Washing of the Feet: Women "apostles"

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Lea101 said:
Well, why would it be about the priesthood if there are lay men?
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Because any man can become a priest. No woman can become a priest. This seems to be something you and others are missing. Besides, the apostles weren’t priests at the time of the foot washing.

You, and others, are missing the point of symbolism. The symbol doesn’t have to actually be the object symbolized. It just has to represent the object in enough detail everyone seeing the symbol understands what is being pointed to.
 
I don’t believe that the woman in this story was Mary Magdalene…
 
This has happened for awhile. When I was a kid about thirty years ago we had women get their feet washed. I’m not sure it’s our position to tell the priest whose feet he can and can’t wash, but I know where you are coming from.
 
jrgmercado said:
I don’t believe that the woman in this story was Mary Magdalene…
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John says that the woman who washed Jesus’ feet was Mary of Bethany - i.e. Martha’s sister. The other gospels do not name her. Some have conflated Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene. I agree with you - they are not likely the same person - but we do not really know.
 
Not any man can become a priest. That’s my point.

The washing of the feet is about Christ showing them how to serve others. And the priest shows that by washing the feet of his church.
 
Well then your point is incorrect because ontologically, any man can become a priest.

And your second point only reinforces my original point. You’ve erased the connection between Holy Thursday and the institution of the priesthood. I don’t think that’s a good thing.
 
I didn’t erase anything. The Church did. For decades, pretty much.
 
That’s your opinion, which you’re allowed to have.

I don’t think that’s going to make the Church crumble or anything like that.
 
EnglishTeacher said:
While it’s not a hill I’m going to die on, I think it’s unfortunate that a key part of this rite was changed and the symbolism eroded for reasons that strongly appear to be motivated by political correctness and a wish to appear more “inclusive.”
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Thanks be to God it is inclusive! Jesus said, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean." As one who frequently sins, I am kind of glad to be included in this symbol. All this talk about the institution of the priesthood seems rather forced, since in every other aspect we speak of Holy Thursday as the Institution of the Holy Eucharist, at least if one listens to the liturgy, where the grace of God is inclusive.

But that’s just me. I do not claim greater theological understanding than Pope Francis.
 
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Could it be that women didn’t used to get their feet washed because a lot of them wore hosiery? It wouldn’t really work to wash feet that were encased in stockings, would it?
 
Well I’ll be darned! (pun intended)

I never thought about that. (But then, I’m a guy.)
 
I think about it every Holy Thursday because I’m usually wearing hosiery, so I think to myself, “darn – he can’t wash my feet again this year!” 😆
 
My wife is here with me, and I just asked her about it.
  1. This is the first time she’s ever seen women’s feet washed.
    My side comment: We’ve been members of two parishes. In our current parish, we have a new priest. Great homilies. His first few homilies included (for lack of a better phrase) “traditional Catholic practices re-instruction.”
  2. She also said, “If Jesus had wanted to include women, he would have done so. He could have done whatever he wanted.”
 
The washing of feet does not render any Apostolic succession. It is a ritual Christ has done to teach His already made.Apostles that the one who leads must be the servant of all. It now represents a ritual in which the priest shows he is the servant of his entire community.
 
Larry1700 said:
She also said, “If Jesus had wanted to include women, he would have done so. He could have done whatever he wanted.”
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Jesus did include women in salvation and the forgiveness of sins, as in the washing away of sins symbolized in the foot washing.
 
I have a good friend who is a some kind of Baptist Fundamentalist Evangelical Christian. He has never shown any hostility, resentment or anger towards our Church. He in fact has shown respect and views us as Christians, which we are. The only thing is he sometimes questions some of the things Pope Francis says or does. However he usually ask me about it because he knows how the media can be about these things and he knows I am really involved in knowing what’s going on with the Catholic Church. Like where the media was saying a long while back he was going to allow gay marriage and all that other stuff. I guess he trust me as his source for what’s going on with the Catholic Church, lol. He has a lot of respect for JP2!!! Like me he puts him up there with Ronald Reagan!! However he may be an abnormality in the Fundamentalist faith community. Either way he is a good friend and I am glad he has been there for me 😊
 
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My brother is a fundamentalist Protestant and he doesn’t like the Catholic Church to put it mildly. When he found out I had converted to the Catholic Church, he wasn’t thrilled to say the least. lol

For converts, sometimes dealing with family can be a challenge. I know some other Catholic converts who have alienated their entire family because they came into the Holy Mother Church.
 
Yup, I heard of that happening. Especially on various programs on Catholic Radio. People who are considering and those that have. Really is sad that happens. I think it was an interview I heard on the ewtn with Scott Hahn’s wife, her name slips my mind, when he was converting she was originally not happy about it. Then she felt the call to become Catholic and struggled with that. If I remember correctly it was her father that told her to pray on it and do what she was called by God to do. I think he might have been a Protestant minster. I really need to find that interview and listen to it again. Sad more people are not like my buddy and her dad.

Edit, now that I think about it, may have been a talk and not an interview with her.
 
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