MODESTY: WHAT IS THAT?!

I enjoyed this blog post on MODESTY, and wanted to share it.  When I read postings on the topic I try not to read it as a 30 year old woman, but as a young teenage girl.

I think this view on modesty is simple, direct, yet might actually cause a young girl/woman to think about it, instead of turning them off of the idea of modesty completely, especially those who have no strong religious or moral convictions.

Here's a tidbit. Please click on the link to read the whole article.

Modesty.  What is the first image that comes to mind when someone mentions modesty?  Do you have pictures of Amish women and nuns running through your head?  If so, I would like to show you a different definition of modesty, and why it is so very important for young girls and this generation.

Modesty isn’t solely about “how much skin do I have to cover”, it’s an outside and inside type of lifestyle.  The question shouldn’t be, “how much skin can I show without getting into trouble?”, it should be, “by wearing this, what am I trying to achieve or convey?”

MODESTY: WHAT IS THAT?!

Acts of Kindness

And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor,

and if I should deliver my body to be burned,

and have not Charity, it profiteth me nothing.

~1 Corinthians 13:3

It's amazing what comes to mind while on the treadmill. Since we got home I've been trying to work off the pounds I gained eating all that yummy Israeli food....and the pounds I needed to lose before we left. :)

With the laptop setup on the treadmill I find I can walk forever.

Anyhow, this morning I've been thinking about acts of kindness, and the plan was to do a really long post about why we should be inspired to always be thinking of this.

But...

I went on google to look for images and I decided that's all I needed for this topic. I hope you find the following pictures inspiring in some way.

I know...

"The souls of men are tried less by work than by the frustration that comes from too much attention to the trivial." ~Bishop Fulton Sheen

This quote is in a frame on my husband's desk, and since I'm using his computer it's staring me right in the face. I did not even get on the computer with the intention of posting something today, I just planned on taking some time to goof-off, and maybe do a little online window shopping. :)

But now I feel a bit guilty and I'm thinking I should force myself to get up and do something that needs to be done, but that I really don't want to do, like workout, laundry, clean the office, etc. I wish that when I read quotes such as this one, that it would stick with me for a long period of time, but they are often forgotten too quickly, and I end up right back where I started. I know I could write my favorite quotes down and stick them where I'll see them, but I've noticed that eventually that piece of paper just becomes another fixture in the house & I stop noticing it.

Is that normal? Am I the only one that does that? Any new tips?

Wearing A Veil

Veiling is something I do for several reason's, but mostly because I see it as a great showing of humility in the presence of Our Lord. I first started to wear a veil to Mass after I started attending the TLM, but now I veil no matter what form of Mass I am attending. It was not long after I converted that I started veiling, and that might be why it was such an easy transition for me. I'm sure the decision to start would have been much more difficult if I had grown up in the Church and was not brought up wearing a chapel veil.

I would love to hear your stories or thoughts about veiling. Do you wear a veil to Mass? Do you not wear a veil to Mass? Do you want to? How do you feel about it.?

I found the article about veiling on a newly discovered blog Will You Mantilla With Me, I hope you enjoy it!!

By Sr Patricia Therese, OPB

In ancient traditions dating back even thousands of years, the “veil” represented purity and modesty in many religions and cultures. A veil, or head covering, is both a symbol and a mystical sacrifice that invites the woman wearing it to ascend the ladder of sanctity.

When a woman covers her head in the Catholic Church it symbolises her dignity and humility before God, not men. It is no surprise women of today have so easily abandoned the tradition of the chapel veil (head covering) when the two greatest meanings of the veil are purity and humility.

The woman who covers her head in the presence of the Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is reminding herself that she must be humble before God. As with all outward gestures, if it is practised enough it filters down into the heart and is translated into actions that speak volumes. The “veil” covers what the Lord calls, in Holy Scripture, “the glory of the woman”, her hair. Covering her hair is a gesture the woman makes spiritually to “show” God she recognises her beauty is less than His and His Glory is far above hers.

In doing this she is reminded that virtues cannot grow in the soul without a great measure of humility. So she wears the veil to please God and remind herself to practice virtue more ardently.

There is no other piece of clothing a woman may wear to serve this function. The veil symbolically motivates the woman to “bow” her head in prayer, to lower her eyes before the great and mysterious beauty and power of God in the Blessed Sacrament. By the bowing of her head and lowering of her eyes, she is more able to worship God in the interior chapel of her heart and soul.

The veil or head covering a woman wears gives a beautiful sense of dignity to a woman. When she wears it, she identifies herself with God’s greatest creation, the Blessed and Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God. There was none on earth that loved and loves the Lord Jesus more than the Blessed Virgin Mary. In her love, her humility breathed forth like sweet scented incense before God. The veil she wore symbolised her purity, modesty and of course her profound humility and submission before and to God Almighty.

Those women who love Jesus must come to realise the imitation of His Mother in wearing a chapel veil (head covering) and in other virtues is a small sacrifice to make in order to grow in spiritual understanding of purity, humility and love.

The covering of a woman’s head in Church is a striking reminder of modesty, something old but lost in the society of today. Modesty and purity walk hand in hand.

When a woman veils her head she is shielding her heart to be wooed by the love of God in the Blessed Sacrament. This is a mystical ‘country’ that only the Eternal Father may enter. Her veil is like the lighted lamps of the virgins waiting for the Bridegroom, an indication that she is prepared to receive Him at a moment’s notice; an aureole of her spiritual love for the Bridegroom. Wearing the veil is an act of love of God.

Why should a woman wear a head covering or veil in church? Not to be praised, not to go along, not for tradition’s sake, not to stand out in the crowd, not because you say or I say or anybody says…But because she loves our Eucharistic Lord Jesus and it is another small sacrifice she may offer for her soul’s sake and for the sake of many souls who have no one to offer for them.