Chapel Veils- Please sir may I have another! Support and Holiday gift guide

Ok, I was stretching with that one, but I am looking for something catchy. I have been veiling for several years at all masses, TLM and OF and whenever I am in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. I know of several blog posts and sites with women discussing this issue and some who want to but hesitate. There is a booklet I found that was written a few years ago by some young women in college. I will find it and post the information later, but they give a very good and short explanation of why they veil. For me, it is not that I feel I am better or holier, far from it. It has nothing to do with the reasons many Muslim women wear hijab. For those tempted to lob that chestnut, I am Catholic and I just cover when in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.

Arguably the biggest loss in these 40 plus years since the end of Vatican II is the knowledge of the True Presence and reverence of the same. Veiling helps me keep recollected and focused on Jesus. It also helps me set aside any stresses and issues of daily life to participate in worship. Jesus is really and truly present in the Eucharist and the angels are there, in church with us, also adoring him. I also veil as a sign I am trying (and daily fail pretty spectacularly) to be in imitation of the Blessed Mother and the love and humility in which she lived.

A tangent to that is how I dress. Regardless of who is in the White House, if I received an invitation to meet the president or if I was attending some function at the Senate or House of Representatives I would not wear a sweatshirt, one of my house skirts and my slippers. I would dress appropriately for that event. When I go to work, I wear clothes appropriate for what I am doing that day and when I go to church on Sunday, my dress reflects that I am there to worship.

If someone is paying more attention to me than the mass and Jesus, they need to work (along with me) on custody of the eyes (look it up). For me, veiling also is a link to my grandmothers and their "church lady hats". I know some ladies that veil stick with black or white, but I like color.

For those that want to begin veiling, but are shy, you can start with a hat or a scarf, especially if you are in the northern hemisphere and it is cold. Just wear it outside in the cold and keep it on during mass.

You can also try snoods, headbands or other similar covers. This is an Etsy store which has some nice snood styles for women and girls:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ReginaCoeliCreations?ref=seller_info

This site has some lovely headband styles and styles that you can wear just to keep your hair back:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/GarlandsOfGrace?ref=seller_info


For veils, I highly recommend two sites:

The woman who has this Etsy shop is not only from my home state (yea!) but her veils are lovely and she will make a custom order. Her veils are made of soft lace and she also makes veil "purses" to keep your veil from getting lost or messed up in your purse. She also has in my opinion, the best t-shirt design for Confirmation ever and other items.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LadyinBlueShop

This owner of this site also uses a beautiful soft lace. I believe she makes all of the veils to order and she is popular so if you want to order from her for Christmas, get to stepping!

http://www.veilsbylily.com/

Modesy vs the Vulgarity-Deal with it Crowd

There was an article by the Washington Post style editor regarding a teen actress/singer who gained fame, money and a legion of tween and pre-teen fans and whose latest performances in former years, would have only been seen on a burlesque stage or "mens" club. After pooh poohing critics who labeled the girl's latest exploit vulgar (making me wonder if she knows the meaning of that word), the writer literally told concerned parents to just deal with it, it is just a phase and the girl is seeking not to be a poorly adjusted former child star.

I, for one, will not deal with it because my number one job as a parent is to raise up my children for God and to raise them in a way that will set them on a path they can follow to heaven. Really. Comments like that article and other things I have noticed are what have led me to make a concerted effort in the past year and a half to model modesty and femininity for my daughter and to stress the importance of modesty to her. Unless our society wakes up and states changing, she will live in a world that has lost its sense of modesty and decorum, but there are still those who know and value those qualities.

If we "get over it" we cannot be surprised to wake up and find our daughter's devalued and used and our son's incapable of being men who can love a wife and lead a family.

Modest and appropriate dress in church is a start. For Catholics, when we go to mass, Jesus is truly present in the tabernacle, period. Because our God is Triune, but One God, church is truly God's house and God- Father, Son and Holy Spirit are present. Because Jesus is always attended by angels, Angels are there. I never understand why someone who, if they were going to meet the president at the White House, would not hesitate to dress up would think jeans or a low cut top or spaghetti straps or shorts is ok to wear to church because it is comfortable or clean or because it is hot outside. We are going into the presence of God to Worship.

Modest skirts are easier to find because longer skirts have been "in" at alot of retailers. Blouses can be a challenge and with girls the challenge is finding skirts and dresses long enough. There are a lot of retailers with cute dresses and skirts, but too many of them are just barely at the knee if not above.

RECOMMENDATIONS

PHYLLISJEAN.NET

I HIGHLY recommend Phyllisjean for beautifully made womens and girls blouses. I have gotten rid of all of my other blouses that always tended to gape. They have beautifully feminine skirts and girls jumpers and bloomers (so they can run and jump and tumble and play, yet still be modest.) A special shout out for their modest doll dresses, which so enchanted my daughter that her doll babies have not been naked for weeks.
And you know that thing about keeping the Sabbath day holy (which should mean no shopping) that we all to often ignore. You will not be buying on Sunday as they shut down the sales part of their store. You can look at the selections, but no buying until Monday.

http://www.phyllisjean.net/index.html

LADYINBLUESHOP

I will write more about head veiling later. In short, to those who argue that it is not in the current code of a cannon law, by 1983, there was a definite trend to ignore things being done that were not permitted then to just give in and allow them so no way were they even going to attempt to deal with the issue of veiling.

I found this shop on Etsy through a post on another blog. Beautiful and reasonably priced women's veils made by a homeschooling mother. Not just triangles, but round veils and princess style in soft laces.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LadyinBlueShop