Veiling of Statues and Icons During Passiontide Why do we veil crucifixes and statues on the 5th Sunday of Lent? The rubrics in the Roman Missal states: “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.” This ancient Catholic practice stems from the former liturgical calendar in which the traditional Gospel reading for the 5th Sunday of Lent (i.e., the start of Passiontide) tells us on how Jesus hid Himself away from the Jews when they attempted to stone Him. According to St. Augustine, at this moment when Jesus “hid Himself” from the Jews, Christ in fact became invisible by virtue of His Divine nature. To help signify this mystery, crucifixes and images of Christ are veiled with purple cloth on the evening before the start of the Passiontide. The same goes with images of the saints, as it is befitting that if the glory of the Master is hidden, then His servants should not appear. These last two weeks of Lent are meant to be a time of immediate preparation and ‘hunger’ for the Sacred Triduum the celebration of our redemption. These veils are a forceful reminder for us to be eager and ‘hunger’ for its fulfilment in our celebration. The Church uses veils to produce a heightened sense of anticipation for Paschal Mystery about to be celebrated. This is further actualized when you participate in the liturgy during this special time and see the veils each day. They are hiding some very beautiful images. Herein lies the whole point: the veils are not meant to be there forever, it is unnatural for beauty to be covered. We desire, we ‘hunger’ for this beauty to be unveiled. The unveiling before the Easter Vigil is a great reminder of our own life on earth. We live in a “veiled” world, in exile from our true home. It is only through our own death that the veil is lifted and we are finally able to see the beauty of everything in our lives. www.aleteia.com facebook.com/catholicsknowtheanswerofficialpage
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