02-28-2021, 03:22 PM
“Moreover, let all the women have their heads veiled with a scarf but not with a veil of linen only, for that is not a sufficient covering.”
St. Hippolytus
CHAPTER SIX:
Headcoverings…
Head coverings or mantillas were traditionally always worn by women in Church, following St. Paul in 1 Cor. 11:5-7 St. Paul tells us, “But every woman praying or prophesying with her head not covered, disgraceth her head: for it is all one as if she were shaven. For if a woman be not covered, let her be shorn. But, if it be shame to a woman to be shorn or made bald, let her cover her head.” These are very strong words and it is from here that the Church has always derived the Tradition of women covering their heads not only in Church, but in the past at all times. I often wondered just what the reason was for women to have their heads covered at all times, a custom still observed in some countries where at least some kind of kerchief covering was always worn. Thinking this over one day I realized that: If one is conversing with God all day, as we should as a contemplative in the world, it makes sense that we should have our heads covered since we are always in His presence. Perhaps it is time, that we ‘caught up’ with this old tradition and adopt it for ourselves head coverings at all times. This would surely solve the problem of the ‘bad hair day’ wouldn’t it? It’s just a thought…
St. Paul goes on to tell us, “Therefore ought the woman to have a power (veil) over her head, because of the (presence) of angels (at Holy Mass)” 1 Cor. 11:10. Imagine, all of the Holy Angels present at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass; we are told that they are too numerous for us to imagine. But this passage from St. Paul is telling us that they are offended when a woman attends Mass with her head uncovered. This is reason enough to understand why we are required to wear head coverings, but we will look a little further still.
Another reason is that we are members of a well-ordered Church. The pope us under God, the Bishops are under the Pope, the Priests are under the Bishops, the people are under the Priests and woman is under man. Now this is not bad! On the contrary, we are told it is better to be under obedience to someone than to be one who decides since obedience is regarded more highly by God. So, the main reason for women to cover their heads is to “show their reverence and submission to God while praying.” 10. It also shows our submission and respect for our husband who “is the image of God the Father and the reflection of His glory...while woman, in turn, is the reflection of man’s glory.” “This submission is expressed by wearing a veil, once again, not because of some inherent law of nature, but because this was the custom of the Churches at that time.” One must realize, when St. Paul was writing to the early Church this was nearly 2000 years ago. That means that women have been covering their heads since then. For the last 2000 years! And only now, because of some misinformation women have put their mantillas away. Head coverings are part of the history of our Faith and worship! They are part of the tradition of the Church and deserve to be pulled out of those dusty drawers and put back on!
Now, many people today may think that this is all old news and is simply not followed any longer. But Our Lord never changes. And there is a reason for your confusion. The old Canon Law #855 & 1262, No. 2 stated “Let those who are going to receive Holy Communion be decently dressed. Women who heads are not covered and who are improperly dressed are to be excluded from the Sacrament, as Canon Law directs.” When the Canon Law was revised in 1983, only the changes were listed and so since Canon Law 1262.2 about women’s headcoverings was not changed, this means it is still a valid law of the Church! Since women wearing headcoverings has existed ever since the beginning of the Church it was simply taken to granted that it would continue. But on June 21, 1969, during Vatican II a reporter asked Msgr. Annibale Bugnini, then secretary of the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship, whether women must still wear head coverings, he replied that they were discussing other issues and it was not on the agenda. A statement about Msgr. Bugnini, released by United Press International stated, “A Vatican official says there has been no change, as reported; in the Roman Catholic rule that women cover their heads in church. The Rev. Anibale Bugnini, a secretary of the New Congregation for Divine Worship, said the reports stemmed from a misunderstanding of a statement he made a news conference in May. ‘The rule has not been changed,’ he said. ‘It is a matter of general discipline. It began as a custom in the time of St. Paul and was later incorporated into canon law.’” 28. Somehow this first statement in May, led the reporters to believe that it was no longer necessary and the press announced just that to the world the very next day! When this error was finally corrected in June, it was too late, and many papers didn’t carry the correction and so women have been left all these years with the mistaken impression that it is okay to go to Mass with our heads uncovered! What massive misinformation! 10.
I only discovered this information myself three years ago. And frequently I feel as if I have been robbed of the truths of my Faith that I am entitled to so that I may live an authentic Catholic life, a privilege of all the Saints. But rather than be angry I am so very grateful to Our Lord, for leading me to those special people who have introduced me to these things and helped me to see the fullness of the Faith which I was only seeing partly. We began at home, during our evening Rosary and slowly began wearing them to Church. The girls think it’s just fun, but for mom, my pride kept my head uncovered for far longer than it should have been and I can only now see the wrongness of my ways. My glory is in having my head covered, so why would I want to go without a covering? Many other women at our Church wear them too and now that I understand why, I am more willing to swallow my pride and humble myself before My Lord, who desires my head covered. I do it to show Him my love and devotion and because as a woman I know it is my place to have my head covered.
The Church has been quite clear and has not left us wondering on such an important topic as this. Everywhere we look in the last nearly 100 years the Church has been clearly defining where to draw the line for modesty attire. Often this information doesn’t make it down undistorted to the masses though. It is as if these were a conspiracy…and perhaps there is. But when the information does make it to us undiluted, it is up to us to listen.