Since the
reforms of the
Second Vatican Council many ancient traditions of the
Catholic Church have simply vanished. The
Mantilla, or chapel veil, worn by women while
visiting a church or assisting at the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass, has virtually disappeared in the modern age.
However, in examining both the history and symbolism behind
the chapel veil, it begs reconsideration on the part of all
Catholic women who wish to uphold Mary-like modesty and true
womanhood.
In his first
letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul demands that women’s
heads be covered whenever they pray. He commands that
“in all things you are mindful of me: and keep my ordinances
as I have delivered them to you.”
He continues to explain the hierarchy on earth: Christ being
the head of man, and man being the head of woman, “For the
man is not of the woman, but the
woman of the
man.”
For this reason “ought the woman to have a power over her
head, because of the angels.”
A power in this case means a sign of subservience to man – a
veil.
Later in his
first letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul confirms that
subservience to man is good and proper by stating that a
head covering “is a glory to [woman].”
Man is the head of woman just as God is the head of Christ.
There is no oppression involved in this headship, for just
as it dishonors a woman to pray with her head uncovered, it
also dishonors a man to cover his head. This notion of
functional headship has been rejected by many modern women
who can not reconcile it with their false feminist views
that man and woman are perfectly equal. The Good Lord,
himself, contradicts this erroneous belief many times in the
Holy Gospel.
Although the
veil is a sign of subservience to man, many modern women
ignore the feminine dignity that it also signifies.
Indeed, no religious institution in the world holds women in
such high esteem as the
Holy Catholic
Church, for it was through a woman, Our Blessed
Mother, that the gates of heaven were opened to us wretched
sinners. It is for this reason that we honor Mary as
Mediatrix of all graces, as well as in special devotions
such as the
Holy Rosary, and even in the Canon of the Holy Mass.
Let us further
examine the use of veils in the
Holy Catholic
Church, and how the chapel veil relates to these
uses. A veil is always used to signify and announce
the presence of Our
Lord Jesus
Christ, and the chapel veil is no different.
The
Tabernacle on the altar is veiled to show the True
Presence of Our Lord in the
Most Blessed Sacrament. Though Canon Law
mandates that a candle be lit whenever Our Lord abides in
the tabernacle, it is actually the tabernacle veil that is
the true sign of Our Lord’s presence. This symbol
dates back to the tent-like structure used by the
Old Testament
Jews to shelter the
Arc of the
Covenant. Even before the birth of Our Lord
Jesus Christ, the tabernacle veil was used to shelter the
presence of God. Therefore, it is only proper that the
practice continues to this day, and a veil shelters Our Lord
Jesus Christ’s True Presence in every tabernacle in the
world.
Furthermore, the reserved
Blessed
Sacrament is kept in a veiled ciborium in the
tabernacle as another symbolic shelter for the True Presence
of Our Lord in the Most
Holy
Sacrament of the Altar.
The chalice and
paten are the most important of all sacred vessels used in
the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass because they hold the
Precious Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Consecrated for its sacred functions in Holy Mass, they are
veiled before and after their use as “tabernacles” of Our
Lord. Touched only by the hands of a priest which are
also consecrated for sacred purposes, the chalice veil
foreshadows the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ will soon
become present in the sacred vessels that lay underneath.
Though the chalice veil is a fairly recent introduction,
coming into use sometime in the early 16th
century, ancient rubrics of the Holy Mass suggest that the
chalice and paten were always veiled in a “sacculum” or “lintheum”
– the earliest forms of the chalice veil – when brought to
the altar by the priest.
The
Humeral Veil is another type of veil used in the
sacred rites of the Catholic Church, and it also announces
the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
The Humeral Veil is worn by the subdeacon during High Mass,
as he holds the paten from the conclusion of the
Offertory
until after the
Pater Noster.
It is also worn by the priest in giving
Benediction
of the Blessed Sacrament, during processions of the
Blessed Sacrament, in bringing the Holy Viaticum to the sick
and dying, and in carrying the Blessed Sacrament to and from
the altar on
Holy Thursday and Good Friday.
Thus, the Humeral Veil, as with every veil used in the
Catholic Church, shows the presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ
in the
Holy Eucharist.
Perhaps the
most beautiful use of the veil in the Catholic Church is the
veil that adorns the head of a woman. The 1917 Code of
Canon Law mandates its use, in conjunction with modest
dress, during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
However, this practice developed a negative connotation
during the feminist revolution during the 1960’s. No
longer was the chapel veil viewed as a sign of beauty, but
as an act of repression against women.
No rule at all
about veiling was included in the 1983 Code of Canon Law, so
most Catholics assumed that the rule had been abrogated.
The Church remained silent on the matter, allowing this
custom to fade away, and allowing dress more appropriate to
picnics and casual events to become the normative attire for
Holy Mass.
However, the
1983 Code of Canon Law itself refutes the belief that veils
are no longer required. The Code of Canon Law states
that “In doubt, the revocation of a previous law is not
presumed,”
and that a custom is
only revoked by a contrary custom or law.
“Unless the law makes express mention of [a contrary custom
or law], it does not revoke centennial or immemorial
customs.”
The 1983 Code of Canon Law gives no contrary custom or law
concerning the use of the chapel veil, and therefore can not
revoke it.
Though the
chapel veil does not directly veil the True Presence of Our
Lord Jesus Christ, it is certainly connected to other uses
of veils in the Catholic Church since the womb of Mary was
the first tabernacle of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It was
through Our Blessed Mother, a woman, that Our Lord came into
the world to die for our sins. Therefore, by veiling
herself, the Catholic woman takes on a symbol of power and
motherhood that is only offered to them. The chapel
veil links the Catholic woman to our Blessed Mother in a
very special way, especially during
Holy Communion when, like our Blessed Mother, the
Catholic woman becomes a true tabernacle of Our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Indeed,
traditional Catholics are reminded of this reality at the
conclusion of every Mass. In the Last Gospel, we
hear the words of
Saint John
: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us”
(Et Verbum caro factum
est et habitavit in nobis). Interestingly,
the translation of this same passage from the
Greek New
Testament reads: “And the Word was made flesh, and
tabernacled
among us” (kai o Logos
sarx egeneto kai eskinosen en imin), linking the
incarnation of Jesus Christ with the dwelling of Our
Lord within us whenever we receive Holy Communion.
The chapel veil
is not an oppression of women. It is a privilege, an
honor, and a sign of true feminine dignity and motherhood.
By wearing the chapel veil, a woman proclaims the truth of
the
Incarnation – that through Our Blessed Mother, Our
Lord Jesus
Christ took flesh and came into the world to die for
our sins. Veils are used in the Catholic Church to
signify an object that contains or has contained Our Lord
Jesus Christ, and the chapel veil is no different.
To abandon such
a practice is to further abandon true womanhood which is
virtually nonexistent in the modern world. Therefore,
let us heed the advice of Saint Paul , and “you yourselves
judge: doth it become a woman, to pray unto God uncovered?”
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