Posted on 04/16/2014 9:19:49 PM PDT by marshmallow
I was pleased last year to have a bad back and so on Holy Thursday I had already thought about not washing the feet during the Sacred Triduum. I hesitated because the choir had already prepared the music for it and the chant for it had been printed in the Mass booklets. When Pope Francis decided to disregard the Church's law and follow his own instincts, I decided to follow mine and not wash anyone's feet but instead leave the bowl and towel that we would have used on the sanctuary step and invite people to come forward and put money in the bowl for the poor whilst the Mandatum was sung. They were very generous.
Before I understood the meaning of the rite I was happy to wash anyone's feet, because like the Pope I understood it to be about serving others. The CDW of course explained that it was about Christ specifically caring for the Apostles, those gathered with him at the Eucharist, whom he would that evening commission to celebrate Mass themselves by saying "Do this in memory of me". It was obvious I was wrong and had misled people. I have had several battles, as have many priests, to do what the Law requires us to do and wash only the feet of men.. If the Pope chooses to break the Law, that is a personal choice, he has the power as Pontiff to change it but he has chosen not to do so.
I think the media and dissident Catholics like to present the Pope as a latter day Robin Hood, adapting the Law and customs to suit himself. The problem is of course that it creates confusion for everyone else and weakens the sense of the Law for the rest of us. Law can of course be oppressive but in the Church it is meant to preserve justice and to protect the weak, and ensure the strong do not exceed their authority or pervert doctrine.
My mother used to speak of everyone in authority washing the feet of those subject to their authority before Easter in her Yugoslavian village; fathers would wash the feet of their families, masters and their servants, employers their employees, teachers the feet of the children they taught, army officers the feet of their soldiers, even partisan leaders would wash the feet of their communist comrades. After the Reformation in England the Sovereign continued to wash the feet of the poor until the 18th century. The "Royal Maundy" continues without the washing, with the Queen giving money to the poor. I would very much welcome Francis and indeed the whole Roman Curia going out into the streets of Rome with bowls, ewers and towels to wash the feet of poor and to distribute alms all day on Holy Thursday - what a wonderful sign.
Here, for a brief time I used to wash the feet of 12 male rough sleepers at Mass and give them a small 'offering'. They would come along just for that portion of the Mass and go. I think people thought it was rather wonderful. I began to think it was crass and more about me, than the liturgy or Christ. Christ's sign is not one about caring for the poor, or even those on the 'peripheries' of the Church, rather it is about caring for those at the heart of the Church. It ends the continued bickering amongst the disciples about who is the greatest.
There is something very intimate about the sign of the Bishop washing the feet of his beloved priests, as there was something intimate about Christ washing his apostles feet. Peter, and presumably the others, were deeply embarrassed by it. It wasn't a public act but one behind closed doors, in the Upper Room. Judas after all is the one the disciples presume is being sent to give relief to the poor, the faithful Apostles remained with the Christ. Foot-washing is an ad intra sign at the heart of the Church. It was indeed a statement about power and relationships in the Church's government. In Rome especially where there is huge gap filled by various 'leperous courtiers', (Francis' words) between the Bishop of Rome and his diocesan clergy, how beautiful the sign of the Pope getting down on his knees to serve those who in theory are supposed to be his co-workers and closest collaborators. There are two signs that were given by Francis last year, the first was washing the feet of boys and girls, some of whom were not Christians, the second sign, which is equally powerful though not noticed by the more casual observer was deciding not to wash his priest's feet.
There is something significant about Jesus washing the feet of the twelve then going on the share the Passover with them. There is something very important that he takes this heavily prescribed Jewish ritual and changes it. I wonder whether using a ewe rather than ram would have invalidated the rite, presumably the Angel of death would have struck down the first born if the victim's sex broke with Tradition, for the Jews this of course wasn't an issue they simply did what was handed on.. Playing about with signs and symbols and their language within the context of religion is very dangerous, we simply don't know what can of worms we are opening up.
The signs we give are always multi-layered, signs go beyond words, the don't have a fixed meaning, often the sign intended is not the sign that is received. Different people perceive signs in different ways. Last year Francis' footwashing was taken by the world as a great act of his personal humility, for others it was a sign of inclusivity, involving non-Christians and women in this rite. I am afraid for me and for many others, it was a sign of lawlessness at the heart of the Church, the Supreme Lawgiver of the Catholic Church acting lawlessly. It became a sign of how during the Franciscan Pontificate the law -and tradition- should be interpreted, the Mandatum is after all about law and power. The chant that accompanies it says, "I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you ...", this is a commandment laid not on everyone but only on Christ's followers, the Church.
The build up to the Synod on the Family is an obvious example of the breaking down of certainties, after the Kasper intervention at the Consistory it seems, to some, that the Church's teaching appears to be in a state of flux by those who are looking for signs. I was told of a man recently who for over two decades has been living heroically in a 'brother/sister' relationship with an equally heroic woman whose first marriage broke down after ten years, they tried to get an annulment which failed, since then they have done their best to live according to the teaching of the Church. The man having read the text of the Cardinal's speech asked, 'Father, have we wasted the last 22 years?' He said that he now felt his faith was undermined, that the struggle he and his 'wife' had engaged in was by the Cardinal's teaching meaningless and vainglorious and that it was endorsed by the Pope who hadn't given any clear sign that he upheld the teaching these two people were trying to live by. There are many men and women in this situation, the sacrifices they have made have been truly heroic, for me they are signs of grace and often heroic virtue, now it seems that they might well have wasted their lives, this is another of the signs that is being given.
Thoughts?
He stresses the violation of law repeatedly. Of course, there is a distinction between a discipline and canon law, which a priest would carefully distinguish, especially in charges leveled at the Bishop of Rome. Can anyone supply the missing reference?
Hi Marshmallow — Fr. Blake is a pretty AWESOME priest in Brighton, UK — I’ve been following his blog since 2007, and since I moved to England in 2010 have met him. He does both regular NO masses, and also loves doing the Latin mass when he can, and he offers it on a regular basis. His blog is well worth a bookmark, and he is a fine man and always has very thoughtful posts. His blog is an excellent bookmark. He is very orthodox and reliable as far as matters on the faith go. He is also a very caring and kind person. Brighton, in general is wealthy, and hedonistic, think of it as the San Francisco of England.
But there are many poor that go to his parish, and his parish runs an outreach program 365 days a year to help feed the homeless.
In this case, the violation is of a rubric of how Mass is said. In this case for the washing of the feet, the rubric says that males only can be used — to represent the 12 apostles.
And the press CAN use this sort of thing to cause confusion. Pope Francis has a tendency to be less careful with his words and actions and less than crystal clear as to their meaning.
One ONLY has to look to the idiot high school kids in Washington state, and admins who should know better, who had hysterical hissy fits when a gay teacher/admin was fired for contracting a gay marriage. “But Pope Francis said ‘who am I to judge’ whine, whine, whine.] Taking the pope’s statement COMPLETELY in the wrong way — and the pope was not clear himself, on separating a person having a homosexual attraction to ACTING on that feeling. A feeling is something that’s involuntary, and therefore not a sin, unless you are actively stirring up the feeling — taking ACTION on the immoral feeling would be sinful. The kids didn’t “get that.”
This action of the pope would really be better done, if it was handled in a way that would make more sense. As it is, priests could say “why one rule for him and not me?”
'I do this with my heart,' Pope says before washing inmates' feet
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Young Inmates Eager for Holy Thursday Mass With Francis
The Fourth Cup
The Last Supper and the Forgiveness of Sins
Benedict XVI’s sermon for Holy Thursday Mass of the Last Supper (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)
The Mandatum of Love (meaning of Maundy Thursday/Holy Thursday) [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
The Significance of Holy Thursday
Holy Thursday Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper
A Christian Passover Seder for Holy Thursday (or tonight)
The significance of Holy Thursday (institution of the Eucharist and priesthood)
Holy Thursday: The God who Washes Feet
Holy Thursday and the washing of the feet [Mandatum]
The Hunt for the Fourth Cup
Great and Holy Thursday [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
Maundy Thursday, Holy Thursday, Shire Thursday
Holy Thursday
Maundy Thursday
HOMILIES PREACHED BY FATHER ALTIER ON HOLY THURSDAY IN 2004 AND 2005.
Paths to Rome: Washing of Feet on Holy Thursday
Washing of the Feet on Holy Thursday And More on Days of Abstinence
Reflections for Maundy Thursday: The Carrying of the Cross
Past Not Over (Why Passover is the most widely observed holiday.)
The Chrism Mass
Celebration of a Family Seder Meal
Washing the Feet of Men Only on Holy Thursday
ALTAR OF REPOSE - Catholic Liturgy for Maundy Thursday
Catholic Caucus: Maundy (Holy) Thursday
The Fourth Cup: The Sacrament of the Eucharist [Holy Thursday] [Passover]
Holy Thursday - When the moon is full
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