Veiled Woman: Conclusion & Bibliography

Woman is ultimately a mystery. Her nature as a person recognizes her mind in which there lives a world: a cosmic mystery that is forever unknowable to its fullest extent. The veil that a woman wears is a symbol of her mystery: a sign of the extent of her ineffable depths. This mystery is true of both men and women, but for a woman, whose nature it is to receive love, the veil is most applicable. Unlike man, whose active love spreads outward from his personality, woman remains within – waiting to be discovered. The veil is not a closing off from the world, but a visible sign of a woman’s continuous mystery. It is an invitation for one who loves to discover her: to enter into that veil, with her permission, and reverently disclose her unknowable depths.

This is why Mary, even in our current day, is almost always portrayed as wearing a veil. It would be irreligious to claim that she does so on account of a rejection of her body, or out of a false modesty. No. She does so because she is so incredibly beautiful and glorious. She carried the child Jesus within her womb, veiled from the world, until his full glory was ready to be received. She yearns to draw all her children within her veil, where they come to know her and to receive the love of the creator in a personal way. It is her glory that she displays with the veil, symbolizing that she herself is mysterious: even more so than any woman on earth.

The Bride-Mother is clothed with the veil upon her wedding day: this symbol is so powerful it makes us pause and takes our breath away. Now is the moment, sacramentally, when woman accepts the love of a lover; when she allows another to enter into her mystery and seek to discover her within her glorious, unknowable depths. This is the mystery of the cosmos symbolized for humanity to see: creation accepts the creator and loves Him with a veiled, secret, and fruitful love. This fruit manifests itself in the mother, who pours out the love she has received into the lives of her children, for whom she, beneath the concealment of the veil, lives a life of self-gift.

The symbol of the veil is a necessary sign for professional woman to be able to demonstrate her nature in the world. By keeping that attitude in her mind, she will truly find fulfillment and attain a full realization of her unique talents and gifts. It is within the veil that woman maintains her unique dignity and in which she keeps enclosed all that is a part of her personhood; when she rejects this veil, when she seeks to reveal herself in all her glory, the very nature of her glory will shrivel up, and she will be left shivering and naked beneath the cold hard gaze of the world. She will lose any respect for the secret and innocent realities of life and will discard them as she has discarded herself. She will be left whirling in a free fall, sinking deeper and deeper into an abyss of despair and misunderstanding of who she is, as she deludes herself into thinking that she is active, impassive, and self-glorified. Only when she respects her own dignity, when she embraces the misunderstood and weakest of humanity, and sacrifices herself for their sake, will she be able to fully manifest her nature, and attain fulfillment in this life. Then she will be glorified by the Lord, the Lover, who loves her as she is meant to be loved, and who will lift her up to the summit of His Majesty.

Bibliography

Gaudium et Spes. http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/ documents/vat-ii_cons_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html. Access date 3/31/16.

Google Post by Hillary Clinton. Jan. 6th, 2016. Engine search: Hillary Clinton on Abortion. Access date 3/29/16.

Pope John Paul II. On the Dignity and Vocation of Woman (Mulieris Dignitatem). Boston: Pauline Books and Media, 2013.

Stein, Edith. Essays on Woman. Volume 2. 2nd ed. Translated by Freda Mary Oben, Ph.D. and edited by Dr. L. Gelber and Romaeus Leuven, O.C.D. Washington D.C.: ICS Publications, 1996.

Von le Fort, Gertrude. The Eternal Woman. Translated by Marie Cecilia Buehrle. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010.