On the cross, Jesus allowed the veil of abandonment to obscure his divinity in the fullness of human despair, to bring God, who descended into the abyss of abandonment for our ascension out of darkness into his glorious light.
Before His Passion, Jesus no longer walked openly among the people, but hid himself.
The images of the saints are covered because it would seem improper for the servants to appear, when the Master himself is hidden.
Veiling strips some of the visual splendour of the Church, helping us to fast even with our eyes.
The Gloria is still omitted and so is much of the glorious music, helping us to fast with our ears too.
Our Holy Father St. Philip, said that it takes the whole man to pray well. In the same manner it takes the whole person to fast well. Fasting is to much greater extent the discipline of the mind and will, than that of the flesh.
Images remain veiled until Easter Vigil, when the resurrection unveils the victory and triumph of the Cross.
The Passion is not the end point, but the passage to life.
