How This Aussie Mum Is Restoring the Beauty of 'Being a Woman'

The biggest and most destructive lie women are told is about who they are.

Jane Xie lives it out every day—as a mother, a business owner, and a witness to the dignity of womanhood in today’s culture.

Today, women are told that their value is dependent on what they do. They need to be more successful than men. They need to suppress their femininity to be free.

And the result is a generation of women left confused and misled -unable to grasp one of the most beautiful truths of the Christian faith: who God created them to be.

This week, I had the privilege of doing a special Q&A with a woman who has discovered and rediscovered this truth more deeply.

For Jane Xie, understanding her dignity as a woman not only transformed her personal life, but also as a mother. Now, Jane owns a business called Filia Dei Veils, trying to spread this message as far as possible.

These are the insights Jane has discovered.

 

"What inspired you to create Filia Dei Veils? What do you think secular culture gets most wrong about femininity—and how has veiling helped reframe that for you?"

 

The creation of Filia Dei Veils was something that evolved and emerged gradually for me since 2018, which was when I began to seriously consider veiling. It is intimately tied to my personal journey in truly accepting and knowing that my deepest identity is rooted in being a 'daughter of God'. I knew this concept as 'head knowledge' for some time, but knew a path still needed to be carved into my own heart. 

Every time I put on my veil, it reminded me who I am and who I belonged to, which over time gave me an indescribable peace. In that time, the Lord slowly worked on my soul to heal some major wounds and misconceptions I had about my femininity and self-worth. I started exploring making my own veils in mid-2019 and made some for my friends and some ladies at my local parish. Under much encouragement from them all, I eventually started this apostolate and named it Filia Dei Veils, which means 'daughter of God' in Latin. I wanted to share this interior journey with other women in our modern age, reminding us all of our deepest identity, through which, if only we truly knew and strived to live in it, we can find great healing, peace and strength in the face of modern feminism so rife within our society today. 

Our modern culture promotes and celebrates women based on their accomplishments 'out there' in society, and champions the thought that 'whatever a man can do, I can do too (or better).' This mentality fosters a competitive nature against our brothers, and fundamentally misses the mark on the very fact that God made man and woman equal in dignity, but complementary in their nature. 

In many ways, we have become a society that has rejected our Creator, and thus echoing the wise words from Gaudium et Spes: "When God is forgotten, the creature itself grows unintelligible."

 

More young women today are progressive, sceptical of religion, and struggling with their self-worth.

What’s something you’ve learned that you wish every Catholic woman could know? What would you want to say to them, especially as a Catholic woman who’s walked a similar healing journey? 

Take as much time as possible to visit Jesus regularly in Adoration or even in the Tabernacle. Dare to open your heart to Him in all its rawness and see what happens. I guarantee you, He will only respond with love, truth, and mercy. Pray for the grace to truly know your identity as His beloved daughter, who is good and precious as you are. Our worth is not dependent on anything exterior — whether it is society’s expectations, familial ones, or even those imposed on ourselves. It comes from the interior peace and certainty that no matter how broken our past is, and how much we may still stumble, we are wholly loved by our Father. 

 

How has your identity as a ‘Filia Dei’ (daughter of God) influenced how you now see your mission as a mother? Is there any approach that has been particularly useful in helping raise an infant? 

Knowing this essential identity has opened the way for a deeper understanding and appreciation for the way God has made me as a woman for motherhood. A woman’s nature is receptive, for she has the capacity built in her biology to receive and grow a soul, give birth to it, and then nurture that soul into maturity. Thus, her entire motherhood speaks a profound love language that is actively receptive to another human being. This mirrors a dimension of God’s love for us since we are made in His image and likeness. 

 

What’s your favourite Catholic book—and how has it formed your heart or shaped your faith?

Dr. Christopher West’s “Theology of the Body for Beginners” was a mind-blowing introduction to Pope St. John Paul II’s teachings for me. It was while reading this book that I experienced my initial interior conversion to the Faith, and it has shaped it ever since! 

 

 

Filia Dei Veils is truly doing God's work. So many women have lost this message, so I'm grateful for the apostolate Jane is working on.

 

If you want to find more about Filia Dei Veils, you can checkout their website here. Or if you want to get a copy of 'Theology of the Body for Beginners', you can do so here.

 

Ave Maria,

Virtue Books and Gifts