On his death bed, what does Mr. Hooper say he sees on the everyone's faces, and why is this so important to the story of "The Minister's Black Veil"...

As Mr.
Hooper is dying in his bed near the end of the story, another minister attempts to remove Mr.
Hooper's black veil. He wants people to see Hooper's "triumphant" face as he passes
over into eternal life. He also wants whatever Hooper may be hiding by the veil to be lifted
from him before passing on to God's judgment. Hooper forcefully grabs the veil and says that he
will never remove the veil "on earth." Then in a moment of great strength, Hooper
addresses the people in the room around him, and he tells each of them that he sees a black veil
on each of their faces.

I look around me, and, lo! on
every visage a Black Veil!

This is important to the
overall meaning of the story because readers are meant to interpret the veil as a concrete
symbol of a person's hidden sins. People sin, and they try to hide it from God and friends
alike. Hooper's veil is physically expressing this concept of people trying to hide the sin in
themselves. Hooper never comes out and expressly tells people this is what the veil is for;
however, on his deathbed, he finally announces to those around him what the veil is symbolic of.
The revelation hits the people like a hammer blow because they immediately understand and even
fearfully "shrank" away from each other. Hooper knows they finally understand, and he
lets a rare smile be seen.

While his auditors shrank from
one another, in mutual affright, Father Hooper fell back upon his pillow, a veiled corpse, with
a faint smile lingering on the lips.