The Eucharist, Women, and why Catholic Women wear Veils from a Homily by Father Robert Fromageot

(I have coppied this with permission from Father Robert himself. It is an excellent, clear treatment of the topic of womanhood, the sacred, and why women wear veils. If it is too long, you can scroll down past the outlined part of the homily to the written out text part.)

Put on the new man, who according to God is created in justice and holiness of truth.
19th Sunday after Pentecost
7 October 2007

I. Kingdom of heaven compared to a wedding feast:

1. Not all the initially invited guests accept the invitation (history of the Jews, treatment of the prophets).
2. The invitation is expanded to include everyone (Gentiles & Jews).
3. Not everyone who accepts the invitation puts on the wedding garment.

Why the harsh treatment?
1. Literal level: host provided the wedding garments. Like renting a tuxedo.
2. Spiritual level: Habitual grace (i.e., sanctifying grace) is a gift that elevates our nature to the supernatural level. Divine life.

II. The Seven Sorrows of the BVM. The First of these: the Flight into Egypt. Broad outlines of the Incarnation and Redemption. The Word entered into a fallen world in order to redeem mankind. That redemption signified by coming out of Egypt and entering into the Promise Land.
Significance of Prophecy: “Out of Egypt have I called my Son.”

The Mystical Body of Christ like the People of Israel: they walked dry shod through the waters of the Red Sea to freedom; we have been washed in the blood of Christ in the waters of Baptism. We have put on Christ like a garment. Galatians 3:27: “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

Putting off the old man, putting on Christ. (i.e., leaving Egypt and heading for the Promise Land as a member of Christ’s Body.)

St. Paul speaks of this in today’s epistle. The full text: “Put off the old man that belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new man, who according to God is created in justice and holiness of truth.”

Romans 13:14: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

Alludes to the early liturgical practice in which catechumens were clothed in white robes immediately after baptism. Taken metaphorically, Paul is challenging us to put our baptismal commitments into practice by stripping off sinful habits (vices) and putting on the new garments of Christ (virtues).

Surplice: a reminder to us all that we have put on Christ; that we are called to lead holy lives in Christ (i.e., as members of His Body). All the more reason why when they are finished with them, altar boys should hang them up properly, and not leave them on the floor.

The Church as Bride of Christ; liturgy as a wedding feast: highlighted by use of veils by women.

a. Church as bride (by extension, the nuptial relationship between every individual soul and Christ).
b. Veil as symbol of hierarchal nature of authority: “the head of every man is Christ; the head of a woman is her husband.”
c. Rooted in the way in which God created Adam and Eve; that God made Eve from Adam, and that Adam, not Eve, was the principle of the whole human race, just as God is the principle of the entire universe.
d. Fosters the sense of the sacred with respect to a woman’s ability to bear children; moreover, the veil fosters this sense of the sacred by linking this awesome ability to none other than Christ Himself contained in the Blessed Sacrament.

As we know, at every Mass, bread and wine are substantially changed into the Body and Blood of Christ such that Christ, the perfect Image of God the Father, the Source of all life, is contained under the species of a little bread and wine. In this way, Our Lord makes Himself our daily bread as we make our way to heaven, the ultimate Promise Land.

Needless to say, everything about the Holy Eucharist is sacred. That is, we have in the Holy Eucharist not only a great good, but also a dangerous good—dangerous because if we approach the Blessed Sacrament unworthily, we do ourselves great harm. As St. Thomas reminds us in his Lauda Sion: Sumunt boni, sumunt mali: Sorte tamen inæquali, Vitæ vel interitus. Mors est malis, vita bonis: Vide paris sumptionis Quam sit dispar exitus. (The good receive, the bad receive, yet with a disparate fate of life or death. It is death to the bad, it is life to the good. See how unlike the effect of the same reception.)

Among the many different ways in which the sense of the sacred is brought out during the liturgy, the use of veils is perhaps the most obvious one. Whatever contains or is meant to contain the Blessed Sacrament is usually veiled: the tabernacle, the chalice, the ciborium, the monstrance. And even when the veil is removed from the chalice, the liturgy provides other ways to veil it. At each moment of the double consecration, when the celebrant pronounces the words that brings forth Our Lord upon the altar in the species of bread and wine, he bends over the bread and wine, and places his arms upon the altar, the symbol of Christ. Such a gesture is meant to show the priest’s union with Christ at that moment, while also helping the priest to focus his entire attention on the consecration. Physically speaking, however, the priest is literally covering the species, veiling them, as it were, and thus producing the same effect as any other veil: namely, he manifests the sacredness of the moment of Consecration. In this way, the ancient rite gently inculcates in the faithful a proper disposition towards Our Lord contained in the Blessed Sacrament.
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. At one time, only bishops, priests, and deacons were permitted to open the tabernacle, handle the sacred vessels, and touch the Sacred Host with their hands. All of these vessels, moreover, but especially the chalice, are usually made with great care out of gold and silver, jewels and precious stones. Finally, the chalice is the only vessel that is consecrated by a bishop and anointed with oil. Little wonder, then, that the chalice veil is invariably the most beautiful of all the veils found in the sanctuary.

Taking our cue from the use of veils in the sanctuary, we can say that every woman who embraces the ancient tradition of wearing a veil creates a wonderful harmony between herself as a vessel of life and the vessels that hold Life itself. Like Our Lord contained in the Blessed Sacrament, a woman shares with Him a certain vulnerability. For just as a person who does not respect the Body and Blood of Christ can have his way with the Lord by receiving Him unworthily, so too can a man who has no respect for the opposite sex easily overpower her and have his way with her. Moreover, just as Our Lord makes Himself vulnerable by being born anew upon our altars under the perishable species of bread and wine, so too a woman shares in the vulnerability of her newborn infant in the very act of giving birth to him, to say nothing of the extra help many women need when they are pregnant.

Women are also sacred, inasmuch as the rise or fall of civilizations depends largely on how men regard and treat them, and how women understand and treat themselves. Just as only those who have committed themselves to the Lord through a life of celibacy may justly touch the Holy Eucharist with their hands, so too only those men who have committed themselves to their wives through the bonds of holy matrimony may justly “touch” a woman in a way that may bring new life into the world. For women are vessels of new life, life made according to the image and likeness of God Himself, just as the tabernacle, chalice, and ciborium contain the Image of God, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Of all the sacred vessels, however, women are best likened to the chalice of the Precious Blood. For when a woman conceives and bears a child, it is through her blood that the life of the child is sustained and nourished. Similarly, the Bride of Christ, the Church, is said to sustain her members through the Blood of Christ. For just as Eve was taken from the side of Adam, the fathers of the Church see in the blood and water flowing from the side of Our Lord the birth of His Church: the New Eve, the Bride of Christ, which sustains and nourishes her members through the grace of the sacraments.

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. Men and women, but especially women, have become desensitized to using contraceptives, choosing abortion, and embracing sterilization. In short, our society no longer respects or values the gift of fertility; society no longer honors the unique privilege of being a woman. Consequently, it no longer cultivates the responsibility that necessarily accompanies this gift, this privilege. This collective failure on the part of society has wreaked havoc, and it is far from certain that we shall recover and escape dissolution and destruction.

Sadly, some forty years ago millions of Catholics decided to put on the old man when they rejected the teaching of the Church concerning contraception. Around the same time, the ancient tradition of wearing veils or head coverings of any sort was likewise abandoned. Knowing what the veil stands for, it is difficult to not to regard that these two events — the rejection of the Church’s teaching on contraception on the one hand and the liturgical practice of wearing veils and head coverings on the other — as wholly unrelated. Indeed, many took both events as a step forward in the emancipation of women from so-called male dominance.
But as members of the Mystical Body of Christ, we should know better. We have all been called to the wedding banquet of the Lamb; we have received our wedding garment. Knowing, therefore, that many are called but few are chosen, let us cherish that garment and pray never to be without it. On the contrary, let us ever implore the divine assistance always to “put off the old man” with all of its deceitful lusts, and ever strive to be renewed in the spirit of our minds. Let us “put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh.”

Interesting Quizz (this time only pirated from my aunt!)

The average person only gets 7 correct.

This is based on U.S. info, so use all lobes of your brain. This can be more difficult than it looks - it just shows how little most of us really see!

There are 25 questions about things we see every day or have known about all our lives. How many can you get right? These little simple questions are harder than you think-- it just shows you how little we pay attention to the commonplace things of life.

Put your thinking cap on. No cheating! No looking around! No getting out of your chair! No using anything on or in your desk or computer!

Can you beat 23?? (The average is 7) Write down your answers as you go. Check answers (on the bottom), AFTER completing all the questions, then leave a comment (if you please)

REMEMBER - NO CHEATING!!! BE HONEST!!! That means no looking at your phone or anything on your desk...

LET'S JUST SEE HOW OBSERVANT YOU RE ALLY ARE.
Here we go!

1. On a standard traffic light, is the green on the top or bottom?

2. How many states are there in the USA ? (some people don't know)

3 In which hand is the Statue of Liberty 's torch?

4. What six colors are on the classic Campbell 's soup label?

5. What two numbers on the telephone dial don't have letters by them?

6. When you walk does your left arm swing with your right or left leg? (Don't you dare get up to see!)

7. How many matches are in a standard pack?

8. On the United States flag is the top stripe red or white?

9. What is the lowest number on the FM dial?

10. Which way does water go down the drain, counter or clockwise ?

11. Which way does a "no smoking" sign's slash run?

12. How many channels on a VHF TV dial?

13 On which side of a women's blouse are the buttons?

14. Which way do fans rotate?

15 How many sides does a stop sign have?

16. Do books have even-numbered pages on the right or left side?

17 How many lug nuts are on a standard car wheel?

18. How many sides are there on a standard pencil?

19. Sleepy, Happy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Doc. Who's missing?

20. How many hot dog buns are in a standard package?

21. On which playing card is the card maker's trademark?

22. On which side of a Venetian blind is the cord that adjusts the opening between the slats?

23. There are 12 buttons on a touch tone phone. What 2 symbols bear no digits?

24. How many curves are there in the standard paper clip?

25. Does a merry-go-round turn counter or clockwise?

ANSWERS
1. On a standard traffic light, is the green on the top or bottom? BOTTOM

2. How many states are there in the USA ? (Don't laugh, some people don't know) 50

3. In which hand is the Statue of Liberty 's torch? RIGHT

4. What six colors are on the classic Campbell 's soup label? BLUE, RED, WHITE, YELLOW, BLACK & GOLD

5. What two numbers on the telephone dial don't have letters by them? 1, 0

6. When you walk does your left arm swing with your right or left leg?
RIGHT

7. How many matches are in a standard pack? 20

8. On the United States flag is the top stripe red or white? RED

9. What is the lowest number on the FM dial? 88

10. Which way does water go down the drain, counter or clockwise?
CLOCKWISE (NORTH OF THE EQUATOR)

11. Which way does a "no smoking" sign's slash run ?
TOWARDS BOTTOM RIGHT

12. How many channels on a VHF TV dial? 12 (no #1)

13. On which side of a women's blouse are the buttons? LEFT

14. Which way do fans rotate? CLOCKWISE AS YOU LOOK AT IT

15. How many sides does a stop sign have? 8

16. Do books have even-numbered pages on the right or left side? LEFT

17. How many lug nuts are on a standard car wheel? 5

18. How many sides are there on a standard pencil? 6

19. Sleepy, Happy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Doc. Who's missing? BASHFUL

20. How many hot dog buns are in a standard package? 8

21. On which playing card is the card maker's trademark? ACE OF SPADES

22. On which side of a Venetian blind is the cord that adjusts the opening between the slats? LEFT

23. There are 12 buttons on a touch tone phone. What 2 symbols bear no digits? * , #

24. How many curves are there in the standard paper clip? 3

25. Does a merry-go-round turn counter or clockwise? COUNTER

"The Humble Exalted"

If we contemplate our misery without raising our eyes to God, the Father of mercies, we will easily become discouraged. By examining ourselves thoroughly, we will see that discouragement always comes from two closely related causes. The first is that we depend upon our own strength; through it our pride is wounded and deceived when we fall. The second is that we lack reliance on God; we do not think of referring to him in times of prosperity, nor do we have recourse to him when we fail him. In short, we act by ourselves: we try to succeed alone, we fall alone, and alone we contemplate our fall. The result of such conduct can only be discouragement. Indeed, how could we expect to find in ourselves the strength to rise again, when it was our very want of strength that made us fall? God does not want us to act by ourselves. "Woe to him that is alone," says Sacred Scripture, "for when he falleth, he hath none to lift him up" (Eccl 4: 10). Woe to him who relies only on his own strength to put his good resolutions into execution. When he falls, he will not have the aid of God's might to lift him up; thus he will remain in his misery, confused and discouraged.

Just as we should not make good resolutions without counting on God's help to keep them, by the same token we should not view our failures without considering God's mercy at the same time, for as God is the only one who can help us persevere in good, so he alone can raise us up from evil.

That is why all the saints have taught that the knowledge of oneself must never be separated from the knowledge of God and vice versa. Saint Teresa of Jesus says, "The soul must sometimes emerge from self-knowledge and soar aloft in meditation upon the greatness and the majesty of its God. Doing this will help it to realize its own baseness better than thinking of its own nature, and it will be freer from the reptiles which enter the first rooms, that is, the rooms of self knowledge.

Father Gabriel of Saint Mary Magdalen, O.C.D. (+1952) was a Belgian Carmelite priest, teacher, and spiritual director.

"Heavenly Father, Help Us..." from Apple Seeds

Heavenly Father,
Help us remember that the jerk who cuts us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing off home to cook dinner, help with homework, and do the laundry, and spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can't make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind us Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store isles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, know that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together.

Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, sow patience, empathy, and love.

~"Do not judge what your brother does 'til you've walked a mile in his shoes.
Who's to say if you'd run or stay and fight?"