No Holy Thursday Foot Washing

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If my biology education serves me correctly, we all have fungus of some type. It only becomes a problem when it is overgrowth.
 
Augustinian said:
Not if you do have a fungus
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QwertyGirl said:
If my biology education serves me correctly, we all have fungus of some type. It only becomes a problem when it is overgrowth.
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I think the OP handled it the right way. It is lying to wilfully mislead someone. Whenever we put ourselves in the position of the person being lied to, we all know whether something we are saying is misleading or not. It would have been misleading to give foot fungus as a reason to decline the footwashing. That was not the reason.

The OP’s reason for not wanting to participate had nothing to do with fungus. It had to do with reasons the OP did not want to disclose, which is what the OP said, which was fine. The OP did not need the permission of the person asking. The person was not entitled to cooperation nor even a reason. It is better to reserve the right to say “no” because you have the authority to say “no” and to keep your reasons private because you have the authority to keep your privacy than to make up stories whose telling will damage your integrity.
 
Didn’t anybody here understand my initial remark about the fungus was said with levity? So serious!
 
QwertyGirl said:
Didn’t anybody here understand my initial remark about the fungus was said with levity? So serious!
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Sorry. When you responded with the high school biology rebuttal, I thought you were serious.

I have family members who have the “just say” habit. It is not levity, in their case. It is a cover-up. When the truth comes out, none of the siblings buy the “I wasn’t really lying” defense. It was deliberately misleading, everyone knows it, and those who were mislead do not laugh about it. (Yes, we are talking about people who have spent over half of their years in “adulthood,” legally speaking, LOL.)

Having given that lengthy background, yes, most people who say “just say” wouldn’t ever just say what they’re suggesting…most of the time it is a joke!!

All good, I hope! 👍
 
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brian_custer said:
I think the foot-washing ritual is revolting
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My brother thinks that having all of the faithful drink from the same cup instead of just the priest drinking out of the chalice is revolting. He won’t drink from the same cup anyone else has, no way, under any circumstances, period.

Really, the footwashings I’ve seen are pouring some water out of a pitcher over the toes of one outstretched foot and drying it off with a clean towel. There isn’t even any skin-to-skin contact (since the priest isn’t about to go cradling the bare foot of a parishioner in his bare palm, I guess, and I don’t blame him for that).
 
I really don’t like the Foot Washing, although it was done very well last night in our parish.
I truly believe that the foot washing ritual rightly belongs at the Chrism Mass. A Bishop should wash the feet of his priests. Or any seminarians that are home during Holy Week.

But I can’t complain. My previous parish encouraged everyone (YES EVERYONE) to have their feet washed by Deacons or each other. It kept me away on Holy Thursday. I would go elsewhere where I was not stared at for not participating. It was pretty bad. I’m sure they still do it. The present pastor tried to discourage it by having me select a child from 1-12 grade instead. But the Deacons would always invite people forward and encouraged them to bring their own towels. Just seeing all those people walking around barefoot gave me the creeps. Not in church. I’m not usually terribly fussy, but that’s just awful. But, they never asked me my opinion.
In my current parish, I’m the liturgist and Father asked for the RCIA candidates and two little kids. So that’s what I made arrangements for. Was ok.
 
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Yeah, especially since they allow women to participate in it now.

Last night, when I went to mass, there was only about three men who had their feet washed!
 
PetraG said:
Really, the footwashings I’ve seen are pouring some water out of a pitcher over the toes of one outstretched foot and drying it off with a clean towel. There isn’t even any skin-to-skin contact (since the priest isn’t about to go cradling the bare foot of a parishioner in his bare palm, I guess, and I don’t blame him for that).
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We had been using a different towel for each person for years. This year the priest insisted on a long piece of fabric, folded just so and tucked into his cincture. I wasn’t close enough to see if he used a different part of the cloth for each person. I think it’s a cultural thing for him.
 
When I was young, in the 70s, our church included women in the lineup for feet washing. The message was intended to be about being of service to fellow human beings. I don’t think this is a new thing.
 
Well no. It’s about Jesus washing the feet of his apostles. None of his apostles were women. In fact, before Vatican II, if was CLERICS (most of them in minor orders) who had their feet washed by the priest.
 
semper_catholicus said:
Well no. It’s about Jesus washing the feet of his apostles. None of his apostles were women. In fact, before Vatican II, if was CLERICS (most of them in minor orders) who had their feet washed by the priest.
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Understood. But in our Catholic church, we took a more global meaning from the story and went with it. Not saying it was right or wrong, just that in the 70s our parish did that as did most of the ones around us.
 
It wasn’t long before Vatican II when no decent woman would show a bare toe in public, let alone in church!
 
Actually I am new in this parish. I recently moved back to my hometown and I have only been going to mass here for around a couple of months
 
PetraG said:
If you were berated for not participating and yet heard someone else complaining that they never get asked, I’d tell them to ask if they can volunteer. The person who has to round up the people willing to do it might be happy to have someone who won’t turn it down.

Direct communication…so hard in some parishes.
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While I would agree in principle, the culture of this parish is such that it is not reasonable to ask people to do this. The individual in charge does not respond positively to what they perceive as infringements on their control over matters, and “volunteering” would be seen as one such infringement.
 
The Bishop washes the feet of a number of pre selected parishioners. Each has a fresh towel. The water is changed a couple of times. Altar boys and seminarians help the Bishop in this activity.

The Bishop gives an extensive Homily on this part of the gospel of the Last Supper.
Are both genders chosen for feet washing? No idea, should they be, yes

Jesus began to wash the disciples feet. Jesus had male and female disciples, however He only had male Apostles.

And the washing of feet, back in the day, first century AD, was to demonstrate the servant we should all be if we are following Jesus. We must be servants to others.
 
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