I recently gave a talk to some young girls about chapel veils…here are my notes and a very wonderful sermon given on the subject.
We veil many things in the Catholic church. Can you name some?
Chalice
Tabernacle
Statues
Crucifix during Passiontide/Holy Week
Brides at their wedding
Woman’s heads at every mass
Why?
These things are all veiled for differing reasons, but the one common reason is to help draw our attention to the spiritual realities they represent.
I won’t go into the details of all the others, but I have made this cd for you to listen to so you may have a better understanding of why the other things are veiled.
We are going to focus on the veil a woman or girl wears at mass.
Why are they worn?
Brides are veiled because it is a visible sign that the woman is under the authority of her soon to be husband. It signifies the submission of the woman to the loving care of her husband. It signifies her trust in his Christ like leadership…
Why do unmarried girls wear veils?
Like our Lady, every Catholic woman is a living icon of the Church, the bride of Christ. So when she veils herself at church in the presence of our Lord it’s a visible reminder for everyone of the bridal relationship between the church and Christ.
Since it signifies the submission of the bride to the loving care of her husband this means the veil of a Catholic woman/girl at church is also a visible reminder of the PERFECT submission of the church to the loving rule of Christ
The veil is a visual statement, a public proclamation before the Lord that we love Him and we are ready to obey him. As women we have a very special role in mass of being that visual reminder to all those that see us veiled of Christ’s loving authority over the Church and our duty as members of the bride of Christ to do our best to submit to Him.
We all know it is tradition to wear a veil at the Latin mass. Do you think it is more than just tradition?
If it is more than just tradition do you think a veil should be worn at any mass no matter what kind or what church??
Nuns ALWAYS wear their veils because it is a constant visible reminder of her spousal relationship with Christ.
We live in a time when it is very rare for woman/girls present themselves before the alter with a veil.
We should start this trend back up to be this public reminder of our submission to the loving rule of Christ.
Here is a link to the sermon. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
