FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK

Dear St. Mary’s Parishioners:

This weekend, you will notice that the statues and crucifix are covered with cloth. The option of “veiling” is found in the instructions in the Roman Missal for the Fifth Sunday of Lent. The instruction notes: “In the Dioceses of the United States, the practice of covering crosses and images throughout the church from [the fifth] Sunday [of Lent] may be observed. Crosses remain covered until the end of the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, but images remain covered until the beginning of the Easter Vigil.”

There are a number of reasons that the liturgical norms allow for veiling the crucifix and images during the last couple weeks of Lent. In his book, “Celebrations of the Liturgical Year”. Bishop Elliot writes: “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.” In other words, the veils help remind us that we are in a special time of the liturgical year. When we see the veils, we cannot help but realize that something is very different. As second reason for the veiling is that it helps us to concentrate on the words being proclaimed, prayed and preached at Mass. For example, when we reflect on the Passion accounts on Palm Sunday and Good Friday, we can enter into the scene and really picture it in our minds. A third reason is that the veiling whets our spiritual appetite for Easter Sunday. We miss seeing the images and so we anticipate when we will be able to see them again. When the veils are removed before the Easter Vigil, we are reminded of our life in this world. Our life in this world is a preparation for our true homeland, which is heaven. In this life, we cannot know what heaven is like. It is hidden and mysterious to us. It is veiled. Through our passing from this life to the next, the veil will be lifted and we will see the beauty of our earthly lives. (cf. “Why do Catholics cover statues and crucifixes during Lent,” https://aleteia.org/2016/03/19/why-do-we-cover-crucifixes-and-statues-during-lent/ )

It seems that the origins of the practice of covering statues in Lent date from the ninth century in Germany, when a large cloth would be extended before the altar from the beginning of Lent. This cloth, called the "Hungertuch" (hunger cloth), hid the altar entirely from the faithful during Lent but was removed during Passiontide, the last two weeks of Lent. Later, the practice of covering the statues and the crucifix evolved to limiting it to the last two weeks of Lent. In any case, be assured that the cloths will be removed before the Easter Vigil. Until then, we “hunger” to see our beloved statues again and walk with Jesus through the darkness of his Passion.

Blessed Lent,

Father Berg