Why should women cover their heads in Church?

Fr. Hervé Belmont skillfully presents the reasons, both natural and divine, that underlie this timeless, Catholic discipline

This short demonstration is written by Fr. Hervé Belmont, who has gratefully given us permission to publish his works at The Journal of American Reform. Previously, we have seen how he addressed the question of religious freedom and its relation to Catholic doctrine. In this post, the focus will be on an entirely separate subject, namely feminine modesty and subjection in Churches. For nearly six decades, Catholic men have been lectured on their duties—whether familial, religious or societal—while the same line of exhortation has noticeably been absent for Catholic women. Arguably, this unhealthy sensitivity to avoid offending the weaker sex goes back much further, with the advent of women’s liberation and movement-feminism in the nineteenth century. Regardless, for any serious Catholic, this will be a much-needed refresher on a timeless discipline of the Church, which dates back to the apostolic era and the teaching of St. Paul. We will see not only what a woman must do in a Church and at sacred functions, but importantly why.

Finally, before presenting the relevant text, it would be remiss not to mention Father Belmont’s website, Quicumque. It is a wealth of information, touching on spirituality, apologetics, philosophy and theology, and readers are encouraged to visit. Now, without further ado, we are pleased to present the essay.

1. The first, immediate, sufficient and determining reason is that it is the law of God and of the Church.

— It is the law of God, which the Holy Spirit revealed through Saint Paul: “I want you to know that the head of every man is Jesus Christ, and the head of a woman is the man, and the head of Jesus Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies without a veil on her head dishonors her head, for it is one and the same as if she were shaved. Therefore, if a woman does not cover herself with a veil, let her hair be shaved. […] Therefore a woman ought to have the mark of her dependence on her head because of the Angels. […] Judge for yourselves: is it seemly for a woman to pray to God without a veil? […] And if anyone wants to challenge this, we have no such custom, nor does the Church of God.” [I Cor. XI, 3-16].

— This is the law of the Church, promulgated by the first successor of Saint Peter, Pope Saint Linus (the breviary was published on his feast day, September 23); this law has been in force without interruption in the Church, as canon law from 1917 testifies: “When attending sacred functions, whether in church or outside, men must have their heads uncovered […]. As for women, they must have their heads covered and be modestly dressed, especially when approaching the holy table” [Canon 1262 § 2]. I know that this law was not included in the 1983 code: but is that a reason to forget Saint Paul (who was not abolished, and whose order endures) and twenty centuries of wisdom (which we cruelly lack)? In order for this law to be binding, it is not necessary for us to understand it. That is why I say that this first reason is sufficient and decisive.

But it is desirable to seek to understand the reasons for a law, in order to better obey it, thus entering into its spirit and conforming with greater intelligence and docility to the will of the legislator.

2. The reasons for this divine law are indicated by the Apostle Saint Paul: …in token of subjection…because of the Angels.

These two reasons suggest a lot, especially in our world plagued by egalitarianism and shamelessness.

Subjection.

There is a subjection of woman to man that is glorious, and another that is one of the punishments of original sin. As for the first, Saint Paul says that woman is the glory of man… the sanctity of his soul, the honor of his home, the educator of his children, the guardian of his customs, the sweetness of his life: irreplaceable glory, a glory that made and makes Christian society, a glory that is also a pledge of a simply human society (by absorbing the second subjection), a glory that a foolish egalitarianism destroys, to the greatest detriment of all. As for the second, it is the effect of the disorder of the flesh (this concupiscence is generally much more alive in man) and of the disorder of force, which becomes brutality and an appetite for domination. The grace of God frees from sin; it does not free (in this world) from the condition of a sinner under the yoke of the consequences of sin — but it softens this yoke and makes it an occasion of merit.

Consecrated virginity makes a woman directly the glory and wife of Jesus Christ, and places her in a condition in which the second subjection disappears.

Because of the angels.

— Because of the good Angels, for they are ministers of the presence of God, sanctifiers of the places where God is most particularly present (Eucharistic presence in Churches, spiritual presence in places of public prayer [where two or three are gathered in my name, I am in their midst]) and executors of His law;
— because of the ministers of God, whose vision must not be disturbed in holy ceremonies;
– because of men, who must tend to lead an angelic life, controlling concupiscence, and cannot do so unless women are dressed with modesty;
– because of the evil angels, who excite in women the desire to please, to be admired, to be glorified (in public, they risk being so by someone other than their husband). Women often believe that this very feminine desire to please is harmless or innocent, forgetting that it has as its correlative the very masculine desire to conquer. All the barriers placed in Christian society are designed to ensure that these two desires do not meet and cannot be expressed outside of legitimate marriage.

Why then cover the head? For a symbolic reason, given by Saint Paul (a sign of dependence), and for a real reason, which is linked to that (the hair is the woman’s ornament, which attracts the eyes). This does not mean that the rest of the body can be uncovered, no! The visible parts of the human body are those least marked by animality (and, therefore, those least wounded by original sin): the face, which is the reflection of the spiritual soul, and the hands, which are the instruments of intelligent nature.

END.

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