Today I want to deep dive into the topic that I have seen get some attention lately. Should women wear a chapel veil to Mass? Why do women wear chapel veils? What is the importance of chapel veils anyway?
I know those are some loaded questions. For informational purposes for my readers, I do wear a chapel veil to Mass, Adoration, going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, attending Stations of the Cross, basically anytime I am in the church I will be wearing my chapel veil. Also, I have attended Mass celebrated in someone’s home and I wear my chapel veil there too. Anytime Jesus is present in the most Holy Eucharist whether that be during Mass or in the Monstrance in Adoration or in the tabernacle while inside the church. As Catholics, we believe that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist-body, blood, soul and divinity.
With that being said, I’m sure you might have seen or read about an increase in women veiling at Mass. I attend a pretty reverent Novus Ordo Mass and there are many women who veil at my parish. For me, prior to starting to veil, I never noticed these women had a veil on. It wasn’t something that stood out as a distraction nor did it cause me to think they were somehow better than me because they had on a veil and I didn’t. Truly, I thought it was beautiful, reverent and incredibly courageous. Women can be their own worst enemies with self image, so I know these women must have had to overcome some sort of anxiousness their first time putting on the veil. Still I wasn’t sure if I was ready to take the leap of faith.
Months later I helped work a Catholic retreat over the weekend that my parish hosted. During that weekend, Jesus was present in so many ways. There were profound moments of reverence, holiness and spirituality that overcame us all, to the point there were not enough veils to go around. I would like to think that if we had enough extra veils-there wouldn’t have been a woman’s head uncovered when we celebrated Mass Sunday ending our retreat weekend. From that moment on, I wanted to approach Jesus with as much reverence, humility and respect as I could.
So what is the importance of chapel veils? Let’s look at a little scripture:
“For just as woman came from man, so man is born of woman; but all things are from God.
Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head unveiled?
Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears his hair long it is a disgrace to him,
whereas if a woman has long hair it is her glory, because long hair has been given [her] for a
covering?” 1 Corinthians 11:12-15
We see here that women have been participating in worship at Corinth without the head-covering normal in Greek society of the period. Paul’s stated goal is to bring them back into conformity with contemporary practice and propriety. (usccb.org) In other words, Paul is trying to present the argument that head coverings for women are the best practice. I use this scripture versus others because it falls in the New Testament. I hear arguments of scripture based in Old Testament about women veiling and how we have no mention of it in the New Testament so here it is for you in the New Testament. Women I’ve spoken to feel a devotion to God when veiling and it provides us a way to encounter a prayerful reverence in the most feminine form.
There are a lot of times we see veils in the Catholic faith. The altar is veiled, the tabernacle is veiled, Mary was veiled, and after all, since I am consecrated to our Blessed Mother, I do try to live a life dedicated towards her and reverence. Why do women wear chapel veils? I think veiling also gives women a further sense of humility when receiving Holy Communion. We humble ourselves to receive Jesus and show him that it’s not about us-this moment-consuming Him in the most Holy Eucharist-is all about Him. I find as a woman, it also adds a sense of awareness to how I dress. I want to dress nicely for Jesus, not roll out of bed and throw a veil on and call it a day. Taking the time to respectfully choose modest clothing, my Sunday’s best, and coming to Mass to show Jesus I give my very best self for Him and to Him every Sunday.
So should you wear a chapel veil? That decision is yours and only yours. I had a friend explain to me once that when she veiled she felt she was within her own church. There were no distractions, nothing but the ability to focus on our Lord. I think that is a great way to describe how it feels. In various moments, while I’m at Mass, nothing else in the world matters. My focus, my gaze, is always forward, intently participating and fixating my eyes on the crucifix. Recounting Christ’s death on the cross and how Veronica wiped Jesus’s face with her veil. That in that moment, a woman provided relief for our Lord, even for a split second with the special covering upon her head. No matter your decision, let’s pray for those who are deciding if veiling is the right path for them. Pray for courage and increased positivity in our self image.
Hugs and Loves,
Ali
“The covering of the head with a veil symbolizes the reality of woman sheltered in the side of her Source and becoming one with Him. She becomes covered and hidden in her Divine Spouse. -St. John Chrysostom
