Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Chapel Veils and Angels

The interest in veiling/wearing a headcovering for Christian women, in my observation, transcends schism, denomination and any other background. There is a desire in Christ following hearts to go deeper than just "going to church and quitting cursing". I've noted in an earlier article, the observation that "the whole spiritual world" is turning their hearts toward more traditional and conservative beliefs and practices, one of the most obvious being the wearing of something on a spiritually minded woman's head. This blog has pointed out, from the various blogs and articles that I've linked to, the trend of young women to "take the veil", be it Muslim, Jewish or Christian. Even the secularists are picking up on it and bringing head scarves into the fashion world. (We affect each other, I think.) Keep watching the trend, and be encouraged.

(Image here from ModesyVeils.com, provider of chapel veils and mantillas. Please also see my Those Headcoverings Illustrated web page to find more places providing chapel veils and other headcoverings.)

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"the chapel veil, revisited", by Chris & Co., is another testimonial describing the decision to wear a veil or mantilla in the old Latin style Catholic Mass, and translating that understanding of covering to be more than just a nice "old fashioned" style, but a spiritual, obedient act. Read how Chris puts it, in her blog:
". . . A veil is not a sign that a woman is "holier than thou". It is a sign that she is humbling herself before the Lord where he is present in the Blessed Sacrament. The mentality has seeped into other areas of my life, such as choosing what I wear to Mass and even to work. St. Agnes does not have an official dress code, but the pastor has written some suggestions in the bulletin and for the most part people dress nicely and modestly. Lots of jackets, ties, dresses, etc- in spite of the fact that the church is not air conditioned. I always wear a skirt to church and I kneel on the floor of my bedroom before I leave to make sure the hem touches the floor (then you know the skirt is long enough!) I am much more aware of how women (especially young women and teens) dress, and I can't help but ponder what effect that has on their dignity and how they are treated by men.

Many women cite 1 Corinthians 11 as Biblical support for headcovering. (Funny how fundamentalists, who are so keen on interpreting the Bible literally, don't wear mantillas!) Fellow blogger and mantilla-wearer Mary Rose recently wrote about this on her fabulous blog. It is true that the Church used to require women to cover their heads in church (formerly, this often meant a hat) and according to current canon law it is no longer explicitly required. But no one ever said we couldn't. Or shouldn't. For me, a sign of respect and submission to the Lord is just as valid now as it was 50 years ago. Anything that fosters more respect and reverence in Mass can ONLY be a good thing! . . ."

Please also read: "Veiling Again", from Jonathan Knox of "TestimonyToTruth" at blogspot, for a lengthy discussion of veiling in the Catholic churches and Vatican 2.

Read more about the Latin Mass and Vatican 2 discussion in the article: "Traditionalist parish at odds with Catholic Church - Members favor doctrine before Vatican II", by Jim Merkel, in kirkwoodwebsterjournal.stltoday.com (St. Louis).

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"The Christian Libertarian" offers an answer the question of the angels, including this interesting version of the verse in question:

1 Corinthians 11:10 (Amplified Bible)

Therefore she should [be subject to his authority and should] have a covering on her head [as a token, a symbol, of her submission to authority, that she may show reverence as do] the angels [and not displease them].

What this translation seems to be indicating is that the angels are very reverent and respect the authority of God (their head), and women are to show respect to their head (the husband) in much the same way; otherwise the angels would be displeased (because it would seem they are in a similar position of submission, and being blameless before God, they disprove of disrespect of authority).

Just more to think on, and why I personally see this subject of headcovering as transcendent of local culture, time and even diversity of beliefs.

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From ModestyVeils.com:
In summary, the reasons that St. Paul advises women to cover their head in the church are:

  • Our Lord commanded it;
  • It is a visible sign of an invisible order established by God;
  • The Angels at Mass are offended if women don't use it;
  • It is a ceremonial vestment;
  • It is our heritage.
Christian women around the world have other reasons to wear a hat, mantilla, rebozo, gele, scarf, shawl or veil. Some wear it out of respect to God; others to obey the Pope's request, or to continue family traditions. But the most important reason of all is because Our Lord said: "if you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). We should always be ready with our bridal veils, waiting for Him and the promised wedding (Apoc. 22:17), following the example of our Blessed Mother, Mary, who never appeared before the eyes of men but properly veiled. To those who still think that the veil is an obsolete custom, remember that: "Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday and today, yes, and forever" (Heb. 13:8).

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

"How to Choose a Headcovering"

Found in WikiHow - "How To Do Just About Everything"

How to CHOOSE A HEADCOVERING
by "DandelionMom"

Headcoverings are beautiful, and they really show that you honor your husband in your daily work. They cover the hair, and they can be a wonderful addition to your wardrobe!

. . .
Covering the hair is an ancient tradition, which was and still is seen in faiths such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and many others. It is a simple way to honor your husband and to honor your God. [I just love the simplicity of that statement! - LM] Here are my favorite styles, all coming from a wonderful website that I found: Headcoverings By Devorah, located at www.headcoverings-by-devorah.com.

The first style is called Mimkhatah, which means a Kerchief Scarf Headcovering. It is a great way to start covering and is really beautiful. I like it the best because it reminds me of frontier-style or dutch women's attire.

. . .

Another version is called the Batiste Tiechels, or Scarves Headcovering. This type drapes beautifully, and is wonderful when worn at ceremonies, gatherings, or any special dinner or event.

. . .

Finally, this one is called the Snood. It is a great choice when baking or cooking as the hair tucks up into the covering.

. . .

These beautiful headcoverings are wonderful to wear, for any woman who wants a simpler, more traditional way of life! They work really well for those of you recovering from cancer as well!

Find the full article with larger photos at: http://www.ehow.com/how_4471271_choose-a-headcovering.html

Book Review: The Veil

"Getting behind the veil"
02/08/2008, in the Telegraph.com.uk

Kamila Shamsie reviews The Veil: Women Writers on Its History, Lore and Politics, edited by Jennifer Heath.
"It can be illusion, vanity, artifice, deception, liberation, imprisonment, euphemism, divination, concealment, hallucination, depression, eloquent silence, holiness, the ethers beyond consciousness..." And that's only the first half of the sentence.
...
The Veil is well aware of the reasons why the veil has become such a paradoxically visible entity in the past few years, and counters this with the opening sentence of its first essay, by Mohja Kahf, which bluntly asserts: "Veiling - covering the head with a piece of fabric, and sometimes the face as well - predates Islam."

That sentence both acknowledges the connotations attached to the veil in the contemporary West and tries to make the reader consider the term more broadly - a strategy continued through much of the book, with considerable success.

Read the full review at the title link above. Find a link to this book at Amazon in the sidebar here, right. Product Description as found on Amazon follows:
This groundbreaking volume, written entirely by women, examines the vastly misunderstood and multilayered world of the veil. Veiling-- of women, of men, and of sacred places and objects--has existed in countless cultures and religions from time immemorial. Today, veiling is a globally polarizing issue, a locus for the struggle between Islam and the West and between contemporary and traditional interpretations of Islam. But veiling was a practice long before Islam and still extends far beyond the Middle East. This book explores and examines the cultures, politics, and histories of veiling. Twenty-one gifted writers and scholars, representing a wide range of societies, religions, ages, locations, races, and accomplishments, here elucidate, challenge, and/or praise the practice. Expertly organized and introduced by Jennifer Heath, who also writes on male veiling, the essays are arranged in three parts: the veil as an expression of the sacred; the veil as it relates to the emotional and the sensual; and the veil in its sociopolitical aspects. This unique, dynamic, and insightful volume is illustrated throughout. It brings together a multiplicity of thought and experience, much of it personal, to make readily accessible a difficult and controversial subject.
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EDIT - NOTE

See also the review of "The Veil" in the Timesonline.co.uk,
The articles here are thoughtful, intelligent and each tells an individual story. But readers seeking a more historically nuanced analysis would do better to turn to Joan Wallach Scott's recent book, The Politics of the Veil (Princeton University Press). This volume, however, is more personal, intimate even, urging us to focus on more serious threats to women's lives, including wars that claim to bring liberty while raining down bombs.

Un-orthodox Jewish Head Covering

Sometime before I came to Israel, I took on the custom of covering my head at, pretty much, all times. Sometimes I wear a kippah, sometimes a scarf wrapped in such a way that I hope it is obvious that what I am covering is the top of my head and not my hair. I have been doing this for about two years now.
From "Covering My Head", by Azadi, in "Beyond the Near.net". Read here of the understandings and experiences of a woman who chooses to cover her head with a kippah (usually worn by Jewish men) rather than a full hair covering, as is usually the case for Jewish women.

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Head coverings of all kinds are truly worn by people of all kinds for various reasons of all kinds. To me, a head covering is just not a simple symbol of one thing or another in our world. One must stop and ask or study the subject for themselves. Or at the very least, one must not assume that they can know or judge what goes on under that head covering, in the mind and heart of the wearer.

Christian Headcovering - the Sacred Veil

In "Veiling the Sacred",by "Mary's Anawim" of wordpress, restating the sense of the sacred, and referencing back to the Lake Charles Latin Mass Society, and Fr. Robert Fromageot, F.S.S.P. (which has been referenced before in this blog; if you haven't read it, please click here for the full text).
Consider also, the function of those things which are ordinarily veiled: the tabernacle, the chalice, etc. All of these are vessels of the very Source of life, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Light and Life and of the World. It is because these vessels are designated to contain Christ Himself that they are sacred vessels; hence, they are used for no other purpose than to receive and contain the Blessed Sacrament.
. . .
The leading lights of our age often claim to champion the rights of women, and in certain respects the claim is legitimate. At the same time, however, our age has clearly not sought to protect and foster the sacred dignity of women. On the contrary, society would have us remove our wedding garment, divest ourselves of Christ, and put on the “old man” and make ample provision for the flesh. Men are practically encouraged to treat women as mere objects of pleasure, and women are encouraged to seek this degrading form of attention and accept it as normal and compatible with their dignity.

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Consider also: "Head Coverings Redux" by "The Rosemary Tree" at blogspot. Quoting a bit from a personal account of Christian head covering from the Orthodox Christian Information Center, (if you haven't read this testimony, please do), she posts a photo of a model wearing a cute headcovering hat (shown below), and posits:
I mean, if covering one's head in church allows us to participate more fully in the life of The Theotokos and makes us more harmonious with our Guardian Angel, what's not to like? The author's experience rings true and resonates with my personal experience. Amen, Elisabet! Now, if wearing a beret could only make me look like the model above ~ wait; it does? At least a little bit? Ah ha! When women realize head coverings are gorgeous, the churches wil be full of them, say what? If purity doesn't do it perhaps vanity will...

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Christian Headcovering Testimony

Please notice: "Why are you wearing that thing on your head, Ms. Debbie?" by Debylin at wordpress.com. I really appreciated the thoughts of this woman who has recently started head covering. Here is part of what she wrote:
I had made the decision about I think close to 3 months ago to start wearing a head covering full time. I had listened to a sermon on head coverings and researched it for myself and found it to be completely biblical. When I first put one on it was a bit uncomfortable and I thought I looked funny. But all that didn’t matter as I wanted to be obediant to the word. It is important to show that I am in submission to God and my husband. Glorifing God should be what is most important in the life of a true believer and me wearing a head covering does just that. Some would say it is legalism and I say how can being obediant to the word be legalism. How can glorifing God be legalism? This is just one part of the process of separation that I have taken.

She also included several Bible scriptures, and an audio link to a sermon that she found online: "Just scroll down to where it says headcoverings part one and then you can listen to part two as well. http://lazarusunbound.com/audiosermons.shtml"

Saturday, August 2, 2008

"The Veil: A Mystical Symbol"

from: Tea at Trianon: The Veil: A Mystical Symbol
. . .

Most people are familiar with the injunction of St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11: 5,6, 13 for women to wear veils in church. It is interesting, however, to reflect upon other scriptural passages in which persons or things are covered out of reverence for God, beginning in the Old Testament. In ancient times, covering oneself, and especially hiding the face, was a sign of respect and obeisance. . . .

Friday, August 1, 2008

Modesty? Submission? Fashion? or Identity? - YES!

Yikes, yikes, yikes. For once and for all time, please, secular world, get this: a woman wearing a headcovering can do so to be modest AND still be in style AND to recognize that she is different from men AND EVEN show her personal identity. All at the same time!

How can a trendy clothing store for young people refuse to hire a young woman because she wears a head scarf? It's trendy, already! Don't they read?

How can a news reporter (or editorial commenter) write that it's a double standard for a young woman who wants to cover her hair and dress modestly to also want to be able to fit in with her society? Isn't that what everybody is clamoring for - assimilation? OK, so let them cover their hair, their heads and their bosoms and legs in the summer time and be modestly dressed with a fashionable flair (with fashions being sold, I might add, by mainly secularly oriented fashion designers). They've "assimilated" AND kept their sense of spirituality and cultural identity. How does that hurt anyone? It's as if someone just doesn't think that it could be possible that everyone in the world just can't think, and dress, just like them. Where do these ideas come from?

Secular people praise those who come to these liberated Western secular countries and throw off their "old religion" or "modify their religion" so that their religion fits in with their new home. While I certainly love the idea that old traditions and requirements of culture which are harmful might be "thrown off", I don't understand the need for supposing that all of the religious requirements are temporary cultural items that can be added or discarded at the whim of men and women so that they can "fit in". Sometimes a solid faith or belief in values (such as modesty, respect for one's elders, a strong work ethic, organization, family values) is a good thing - even for those who don't believe in the spiritual roots of the understandings. Why would we want to take those things away from people? Is a woman wearing a headcovering to worship, or to live worshipfully, really so much of a threatening thing? If you really believe it is unncessary, then just "smile and wave" - either she'll lose her faith in spiritual things and come to think of the human body and the here and now as the greatest things, or she'll keep believing that there is really something more, and behaving as she always has. Or maybe she'll say she believes, but still be influenced enough by the world to try to have it both ways. People are people, after all. Every individual one of them.


Today's rant inspired by incoming news and notes (see below), and a low tolerance level for things not going the way I think they should this afternoon. By the way, a couple of these have some good photos, esp. the step by step how to tie LJ's (not religious) head scarf - the last entry in the list.


"Scarf resulted in hiring refusal, Muslim teen says"
By BILL SHERMAN, World Religion Writer, 8/1/2008, tulsaworld.com

Muslim Hijab and workplace "discrimination" (Part II)
Aug 01, 2008, by Tod Robberson, Opinion Blog, dallasmorningviewblog.dallasnews.com

"Wrapped up in style - `Muslimahs' are more adventurous than ever with their hijabs"
Aug 01, 2008, by Diana Zlomislic, Living Reporter, thestar.com

"Abaya - allowing women comfort without compromising freedom"
From Habib Shaikh (Jeddah Letter), khaleejtimes.com, 1 August 2008

"Head Scarfs… hit or a miss??"
by loraheartsfashion at wordpress.com

Ask Us Anything: LJ's Headscarf Tying Technique
by nogoodforme.filmstills.org blog

Oh, yes. And this:

"Turkey Ends Attempt to Lift Islamic Head Scarf Ban in Universities"
July 31, 2008, Associated Press

That Kheffiyeh (Men's Headscarf)

The head scarf worn by men (and women?) of the Middle Eastern countries, where it is very hot. For centuries maybe. The modern version, as everything, is also stylish in some ways, and can also take on meanings - by the wearer and the observer, which may not actually be the same meaning.

Please read "The scarf that caused all the trouble" by Jacquie Myburgh: Fashioning Business, in The Times.co.za

"Keffiyeh Fashion Symbolizes Jihad?" in hilary.com

"You say keffiyeh, I say shemagh" - Urban Outfitters; Can keffiyehs ever be just a fashion statement? by Karen Burshtein, National Post, canada.com

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P.S. - if you're interested in how to tie a man's head wrap, here's a short (musically accompanied) YouTube video, by Feras / posted by frezphillystyle : "How to tie a Head-Wrap..."

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P.P.S. - I really posted this one too soon. Just in from the Daily News - Egypt: "A dozen and more ways to tie a headscarf – for men", By Chitra Kalyani, August 1, 2008 (photo from page)

Oh, wow. Check this out. We are so ignorant in our part of the world where men are proud of their locks (or otherwise, just cut them off) - and either way, it's not usually "cool" to cover their heads, for heat, sun, cold or anything other than supporting your local union or team. Of course, these scarves serve all those purposes at the same time. Am I rambling? I find this a really interesting different lifestyle, myself.