Veiling in Church

I mentioned last week that I had felt called to start dressing modestly and femininely with skirts and dresses, and that I had felt called in another area as well—head covering during mass. I want to share with you my research in regards to head covering.

In 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, Paul says:

2 Now I praise you, brethren, that in all things you are mindful of me and keep my ordinances as I have delivered them to you. 3 But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ: and the head of the woman is the man: and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man praying or prophesying with his head covered disgraces his head. 5 But every woman praying or prophesying with her head not covered disgraces her head: for it is all one as if she were shaven. 6 For if a woman be not covered, let her be shorn. But if it be a shame to a woman to be shorn or made bald, let her cover her head. 7 The man indeed ought not to cover his head: because he is the image and glory of God. But the woman is the glory of the man. 8 For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man. 9 For the man was not created for the woman: but the woman for the man. 10 Therefore ought the woman to have a power over her head, because of the angels. 11 But yet neither is the man without the woman, nor the woman without the man, in the Lord. 12 For as the woman is of the man, so also is the man by the woman: but all things of God. 13 You yourselves judge. Does it become a woman to pray unto God uncovered? 14 Does not even nature itself teach you that a man indeed, if he nourish his hair, it is a shame unto him? 15 But if a woman nourish her hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering. 16 But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor the Church of God.

The 1917 Code of Canon Law #1262 said:

§1. It is desirable that, consistent with ancient discipline, women be separated from men in church.

§2. Men, in a church or outside a church, while they are assisting at sacred rites, shall be bare-headed, unless the approved mores of the people or peculiar circumstances of things determine otherwise; women, however, shall have a covered head and be modestly dressed, especially when they approach the table of the Lord.

From Catholic Answers, Apologist Peggy Frye says, “[T]he document Inter Insigniores by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (October 15, 1976) stated that the 1917 Code of Canon Law (Canon 1262.2) requiring women to wear a veil on their head was a custom of the period, and that such ordinances, “probably inspired by the customs of the period, concern scarcely more than disciplinary practices of minor importance”, thus the “obligation imposed upon women to wear a veil on their head (1 Cor 11:2-16) no longer has a normative value." However, as a sign of respect, women should wear a veil when meeting the pope.”

Showing the Pope respect by covering your head when meeting him, but not showing Christ that same respect at mass does not sit well with me. I admit I do not fully understand the custom to cover your head when meeting the Pope. Nevertheless, I do feel that if it truly is a sign of respect, then we must give Christ that same respect, especially during the Eucharist.

I understand, and would like to mention, that this is a personal devotion for me. It is not binding in conscience upon anyone else. However, if after reading this and researching the Church laws, customs, and scripture on your own, you feel called to cover, go with your heart. Do not let the words of others sway you to believe that head covering is outdated and/or suppressive to women.

Women, Fashions, and the Decline of Society

I now fully understand Chesterton when he writes in What’s Wrong with the World about a reason why women did not need the right to vote. It is because they already rule – they rule the home and therefore society. Women are society’s center. They are the moral standard. What women allow, do, and say will set the tone for all of society. This has been interpreted (from Genesis) as the reason that the serpent went after the woman first. If you want to destroy a society, you must start with the women. Everything else will come down with them.

Bl. Jacinta Marto recalls what Our Blessed Mother spoke to her and the other two children in 1917. “Certain fashions will be introduced which will offend our Lord very much. Persons who serve God must not follow fashions. The Church does not have fashions; Our Lord is always the same. The sins of the world are very great. …”

Women have allowed themselves to become corrupted by the ways of the world. Pants as women’s wear have been around for “so long” that many young girls and women do not think twice about what this says for women as a whole. Giuseppe Cardinal Siri tells us that male dress changes the psychology of women. Male dress tends to vitiate relationships between men and women. And male dress harms the dignity of the mother in her child’s eyes.

Pope Pius XII says this in “Allocution to the Girls of Catholic Action” May 22, 1941:

“Some young ladies may remark that a certain form of dress is more convenient, or even more hygienic; but if it becomes a grave and proximate danger for the soul, it is certainly not hygienic for the spirit, and you must reject it. … And if simply for one’s own pleasure, one has not the right to endanger the physical health of others, is it not still less licit to compromise the health, or rather the very life, of their souls?

“If, as some women say, a bold fashion does not leave them with any evil impressions, how can they know anything of the impression made on others? Who can assure them that others do not draw therefrom incentives to evil? …

“Oh, how truly was it said that if some Christian women could only suspect the temptations and falls they cause in others with modes of dress and familiarity in behavior, which they unthinkingly consider as of no importance, they would be shocked by the responsibility which is theirs.”

All women must understand “the responsibility which is theirs”, mainly, the life of their souls and the souls of others. We must remember that the way we dress, act, and speak represents our femininity, which is beautiful and God-given and must be protected. We must not and do not need to dress and act like men in order to be respected and have equal rights. It is only when we are truly feminine is our dress, words, and actions that we will be given the full respect and dignity due us.

My Path Toward Modesty

Now that I am trying to lead a truly Christian life, with all that encompasses, I cannot believe how I used to dress. I dressed with the fashions of the time: short shorts, short skirts, low-cut tops (sometimes at the same time). One look at my senior pictures from high school will tell all. Given my previous statement, I feel they are too undignified to post here.

As I have grown older (not that I am that old), I have slowly started to become more modest. The biggest changes only started happening when I came back into full communion with the Church. But even then, I hardly gave much of a thought to the way I dress. I figured clothes were clothes. If they are being sold, I can wear them!

About the last eight months or so, I have been feeling very uncomfortable in what I wear. I have noticed that my necklines are too low and constantly felt the need to pull them up. I felt my pants hung too low on my hips, and was always having to pull them up as well. But the more I read and immersed myself in Catholic thought and teaching, the more I felt called to do more.

I finally “gave in” to the yearning of my heart and my husband and I bought me some lovely skirts to wear. I would love to wear dresses but they are impractical right now since I am still nursing. I bought some lovely tops to go along with the skirts. I do not think what I am wearing is “perfect” by any sense, but now I feel content (instead of self-conscious) when I am in public.

The book Dressing with Dignity that I discussed last post really helped me to figure out the why in my question of being called to dress this way. Sometimes we feel a pull from God in one direction of our lives and we are uneasy about following it, wondering where it came from or why we should do this particular thing. I ignored the voice for a while, but I can say that I am truly thankful I finally listened to it.

Next week I will discuss the other area where I have felt a calling.

Dressing with Dignity Review

I put my Chesterton book away for a while and have been reading a few other things. My latest read is called Dressing with Dignity by Colleen Hammond. I think the issue is so important that I will be writing a few posts about it. I will start here with a review of the book.

Hammond incorporates wonderful Catholic sources (popes, saints, scripture, and others) when giving the proper definitions of modesty and noting what the Church has said about fashions. She discusses the history of fashions: unchanged for about 6000 years until the 1900s. However, in the 1900s, things started going downhill rapidly! She also discusses what it means to be feminine. In addition, she uses a whole chapter to discuss proper outfit guidelines.

I think this book is important. It is vital to know what the Church teaches and how the Church has reacted to the changes in clothing in the past hundred years. Before I read this book, I did not know that the Church had made any statements regarding dress!

This book is greatly needed in our world today. I think it should be required reading for every woman and girl. I encourage you to buy the book for yourself and hope that it will change your life and perspective on how to dress like a woman.