Remove Thy Shoes?

[ez3714]

Am reading thru a remarkable text by Sister Mary Elizabeth O’Brien, “Spirituality In Nursing - Standing On Holy Ground.” She relates an incident where she was invited to a church service with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries Of Charity. There were no pews; the Sisters knelt or sat on the floor, and they all removed their sandals prior to entering. What an amazing way - especially during the Eucharist - to emphasize that they were indeed on Holy Ground!

Has this ever been a widespread or common Catholic practise? Should it be?

 

[Eucharisted]

It happens in some parishes of the world. But it is not mandatory.

 

[jp2weloveu]

I don’t recall having heard anything that would suggest Our Lord had a particular distain for footwear; so I vote for shoes. Besides who would want to pick through a pile of hundreds of sweaty, stinky shoes after Sunday Mass anyway?

 

[AJV]

Am reading thru a remarkable text by Sister Mary Elizabeth O’Brien, “Spirituality In Nursing - Standing On Holy Ground.” She relates an incident where she was invited to a church service with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries Of Charity. There were no pews; the Sisters knelt or sat on the floor, and they all removed their sandals prior to entering. What an amazing way - especially during the Eucharist - to emphasize that they were indeed on Holy Ground!

Has this ever been a widespread or common Catholic practise? Should it be?

It’s common in many parts of India to do so, and is a strong cultural custom. One of the better things that emerged during the 60’s for India was that priests were allowed to enter the sanctuary without their shoes. Prior to this they were not - something which brought a lot of ridicule from non-Christians in the country, who were shocked at the idea. Removing shoes during Eucharistic Adoration is also widely practiced there, and in some churches, if you don’t, they will insist you do.

In my former church, before I came to the States, some of the congregation (mixed nationality) would keep their shoes on, but the altar servers and priests would not enter the sanctuary without removing theirs, and several people would leave them off at Communion time.

 

[dixibehr]

At the Orthodox monastery of St. Catherine on Mt. Sinai, monks and pilgrims remove their footgear when entering the Chapel of the Burning Bush.

In some Eastern churches, the clergy wear special footgear when celebrating. Armenian bishops (I think) have liturgical slippers with a scorpion enmbroidered on one heel, and a serpent on the other.

 

[Shin]

It’s done in the Philippines for Eucharistic Adoration chapels, and I have done it here in the USA as well in visits to a Eucharistic Adoration chapel, we have some sisters from India here, and they continued the practice so I simply joined in it.

 

[Tsuwano]

I have been to chapels in Japan where footwear is removed before entering.

 

[PKinsale]

At the abbey where I attended boarding high school (late 1970s-early 1980s), the custom was to remove your shoes when you processed up to venerate the cross on Good Friday. You also made a triple double genuflection (!) on the way up.

 

[Layman]

Moses was old to remove his shoes on the mountain. I think it is a good idea. Clergy should do it in the sanctuary.

 

[DebChris]

Removing shoes is a cultural custom in many parts of the world. Dirt is not brought inside when shoes are removed.
In Exodus, Moses is told to remove his sandals as he nears the burning bush, as he enters holy ground. In my own home, I remove shoes before praying.
Shoes are also a sign of wealth. There are a number of discalced, or shoeless, religious orders. Members remain unshod or only wear sandals as a sign of poverty and reliance on God…

 

[JPUSC]

Haha, I remember tricking a friend into believing that she had to remove her shoes before going to receive Communion because she was talking about how worried she was about acting as things were done different at other parishes. I didn’t know it was actually true.

Of course I told her I was kidding.

 

[AJV]

At the abbey where I attended boarding high school (late 1970s-early 1980s), the custom was to remove your shoes when you processed up to venerate the cross on Good Friday. You also made a triple double genuflection (!) on the way up.

That was what used to be prescribed - the Ceremonial still suggests it (shoe removal) when speaking of the veneration of the cross by a bishop. .