace veil or mantilla.

I’ve thought that it would be nice to wear one to Mass except I’d REALLY stand out. Mass at my church, or at least the one I attend is VERY casual.

If I’d wear one during Adoration, what are women’s reasons for doing so?

To please Jesus?
To feel more feminine?
As a throwback to the 60’s.
Does it help one concentrate in prayer?
Something else?
 
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As Christ is veiled in the sacred ghost, women are the pinnacle of earth’s creatures. The original purpose was to emphasize that women are so beautiful and sacred that they should be veiled as christ is veiled behind bread. It is a symbol of the beauty and sacredness of the woman in Gods sight. Almost as if she is a bride or imitating the virgin Mary.
 
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Ask our Lady to obtain for you from her Divine Son the courage to wear a veil during mass! It’s a wonderful, traditional practice.
 
OP, you might be interested in the many threads that already exist. Use the search feature to find hours of reading.
 
Indeed. I don’t know what it is about this topic, but it’s almost guaranteed to get ugly very quickly.
 
SuscipeMeDomine said:
Indeed. I don’t know what it is about this topic, but it’s almost guaranteed to get ugly very quickly.
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It does tend to turn ugly quickly.

There are some who think that women MUST wear head coverings and then there are some who think head coverings are oppressive. Those two camps tend to argue amongst themselves and drown out the rest of us who feel women should feel free to do what they want with their heads for whatever reasons they choose.
 
Why on earth could this simple topic get out of control? And for that matter what’s the deal with the large number of threads turning into verbal wars?
 
My wife bought a veil for herself and her daughter, sadly they have yet to wear them as they would also be the only ones in our large parish to wear them, and she also feels she’d stand out too much.

It’s a beautiful tradition however, one that I wish was still popular.

Everything that is revered or holy deserves to be veiled, and women are definitely revered and holy in the Catholic Church. That’s my understanding anyways.
 
Doesn’t seem like since the boards changed, the fighting has gotten worse?
 
Hope1960 said:
First off, what’s the difference between a veil and mantilla?
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The difference between a veil and mantilla is usually style. A mantilla is a specific style of veil. It covers the top or rear of a woman’s hair (sometimes over a comb) and covers both her hair and her shoulders, but does not cover her face. It was used in Imperial Spain to also cover exposed skin around the neckline of dresses as a sign of respect when entering churches so that woman did not have to change into something more conservative when entering churches. It also was utilitarian to protect that exposed skin from the sun. So, all mantillas are veils, but not all veils are mantillas.

Mantilla:
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The last one is a little over the top for church… it would block the view of the altar.
Hope1960 said:
If I’d wear one during Adoration, what are women’s reasons for doing so?
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Sorry, I’m not really one who can answer that.
 
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Not really worse, per say. The moderators are quicker to catch the arguments, but some topics still seem to ruffle feathers more quickly than others. For some reason, veils are one of them.
 
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Hope1960 said:
I rarely see anyone at Mass wearing a veil or mantilla anymore. First off, what’s the difference between a veil and mantilla?
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All mantillas are veils, but not all veils are mantillas.

Even when women routinely covered their heads in church 50 years ago, they usually didn’t wear either, preferring hats instead, at least here in America
 
Hope1960 said:
what’s the difference between a veil and mantilla?
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It depends upon whom you ask and where you’re asking.

I live in France. Here, a mantilla is a lace head covering that leaves the face exposed. A veil is a piece of fabric that may be made of lace or a sheer fabric like silk organza and covers the entire head, including the face. Rarely seen today, the veil is generally worn by lay women only for funerals of close family members.

Personally, I wear a mantilla
  1. always during Adoration
  2. always at EF Mass
  3. always at the Good Friday liturgy, regardless of form
  4. sometimes at OF Mass
Wearing a mantilla reminds me of my “littleness” (in the St. Thérèse of Lisieux sense) and thus to be humble before God. As a bonus, it also keeps me from getting distracted by whatever else is going on around me.

At Adoration, I’m often the only one with a mantilla. No one else blinks, so I don’t think it makes me conspicuous. Ditto for the OF Masses I’ve worn a mantilla at. Only mantilla-clad woman there, no one reacts to it. (At EF Mass, I’m rarely the only one.) Perhaps it’s not seen as an unusual thing to do here, as it seems to be in North America, and that might be due to the proximity to Spain, where the mantilla originated and continues to be worn.
 
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You can wear a casual longer scarf to cover your head. And when you get out of the church it’s around your neck. I can’t think of a simpler way to cover your head in church without making a fuss if you really do not want to stand out.
The custom is based on the NT where St. Peter said women cover your head when praying. Some argue it was a cultural custom of the times others say it’s a rule because an Apostle said so in the Bible. If you want to cover I would say do it. People come to church to pray not to stare each other. Do it once and see if that is that much of a fuss. But if you really want to wear one I still say let them stare and they will be get bored.
 
Carmelite1983 said:
My wife bought a veil for herself and her daughter, sadly they have yet to wear them as they would also be the only ones in our large parish to wear them, and she also feels she’d stand out too much.
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I carried my first veil around in my purse for a year for the exact same reason. Mentioned it to my priest one day and he asked if my reason for wearing it was to stand out. I told him NO, then he said “perhaps your wearing it will encourage someone else who is afraid THEY would stand out too much”.

Been wearing it ever since.
 
Different women would have different reasons for veiling. I’ve seen some women who veil because it helps them focus, others who veil because they want to be feminine. As for the original purpose of veiling, it originated from the practice of veiling in Judaism. Although I’m not sure why Jewish women veiled in the first place. From my understanding, it’s about submission but I don’t know too much about it. Modern women veil for whatever reason they cook up. If you want to veil during adoration, go ahead! It’s 100% your choice here
 
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