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Washing the Feet of Men Only on Holy Thursday
SFLatin Mass ^ | march 2005 | sflatinmass

Posted on 03/21/2005 9:23:59 PM PST by Cato1

For many years I have attended Holy Thursday services where the feet of women and children were washed, instead of men only, which is the rule of the church as stated in Paschales Solemnitatis .

"51. The washing of the feet of chosen men which, according to tradition, is performed on this day, represents the service and charity of Christ, who came "not to be served, but to serve.[58] This tradition should be maintained, and its proper significance explained."

Like many norms, this is considered inconvenient in the U.S. so it is routinely ignored. Now we have an item in the press just before Holy Thursday that the Bishop of Boston will wash the feet of women on Holy Thursday because he was criticized last year for not including them. See article.

What is missing from all this is the big deal that the good Archbishop made last year of not washing women's feet. See Boston Globe article.

O'Malley, who was installed as archbishop last summer, believes that the foot-washing ceremony is closely linked with the establishment of the priesthood by Jesus at the Last Supper.

`He very strongly feels the connection between the Lord's washing of the feet of the disciples and the ordering of them to the priesthood of the church,'' Coyne said.

The foot-washing ritual occurred during the same week that O'Malley listed feminism among several phenomena that affected the religious practices of the baby boom generation in the United States. In his Chrism Mass homily on Tuesday, O'Malley said that baby boomers "are heirs to Woodstock, the drug culture, the sexual revolution, feminism, the breakdown of authority, and divorce.''

Coyne said O'Malley's foot-washing policy is not connected to any broader concern about the role of women in the church."

I hope next year we do not see an article that he is ordaining women because he has been criticized for not doing so at the last ordination. This clearly hyperbolic speculation is meant to bring home the point that if a bishop were to ignore the norms for celebration of the sacraments because some people find them inconvenient, who should keep them. Certainly not his priests, nor the souls under his care. And if he can be cavalier about them, then why should Catholics not choose for themselves what it is they are to obey and not obey. Although this may seem extreme, that is where the Church is today with its leaders and members.

On the contrary, what Catholic souls need from their Bishops is a more thoughtful upholding of liturgical norms. As it says in Redemptionis Sacramentum

[176.] The diocesan Bishop, “since he is the principal dispenser of the mysteries of God, is to strive constantly so that Christ’s faithful entrusted to his care may grow in grace through the celebration of the sacraments, and that they may know and live the Paschal Mystery”.[285] It is his responsibility, “within the limits of his competence, to issue norms on liturgical matters by which all are bound”.[286]

[177.] “Since he must safeguard the unity of the universal Church, the Bishop is bound to promote the discipline common to the entire Church and therefore to insist upon the observance of all ecclesiastical laws. He is to be watchful lest abuses encroach upon ecclesiastical discipline, especially as regards the ministry of the Word, the celebration of the Sacraments and sacramentals, the worship of God and the veneration of the Saints”.[287]

Now we read that very publically the Bishop of Boston has "consulted with Vatican officials about the Holy Thursday practice." According to Ann Carter, a spokeswoman for the archbishop, the "Vatican responded that although the "liturgical requirement is that only the feet of men be washed at the Holy Thursday ritual, he could make whatever decision he thought was best for Boston."

According to the Zenit article, the "rubrics for Holy Thursday, written in Latin, clearly state that the priest washes the feet of men, "viri," in order to recall Christ's action toward his apostles. Any modification of this rite requires permission from the Holy See."

"Viri" is man in Latin. In documents of the Holy See, if the Church wants to refer to both men and women it uses the word homo.

According to the UCCB the "rubric for Holy Thursday, under the title WASHING OF FEET, reads:

"Depending on pastoral circumstance, the washing of feet follows the homily. The men who have been chosen (viri selecti) are led by the ministers to chairs prepared at a suitable place. Then the priest (removing his chasuble if necessary) goes to each man. With the help of the ministers he pours water over each one's feet and dries them." Using the Latin word viri, not homo.

After making this clear they go on to say that"

"# The principal and traditional meaning of the Holy Thursday mandatum, as underscored by the decree of the Congregation, is the biblical injunction of Christian charity: Christ's disciples are to love one another. For this reason, the priest who presides at the Holy Thursday liturgy portrays the biblical scene of the gospel by washing the feet of some of the faithful.

# Because the gospel of the mandatum read on Holy Thursday also depicts Jesus as the "Teacher and Lord" who humbly serves his disciples by performing this extraordinary gesture which goes beyond the laws of hospitality,2 the element of humble service has accentuated the celebration of the foot washing rite in the United States over the last decade or more. In this regard, it has become customary in many places to invite both men and women to be participants in this rite in recognition of the service that should be given by all the faithful to the Church and to the world. Thus, in the United States, a variation in the rite developed in which not only charity is signified but also humble service.

# While this variation may differ from the rubric of the Sacramentary which mentions only men ("viri selecti"), it may nevertheless be said that the intention to emphasize service along with charity in the celebration of the rite is an understandable way of accentuating the evangelical command of the Lord, "who came to serve and not to be served," that all members of the Church must serve one another in love."

So much for respecting liturgical norms. They cast it aside with the idea that the "gospel of the mandatum read on Holy Thursday" depicts Christ as a humble teacher we can dispense with the norms. What about the day the gospel sees Christ as filled with holy indignation and casts out the coin changers from the temple. Should we then tip over bingo tables on Saturday night. Exactly what does the reading for the day have to do with liturgical norms? This is an argument that seems to have some meaning but upon further analysis means nothing. I suppose that the day that Jesus talked to the women at the well, which was an extraordinary act for a Jewish man of his day toward a woman, mean that on that day woman can function as priests. My arguments are hyperbolic indeed, only to make the point that norms are set by a competent authority and the Gospel reading is meant for our reflection and the homily, not to change liturgical norms.

An extreme use of this idea was used in the past in Europe for instance when on Good Friday some Catholic men used the story of the bitter passion of our Lord to suspend the norms of Christian charity and beat up Jewish men in Poland and elsewhere. Hyperbole, yes, exaggeration, no.

"thus, in the United States, a variation in the rite developed in which not only charity is signified but also humble service...celebration of the rite is an understandable way of accentuating the evangelical command of the Lord, 'who came to serve and not to be served,' that all members of the Church must serve one another in love."

This reminds me of the conclusion of a story of the Cure of Ars when he was praying for the grace of perseverance in his difficult studies and he made a pilgrimage as a beggar to a shrine of St. John Francis Regis. Hungry, tired and frazzled, he arrived at La Louvesc and went to confession. He was told to go back as a regular pilgrim and not suffer so much. When John was taken aback at this idea when he was doing penance for a reason the priest told him that "sometimes an act of mortification can be tinged with pride, but never an act of obedience."

How can the Bishops now, with so many Catholic faithful no longer respecting them for their judgment, imagine that the Catholic faithful will learn the virtue of obedience unless the Bishop's themselves don't practice it. Their priests will follow their example and then the faithful as well.

To quote the Holy Father in his Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Gregis

"Given the importance of the proper transmission of the faith in the Church's sacred liturgy, the Bishop will not fail to be vigilant and careful, for the good of the faithful, to ensure that existing liturgical norms are observed always and everywhere. This also calls for the firm and timely correction of abuses and the elimination of arbitrary liturgical changes."


TOPICS: Catholic; Prayer; Religion & Culture; Worship
KEYWORDS: boston; catholic; liturgy; omalley; pope; rome; vaticanii; worship
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1 posted on 03/21/2005 9:24:00 PM PST by Cato1
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To: Cato1; nickcarraway; SMEDLEYBUTLER

ping


2 posted on 03/21/2005 9:26:48 PM PST by Cato1
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To: Cato1
Great Article!

I only wish we in Bradenton, FL had a good (arch)bishop like this.

3 posted on 03/21/2005 9:34:18 PM PST by antisocialista (www.terrisfight.org)
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To: Salvation

ping


4 posted on 03/22/2005 12:20:31 AM PST by Cato1
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To: Cato1

It's too bad the archbishop can't stick by his original decision. In the future, all these groups will know they can get him to back down.


5 posted on 03/22/2005 12:29:08 AM PST by nickcarraway
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To: Cato1

bump for later.


6 posted on 03/22/2005 1:56:48 AM PST by Robert Drobot (Da mihi virtutem contra hostes tuos.)
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To: Land of the Irish; AskStPhilomena; thor76; broadsword; Askel5; vox_freedom; Viva Christo Rey; ...
Paschales Solemnitatis?

"[Tradition] for Holy Thursday, written in Latin, clearly state that the priest washes the feet of men, "viri," in order to recall Christ's action toward his apostles. Any modification of this rite requires permission from the Holy See."

"Viri" is man in Latin. In documents of the Holy See, if the Church wants to refer to both men and women it uses the word homo. According to the UCCB the "rubric for Holy Thursday, under the title WASHING OF FEET, reads: "Depending on pastoral circumstance, the washing of feet follows the homily. The men who have been chosen (viri selecti) are led by the ministers to chairs prepared at a suitable place. Then the priest (removing his chasuble if necessary) goes to each man. With the help of the ministers he pours water over each one's feet and dries them." Using the Latin word viri, not homo...."

Paschales Solemnitatis?

Come on, he's just the pope. At least that's what the UCCB seems to think of the above Encyclical. Contrary to the pope's direction that only men be invited to have their feet washed, the American bishops write "....it has become customary in many places to invite both men and women to be participants in this rite...."

Making dust of Sacred Tradition, the infamous UCCB has it's own agenda, which can only be described as American Catholicism, because Roman it ain't.

Just think, the cardinals in this modernist/socialist movement are lining up to vote for the next Roman Catholic Vicar of Christ on Earth.

Our Lady of La Salette, pray for us.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.
Saint Athanasius, fierce fighter of the Arians, pray for us.
Saint Clare, the great apostle of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration, pray for us.
Pope Saint Pius X, pray for us.
Saint Padre Pio, pray for us.
Sister Maria Lucia of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart, pray for us
Saint Michael the Archangel, bring ruin to those who oppress His faithful servants.

7 posted on 03/22/2005 3:38:47 AM PST by Robert Drobot (Da mihi virtutem contra hostes tuos.)
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To: Cato1

Good and useful article.


8 posted on 03/22/2005 4:17:33 AM PST by JesseHousman (Execute Mumia Abu-Jamal Today)
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To: Robert Drobot; JesseHousman
Are these bishops of the USCCB not in union with the pope? Say it ain't so. I am shocked, shocked I tell you. /sarcasm
9 posted on 03/22/2005 4:59:17 AM PST by murphE (Each of the SSPX priests seems like a single facet on the gem that is the alter Christus. -Gerard. P)
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To: murphE
Some years ago I attended a Holy Thursday where the pastor had decided in order to avoid "conflict" that everyone's hands would be washed.

I left.

10 posted on 03/22/2005 5:33:01 AM PST by JesseHousman (Execute Mumia Abu-Jamal Today)
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To: JesseHousman

Good for you! This will be my first Holy Thursday at a TLM. I am so excited! Palm Sunday mass was awesome.


11 posted on 03/22/2005 5:37:11 AM PST by murphE (Each of the SSPX priests seems like a single facet on the gem that is the alter Christus. -Gerard. P)
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To: murphE

You're in for a deeply moving liturgy very rich with symbolism. Among other things, this Mass has two very stark contrasts...

Bells and Organ at the Gloria and then a wooden clapper and subdued singing

Triumphant Procession of Our Lord and then the somber stripping of the altar(s).

I would say "Enjoy" but that is not the appropriate word to use for attending Mass, but you know what I mean.

Will you be attending liturgies on all 3 days? Tenebrae?


12 posted on 03/22/2005 5:48:40 AM PST by jrny (Tenete traditionem quam tradidi vobis)
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To: Cato1
"51. The washing of the feet of chosen men which, according to tradition, is performed on this day, represents the service and charity of Christ, who came "not to be served, but to serve.[58] This tradition should be maintained, and its proper significance explained."

If a New Age guru from Northern California led a group that washed the feet of "chosen men" on Thursdays, everyone on FR would immediately condemn him as a cult leader.

If Western society is going to (justifiably) criticize Muslims for clinging to Arab tribal customs, it behooves us to leave behind our own archaic practices.

13 posted on 03/22/2005 5:58:46 AM PST by Mr. Jeeves
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To: jrny
I would say "Enjoy" but that is not the appropriate word to use for attending Mass, but you know what I mean.

I do know what you mean. Everything in the TLM, each and every little action and gesture, even the vestments of the priest are like a mini catechism. Everything in the church, the statues, the architecture draws your heart and mind to focus on God.

Will you be attending liturgies on all 3 days? Tenebrae?

I'm not sure what you mean. This is the schedule that we have in the bulletin:

There is a mission Monday-Wednesday with stations, confession, sermon and mass.

Thursday: confessions, then High Mass w/ Mandatum & Adoration

Friday: confessions, then the Rosary, then 7 Sorrows chaplet, then Stations, then 3pm Ceremony

Saturday: confessions, then 10:30 pm Vigil

Sunday: confessions and High Mass

Would you explain what is meant by "Tenebrae" for me please, tell me what to expect?

14 posted on 03/22/2005 6:06:17 AM PST by murphE (Each of the SSPX priests seems like a single facet on the gem that is the alter Christus. -Gerard. P)
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To: Cato1; pascendi
According to Ann Carter, a spokeswoman for the archbishop, the "Vatican responded that although the "liturgical requirement is that only the feet of men be washed at the Holy Thursday ritual, he could make whatever decision he thought was best for Boston."

Read: There are no norms.

Roma locutus est, and stuff.
15 posted on 03/22/2005 6:25:24 AM PST by te lucis (Our Lady is insulted, let us go forth and fight! -Cristeros hymn)
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To: murphE

It doesn't look like Tenebrae is scheduled on your bulletin. Don't be alarmed...it's sort of rare to have it.

Tenebrae is the fully chanted version as given in the Liber Usualis of the Offices of Matins and Lauds for the 3 Days of the Triduum. Fully chanted as opposed to simple recitation or private recitation. The sanctuary is set up as follows:
Empty Tabernacle
6 Lighted Candles on the Altar plus a Triangular Candelabrum w/ 15 Candles lit placed near the Communion Rail on the Epistle side.
A Lectern in the center
Choir stalls/seats on either side for the priests and any men (Schola) assisting.

As each psalm (Matins has 9 and Lauds has 5) is completed, one of the 15 Candles is extinguished.
Matins also 9 Lessons, chanted by priests and Schola members.
At the end of Lauds, the Canticle of Zachary (Benedictus) is sung, during which the 6 Altar Candles are extinguished and all the lights in Church are turned off.
Finally, the MC takes the final Candle (number 15) from the Triangle and hides it behind the altar, while all sing the "Christus Factus..." antiphon. Then a period of silence ensues followed by a loud knocking on the pews. The server then returns the candle to the triangle and extinguishes it.

All leave in darkness.

The word "Tenebrae" literally means "Darkness".


16 posted on 03/22/2005 6:25:48 AM PST by jrny (Tenete traditionem quam tradidi vobis)
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To: jrny

OOOH! Thanks for that answer. Is there a link that I can read more about this? Maybe it would be included in a missal?


17 posted on 03/22/2005 6:29:56 AM PST by murphE (Each of the SSPX priests seems like a single facet on the gem that is the alter Christus. -Gerard. P)
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To: murphE

I believe it's included in the new 1962 Missals that recently came out.

Where do you live (generally speaking)? I may be able to point you to a place which is having Tenebrae.


18 posted on 03/22/2005 6:31:10 AM PST by jrny (Tenete traditionem quam tradidi vobis)
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To: jrny
Long Island, NY
19 posted on 03/22/2005 6:31:43 AM PST by murphE (Each of the SSPX priests seems like a single facet on the gem that is the alter Christus. -Gerard. P)
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To: murphE

The closest place I can think of, unless someone else here knows otherwise, is in Berlin (South) NJ, at Mater Ecclesiae Mission where I will be going for all the Triduum.

There is an SSPX center in Ridgefield, CT, but I do not believe they ever did Tenebrae. I went there as a kid, when I lived in the Hudson Valley.

Note to all...I am not starting nor am interested in an SSPX war; I am just giving this man information.


20 posted on 03/22/2005 6:36:47 AM PST by jrny (Tenete traditionem quam tradidi vobis)
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