![\"Veil\"](\"http:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Veil.jpg\")
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A while back a friend posted a story and question on Facebook:<\/p>\n
A husband and wife are attending a Tridentine Mass. During the consecration, the wife is tapped on the shoulder. A woman passes her a handwritten note that reads, \u201cShame on you for not covering your head while attending the sacred Mass\u201d along with a cotton cloth of some sort and a pin.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n How do you respond?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Needless to say, a very interesting Facebook discussion ensued…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I suppose I should first make it clear that this post is not a crticism\u00a0of the Latin Mass, head coverings or traditionally-minded Catholics. Speaking personally,\u00a0I go to the Latin Mass a few times each year<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0I have written about my fondness for head-coverings<\/a>\u00a0in earlier posts. Two of my housemates belong to FSSP parishes.<\/p>\n My friend who posted this story on Facebook also prefixed it by describing himself as\u00a0“a crypto-admirer of the Tridentine Mass. I don’t attend very often, but I like the fact that it’s still around, and I’m generally opposed to [those]\u00a0who want to marginalize it”<\/span><\/em>.<\/p>\n So, although this scenario\u00a0takes place in the context of a Tridentine parish and concerns head veiling, I don’t think that the essence of this story is\u00a0necessarily\u00a0tied to the Latin Mass. Although the exact details\u00a0would be different<\/strong>,\u00a0I\u00a0think that a troubling event such as the one described above could have just as equally taken place at a Novus Ordo<\/em>\u00a0Mass or even during my own beloved Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.<\/p>\n In response to my friend’s post, many\u00a0people commented\u00a0on the story\u00a0with indignation, my personal favourite of which was the rather cheeky\u00a0“How do you say ‘self-righteous ass’ in Latin?”<\/em><\/span>. A few\u00a0pointed out the hypocrisy of\u00a0the lady’s actions, berating\u00a0someone for disrespecting the Eucharist, yet the Consecration is probably the most inappropriate\u00a0time to wander around the pews\u00a0handing out insulting notes to newcomers!<\/p>\n As I’ve said many times, I have the greatest friends in the world. The innate goodness shone in many of\u00a0their Facebook responses. Many said that, although they’d probably be rather hurt and annoyed, they hoped that they’d try and accept the note and the head-covering in good grace and even a “God bless you”<\/span><\/em>.<\/p>\n Naturally, in the discussion, some said that they would speak\u00a0after Mass\u00a0to the lady who handed over the\u00a0note. As charitable as always, they said that they\u00a0would try to redirect her\u00a0enthusiasm. For example, if she felt so strongly about the ladies wearing head-coverings,\u00a0they said they would suggest that she speak to the priest about becoming an official greeter in the parish. She could\u00a0welcome those arriving for Mass and offer a suitable head covering to\u00a0those without one. This would allow the lady to receive some training from her\u00a0priest. One of my Facebook friends said:<\/p>\n “It would have been nice to offer the veil without judgement. ‘I have an extra veil. Would you like to borrow it?'”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Others said that, although\u00a0they would\u00a0let her speak first, they would point out that her actions were imprudent and uncharitable.<\/p>\n So I guess that, after saying all of this, I should probably say what I would hope to do in such a situation.\u00a0I would like to think that I wouldn’t make a fuss in the moment. The Mass, and especially the consecration, is not the time to make a scene. I also don’t think I would confront this lady after Mass. I wouldn’t be convinced that it would be an especially productive conversation and, more importantly, I wouldn’t know what kind of situation\u00a0into which I was walking, knowing nothing about the lady in question or her background. Instead, I would make a point to speak to the parish priest, either directly after the Mass or soon afterward, giving him the note itself.<\/p>\n One of my priest friends asked me what I would expect the priest to do as a result of my\u00a0speaking to the parish’s pastor. I replied that it would entirely be up to his discretion. The parish is under his authority and he knows his flock far better than I. More than anything else, I would want to make sure that he knew the reception a newcomer had received in\u00a0his parish. Whatever steps he’d want to take as a result would be up to his prudential judgement.<\/p>\n The priest may be doing a great job building up the parish in so many ways, but I’d suggest that his hard work would be in serious danger of being completely scuttled if unbeknownst to him there’s someone in his parish going around handing newcomers notes like that. The event\u00a0took place during the\u00a0consecration in an Ad Orientem parish, so the\u00a0priest would have been facing towards the altar and therefore it is unlikely he woul dhave seen\u00a0what went on!<\/p>\n If I were\u00a0a priest and someone told me this has taken\u00a0place in the parish where I served, I hope I’d do\u00a0something<\/strong>. I have often found the welcome at Protestant\u00a0congregations to be incredibly warm and I have put that down, in large part, to the fact that the subject of hospitality is often preached upon and a culture of welcoming has been nurtured over the course of many years. Likewise, the emphasis on evangelism is often more greatly emphasized at non-Catholic parishes, so members of the congregation are more aware of the fact that the person walking through the church’s doors may well not even be a Christian.<\/p>\n In the Facebook discussion, I was quite insistent that I didn’t think it was a good idea to say nothing. I also said that, while I think it’s admirable, I don’t think it would be wise\u00a0to be overly gracious to the lady in question. Why do I say this?<\/p>\n Put simply, the lady’s behaviour was unacceptable.\u00a0She\u00a0knew nothing about the people attending her church for the first time. Was it their very first time ever visiting a Catholic Church? Was this the first time visiting after a long absence? Was this their first time experiencing the Extraordinary Form? Had they simply had\u00a0a terrible morning and the wife forgotten her veil?<\/p>\nIt’s not about the Latin Mass<\/h3>\n
Different\u00a0Reactions<\/h3>\n
My thoughts…<\/h3>\n
Why is this important?<\/h3>\n