No Holy Thursday Foot Washing

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I love the feet washing. Holy Thursday is my second most favorite Mass of the year and I love the whole thing. I think its okay if the ritual symbolizes the priesthood AND that all Christians are called to serve others. I think it should be men only, but I’m fine if it isn’t. I’ve never been chosen personally, but I don’t care about that either, since I feel like the people who are chosen represent the entire body of Christ. I would be as put out as the OP if it was discontinued. I have seen the priest wash the feet of 12 people and then each of those 12 people went out and washed the feet of a few people in the congregation until a really long song as over. I thought that was a bit much, but I understood the symbolism.
 
I don’t know if the church I visited yesterday normally does it (since I was visiting my sister and two of her sons are altar boys), but they didn’t do the washing of the feet.
 
PetraG said:
It wasn’t long before Vatican II when no decent woman would show a bare toe in public, let alone in church!
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There are some cultures in which removing ones shoes before entering the church is obligatory. If it was good enough for Moses in the presence of God almighty, I’m fine with it.
 
Where I work, a staffer was recruiting washees and one lady said she had a fungus. The staffer said “well is it only on one foot? He can wash the other one.” EWWWWWW
 
People take foot washing VERY seriously. Every year someone gets offended, someone gets their knickers in a twist, and there are more and more innovations.
 
Roseeurekacross said:
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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It would have been unthinkable for a man to wash the feet of women in first century Judiasm. Unmarried, unrelated men and women did not touch each other.
 
It may have been unthinkable but Jesus did a lot of unthinkable things…
including letting a woman wash his feet with her tears and dry them with her hair, then anoint him with very expensive nard.
 
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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In my parish, Father also kisses the top of everyone’s foot after washing them. Does anyone else’s parish do this too?
 
I guess I didn’t realize it was so controversial or that so many people (judging by this thread anyway) disliked it. I always thought it was very beautiful and would be sad if we skipped it. I can see how it could be ruined, though, if a parish were introducing all kinds innovations into the ritual. The only two parishes I have ever been to on Holy Thursday just had the priest washing the feet of 12 men, so it was pretty simple.
 
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Pope Francis does.
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I noted in our (Pittsburgh Metropolia) services guide yesterday that a point provides that “Cathedral churches” have the foot washing at that point.

hmm, I wonder if that includes pro-cathedrals (many/most eastern parches are so large that we have the parallel to co-cathedrals).

hawk
 
dochawk said:
I noted in our (Pittsburgh Metropolia) services guide yesterday that a point provides that “Cathedral churches” have the foot washing at that point.

hmm, I wonder if that includes pro-cathedrals (many/most eastern parches are so large that we have the parallel to co-cathedrals).

hawk
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Since it is a function of the Bishop to his priests, I would imagine it happens where the Bishop is.
 
It has been a tradition here in this cathedral of the washing of feet on Holy Thursday.

It is really meaningful - about serving and loving one another.

“You would not have a part of me if I do not wash your feet.”

“Then, not only wash my feet, my my whole body too.”

The exchanges between the Lord and Peter, best describe what it means about the washing of feet.

Had my feet washed again last night by our Archbishop. It as so humbling, I tell you, that tears welled in my eyes.

It is humbling to know that the true God comes down to this sinful earth to become one of us, and more, to wash our feet, to die for us, so that we can be a part of the almighty God, as we would go forward to wash others feet, to serve them like the Lord did.

God bless.
 
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I’ve always seen it done.
I usually feel like the parish churches doing it are trying to make some point about inclusivity or diversity or something else based on the people they select to be in the ritual. It figures people would get all up in arms about it.
 
It was unthinkable for a Jewish male to speak to a Samaritan woman. Yet Jesus did just that, and it would have been unthinkable for a Jewish male to drink out of a Samaritan woman’s cup - it was unclean. Yet Jesus asked her to draw him water in her vessel.

And yes, there is the tears , feet washing hair incident. And the women anointing Jesus with expensive nard.

Jesus - a man of social justice.

🙏🕊️
 
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Jesus did this unseemly thing (remember how Peter vehemently objected) as a vivid demonstration of how he wished his followers to serve one another sometimes in uncomfortable ways. The Church does it during the Holy Thursday liturgy to remind us of Jesus’ teaching. That works for me. 🤔
 
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Jesus did it himself, and it makes the point vividly that the Priest is much more than a guy who shakes hands at the door after Mass. Great object lesson on Holy Orders.
 
Enough said…there are some who do work incredibly hard, but forget that putting in a lot of time doesn’t make the whole enterprise their private “tea party.”

Some of the stories are straight out of Lake Wobegon…funny except when it is your parish!
 
Unrelated unmarried men and women didn’t touch but one washed Our Lord’s feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. He raised eyebrows for even allowing it, then defended her as having the greater love.
 
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