"Now you tell me, what is wrong with this picture?
I post this picture because it highlights the mish-mash of customs surrounding Lent. ..."
Posted on 03/09/2005 6:05:23 AM PST by NYer
ROME, MARCH 8, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University.
Q: Why are crosses and images covered during the last weeks of Lent? -- D.K., Oakland, California
A: First of all, I would first like to recommend Monsignor Peter Elliott's excellent guide "Celebrations of the Liturgical Year" published by Ignatius Press in 2002. It is a very useful resource for all those involved in the practical aspects of liturgical planning.
The duration of such veiling varies from place to place. The custom in many places is to veil from before first vespers or the vigil Mass of the Fifth Sunday of Lent while others limit this veiling from after the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday.
In some places images and statues are actually removed from the church and not simply veiled, especially after Holy Thursday.
Crosses are unveiled after the Good Friday ceremonies. All other images are unveiled shortly before the Mass of the Easter Vigil.
Neither the Stations of the Cross nor stained glass windows are ever veiled.
The bishops' conference may decide if the veiling during this period should be obligatory within its territory.
The veils are usually made of lightweight purple cloth without any decoration.
The custom of veiling the images during the last two weeks of Lent hails from the former liturgical calendar in which the Passion was read on the Fifth Sunday of Lent (hence called "Passion Sunday") as well as on Palm Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week, and Good Friday.
For this reason the period following the Fifth Sunday of Lent was called Passiontide. A remnant of this custom is the obligatory use of the first Preface of the Lord's Passion during the Fifth Week of Lent.
As Monsignor Elliott remarks, "The custom of veiling crosses and images … has much to commend it in terms of religious psychology, because it helps us to concentrate on the great essentials of Christ's work of Redemption."
Although this is true, the historical origin of this practice lies elsewhere. It probably derives from a custom, noted in Germany from the ninth century, of extending a large cloth before the altar from the beginning of Lent.
This cloth, called the "Hungertuch" (hunger cloth), hid the altar entirely from the faithful during Lent and was not removed until during the reading of the Passion on Holy Wednesday at the words "the veil of the temple was rent in two."
Some authors say there was a practical reason for this practice insofar as the often-illiterate faithful needed a way to know it was Lent.
Others, however, maintain that it was a remnant of the ancient practice of public penance in which the penitents were ritually expelled from the church at the beginning of Lent.
After the ritual of public penance fell into disuse -- but the entire congregation symbolically entered the order of penitents by receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday -- it was no longer possible to expel them from the church. Rather, the altar or "Holy of Holies" was shielded from view until they were reconciled to God at Easter.
For analogous motives, later on in the Middle Ages, the images of crosses and saints were also covered from the start of Lent.
The rule of limiting this veiling to Passiontide came later and does not appear until the publication of the Bishops' Ceremonial of the 17th century.
After the Second Vatican Council there were moves to abolish all veiling of images, but the practice survived, although in a mitigated form.
Here in NY, I have not seen statues covered since before VCII. Is this still practiced in your dioceses?
If I recall rightly, I was taught in Catholic school that the crucifix was covered because, in one of the gospels preceding Passion Sunday, the Sanhedrin were displeased with what Jesus had to say and were ready to arrest him right then, so Jesus hid himself from their sight.
(They did it at my old High Episcopal church too.)
No.
Yep. I've lived in two different dioceses here in Florida and in both I have witnessed the veiling of images and the crucifix.
This custom can also be carried out in the home, especially since so much liturgical symbolism has been erased in recent years.
Here in LA, our Holy Water font is covered. Statues/ cross are not.
At my former parish, they covered the resurexifix, (because there was no crucifix) with a big white sheet like thing. My daughter said it made it look like a ghost.
We have a new priest and I am thinking that everything will be veiled. I'll let you know later whether my guess is correct or not.
In my Lutheran parish the processional cross was veiled beginning on Ash Wednesday. The brass altar cross was replaced with a wooden cross fashioned from the trunk of an old Christmas tree. It is not veiled. The brass cross will return (veiled) at the Easter Vigil and the veil will remain in place until the Gloria.
All statues and crucifixes covered with purple during Holy Week (Augusta, GA).......and that's fo' sho.........
That's true! Here in Massachusetts, I know statues were veiled but it's been so long since I've noticed, I'd say they no longer are (in my parish, north of Boston).
our parish removed three small statues that stood in an alcove near the altar at the beginning of Lent. They were replaced by a simple, bare cross with a purple veil draped across it. The crucifix has not been veiled, nor have two statues of the Blessed Mother and St Paul (our parish patron) that hang on the wall been veiled. This whole practice is very confusing, because it sounds like every parish follows a different set of rules regarding what gets veiled, what doesn't, what gets removed or replaced, what doesn't, etc.
Bump to post#15
Veiling of crosses is an adiaphoron, something which makes no difference as it is not salvific. The essential question is whether this practice draws us closer to Christ and enhances our appreciation of His passion.
absolutely. I certainly didn't mean to criticize my parish or any other parish about its Lenten veiling practices. Just pointing out that it varies widely from place to place, which makes it a rather confusing phenomenon to explain to others, especially non-Catholics.
"Now you tell me, what is wrong with this picture?
I post this picture because it highlights the mish-mash of customs surrounding Lent. ..."
We'll be covering up beginning this weekend. At least in my indult parish; can't speak for others.
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