Why head covering?

[Eilish_Maura]

The above “reason” is absurd. If such were the case, women would not have been allowed to appear in public without a head covering.

Not totally absurd - it points to the issues of shame and indecency.

 

[DustinsDad]

It may be a practical problem in most N.O. parishes - how are women expected to wear those clumbsy veils when they are lectoring, serving and giving out communion?

Maybe the men should now wear veils.



DustinsDad

 

[Patchunky]

The above “reason” is absurd. If such were the case, women would not have been allowed to appear in public without a head covering.

Actually, if you bothered to do any ethnic or anthropolical research, you’d know that in most cultures, the style and type of head covering worn by women indicates their position and status in their village, town or community.

Often times it also indicated which cultural or ethnic group they belong to; i.e. in some villages in Central Europe it was common to find Catholics, Protestants and Jews living along side one another and you could tell at a glance who was from which group by the style of headcovering they wore.

There are different styles of head coverings depending on who is a young girl, a young woman eligible for marriage, bride, woman with children, grandmother and widow.

Often, as part of the marriage ceremony, there was a ritual where the young bride’s head covering was changed to show that she was no longer a child but an adult and functioning and valued member of the community.

Once this was done, the woman no longer went outside without some sort of headcovering on her head. In some areas it was a headscarf; in others caps decorated with embroidery, lace even mirrors and beads, but all denoted that she was an adult member of her community.

In some parts of the Ottoman Empire, specifically, the Balkans, it was the LAW that a woman did not leave the house with out having her hair completely covered! To do so was punishable by death…

 

[LilyM]

It may be a practical problem in most N.O. parishes - how are women expected to wear those clumbsy veils when they are lectoring, serving and giving out communion?

Maybe the men should now wear veils.

http://www.fisheaters.com/forumpix/afraidsmiley.gif

DustinsDad

For one thing women (and the vast majority of men) only proclaim the readings and never lector - the role of Lector is (or used to be) actually a specific step along the path to Holy Orders, and is not just a term applied to whoever proclaims the readings.

And if men can wear full TLM regalia with all the fiddly bits and pieces that involves and still manage to say or serve at Mass then I imagine women would have no problem reading, serving or giving Communion should they choose to veil

 

[lizaanne]

It may be a practical problem in most N.O. parishes - how are women expected to wear those clumbsy veils when they are lectoring, serving and giving out communion?

Maybe the men should now wear veils.

http://www.fisheaters.com/forumpix/afraidsmiley.gif

DustinsDad

I don’t find my veil to be clumsy at all. It’s not as if I’m doing calisthenics down the aisle.

Agree with Lily - some of the vestments are quite involved, heavy, and cumbersome. Priests seem to manage this just fine. I’m sure we simple little ladies can handle a tiny piece of lace on our heads.

~Liza

 

[Aramis]

Wearing a head covering is just plain obedience. It does not matter how you feel, if you are “into it” or not, if you feel you pray better or worse, all these comments on how you feel, are just not the issue at all. Obedience to God is why any of us should do anything, but hopefully it will make sense to us, but it does not have to. If Paul in Holy Scripture, and our Tradition is not enough for women to wear a veil it is a shame. As in all of the teachings of God, there is also practicallity as well. Women are beautiful, and wearing a veil keeps there beauty hidden which helps men. Because it is not specifcally mentioned in canon law does not mean it should not be done. ** A good example of this is penance on Fridays, not specifically mentioned in canon law, but still should be done. Very few do penance on Fridays anymore now that giving up meat on Fridays is not specifically mentioned.**

Wrong. Canon law does mention fasting and penitential days:
CIC 1983:

CHAPTER II.

Days of Penance

Can. 1249 The divine law binds all the Christian faithful to do penance each in his or her own way. In order for all to be united among themselves by some common observance of penance, however, penitential days are prescribed on which the Christian faithful devote themselves in a special way to prayer, perform works of piety and charity, and deny themselves by fulfilling their own obligations more faithfully and especially by observing fast and abstinence, according to the norm of the following canons.

Can. 1250 The penitential days and times in the universal Church are every Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.

Can. 1251 Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Can. 1252 The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year. The law of fasting binds those who have attained their majority, until the beginning of their sixtieth year. Pastors of souls and parents are to ensure that even those who by reason of their age are not bound by the law of fasting and abstinence, are taught the true meaning of penance.

Can. 1253 The conference of bishops can determine more precisely the observance of fast and abstinence as well as substitute other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety, in whole or in part, for abstinence and fast.

vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P4O.HTM

The lack of mention of mandatory veiling is an intentional change, since it was abolished before the new canon law was promulgated in letters apostolic (which said I don’t have links stored for…).

 

[CradleCath]

CradleCath;3218242:

The above “reason” is absurd. If such were the case, women would not have been allowed to appear in public without a head covering.

Not totally absurd - it points to the issues of shame and indecency.

The reason you gave for the head coverings Catholic women wore in the past…"that exposed hair on her head called to mind hair on other parts of her body’…is definitely absurd.

What & whose “shame & indecency” are you addressing here? You’ve lost me completely.

 

[latinmass]

I don’t find my veil to be clumsy at all. It’s not as if I’m doing calisthenics down the aisle.

Agree with Lily - some of the vestments are quite involved, heavy, and cumbersome. Priests seem to manage this just fine. I’m sure we simple little ladies can handle a tiny piece of lace on our heads.

~Liza

It’s the liturgical dancers who seem to lose their veils.

 

[Eilish_Maura]

Eilish Maura;3218554:

CradleCath;3218242:

The above “reason” is absurd. If such were the case, women would not have been allowed to appear in public without a head covering.

The reason you gave for the head coverings Catholic women wore in the past…"that exposed hair on her head called to mind hair on other parts of her body’…is definitely absurd.

What & whose “shame & indecency” are you addressing here? You’ve lost me completely.

PAUL’s instructions come out of a history and culture where this was very very much an underlying thread to why women covered their hair.

 

[latinmass]

Wrong. Canon law does mention fasting and penitential days:

vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P4O.HTM

The lack of mention of mandatory veiling is an intentional change, since it was abolished before the new canon law was promulgated in letters apostolic (which said I don’t have links stored for…).

You are missing my point. On Friday’s before V2 dare I say all Catholics knew that meat was forbidden for a pennance. Today the average Catholic does not do penance of any kind on Friday, and probable does not no he or she should. The average Catholic knew no meat on Friday’s pre V2 and why. I’m trying not to get nostalgic, but no meat on Friday’s was a unifying, and an identifyer that separated us from the world as well. It was a great thing. The Church feels we don’t need it now, and here we are.

 

[Eilish_Maura]

You are missing my point. On Friday’s before V2 dare I say all Catholics knew that meat was forbidden for a pennance. Today the average Catholic does not do penance of any kind on Friday, and probable does not no he or she should. The average Catholic knew no meat on Friday’s pre V2 and why. I’m trying not to get nostalgic, but no meat on Friday’s was a unifying, and an identifyer that separated us from the world as well. It was a great thing. The Church feels we don’t need it now, and here we are.

“No Meat” is another thing that has lost its general meaning as so many have given up beef over the years.

 

[lizaanne]

It’s the liturgical dancers who seem to lose their veils.

~Liza

 

[SemiTrad]

It may be a practical problem in most N.O. parishes - how are women expected to wear those clumbsy veils when they are lectoring, serving and giving out communion?

Maybe the men should now wear veils.

http://www.fisheaters.com/forumpix/afraidsmiley.gif

DustinsDad

It is true that wearing a veil while serving at the altar could be awkward, but there are other reasons why women lectors, eucharistic ministers and altar girls wouldn’t want to wear a veil. In many cases (hopefully not all), they wish to serve the Church in positions previously reserved for men for “equal opportunity” reasons. Wearing a veil would be seen as a step backward to an oppressive era when women were not “allowed” to serve in the sanctuary.

 

[Greg72]

It is true that wearing a veil while serving at the altar could be awkward, but there are other reasons why women lectors, eucharistic ministers and altar girls wouldn’t want to wear a veil. In many cases (hopefully not all), they wish to serve the Church in positions previously reserved for men for “equal opportunity” reasons. Wearing a veil would be seen as a step backward to an oppressive era when women were not “allowed” to serve in the sanctuary.

I would love it if all of the people on the Altar wore hoods (many albs have them). This would solve numerous problems and would be true equality. Male, or female, the Mass is not about us.

 

[lizaanne]

It is true that wearing a veil while serving at the altar could be awkward, but there are other reasons why women lectors, eucharistic ministers and altar girls wouldn’t want to wear a veil. In many cases (hopefully not all), they wish to serve the Church in positions previously reserved for men for “equal opportunity” reasons. Wearing a veil would be seen as a step backward to an oppressive era when women were not “allowed” to serve in the sanctuary.

There are so many other ways that women can “server the Church” without trying to be men.

But that’s another thread…

~Liza

 

[Greg72]

I would love it if all of the people on the Altar wore hoods (many albs have them). This would solve numerous problems and would be true equality…

To clarify - I don’t believe that anyone else up there would be equal to the Priest - any who have been ordained would still stand out so as to not replace confusion over gender with confusion over the separation of clergy and laity.

 

[CradleCath]

“No Meat” is another thing that has lost its general meaning as so many have given up beef over the years.

That leaves pork, chicken & turkey.
BTW., I know ONE Catholic among my rather large family (brothers & sisters-4 brothers in law-7, sisters-I-law 9, children-4, children-I-law 4. I won’t go into neices, nephews, grandchildren, fellow alumnus of a Catholic high school & business friends, etc., etc., most of these Catholic) "who has quit eating beef…me.

I’ve seen your posts on a couple of other threads. Are you for real??

 

[Markstorm]

I’ve seen your posts on a couple of other threads. Are you for real??

Of course not. Haven’t you ever watched The Colbert Report? Eilish is just using a combination of sarcasm and irony to make the liberal perspective seem as childish and hilarious as possible.

 

[Eilish_Maura]

I’ve seen your posts on a couple of other threads. Are you for real??

Are you?

 

[beckycmarie]

I am now planning to start wearing a mantilla as soon as I can get my hands on one. Here is the article that inspired me, by Sr. Patricia Therese, OPB (Oblates of the Precious Blood).

Why Wear the Veil?

In ancient traditions dating back even thousands of years, the “veil” represented purity and modesty in many religions and cultures. A veil, or head covering, is both a symbol and a mystical sacrifice that invites the woman wearing it to ascend the ladder of sanctity.

**Receiving Holy Communion, proudly wearing the mantilla **
When a woman covers her head in the Catholic Church it symbolises her dignity and humility before God, not men. It is no surprise women of today have so easily abandoned the tradition of the chapel veil (head covering) when the two greatest meanings of the veil are purity and humility.

The woman who covers her head in the presence of the Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is reminding herself that she must be humble before God. As with all outward gestures, if it is practised enough it filters down into the heart and is translated into actions that speak volumes. The “veil” covers what the Lord calls, in Holy Scripture, “the glory of the woman”, her hair. Covering her hair is a gesture the woman makes spiritually to “show” God she recognises her beauty is less than His and His Glory is far above hers.

In doing this she is reminded that virtues cannot grow in the soul without a great measure of humility. So she wears the veil to please God and remind herself to practice virtue more ardently.

There is no other piece of clothing a woman may wear to serve this function. The veil symbolically motivates the woman to “bow” her head in prayer, to lower her eyes before the great and mysterious beauty and power of God in the Blessed Sacrament. By the bowing of her head and lowering of her eyes, she is more able to worship God in the interior chapel of her heart and soul.

The veil or head covering a woman wears gives a beautiful sense of dignity to a woman. When she wears it, she identifies herself with God’s greatest creation, the Blessed and Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God. There was none on earth that loved and loves the Lord Jesus more than the Blessed Virgin Mary. In her love, her humility breathed forth like sweet scented incense before God. The veil she wore symbolised her purity, modesty and of course her profound humility and submission before and to God Almighty.

Those women who love Jesus must come to realise the imitation of His Mother in wearing a chapel veil (head covering) and in other virtues is a small sacrifice to make in order to grow in spiritual understanding of purity, humility and love.

The covering of a woman’s head in Church is a striking reminder of modesty, something old but lost in the society of today. Modesty and purity walk hand in hand.

When a woman veils her head she is shielding her heart to be wooed by the love of God in the Blessed Sacrament. This is a mystical ‘country’ that only the Eternal Father may enter. Her veil is like the lighted lamps of the virgins waiting for the Bridegroom, an indication that she is prepared to receive Him at a moment’s notice; an aureole of her spiritual love for the Bridegroom. Wearing the veil is an act of love of God.

Why should a woman wear a head covering or veil in church? Not to be praised, not to go along, not for tradition’s sake, not to stand out in the crowd, not because you say or I say or anybody says…But because she loves our Eucharistic Lord Jesus and it is another small sacrifice she may offer for her soul’s sake and for the sake of many souls who have no one to offer for them. Amen.

(Sr Patricia Therese, OPB)