Washing Female's Feet on Holy Thursday?

[flick427]

**You’re overreacting, **this is a one day a year liturgical event, its no great sacrilege to allow women, the majority of the church going public at little part in it.

I’ve never attended the Holy Thursday liturgy, as a youth I lived too far away and my mother didn’t drive, and as an adult I’ve always had to work. But I wouldn’t think letting women to be part of it would change it in the slightest.

Well, I am saying we have done this conforming to the world in many instances not just the washing of women’s feet. Why would we want a man who is supposed to be celibate, exposed to temptation by touching women he possibly may find attractive. I understand it is only “one thing”, but we keep saying that with a lot of things like Hand Communion, girls being alter servers, clapping, immodest dress at Mass, when does it end?
I brew beer at home and I have to boil it first to kill all the bacteria before letting it ferment…but you know, if I mess up and let just a tiny little bit of bacteria in the unfinist beer (wort) I allow the entire batch to be ruined and it will no longer be a pure beer.

 

[CatQuilt]

ElizabethAnne:

If you mean Archbishop O’Malley, he did not wash women’s feet last year. Many were upset about it, and he asked a Vatican official about it. He has stayed very silent on the issue, but I believe that is because he will not be washing women’s feet this year either. I guess we will know next week.

Thank you! I’m sorry. I remember the controservsey and just assumed (shouldn’t do that!!!) that he caved. Oh good.

 

[MrS]

I just heard this today on the news when listening to the radio. I guess the bishops said that they were going to wash womens feet this year. I dont understand why the church keeps caving in to the modernist agenda. I suppose the UCCSB does not know how to do their own job or something…not that I’d be any better at it, but aren’t they supposed to be leaders excercising integrity even in the face of adversity? Weak leadership kills troop moral and the entire force begins to fall apart. Why do I feel like we are continually throwing our faith away. Jesus left us with a church and we treat it with negligence. It makes me think of a parent leaving their 17 year old home while they leave for the weekend…they leave the house clean, make sure their is enough food in the fridge for them and even tell them it is okay to have a friend over but no parties…Well, whaddya know, the stupid kid threw a party while they were gone…isn’t that pleasant?! Now the parents have to clean up the mess because the teen is too irresponsible.

do you remember where you heard it… was there any commentary with the report?

 

[CatQuilt]

Ugh! I just found the bad news…I was off by a year. Archbishop O’Malley will wash women’s feet this year…

boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/03/19/omalley_changes_policy_will_wash_womens_feet_in_rite/
**

O'Malley changes policy, will wash women's feet in rite​

March 19, 2005 BOSTON – Boston Archbishop Sean O’Malley has decided to wash the feet of both women and men during this year’s Holy Thursday foot-washing ritual after angering Catholic women last year by washing only men’s feet.

http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/File-Based_Image_Resource/spacer.gifO’Malley consulted with the Vatican, which gave clearance to wash women’s feet, The Boston Globe reported.

The ritual imitates Jesus’s washing of the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper.

Washing women’s feet has been the practice of many priests, including O’Malley’s predecessor, Cardinal Bernard Law.

O’Malley’s practice of washing only men’s feet upset some Catholics last year, in part because Holy Thursday came just days after a homily in which O’Malley cited feminism, along with the drug culture, the breakdown of authority and divorce, as factors that make it difficult for the church to reach baby boomers.

His decision to wash women’s feet this year drew immediate praise from advocates for a greater role for women in the Catholic Church.

“I really applaud his flexibility and his willingness to interact with the Vatican over this and to reflect on the needs of the archdiocese,” said Lisa Sowle Cahill, a professor of theology at Boston College who has written about feminist theology and sex and gender ethics.

Foot-washing has been part of Holy Thursday liturgies since the 13th century. The Roman Missal, a book containing liturgical instructions, uses a Latin word for man when describing participants in the foot-washing ceremony. But the U.S. bishops conference in 1987 declared that it had become customary for both sexes to participate in the ritual.

O’Malley said last year that he did not wash the feet of women because “the liturgy is a teacher of our doctrine and should not be tampered with.”

O’Malley promised to consult with Rome, and Friday his spokeswoman said the Congregation for Divine Worship, which oversees liturgical practices, suggested the archbishop make whatever decision he thought was best for Boston.

**

 

[MrS]

Bishop or not…how disappointing he is

 

[flick427]

MrS:

do you remember where you heard it… was there any commentary with the report?

No, no commentary just a quick mention of it on a non-Christian AM radio station out here in Santa Maria California area.
I found it odd that something like this was even on the news, I wonder if it is just to try and make the non Catholic Modernist feel like they won a victory or something…people outside the Catholic Church love to hear the gossip and say “oh, see…look what the Catholics are up to now”…

 

[Elzee]

Our priest washes and kisses the feet of the people (men, women, children, teenagers…) who will be received into the church during the Easter Vigil. They are asked ahead of time to sit at the end of a pew and he walks to each of them with a basin of water and a towel. It’s very moving and humbling. I remember one woman last year who had tears rolling down her cheeks as our priest washed her feet.

 

[Shamrock]

Oh my gosh! The horror! How appaling, the idea of a woman having her feet washed. If that happened in my parish, I’d probably leave. In fact I don’t beleive women should sit in the fist 2/3 of the pews, closest to the altar. The close proximity to the tabernacle should be reserved only for men. In fact some friends of mine and I were remarking how women shouldn’t really be allowed in the main church at all. The gathering space in the foyer should be able to accomadate them.

Ridiculous isn’t it? As someone else said, no wonder the church is in the shape it is today. What really bothers me about petty debates like this is people don’t stop to think “What would Jesus himself do?” I know the phrase is overused but seriously folks, stop and think about it. And try to have a Happy Easter.

Shamrock, (a man)

 

[fix]

Shamrock:

Oh my gosh! The horror! How appaling, the idea of a woman having her feet washed. If that happened in my parish, I’d probably leave. In fact I don’t beleive women should sit in the fist 2/3 of the pews, closest to the altar. The close proximity to the tabernacle should be reserved only for men. In fact some friends of mine and I were remarking how women shouldn’t really be allowed in the main church at all. The gathering space in the foyer should be able to accomadate them.

Ridiculous isn’t it? As someone else said, no wonder the church is in the shape it is today. What really bothers me about petty debates like this is people don’t stop to think “What would Jesus himself do?” I know the phrase is overused but seriously folks, stop and think about it. And try to have a Happy Easter.

Shamrock, (a man)

Christ would be obedient and follow the directives of His Church and not introduce novelty upon personal initiative. Authentic unity means we all follow the norms.

 

[buffalo]

katherine2:

hardcore liturgical abuse? hardly.

many, rather conservative types, have no trouble insisting that the word “man” elsewhere in the liturgy means males and females.

Of course, this whole issue is avoided with the hardcore traditionalists who reject the modern liturgical innovations and have no foot fashing at all.

viri - male

 

[Catholic_Dude]

Well the 24 hour count-down is on. Its a sad thing that is going to take place where I go to mass. The priest is going to have women up there, and I dont know what I am going to do. This is one more step in the wrong direction.

 

[patg]

Catholic Dude:

The priest is going to have women up there, and I dont know what I am going to do.

Get ready to duck when the lightning bolts come flying…

 

[skmhubbard]

In our parish, the RCIA class members were urged to participate in the foot washing, which I did. I felt a little uncomfortable with it, but had no idea it might not be liturgically appropriate. Now that I’ve learned more (outside of RCIA, thanks to Catholic Radio), I feel betrayed that I was not taught better.

This is only one of many areas that I am becoming more and more aware of that could be considered “abuses” in my parish. I don’t know what I should do.

 

[Phemie]

In our parish, the RCIA class members were urged to participate in the foot washing, which I did. I felt a little uncomfortable with it, but had no idea it might not be liturgically appropriate. Now that I’ve learned more (outside of RCIA, thanks to Catholic Radio), I feel betrayed that I was not taught better.

This is only one of many areas that I am becoming more and more aware of that could be considered “abuses” in my parish. I don’t know what I should do.

This year was the first year since we returned to washing feet (they’d been washing each other’s hands before) that we had only men – no women or children had volunteered. The priest made a point of commenting that that was wrong and that we should have had women and children too.

 

[Titus]

What really bothers me about petty debates like this is people don’t stop to think “What would Jesus himself do?” I know the phrase is overused but seriously folks, stop and think about it. And try to have a Happy Easter.

Shamrock, (a man)

The Church wants us to do **what Jesus did! **He washed the feet of some viri selecti, the twelve apostles. The priest washes the *viri selecti *of the parish. I love the idea that the modern liberal agenda is a clearer view of what Jesus did than a book that told his story and was inspired by God would be…if only we had such a book. As it is I suppose we must rely on shamrock for guidance on Jesus’ views on the matter.

 

[Rome_Always]

They did this at my church too. I thought it and still do think it is a Liturgical abuse. I have seen some pretty strange things here lately that I do not quite agree with. Washing of womens feet. NOT ONE of the APOSTLES was a woman. THEY WERE ALL MEN. Thus, only MEN should have thier feet washed!

 

[MarkThompson]

They did this at my church too. I thought it and still do think it is a Liturgical abuse. I have seen some pretty strange things here lately that I do not quite agree with. Washing of womens feet. NOT ONE of the APOSTLES was a woman. THEY WERE ALL MEN. Thus, only MEN should have thier feet washed!

And NOT ONE of the Apostles at the same Last Supper was a woman. Thus, only MEN should receive the Eucharist!

Right? I mean, we need to put on as close a historical reenactment of the Last Supper as possible, isn’t that what you’re saying?

 

[NewEnglandPriest]

They did this at my church too. I thought it and still do think it is a Liturgical abuse. I have seen some pretty strange things here lately that I do not quite agree with. Washing of womens feet. NOT ONE of the APOSTLES was a woman. THEY WERE ALL MEN. Thus, only MEN should have thier feet washed!

Why bump a 3 year old thread?

 

[laszlo]

Why bump a 3 year old thread?

Probably because there is a moratorium against this topic.

An easy resolution: establish a penalty forum, and those who violate moratoriums loose there speaking privileges until they send hundred apologizing message to that forum, with the message: I do not violate moratoriums… We did such things in the school, and it has some effect.

 

[threebells17]

they had 6 women at my church whose feet were washed. it just isn’t right! why don’t the Bishops stop this!