Is foot washing on Holy Thursday part of sacred tradition?

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angell1

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i always thought the foot washing ritual was something only the pope did for his college of cardinals, which would make perfect sense.

now i’m discovering that othe parishes do it too and that’s it’s ordinarily only supposed to be for men. what’s up with that?

if you’re going to keep it traditional, then keep it within the vatican, i think. if you want to show self-sacrifice and service, then do it to everyone. how do you justify only selecting lay men and not women for this?

someone please explain it to me. thanks
 
It’s symbolic of Christ washing the feet of the apostles, who were men.

Didn’t pope Francis wash a woman’s feet last year?
 
angell1 said:
i always thought the foot washing ritual was something only the pope did for his college of cardinals, which would make perfect sense.

now i’m discovering that othe parishes do it too and that’s it’s ordinarily only supposed to be for men. what’s up with that?

if you’re going to keep it traditional, then keep it within the vatican, i think. if you want to show self-sacrifice and service, then do it to everyone. how do you justify only selecting lay men and not women for this?

someone please explain it to me. thanks
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Traditionally, the foot ritual washing has been 12 men to symbolize the Twelve Apostles, but the important takeaway isn’t whose feet is being washed. Rather, the important takeaway is the meaning behind the ritual action, “the greatest among you is the servant of all.” Many parish communities have taken a more pastoral approach to the symbolism and applied it in ways that are more meaningful to the congregation, like Pope Francis.

It’s not the ritual that matters; it’s the symbolic meaning of the ritual.
 
Eduard_Khil said:
It’s symbolic of Christ washing the feet of the apostles, who were men.

Didn’t pope Francis wash a wom not women? or are we not worthy of discipleship and service or somethingan’s feet last year?
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yes, and it caused quite some controversy.

i don’t mind if it’s just the pope doing it but if lay men can receive it, then why not the women as well. aren’t we disciples too?
 
janeway529 said:
Traditionally, the foot ritual washing has been 12 men to symbolize the Twelve Apostles, but the important takeaway isn’t whose feet is being washed. Rather, the important takeaway is the meaning behind the ritual action, “the greatest among you is the servant of all.” Many parish communities have taken a more pastoral approach to the symbolism and applied it in ways that are more meaningful to the congregation, like Pope Francis.

It’s not the ritual that matters; it’s the symbolic meaning of the ritual.
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can the symbolic meaning be changed? or expanded? or is it part of sacred tradition?
 
angell1 said:
i always thought the foot washing ritual was something only the pope did for his college of cardinals, which would make perfect sense.
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No, it is part of the Holy Thursday ritual, and it is done by priests in all parishes.
now i’m discovering that othe parishes do it too and that’s it’s ordinarily only supposed to be for men. what’s up with that?
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Currently, the ritual is supposed to only have the priest washing the feet of twelve men. The meaning is supposed to represent Jesus washing the feet of the twelve Apostles, and also that the priest is not above or more holy then other men, but simply serves in a different role. The footwashing of women is a somewhat common liturgical abuse however.
if you’re going to keep it traditional, then keep it within the vatican, i think. if you want to show self-sacrifice and service, then do it to everyone. how do you justify only selecting lay men and not women for this?
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This is partly because of the symbolism of the twelve Apostles, When the pope washed the feet of two women last year, this was technically not allowed by the actual Holy Thursday ritual. However… the pope is not bound by the ritual, and can change it, within certain boundaries, how he sees fit.

As a side note, one of my good friends and her family are Primitive Baptists. They differ from regular Baptists in a surprising number of ways, but one of them is foot washing. They consider it an ordinance in their denomination on par with Communion and Baptism, and are called to do it frequently. In their church, it is performed by all members, although men only wash the feet of men, and women only wash the feet of women, ostensibly to prevent any conceivable hint of scandal or sexual connotation. It is entirely possible that this could be part of the Catholic reasoning as well.
 
Our priest washes the feet of 12 members of the congregation who represent the whole community at the church - an old person, a child, people from other countries, someone from RCIA etc.

Evidently one year the youngest was a tiny baby, the oldest was a lady of 105 years.
 
The rite does not specify the number 12. Also the United States bishops issued a statement allowing the ritual to not just men. It is a pastoral decision. If your bishop allows it then women can have their feet washed. We have men, women, old and young.

The ritual is also optional. It does not have to be done. The rite represents service, diakonia. Traditionally the pope washed the feet of seminarians but Pope Francis has decided to shake things up a bit. This year he is going to a mentally disabled facility I believe. It is showing it seems a humbling stance for the pope. He is taking literally the title “servant of the servants of God.”
 
Rolltide said:
No, it is part of the Holy Thursday ritual, and it is done by priests in all parishes.

Currently, the ritual is supposed to only have the priest washing the feet of twelve men. The meaning is supposed to represent Jesus washing the feet of the twelve Apostles, and also that the priest is not above or more holy then other men, but simply serves in a different role. The footwashing of women is a somewhat common liturgical abuse however.

This is partly because of the symbolism of the twelve Apostles, When the pope washed the feet of two women last year, this was technically not allowed by the actual Holy Thursday ritual. However… the pope is not bound by the ritual, and can change it, within certain boundaries, how he sees fit.

As a side note, one of my good friends and her family are Primitive Baptists. They differ from regular Baptists in a surprising number of ways, but one of them is foot washing. They consider it an ordinance in their denomination on par with Communion and Baptism, and are called to do it frequently. In their church, it is performed by all members, although men only wash the feet of men, and women only wash the feet of women, ostensibly to prevent any conceivable hint of scandal or sexual connotation. It is entirely possible that this could be part of the Catholic reasoning as well.
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I don’t think you can call it a liturgical abuse when it is done by the pope, who makes the rules. Here’s a link to the defense: huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/30/vatican-defends-pope-francis-washing-of-womens-feet_n_2985784.html#

And I’m angry at you that you made me use an article from the huffington post to prove my point, LOL :p:D:p
 
angell1 said:
i always thought the foot washing ritual was something only the pope did for his college of cardinals, which would make perfect sense.

now i’m discovering that othe parishes do it too and that’s it’s ordinarily only supposed to be for men. what’s up with that?

if you’re going to keep it traditional, then keep it within the vatican, i think. if you want to show self-sacrifice and service, then do it to everyone. how do you justify only selecting lay men and not women for this?

someone please explain it to me. thanks
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The washing of the feet is in the Roman Missal. It is valid priests in any parish to do it during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday. It’s not just for the Pope or the Vatican. It’s in the books.



-Tim-
 
The Foot Washing ritual is optional for local parishes. Our parish has never done it.
 
corsair said:
The Foot Washing ritual is optional for local parishes. Our parish has never done it.
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i don’t think mine has either, which would explain why i didn’t know that parishes could do it. i only knew of the pope ever doing it
 
Last year, when Papa Francisco washed the feet of the prisoners, including women, is when I realized that the Holy Spirit had helped send us a truly extraordinary holy man as our Holy Father!🙂
 
angell1 said:
can the symbolic meaning be changed? or expanded? or is it part of sacred tradition?
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Considering that the Holy See has allowed for countries such as the United States to allow women’s feet to be washed, then perhaps the symbolic meaning can be expanded. It’s more of a small ‘t’ tradition, because the ritual itself is optional.
 
My parish Priest simply asks for twelve volunteers. They can be male, female, adults, children… It’s really not an issue.
 
i’ll keep it short and to the point this time.

does the foot washing on holy thursday constitute sacred Tradition or small t tradition?
 
angell1 said:
i’ll keep it short and to the point this time.

does the foot washing on holy thursday constitute sacred Tradition or small t tradition?
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Christ gave us a commandment to do likewise after he washed the disciples feet so this sounds like a tradition going back to Christ himself.
 
It is a little t tradition. I think it wasn’t even part of the liturgy in a widespread way until recently, although it has been used for a long time. Plus it is optional.
 
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