#christian headcovering

[paula-of-christ]

Veiling And Why We Should Stop "Discerning" About It.

Now this is definitely not a "new" idea that I or others have posted about or discussed. However, it is a subject that has been on my mind for quite some time recently as I have joined new Catholic women's facebook groups and traditional circles.

There is this idea of discerning about levels of modesty - specifically about veiling - before doing it. Women come in contact with other women who practice this ancient tradition, and then the reasons for why one does so, becoming enamored with the idea of doing it themselves. But there is a pause in doing so, wondering if it is 'right' simply because they are compelled by other people's experiences with this devotion.

However, and when I started to veil but before I covered daily I was definitely guilty of this, women then try to ask God whether or not they should do it. And when no amount of discernment or prayer yield a direct answer, they turn to other women to ask if they think the individual should practice this devotion. (I am tempted to go on a tangent about discernment in general here, but will save that for another post.)

Imagine for a moment of a young man discerning whether to buy a certain car. He has thought and prayed about it, gone to adoration, prayed with relevant scripture, read other men's reasons for buying the car, he can afford the car. He feels compelled to buy the car for these reasons, the exposure he has had to it intellectually, but will not make the leap towards going to a dealership and actually buying the car. He has made all of the relevant steps towards buying it, except for actually doing so, and only because he is not sure if it is "God's Will" since he has not heard a clear sign of whether or not to buy a car.

We can take this to a more similar analogy by replacing buying the car with some other spiritual practice, such as praying a certain prayer daily, attending daily Mass, how frequently to attend the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and the like. It becomes a little absurd even with other spiritual things. How is one supposed to know what devotions to follow in one's own life, when the Magisterium has dictated that individual devotions are up to one's own senses and conscience?

Simply put, by trying to do them. Obviously you would not try all of them at once, but you won't know if you like doing a devotion until you try to do it. There is no intellectual discernment for a devotion, unless it will impact your life in a significant way (such as fasting on a certain day of the week, which would require forethought and planning around in some cases).

If, of course, the worry is from a sense of judgement from others, rather than a spiritual pull away from a certain devotion, you must ask yourself why you would be afraid of living out a devotion to Christ? Wearing a headcovering is akin to wearing other religious gear, if you do not need to discern wearing a shirt with a cross on it, then why discern whether to cover your head? The assumption being that you bought the shirt in order to wear to show as an outward sign of your faith. Similarly, a headcovering does the same, as it provides an outward sign of faith and depending on type or location, modesty as well.

I will note, veiling for Mass being different than daily modesty headcovering. While one is much more for the respect owed to the Eucharist, the other is a level of modesty. There is some level of necessary discernment with the latter, as the Christian faith has no Magisterial or Ritual rules for the headcovering of women that does not originate from the Old Testament, of which we are no longer bound due to the fulfillment of. But this discernment is not whether or not one should participate in the tradition, but what that looks like in an individuals life, since you mostly have to make your own "rules" for it.

Still, the connotation of discernment in the religious sense is necessarily to be reserved for the discernment of serious matters such as vocations.

My final thought on this is that veiling is not that serious. It does not require weeks or months of thinking about and discerning, as to start or stop veiling, will not remove or add grace to you. It is fundamentally a practice. It was made popular by wide-spread piety (or in many cases "piety"), and was cultural rather than spiritual. It is only very recently in the 19th and 20th centuries that we see the removal of regular headcoverings for women, a drop in the bucket of human civilization, and Christian history as well. If you see someone's position on veiling and so then feel compelled to do so yourself, just do it. You don't have to get anything special, especially if you have fashion scarves from the late 00's or early 2010's. If, on the off chance you get questioned, just answer honestly that you're trying it out to see if you like it. If you don't, just don't do it again. It will not harm your relationship with God to not do so, because likely you feel compelled to do so, because you already have a rightly ordered relationship with Him.

[plutointerludeart]

Happy Black History month! I am a black artist and would love if you checked out my upcoming webtoon, "fishpie"

The first ep of my webtoon comes out Sun, Feb 5 (2023).

If you are 1) a woman or nonman, 2) are christian, 3) headcover/veil, or 4) enjoy slice of life, I think you will enjoy my webtoon :)

Please share, and thank you for reading this post! I hope to see you in the comment section when the first ep is published

[prolifeproliberty]

”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. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.

For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.“

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭11‬:‭3‬-‭10‬ ‭KJV‬‬

[laces-and-pearls]

A very interesting article. Although I must say that neither me nor my friends ever wear veils while praying at home. Only when in church. And you can go into a church without a headcovering if you go there unplanned or if you forget it. The (healthy-minded, understanding) priests never say anything bad, and they prohibit other women and men from commenting on other people's clothes and lack of veils.

pictures credits: 🕊️ 🕊️ 🕊️ 🕊️

[orthodox-femininity]

The Importance of Veiling

The number one question I tend to get is, "How did you find the Eastern Orthodox Church," with the expected answer always being something like research or someone else told me to try it. However, my actual answer is, "I wanted to find a church to start practicing veiling."

I grew up your typical Midwestern, Evangelical Protestant in Southern Ohio. I went to church every Sunday with my grandparents up until I was about 13, around the time I realized I was unsatisfied with my church. I did my research on and off for a few years of different denominations and joined a Methodist-based Christian sorority in college, dabbled in Buddhism like every Gen-Z high schooler has, and even was a self-proclaimed Atheist for a few years. Senior year of college and the pandemic forced me to start looking a little deeper and suddenly, I was hit in the face with veiling for Christian women.

Veiling was NEVER something I had ever considered up until this point in my life. If you asked me what my opinion was several years ago, I would probably make a comment on how restricting and oppressive it was, women shouldn't be forced to wear a piece of fabric on their heads if they want to attend church! It seemed foreign and insane to me.

I can't remember exactly how I came across veiling, but all I remember is watching some video on Jewish Orthodox women and the importance of the tichel and the sheitel to them. I was fascinated by this, that something that seemed so restrictive actually gave them a freedom in God's grace. For the next few weeks, I couldn't stop thinking about it and what it meant for a Christian. Could I wear it too? Would someone mistake me as an Orthodox Jew or Muslim? Is this something Protestants even do?

I suddenly was drawn to it, the beauty in this sign of humility before God, as well as a reminder of the bridal relationship between Christ and the church. Every time I now wear a head covering in church, I know I am in obedience to God’s command in Scripture, and being respectful for the holy traditions of the Orthodox Church. "Head coverings encourage humility. Godly women come to church to focus on worship, not to draw attention to themselves. A girl may be tempted to show off an attractive hairdo. When a woman wears a headcovering, this temptation is removed. She can focus on prayer, instead of on hair."

St. Paul said in the first epistle to the Corinthians, "Every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head.” (1 Corinthians 11:5). A beautiful article I read as well quotes looking up to the Theotokos and the Saints as examples, "Virtually every icon of an Orthodox woman displays her wearing a headcovering. As far as I know, the only exception is St. Mary of Egypt, and she was a solitary saint who lived alone in the desert, far away from any people. Among the female saints who participated in society, all of them wore headcoverings, and their headcoverings are shown in icons. Even Mary the Mother of God–the most blessed woman in the entire universe–is shown in icons, wearing a headcovering. Can you think of a better role-model for women?"

I encourage each and every women to at least try veiling in church, especially when there are so many options to stylistically pick from!

A beautiful quotes and some visual examples of how to wear a veil to finish, "My wearing a head covering is not only a symbol or sign that I am in agreement with His order, but that I visibly, willingly submit to it. With submission comes blessing.” (Christa Conrad)

[illustratinglaura]

Crimson

[darkness-holds-eternal-light]

I know this has been going on for a while now but it is pretty difficult for me to do in real life still. So that's why I keep coming back to it. Anyways, I've been looking into headcovering again and I saw that there wasn't much going on on Tumblr at the moment unfortunately so I decided to do some research myself in order to have some pictures that I could think about and maybe somewhat emulate. Maybe some of you ladies might like them too and find them helpful. 🥰💜

I'm still trying to find my style, in general I like this style (on the left), so just pinned together at the neck, but with a long flowing scarf, I think it looks elegant.

This also looks pretty but I'd maybe wear it a little less loose.

I also really like those styles, they're more practical. Simple and elegant and modest. 🥰

These are also so classy and pretty, I'm just not sure yet if I could pull them off so well. 🤔

This style also really resonates with me, I'm often wearing clothes like that too. I just admire her for how effortlessly she makes it look especially beautiful. 💗

This one is one of those special styles that I would like to try one day, I think it looks spectacular but I guess it's a little impractical in day to day public life. 😉

[mykingdomforasong]

I really think that season 1 and 2 were setting up for a deconstruction narrative. But then Pedro blew the fuck up (good for him), so they can't have him on set enough to have him remove the helmet regularly, so now they have to just pretend like this isn't a cult that insisted he die instead of getting life saving help, and threw him out at the slightest transgression. This is fine.

[astarlostinthesky]

my mom came back with a bag of stuff from her vacation. I glanced at it and thought she bought cute head coverings and was gonna get me one.

no. it was a shirt. (a cool one I like it)

but I was disappointed

[paula-of-christ]

hi I’m looking into veiling and I was just wondering if there is a specific way you are supposed to wear one or a way you should specifically not wear one. Love you❤️

There is not one specific way in Christianity, when at Mass I prefer lace veils but in my day-to-day life I wear a lot of scarves and opaque headscarves because I think it looks better for my daily life.

Some people say don't do a tight "hijab" style but tbh I don't follow that because that's also a traditional eastern orthodox style not just an Islamic style, so I think the argument that it could be "misleading" is wrong. I've had more people guess I'm Catholic while wearing that type of headscarf than anything else I wear.

[plutointerludeart]

Happy St. Valentine's Day from fishpie!

[orthodox-femininity]

Hello! How are you? I have been interested in veiling during prayer and church services (and possibly all the time), but I’m not sure how to start. Do have any suggestions? I’m Catholic.

Hello friend! This makes me so happy to hear!!

My #1 recommendations would be to start slow if you've had no experience and find what style of veil works best for you and your lifestyle.

For me, I alternate between a few different styles for church, a loose fitting chiffon or linen long scarf tied similar to a hijab, a square satin scarf folded into a triangle and tied underneath my chin, or a handkerchief style tied under my hair. Depends on my mood and the temperature for the day, but there's also several other styles, like turbans, snoods, the mantilla (which is primarily used in Catholic churches/Latin masses) or even just really cloth thick headbands.

For church, start with the something subtle, like the handkerchief style. That way, you can build yourself up and get used to the feel of it on your head when praying, crossing yourself, participating in the Sacraments without attracting too much attention to yourself, it looks like a normal thing that women wear today. Also, it's tied onto your head, so there's a slim chance of it slipping down or falling off. Then as you get more comfortable, if you want, move to a different style! I prefer the almost hijab style as it has the most coverage while being very lightweight.

For everyday, it's a similar process but it's important to be mindful of security and temperature, even more so than in church. Invest in something, no matter the style, that won't fall off all the time and discourage you from continuing or something that won't make you sweat to death.

I typically get my head covers from Amazon or Shein, however another wonderful website to find particularly amazing everyday veils is Garlands of Grace. There's also a few wonderful FaceBook group dedicated to veiling Christian women who are wonderful resources, Veiled Wives - Traditional Catholic Wives and Headcovering Christian Women

I hope this helps and God Bless you!

-Scholastica

[presentjoy]

Veiling

My thoughts on Veiling are complex, so I want to start Journaling is out here.

1 Corinthians 11:1-16 - Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God. Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.

I was always taught growing up in my Southern Baptist church that the laws from the Old Testiment were fulfilled by the Sacrifice of the Cross and no longer had to be followed, but the New Testiment rules were what Christians were to follow.

1 Corinthians is FIRMLY in the New Testiment, so why don't we follow this?

Excuses I've heard so far are:

It no longer applies to culture

We no longer see hair as a promiscuous thing (why the Christians were taught to cover, to look different than the prostitutes of the time)

Jesus says come as you are (uh, where??)

It would make Christians look weird

What?? What I'm hearing is we aren't going to follow direct orders to cover our head (at least in prayer and worship) because it's an outdated practice and we no longer need to be separated from those of the world...

Something sounds SO wrong about that.

Based on that alone, here are my current reasons TO cover:

Give Glory where Glory is due

We are called to stand out from the World

It's a New Testiment command

Jesus says, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15)

I have other, more personal reasons as well...but for now, these are the basics.

[fagsex]

This is nauseating. The French government has banned the wearing of abayas to school. This includes both students and faculty. Teenagers and grown women alike are now no longer allowed to wear one of the few things they have left under strict French laicity laws. If it is anything like the restrictions against hijabs, burkas, chadors and niqābs, this means these women will not be allowed inside a school building with one on, and will be restricted from entering the premises while wearing one.

Unlike a hijab or other headcovering, this cannot simply be removed. Students are going to be sent home and miss educational hours because the government said they cannot wear a dress, because of religious backgrounds, entirely ignoring cultural backgrounds and the fact that it is one of the few things these girls have left to hold on to their culture and faith.

I school in a large city. Over half the women in my classes sport an abaya, because they are already forced their head coverings off at the door in the name of peace and laicity, are forced to give in to Islamophobic, European sentiment, and now they cannot even wear a long dress. Teachers who give up their prementioned garments for the name of educating the youth, now have to give this up as well. The French government also bans burkinis and any sort of modest, covering bathing suit, and has for years, in the name of 'hygiene', instead pushing for speedos and two pieces.

They give different excuses, but it is all the same, and this is the most blatant form yet. This dress has been banned for women and children to wear in school because christians think it shows too much faith. We eat fish on fridays as a nationwide standard, and this shows too much religion. This dress in the eyes of the french government, is anti secularist. This is horrifying, and I haven't seen anything about it on Tumblr yet, but I am disgusted. This is Islamophobia, always has been, and terribly, continues to be.

English translation under the read more.

Header:

3rd Change

First paragraph:

The abaya, an article of clothing with widespread origins in several Gulf States and the Maghreb, will be prohibited in all educational establishments in France.

Second paragraph:

The government has judged that this article of clothing is religious garb and thus contradictory to laicity.

[Vêtement could also be garment, whatever you prefer.]

[darkness-holds-eternal-light]

You guys, this previous night I have dreamt that I was in Jerusalem or in the Gaza Strip area and of course the experience of constantly having to be on guard for air raids and attacks was very real and very much not nice. 😖

But the fact that wearing a headscarf was normal there, was liberating, I tell you liberating!!! I was there with Jewish people so it was pretty chill and I just so, so much enjoyed the company there and how I could veil like most of the other women there but I didn't have to. It was just wonderful! 💜👰🏼