I’ve never understood why some women who cover their heads at the TLM don’t do so at other times when they are in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist for the very reasons you cite. If Jesus is there at the TLM, He is surely just as there at the NO, so why would someone act differently?
So glad to see you have also reached the same conclusion that I have - it does not matter which form of the Mass we attend, Jesus is there just the same.
~Liza
I think the reason some wear it for the TLM and not the NO is partially because the TLM is pre-Vatican II. So in the minds of some, they should adhere to Church teaching from that time - which was skirts and head coverings for girls.
A prospective boyfriend actually turned me on to wearing the veil. I’d never known about its significance before. I’d always seen certain families at faithful Catholic gatherings wearing them, but my mother, who was a poorly-catechised convert in the eighties, mistakingly told me it was a Spanish thing (since just about every family we saw wearing them were Spanish, and hey, the Mexican Church has some customs the American Church doesn’t). As soon as I heard the reasoning behind it, though, I was quick to run to the christian bookstore to buy a chapel veil - I couldn’t afford a full one at the time, but once I got my mom to understand the reasoning, she bought us both a nice variety of them. We’ve got different colours to match the liturgical season. Now, my mom and I are both a bit anal about the veils. We always have one with us if we even suspect we might have to go into church for something. I also wear scarves, kerchiefs, and hats depending on my outfit or whatever else.
Regarding my own personal experiences, I was lucky to be a member of a traditional parish (I live in Steubenville
) when I began wearing a veil, so there weren’t any strange looks. It’s when I visited my old parish in Baltimore, or went to another liberal parish in Philly that you start to feel uncomfortable, especially when you’re most certainly the only one.
It’s not so much that you want to expect the weird looks. But the idea that liberal Catholics - women mostly - despise the practice of wearing a veil (I’ll never forget the story of the radical feminist visiting the pope who creatively used bobbypins to keep the provided chapel veil from touching her head) that makes you fear getting or causing some sort of negative reaction.
Heh, but I do a lot of traditional things that would draw a heck of a lot more attention in a liberal parish than wearing a veil. Such as kneeling for communion, or nodding at every mention of Jesus Christ that I happen to pick up on. I overcome that feeling of standing-out by reminding myself that right now, it’s between me and God. I keep my eyes on the tabernacle - or altar during the Eucharistic Prayer - and tune out whatever’s going on around me.
Unless there’s a cute baby somewhere nearby.
Which is every Sunday at St. Pete’s in Steubenville
Luckily I had the rehearsal the night before to get it out of my system a bit, and having the best man tell me that he appreciated seeing me with my head covered helped.