Msgr. Pope, as always, has another informative article here on the Washington D.C. diocesan website pertaining to the age-old custom of women wearing veils or head covering in church. He cites a pastor in Sri-Lanka who wants to restore the custom and implement a dress code in the cathedral of Colombo. Sounds to me like a good idea, long overdue, but commonly practiced by those women who attend the traditional Latin Mass. I would add another reason to Monsignor’s in this regard. I came across the argument a few years ago on some Catholic website. The reason had to do with Our Lady. One of the prophecies from the Old Testament regarding the Mother of God reads: How long wilt thou be dissolute in deliciousness, O wandering daughter? for the Lord hath created a new thing upon the earth: A WOMAN SHALL COMPASS A MAN (Jeremias 31:22). The last words are actually in capital letters in the Douay English translation. To Jesus through Mary is a favorite Marian axiom. Well, did you know that the veil covering the tabernacle symbolizes the Blessed Mother, who is always veiled and who always “encompasses” her divine Son? Therefore, as Monsignor Pope points out, since scripture says that a woman’s hair is her glory, it is fitting that she imitate the humility of the Blessed Mother and cover her hair in church so as not to take away the glory due to God in His holy tabernacle. “Lord, I have loved the beauty of thy house, and the place where thy glory dwelleth,” the priest prays during the Lavabo. Many saints have applied these verses from the Psalms to Our Lady who is the unique “place” where the glory of God dwells most abundantly.
