Bare foot servers

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I was at mass yesterday and an orthodox priest was celebrating. I noticed the servers had bare feet. I presumed this was somehow related to moses being told to remove shoes when he was on holy ground. Is this a traditional Catholic practice? I liked it.
 
I don’t believe this is a traditional Catholic practice. I don’t care for the idea.

matthew
 
I’ve seen Franciscans in sandals and “hippie” priests in boots or loafers, but barefoot? Seems a little unhygenic for the servers who walk in the same areas as shod people tracking in all manner of debris. Hope their priests aren’t the ones using glass chalices…
 
Interesting. The priest is definately traditional/orthodox and the servers were young men in more traditional dress. I’ll have to ask him about it.
 
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gerryran:
I was at mass yesterday and an orthodox priest was celebrating. I noticed the servers had bare feet. I presumed this was somehow related to moses being told to remove shoes when he was on holy ground. Is this a traditional Catholic practice? I liked it.
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It’s better than the dirty sneakers our servers wear…Barefoot is Ok by me…There’s a certain humbleness about it. It would be interesting to know how it came about. Let us know what you find out.
 
so long as it is done reverently, I think that it is a fantastic idea.
 
I wouldn’t mind it as long as they got regular pedicures. 🙂

And just a reminder to all the guys out there - there’s nothing wrong with getting your feet and hands done, us women tend to notice the small things. 😉
 
Was this priest by any chance from an Asian country? In India (where I come from) it is quite common to see servers and priests enter the sanctuary with bare feet as a mark of respect. It is even the practise for some to receive communion barefooted. I still remember how shocked the sacristan looked when once, on holiday, I walked into the Adoration chapel wearing my shoes.
 
When I was down in the Fiji Islands years ago all the altar boys were bare foot—they didn’t own shoes.
 
In Coptic churches, both Catholic and Orthodox, the people remove their shoes before entering the church. There is nothing inherently wrong with this practice, but it does seem to be a cultural thing.

Deacon Ed
 
Deacon Ed:
In Coptic churches, both Catholic and Orthodox, the people remove their shoes before entering the church. There is nothing inherently wrong with this practice, but it does seem to be a cultural thing.Deacon Ed
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Actually, it’s a scriptual thing.

The flesh of dead animals was one of the things forbidden in the Old Testament for use in the Temple. At that time, shoes were made of animal hide. It became practice for those who served in the Holy of Holies to enter either bare-foot or to wear knitted slippers…

Hope this helps…
 
When I was visiting the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, they did virtually all church functions (mass, liturgy of the hours, angeles), barefoot in their chapels.

Josh
 
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gerryran:
I was at mass yesterday and an orthodox priest was celebrating. I noticed the servers had bare feet. I presumed this was somehow related to moses being told to remove shoes when he was on holy ground. Is this a traditional Catholic practice? I liked it.
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It is NOT a traditional Catholic practice–and certainly not a necessary one. If the priest required this as a humbling, biblical or other “improvement” on the liturgy, then this was his personal stipulation rather than something coming from the rubrics. Only he can give you his reasoning. If you ask him, I’d be curious to hear what he says!
 
I have never seen this; however, I have not travelled much around the world. :hmmm:

Kathie :bowdown:
 
My father was an altar server but did not own a pair of shoes until he was a teenager, so he must have served barefoot. I imagine the situation was similar for a lot of boys during the Depression.

As for it happening now, I would be concerned about it as a health issue. What if a server stepped on something sharp?
 
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MaryAgnes:
It is NOT a traditional Catholic practice–and certainly not a necessary one
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Actually, this custom PRE-DATES the “traditional Catholic practices” you refer to by many hundreds of years…
 
At the Good Friday service, according to the traditional rite, our priest removed his shoes just before the adoration of the cross.

Never heard of it done at a regular Mass, though.
 
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Confiteor:
I’ve seen Franciscans in sandals and “hippie” priests in boots or loafers, but barefoot? Seems a little unhygenic for the servers who walk in the same areas as shod people tracking in all manner of debris. Hope their priests aren’t the ones using glass chalices…
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Most of the world walks around barefoot. I think we can take it. 😉
 
This may or may not be relavent, but on good Friday, there is a tradition of walking up to venerate the Cross bare footed. I wonder if there is a connection. Sacrifice on the Cross and sacrifice of the Mass?
 
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