The washing of feet

 

It was Holy Week - Holy Thursday to be precise. Saint Vincent Church was full to capacity. Father Ignatius was pleased to see that so many people had turned up for the first of the Tridiums, especially since it was a very cold day and it had been raining constantly since the morning.

The Easter Tridium is a period in the Catholic Church commemorating the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ. Special Masses are celebrated on Holy Thursday, Good Friday and at midnight on Saturday celebrating Easter.

As usual on Holy Thursday Father Ignatius washed the feet of twelve members of the congregation as a reminder of what Jesus had done at the Last Supper to His disciples. Then, having read the Gospel, he waited until the congregation sat down and started his sermon.

"As you have just witnessed," he said, "and as I have read in the Gospel, Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. This is very significant. In those days when Jesus was on earth streets were very dirty indeed; not like today. There was dust everywhere, mud when it rained, and no doubt various deposits from cattle, horses and camels. Washing of feet was an essential thing to do when you entered your house or visited someone. And this task was left to the servants or slaves to wash visitors' feet as they entered the house.

"Jesus came on earth to serve us, not to be served. He was ... He is a King. The Son of God. Yet He came to us in all humility and vulnerability as a baby and grew up amongst us. He spent His life healing the sick, the poor and destitute and raising people from the dead. He died for us. God, the King, came to serve not to be served.

"Our Christian faith does not teach that we should climb up to God for our redemption. God has come down to us, and offered Himself as sacrifice on the Cross and we are unwilling to acknowledge or accept His priceless gift."

Father Ignatius stopped for a while, as he had a habit of doing, to allow the message to sink home. Then he continued.

"What are we to learn from the washing of feet?" he asked. "Not so much from what Jesus did, but from Peter's reaction to the whole thing.

"Peter refused to have his feet washed by his Lord and Master. Did he do this out of respect and love for Jesus? Or did he do it because he wanted to be in control?

"Perhaps a bit of both. But let us consider the latter for a while. Peter was always self-assured. He was always the one who spoke first, impetuous perhaps, but always confident. At this very meal we see him so confident in himself that he declares that he will always remain by Christ's side; only to deny Him three times moments later.

"There is no way that this man was going to lose control and allow Jesus to wash his feet.

"A bit like us really," the priest said, "do we not like to feel always in control of events, in control of our lives and perhaps that of others too? Do we not act like that when we pray? We come to God not in humble prayers acknowledging who we are but approaching Him as if speaking man-to-man on a level playing field. Be honest now ... are not your prayers sometimes a list of demands ... or requests, to put it mildly, as if you are asking God to do as you wish rather than accepting that His will be done in everything in full trust that He knows what He is doing?

"If there is a lesson to be learnt from today's Gospel reading it is to remember who is in control. God, or you?

"I'll leave you to think about it!"

It was well past nine in the evening by the time Mass finished and the congregation had all gone home.

Father Ignatius locked the church and the sacristy and went to the church hall to lock up before going to Parish house. He visited the toilets in the church hall and noticed that they had been left rather untidy. So he rolled up his sleeves, picked up a toilet brush, and proceeded to clean the toilets before starting to wash and mop the floor.

He was there on his knees with his hand in the toilet bowl when a woman came in. She had finished cleaning the kitchen and had come in having noticed the lights in the toilets were on.

"What are you doing, Father?" she cried when she saw him on his knees.

"Cleaning the toilet," he said having been startled by a voice behind him.

"You can't do that!" she cried again, "you're a priest!"

He stood up shakily because of his painful knees and smiling he said, "there is nothing in the Catholic Rules to say I can't clean the toilets!"

"What I mean," she said rather embarrassed, "you are a priest. You should leave this work for the likes of us, people like me, or the cleaners ... you are  ... you are ..."

"A priest," he smiled, "I know what you mean, Edna ... have you forgotten my sermon this evening ... I tell you what ... if you want to help get another brush and you can do that bowl over there. Then we'll mop the floor together!"

And by his actions the kindly old priest preached a better sermon than the one he delivered at the pulpit.

Based on a true story.