Prince Charming and the Chapel Veil

+JMJ+

This morning a woman in a veiling group I belong to on Facebook asked why veils were still required at First Communions, but not every time we attend Mass.  I have to say it's a great question, and I've been pondering this all day.

First Communions, like weddings, are special occasions.  While technically the Church no longer requires that women wear a veil, for First Communions and weddings, it's expected and strongly encouraged. What little girl doesn't dream of her wedding, the dress, the veil, the groom - Prince Charming? And for Catholic little girls, their First Holy Communion - when they also get to wear a beautiful dress and veil? To look like a mini-bride? Is there a Prince Charming at First Communion? Read on.

Let's first take a look at why wearing a veil went by the wayside. For almost 2000 years, Catholic women wore a veil any time they were in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Then, almost overnight, in the late 1960's, early 1970's, the veils were gone. This is key: the 1960's and 70's - a time of great social turmoil. Feminism became synonymous with doing away with anything that would show women are different from men. The veil (it oppresses women), chivalry (I can open my own door, thank you!), motherhood (who wants more than two children, it will ruin your career). To quote Dr. Alice von Hildebrand:

" Now the … feminists after Vatican II suddenly “discovered” that when women go to Church veiled, it is a sign of their inferiority. The man takes off his hat and the woman puts on a veil. My goodness, how they have lost the sense of the supernatural. Veiling indicates sacredness and it is a special privilege of the woman that she enters church veiled."

In analyzing further, we see that it's an attempt to undermine the Eucharist - Christ made present. How so?

Step 1: If wearing a veil oppresses you, you have to remove that yoke! "Don't let them oppress you, take off that veil and you will see!" Chilling parallel to the "eat the apple and you will see like God sees". Also parallel to the "gospel of prosperity" that certain Protestant pastors promote: "personal empowerment", "visualize what you want and declare it to be yours", and so on.

Step 2: If enough women do away with their veils, it shows that the Mass is nothing special. There is nothing there to make us do anything different. It's just another place that we go to for - what?

Step 3: Once we lose sight of why we attend Mass, we start finding other reasons for being there. The social interaction, the cute guys at Mass, the donuts afterwards - you get what I'm saying! And if Mass is nothing special, I can wear whatever I want. Except a veil, of course!

Step 4: Pretty soon we find ourselves thinking: "Why does Mass take so long? Thank God there are extraordinary ministers to speed things along! Come on, dude, I'm not sticking my tongue out, I'll look stupid. Right here, in my hand. Oops, I dropped it, can I have another one?"

Can you see what is happening here? ME, ME, ME. It's not about Jesus any more. Jesus, who died on the Cross to save us, is moved aside (quite literally in some parishes), because it's all about ME!

Let me share a true story with you. My family once attended Mass at a parish several miles away, for my nephew's baptism. When it came time for communion, Father distributed the host and wine vessels to the EMHCs and walked out of the sanctuary. People started going up for communion, and suddenly a screen was lowered above the altar and a video of Father's latest mission trip to El Salvador started playing, and the "band" started playing catchy soft rock music, electric guitars and drums and all! Father returned to the sanctuary and sat down, waiting for communion - and the video - to be over.

During the most important part of the Mass, during the time when we are to be in silent prayer, receiving the body and blood of Christ, the Holy Eucharist. Nope, Christ wasn't deemed that important - after all, helping others is Christ-like, right?

"My goodness, how they have lost the sense of the supernatural." Absolutely. What did Dr. Alice von Hildebrand mean by that sentence? Here is another quote from her:

"You see the Church recognises things so profoundly that in some way you can say she has always recognised the special dignity granted to women. You cannot be a Christian and not recognise the privilege that it is to be a woman, because the most perfect of all creatures, the only creature born without original sin, is a woman and therefore once again you understand the extraordinary privilege of being one and having this image of the Holy Virgin, who was both Virgin and Mother and the two go beautifully together.” 

Did you get that? There is a special dignity granted to women. Women are special. Here is more:

"God creates a new human soul, totally new, which never existed before. Where? In the mystery of the female body. This is where the soul is conceived. It has nothing to do with the husband. The husband is out of the game at this point and the very moment that God creates a soul he implies that there is a special contact between God and the female body, so to speak, touching it in creating it. Once again, what an extraordinary privilege."

Women have privileges from God that men don't have. God touches a woman's body when He creates a new life. Let that sink in.

"And this is why the female body should be veiled because everything which is sacred calls for veiling. When Moses came down form Mount Sinai, he veiled his face. Why did he veil his face? Because he had spoken to God and at that very moment there was a sacredness that called for veiling."

"Veiling indicates sacredness and it is a special privilege of the woman that she enters church veiled."


So back to First Communions weddings, and veils. And the question: "Is there a Prince Charming at First Communion?" Of course there is! During communion, we receive Christ, and First Communion is the first time we receive Him! Why do we wear a veil for a wedding? Well, marriage is a sacrament and there are 3 persons present for it: bride, groom and Christ. A woman wearing a veil at her wedding underscores the supernatural nature of the sacrament. In 1 Cor 11:3, we see God's hierarchy spelled out for us:

But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and a husband the head of his wife, and God the head of Christ.

Notice it doesn't say "a man is the head of a woman." No, it specifically says "husband" and "wife". It says that "Christ is the head of every man" (emphasis mine), but then changes to "a husband the head of his wife" (emphasis mine). Notice it doesn't say that any man or every man is the head of all women, or of any woman. Husband and wife.

The feminists Dr. von Hildebrand spoke of would have us believe this is the hierarchy:

When in reality, it is this:

Pretty simple and straightforward. Let's also not forget that Ephesians 5: 25 says:

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her.

In other words, husbands should be ready to die for their wives. Hardly an oppressive move!

So to answer the question of why veils at First Communions and weddings are way more common than at Mass, the truth is I don't know why. Perhaps, in our fallen nature, when receiving these "once-in-a-lifetime" sacraments, we are able to subconsciously grasp their supernatural nature. Having allowed the Eucharist to become commonplace in our minds means we no longer see it as "special", when in reality:

 CCC 1324: "The Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life."¹³⁶ "The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch."¹³⁷

"The other sacraments...are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it". In other words, the Eucharist is THE most important sacrament! The "source" and "summit", the "Alpha" and the "Omega". In other words, Christ. And it makes sense that if we veil for these "special occasions", we should have even more reason to veil anytime the Blessed Sacrament  - our Prince Charming, Christ himself - is present.

Pax Deum.

Thinking About Veiling at Mass? You're Not Alone!

Thinking About Veiling at Mass?

You’re Not Alone!

Two thousand years in reverence to the Blessed Sacrament

Have you noticed women are wearing veils at Mass and Adoration again? Ever wonder why they stopped in the first place? Why is the practice making a comeback? Are you thinking about wearing a veil too?

This pamphlet will answer these and many other questions about veiling.

Is Rome again requiring that women veil?

Not at all. While at one time there was a requirement for women to cover their heads, that is no longer the case.

Isn't the veil a form of oppression?

Absolutely not! Head covering was the norm for Catholic women until the changes that occurred in the 1960’s and 70’s. Christian women cover their heads as a sign of reverence to God.

So why are women wearing veils today?

Women are rediscovering this beautiful, reverent practice. Each woman has her reason(s) for veiling; read on to learn about them.

Reverence to the Blessed Sacrament

Christ is present in every Catholic church, in the form of the Eucharist. We show reverence by genuflecting toward the Eucharist, and women are privileged to be able to show reverence to Christ by covering their heads. It’s a sign of humility and submission to God.

We need to think of the Angels and their incomparable purity when we approach the Blessed Sacrament, called “the Bread of Angels” because the angels cherish the Blessed Sacrament with an ardent love and profound adoration.

When one visits the Vatican, women are required to veil in the presence of the Holy Father. Why wouldn't a woman veil, then, in the presence of Christ?

Veiling the Sacred

Look around any Catholic church. Anything containing or made to contain the Blessed Sacrament is veiled: the tabernacle, the chalice, the ciborium, the monstrance. All of these vessels contain the Eucharist—the source of life.

Women, too, are vessels of life. The veil brings into focus this sacred dignity of women, a dignity that, in our era, hasn't been protected and defended as it was in the past, when women wore veils regularly. Society has lost respect for and no longer values the gift of a woman’s fertility; we need to return to honoring the unique privilege of being a woman.

Imitation of The Virgin Mary

The Virgin Mary is Christ’s perfect disciple. On the Cross, Jesus gave us Mary to be our spiritual mother, and she is one of the most powerful allies we have in this spiritual war.  We need to stay close to her.  But, how do we stay close to Mary?  We strive to be like her, because she is the perfect disciple.  We need to be humble, and we need to pray the rosary every day. And Mary, the sacred vessel that contained our Lord, wore a veil. Have you ever seen a picture of Mary not wearing a veil?

Scripture: 1 Cor 11:3-15

3 But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and a husband the head of his wife, and God the head of Christ.

4 Any man who prays or prophesies with his head covered brings shame upon his head.

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 had her head shaved.

6 For if a woman does not have her head veiled, she may as well have her hair cut off. But if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved,  then she should wear a veil.

7 A man, on the other hand, should not cover his head, because he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man.

8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man;

9 nor was man created for woman, but woman for man;

10 for this reason a woman should have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels.

11 Woman is not independent of man or man of woman in the Lord.

12 For just as woman came from man, so man is born of woman; but all things are from God.

13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head unveiled?

14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears his hair long it is a disgrace to him,

15 whereas if a woman has long hair it is her glory, because long hair has been given [her] for a covering?

The Angels

The Angels are present at every Mass, including St. Michael the Archangel, the incense-bearer, who presides over the worship of adoration at Mass and offers to God the prayers of the faithful that rise with the incense. Our Guardian Angels are with us always, which means at Mass and Adoration, too!

Lack of reverence offends the Angels, as does lack of respect for authority. According to 1 Cor 11:7-10 (above), the veil is a sign that a woman respects authority, and God’s order: GOD—MAN—WOMAN.

What if I’m the only one wearing a veil at Mass?

Many of the women who have started wearing a veil are at first the “lone veiler” at Mass. However, more women are discovering and embracing this devotion, serving as an example for others to follow. You will soon be one of many!

What color veil is appropriate?

While in the past single women wore white or ivory, and married women, black, those rules no longer apply. Most women start with a neutral color like black or ivory, but once they’re comfortable veiling they match their veil to the calendar, liturgical season, or their outfit. Read more here: Colors, Colors Everywhere!

What if someone asks me why I’m wearing a  veil?  Give them a copy of this brochure!

Are you on Facebook? Consider joining the group “Catholic Women's Veiling Devotion”. You’ll find answers to your questions and support from like-minded women at various stages in this journey—from those discerning to those who have worn veils  for several years!

If you would like a nice veil at a reasonable price, please contact Mrs. Karen Zenti, Owner and Founder of Silver Hill Treasures.  Her veils are imported from Spain and France, as well as hand crafted in the USA.  They are light and airy, comfortable and affordable.

For pricing, styles, colors and sizes, please visit our website at:

www.silverhilltreasures.com

You can also email us at

admin@silverhilltreasures.com

or call us at 515-975-6286

Would you like to order FREE printed copies of this article to share with family, friends and at your parish? Click here to order.

My Veiling Story on Emily's Estuary - My First Guest Post!

Today I'm doing my very first guest post at Emily's Estuary!

Click here to read all about it!

Emily has started a veiling series on her blog and graciously invited me to tell my veiling story.

How about you, would you like to share your story too? Leave a comment on Emily's blog or below and I'll put you in contact with Emily!

The Gaudete Sunday Dilemma

+JMJ+

Some of you know that I'm pretty traditional when it comes to dressing.  I go with neutrals most of the time, and sometimes add pattern, but not very often.  So when it came time to choose a veil, I naturally gravitated toward black.  It's neutral, and it won't make me nervous that I'm wearing a loud veil.  

This is one of the black veils I usually wear -
The French Fleur de Lis.

My first veil came from eBay. Someone was selling items from an estate and a black veil was one of them. I paid maybe $15 for it.  I was excited when the package came in the mail, I couldn't wait to put it on. So on it went and I was....disappointed! Maybe it was because I expected it to transform me somehow.  I guess I thought I would look more like the queens and princesses who wear their veils when they visit the Pope. 

Granted, the decision to start veiling wasn't because I wanted to look like a princess (at least not the main reason)! The main reason was to show my submission and reverence to God. So why did I want to look like a princess?  Well, because....get ready for it.....I'm a woman!

When you read 1 Corinthians 11:1-16, it talks about women covering their head.  One verse sticks out to me when I think about our nature as women:
1515 whereas if a woman has long hair it is her glory, because long hair has been given [her] for a covering?

Isn't that so true? Think about it: regardless of hair length, we want a nice cut; we fret over our hair; we have "bad hair days"; we color it, curl it, pull it back, straighten it, crimp it, love it, hate it. In other words, it's a pretty important part of who we are. When we ask what someone looks like, don't we describe them like this: "the tall blonde", "she has short red hair, about chin-length", "the brunette with the really pretty curls who sits in the third pew"?

Another one I wear often -
The Spanish Bouquet in Beige.

So if I'm going to humble myself before the Lord, it makes sense to cover my hair. It's a big part of who we are, and by covering it we are showing that something (someone) is more important than we are.  

We're covering to show our submission to Christ, present in the Holy Eucharist. But we're still women and we still love pretty things, in lovely colors, right? And that goes hand in hand with the colors we see priests wear: green, white, gold, violet/purple, rose (no, it's not pink!), red. The colors of those vestments mean something, and many women wear a veil in a color that matches the liturgical seasons.  For more on that, see my post Colors, Colors Everywhere.

What does all this have to do with Advent?  Well, since joining The Advent Veiling Project I decided to change things up and instead of wearing a neutral color, I would wear purple (and maybe pink - I mean, rose!) for Advent. So the First Sunday of Advent there I was - ready to wear purple! And then I chickened out. I guess I wasn't ready for the difference wearing a color other than black or ivory would make in my life.  Seriously!

Then along came the Second Sunday of Advent. This time I did wear a purple veil, and guess what? Nothing happened, it was just as though I had a black or ivory veil on, or no veil. Nothing!

And now the Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday,  is almost upon us (can you believe it went so quickly?) and I have a decision to make - should I wear rose?  What do you think?  Leave a comment below!

  

The Rose on Black Medallion

The Pink on Black Medallion

  

Pax Deum

Colors, Colors Everywhere!

+JMJ+

The Spanish Medallion

As we begin our Advent season, I've been blessed to participate in The Advent Veiling Project (#ProjectVeil). Three Catholic bloggers have united to promote this devotion and five veil companies (including Silver Hill Treasures) are sponsoring veil giveaways. Silver Hill will be giving away one authentic Spanish Medallion mantilla (pictured above) in a color chosen by the winner from our available inventory. Learn more about #ProjectVeil here.

The French Fleur de Lis in Peach

There's even a Facebook page for the project, and just the other day one of the group members asked about wearing veils in colors other than the traditional black, white and beige. Is there a right or wrong color? How do you know what color to wear, and when to wear it? 

What's the right color?
In a nutshell, the right color for you is whatever color you feel comfortable in! There was a time when it was expected that single women wore white or beige veils, and married women wore black. Now that veiling is making a comeback, there really are no "rules" as far as color.  Which, of course, leaves it up to us to decide. And I don't know about you, but for me - I see so many pretty colors that it's at times overwhelming! So let's start with the neutral colors.

The Neutrals

Neutrals are always a good choice.  They match well with any outfit, and are classic and traditional. You can't go wrong with a veil in black, white, beige (ecru, ivory), navy, brown, gray and even light peach. 

French Fleur de Lis in White

French Fleur de Lis in Brown

I truly believe that a neutral is the best choice for a first veil.  Why? You can get used to wearing a veil without the added concern of matching. Some of the neutrals can also be worn seasonally (for example, peach for Easter). A neutral veil is the "little black dress" of veils!

French Fleur de Lis in Black

Following the Liturgical Seasons or the Four Seasons
Many women choose to follow the Liturgical seasons, matching their veil color to the priest's vestments or to the colors commonly associated with that season. Some colors can double as  Advent, Lent and Easter veils (purples and pinks). 

Other ladies choose to follow the four seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Here are a few examples:

For Advent, Lent or Easter:

Spanish Medallion in Turquoise/Black

Spanish Medallion in Violet

     

Spanish Medallion in Rose      

Spanish Rectangle in Purple                

For Christmas or Winter:

Spanish Medallion in Gold/Black

The Spanish Luciana in Beige 

with Metallic Accents

Spanish Medallion in Silver/Black

For Spring, Summer and Fall:

French Fleur de Lis in Green

Spanish Bouquet in Garnet

Spanish Medallion in Green/Black

Spanish Medallion in Copper/Black

Honoring Mary

The color blue is associated with the Virgin Mary, and some women choose to wear blue to honor her, especially on Marian days. Blue veils also double as neutral (navy), Easter (pastel blues), and summer veils!

Spanish Bouquet in Madonna Blue

Spanish Medallion in Sky Blue

Spanish Angelina in Blue

Where to Start
If you are new to veiling, I suggest you choose a neutral veil for your first one. Wear it around the house until you feel comfortable with it on your head. Then wear it to Adoration, and finally to Mass!

When you are ready to take the color leap, start wearing a different color veil at the beginning of a new liturgical season.  The Advent Veiling Project is a great example of this. Having a friend to do this with also makes it easier, so ask around. You'll be surprised how having a "partner in crime" makes it fun, too!

French Rose Basket in Gray

At the end of the day, it's all about preference. Wear the veil that you feel comfortable in. Don't push yourself to wear a new color if truly you are at ease in your black or beige veil.

I'll leave you with this beautiful image that my friend Betty shared: a priest was once asked what he thought of veils in different colors, and he said he loved turning to look at the congregation and seeing all the lovely colors. It made him think of the garden of heaven.

Pax Deum.

The Advent Veiling Project

+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. 

The Spanish Medallion

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!

The French Fleur de Lis

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?

The Spanish Luciana

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! 

The Spanish Bouquet

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.

  

Authentic Spanish and French Mantillas

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!

The Spanish Angelina

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.