A lovely friend of mine recently wrote to ask why I veil for Mass and Adoration. This is what I told her. I hope it might help you, too, if you are discerning adding a veil to your devotional practices.
My
family thinks I'm "a little out there," a la "The Church Lady." No one else in my
extended family veils and at the time that I first started wearing one, I
didn't know ANYone else who did, either. But, I had seen other women
in church veiling and wondered about it....
Then,
the Church revised the wording of the Mass with Advent 2011. I prayed a
*LOT* about whether or not to veil, then felt a pull toward, "new
Church year; new devotion to help me focus." At the time, my youngest was only
seven months old and the rest of our family's pew was filled with
all six impatient, squirming children, with me at one end and my husband far away at
the other. It was nigh on *impossible* for me to focus on Mass. At.
All. Much less for an entire hour.
As
a result, I was increasingly impatient, annoyed, self-pitying, and
resentful that I couldn't manage one measly hour a week before the
Lord! Ugh! Then, I saw veils. And I noticed that, in a gentle sort of
way, they were like blinkers or blinders on a horse.
I
grew up around horses. Horses' eyes are set far on opposite sides of
their heads as one of their methods of self defense -- they have almost a
360 degree view of everything around them. Consequently, they see (and
react!) to EVERYTHING.
Along
came blinders. You've seen them -- the Budweiser Clydesdales and Amish
buggy horses wear square ones on their bridles and Thoroughbred race
horses wear spherical ones on a hood on their face. The blinders narrow
the horse's frame of vision so he focuses ONLY on what's ahead of him.
Ahhhhhhhh.
As in every moment of my life as a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom, I
was surrounded on all sides by a miniature Barbarian Hoard. Almost.
All sides but one. What was in front of me in church? The tabernacle -- literally, because we sit up front for the benefit of our eldest son (which really winds up benefiting us all!).
Wearing
a veil became my literal and figurative blinders. In many instances,
it literally obscures my peripheral vision. In all instances, it is a
lightweight, tangible reminder of where I am, Who is present, and what I
am there to do.
Worship. Him.
It's that simple.
Worship. Him.
My
veil becomes my blinders. My prayer tent. My spiritual security
blanket. My smack on the head to pay attention. My reminder that I am
on holy ground, in the presence of Almighty God, a humble creature
before her Creator.
It
does not make me MORE humble or more reverent or more special than
anyone else there. If anything, while a veil *IS* special (because it's
only for a woman in the Real Presence), it reminds me that I'm NOT the
most special. I am the least before Him. It is such a wonderful,
freeing, comforting train of thought, almost like being a child again
and obliviously having my late father lovingly take care of....
everything.
The
same kids were still squirming. The same distractions were all still
there, whether in my head or all around me. And the same God was still
present in the same way in the same tabernacle where He always was.
But, now I had a tangible touchstone to remind me.
It was like the time I confessed to a priest about being distracted too often during the rosary.
"Do you come back to it?" he asked.
I frowned. "Of course."
He
smiled. "Then, that is an even greater grace. To be pulled away,
whether by the devil or by honest distractions, and to CHOOSE to return
to it can be an even greater grace."
My veil reminds me to keep coming back, despite the distractions.
Today,
I feel naked and amiss if I enter a Catholic church without my veil.
So, I keep it in my purse (with an extra for anyone else! I've given
away three since I started veiling!). It's kind of like "appropriate
dress and comportment" for me. I wouldn't wear stilettos to the barn,
nor pajamas to my boss's dinner party. I wouldn't chew gum in a job
interview, but I would make sure I brushed my teeth. My veil just
feels... right, in every way, in the Real Presence of Our Lord.
And that, in the immortal words of Paul Harvey, is the rest of the story!
:-D
That
also, my dear friend, is probably waaaaay more than you really wanted
to know! I scrolled back through this and was going to delete it, but
decided to be honest and send it "as is."
Wearing a veil is simple and
complex, all at the same time. I hope this is helpful to you in
discerning your own devotions! The video entitled "The Chapel
Veil" by "True Faith TV" on YouTube also is well-done.
Thank you! Please be assured of my prayers! ❤️
