FRAZER ANDRADE
Lent is a 40-day season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday in the Christian calendar. It’s a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord’s resurrection at Easter.
It is the solemn Christian religious observance in the liturgical year, commemorating the 40 days when Jesus Christ spent fasting on the Mount of Olives in Gethsemane.
During that time, He endured temptation by Satan, according to the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, before being crucified on Calvery.
In Konkani, Goans use the term Korezm, which comes from the Portuguese word Quaresma, simply meaning 40 – evidently signifying the 40 days imitation of Christ’s sojourn in the desert.
It is at this time of the year that the altars, statues of Christ and the saints, (except for the Stations of the Cross and stained glass windows) in churches, are veiled.
However, many do not know of the tradition that was strictly observed in every Catholic church in the past.
The practice of veiling images alerts us that something is different. It can be startling at first, but the last two weeks of Lent are a time of immediate preparation for the celebration of the Sacred Triduum.
The veils focus our attention on the words being said at mass. When we listen to the Passion narrative, our senses are allowed to focus on the striking words from the gospel and truly enter into the scene.
The church uses veils to also produce a heightened sense of anticipation for Easter Sunday.
The veils are not meant to be there always. Covering crosses, statues and images or 'veiling' with unadorned, opaque, violet cloths generally begins on the Saturday before the 5th Sunday of Lent.
However, since the Middle Ages, in some churches, veiling may have been done on Ash Wednesday.
It is an old custom of the church that remains an option to this day, but sadly, is rarely practiced in today’s times.
The exact era when it began is not known, but the origins seem to come from a Medieval tradition of the 'hunger cloth' which was a huge violet/black cloth hung in front of the altar to keep the congregation from viewing the altar.
The images need to be unveiled eventually; it is unnatural for them to be covered. The unveiling before the Easter Vigil is a great reminder of our own life on earth.
According to Catholic belief, we live in a 'veiled' world, in exile from our true home. It is only through salvation that the veil is lifted and we are finally able to see the beauty of everything in our lives.
Older liturgical books reference papal permission in 1878 to keep St Joseph uncovered in March since it is his feast month. After the Good Friday ceremonies, all crosses are unveiled.
In the Ordinary Form, the coverings are removed without any liturgical ceremony before the Easter Vigil begins. Sometimes, in the Extraordinary Form, the images are not uncovered until the Gloria is sung at the Easter Vigil.
The whole meaning of veiling the images of Christ is that, during Lent, Christ was absent in society and was isolated on the Mount of Olives. Hence, He was not visible in public.
But, if that is the case, why are the saints also covered in a veil? This is because all saints are ultimately the followers of Christ. Hence, if Christ isn’t there, then how can the saints be?
It is also a beautiful tradition to pass down to children, who will be intrigued by it, and it will make this time of year truly special for them.
We go through great lengths to decorate our homes for Easter, so why not prepare for the great feast by using veils?
Interestingly, at the Andrade House in Ambajim, Margao, the practice of veiling their private oratory with a black veil began around 1730, which continued until somewhere around the 1960s, when the veil caught fire due to the candles lit around it.
The practice was reinstituted only in 2013.
The custom of veiling images during the last two weeks of Lent hails from the Middle Ages, and the veils are usually made of lightweight purple cloth without any decoration.
As early as the 9th century, in Germany, the tradition of extending a large cloth before the altar from the beginning of Lent, known as the Hungertuch or ‘hunger cloth’, hid the altar from the view of the people until the reading of the Passion on the Wednesday of Holy Week at the words 'the veil of the temple was rent in two.'
