+JMJ+
So I've had a blog account for over 2 years now and finally here it is - my first blog entry. What took so long? Writer's block, time constraints, well....you know how that goes. So what changed?
Three wonderful blogging ladies united to promote veiling during Advent.
Say what? Veiling? Yes, veiling.
Perhaps that's where I should start. Some of you may remember a time when Catholic women wore veils to Mass and other Christian women wore hats or some other type of head covering to church. Do you have fond memories of grandma in her veil at church? I do. Memories of little old ladies at the front of the church in their black veils? Yeah, me too!
There's something about a woman wearing a veil that's just...intriguing, you know? As a little girl I always wanted to see their faces. Who were these women with the veils?
Slowly the custom started to fade and pretty soon there weren't very many little old ladies in their veils left. Fast forward a couple of decades and guess what? Veiling is making a comeback!
It's a little different this time, because the Church doesn't require women to veil any more. Up until the late 1960's veiling was not only normal but expected. After Vatican II that changed. There's some discussion as to whether Vatican II intended to change our veiling custom, but the reality is that in general, women just plain quit wearing veils to Mass. So this time around we women are veiling BY CHOICE, no because we are required to.
You can imagine my surprise when about 4 years ago I found myself thinking about veiling. It was strange at first, having those thoughts. But as I became more comfortable with the idea I started looking for a veil. Just so I could see one up close, touch it, examine it. Maybe even put it on. Inside the store, not buy it or anything. Just look at it.
Guess what? I couldn't find a single store that carried veils. So I went online, but the options available were either too frou-frou for me, or required me to drop $96 dollars for ONE veil. WHAAAAT?
So I tried to make myself forget about veiling. Nobody did that anymore anyway. I would look silly with a doily on my head. What will people think? I don't want to be stared at when I walk into Mass, or when I go up for communion. But the thought kept coming back, time after time.
Then I thought that if I learned more about WHY women veiled, I would be happy in the knowledge of why and forget about this nonsense. Be happy that I knew why and leave it at that.
HA! Little did I know that finding out the WHY would strengthen my resolve to veil. So why do I veil at Mass? Here are 4 reasons:
1. Reverence to Christ. If I were to have the opportunity to visit the Pope I'd cover my head, right? It's required. Well, this is Christ we're talking about - the Body and Blood, the Holy Eucharist. Look at him, on that cross. If HE did that for me, what's stopping me from showing reverence by covering my head?
2. Scripture. As in 1 Cor 11:3-16, especially verse 5: "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 her head shaved."
This one took me a little bit by surprise. The Bible says women should cover their heads? Yes, it does!
3. Submission to my husband. Now this one took even more to sink in. Here I was, the woman who specifically avoided the "wife submit to your husband" passage at our wedding. Yes, I did. What can I say? I didn't want anyone getting any ideas.
But once I understood what submission meant, I didn't want to bring shame upon my head - my husband, for he is the head of our family. Not because I decided to let him be the head, or because he asked to be. No. Because God says that the husband is the head, so end of story. This one spurred more questions than I can list here - so I'll have to cover that in another post!
4. I like it! Let me explain - wearing a veil is, for me, a way to focus on the Mass better. When we leave the house we get dressed - by that I mean we change out of our pajamas or "house" clothes. We change our appearance because let's face it - most of us wouldn't run errands or go to work or school in our pajamas. The veil is the same - I "dress" in my veil and it marks the time I spend with the Lord, whether at Mass or Adoration.
In fact, I like it so much I started a veil company - Silver Hill Treasures. Women need options and that is one of my goals. Whether in styles, colors, materials, price - OPTIONS. Feel free to check out my website!
What about you? Do you veil? Have you been thinking about it? It's OK, many other women are thinking about it - you're not alone!
With that in mind, stay tuned - remember the three bloggers who are promoting veiling? Well, it's called "The Advent Veiling Project". The idea is to share your veiling thoughts, read about other women's veiling experience/thoughts/journeys. And did I mention you can enter to win 5 veils? Oh yes you can! Read more about it at Life of a Catholic Librarian, Em's Estuary and Filling My Prayer Closet here and here.
Pax Deum.
