Rules change for Holy Thursday. Hijinx ensues.

16_01_21_washing_feet_Meister_des_HausbuchesFrom the often amusing Eye of the Tiber (my emphases):

Women May Now Have Their Feet Washed And Pedicured At Holy Thursday Mass, Pope Says

Pope Francis has changed the rules for the Church’s Holy Thursday foot-washing ceremony, issuing a decree allowing women to not only participate in the ceremony, but to have an optional pedicure for the low donation price of just $14.95. That’s right, just $14.95.
In a letter addressed to Cardinal Robert Sarah, the Pope said that 12 “lucky” people would be chosen to participate in the ritual of what is now being called the washing and pedicuring of the feet “from among all members of the People of God whose feet and toenails are in desperate need of superficial cosmetic treatment.”
“For some time I have been reflecting on the rite of the washing of the feet so that we fully express the meaning of the gesture made by Jesus in the Upper Room, his gift of self until the end for the salvation of the world, his boundless charity,” Francis said. “But also because I myself have had countless pedicures over the years and truly understand the importance of tootsie maintenance.”
Francis went on to say that “with the amount of walking the disciples did during their ministries, I am quite certain that they would not have said no to a soothing pedicure once in a while if it was ever offered them.”
Francis also stressed that the average person takes 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day, which adds up to about 115,000 miles over a lifetime, and that all the wear and tear on the feet can be harmful if they are not maintained properly.
“The Lord said, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.’ How can we expect to accomplish this task with wear and tear on our feet? And to the men I say be not afraid! Pedicures are no longer just for women, just as the washing of the feet is no longer just for men.”

After all, as Pope Francis said the other day during his off-the-cuff fervorino:

“Christians who obstinately maintain ‘it’s always been done this way,’ this is the path, this is the street—they sin: the sin of divination. It’s as if they went about by guessing: ‘What has been said and what doesn’t change is what’s important; what I hear—from myself and my closed heart—more than the Word of the Lord.’ Obstinacy is also the sin of idolatry: the Christian who is obstinate sins! The sin of idolatry. ‘And what is the way, Father?’ Open the heart to the Holy Spirit, discern what is the will of God.”

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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23 Comments

  1. moon1234 says:

    The first part was amusing, the second was annoying. Makes one who is trying to live the faith of our fathers as being rejected and abandoned for the fleeting acceptance of a world that wants nothing to do with us.

  2. tz2026 says:

    Will they paint solid colors on the nails for a slight upcharge, and custom images for more?
    And one ought to not be so callous, so those can be removed with the deluxe package.

  3. JARay says:

    This has to be a joke surely! A Pedicure! At Mass! Is this supposed to be being open to the Holy Spirit? Whatever will be the next surprise from this Holy Spirit?

  4. Kathleen10 says:

    My dog always had her toenails clipped when I took her in for a grooming. Don’t our canine friends deserve some mercy? Good luck clipping the cats toenails though. If Kitty don’t want it, Kitty ain’t havin it.
    That was a good article.
    His words are an insult. I find him intolerable most times. Still waiting for a Cardinal or Bishop to take it on.

  5. Jackie L says:

    This, like much going on will serve to energize the women’s ordination types, while discouraging the traditionalists and conservatives. An important lesson to learn here is that we cannot control Francis, there is however much we can do to promote the faith.

  6. Suzanne Carl says:

    I admit, the one time I participated in the washing of the feet at our Cathedral, with the archbishop, I did so only so my husband and son could be included, and felt ashamed. I planned ahead and painted my toes. It was cold, so I made sure I wore shoes without socks. The whole thing is stupid. I would much rather participate in 21 priests having their feet washed by me and I dry them with my hair.

    Still, Eye of the Tiber is hilarious.

  7. Traductora says:

    Love it! Humor really does help to make it all more bearable. Of course, sometimes it’s difficult to distinguish satire from reality in the New Church of the Spirit of Today.

  8. Kathleen10 says:

    So if you agree with novelty in the church, you are discerning the will of God.
    If you don’t agree with novelty in the church, you are committing the sin of idolatry.
    Got it.

  9. ChesterFrank says:

    Is the priest the only one that is supposed to do the foot washing on Holy Thursday? Here in the northeast parishioners wash each others hand and feet! We use very large pitchers filled with plenty of warm water, and have stacks of fluffy white towels throughout the church.

  10. GrumpyYoungMan says:

    I needed this. Hopefully Cardinal Sarah got a kick out of this, too…

  11. Mr. Graves says:

    According to LifeSite News on 18 January, Pope Francis’ comments about holding on to tradition being equivalent to idolatry could be setting the stage for the Synod report due in several months’ time. Frankly, if all he’s talking about is washing women’s feet … whew! Just another day in in the death-of-a-thousand-cuts papacy , but not the final blow.

    And it gave EOTT a chance to shine, so there’s that.

  12. Gratias says:

    The Eye on the Tiber reads as it were a reasoned argument in these crazy times in which we cling to our Faith as if our life depended on it. (Reading Pope Francis through Obama here.) Papa Francisco has chosen traditional Catholics as his whipping boys and we will have to suck it up and take one for the team. But we need not forget. Vatican II is the root cause of this madness.

  13. Father K says:

    Kathleen10. You will be waiting an awfully long time. Cats do it themselves [like most other things]. They scratch their claws against the bark of trees or furniture if they can get away with it!

  14. Father K says:

    ChesterFrank. The only person recorded in the Gospels washing his hands during the Triduum was Pontius Pilate. You may like to point that out to your parish priest. In a n0n-confontational way of course!

  15. pray4truth says:

    “So long as this Pope is the Pope, pray for him daily. And please add a prayer also for Pope Benedict.” https://wdtprs.com/2015/12/pope-francis-80th-year-of-life-will-he-resign-fr-z-speculates/

  16. Ferde Rombola says:

    We are witnessing the continuing protestantizing (and destruction) of the Catholic Church. By the alleged Vicar of Christ no less. Doctrinal authority for every local ordinary in the world is next.

  17. Sonshine135 says:

    That moment when E.O.T.T. as a parody website news is actually more accurate than the “Fishwrap” with their “real news”. :)

  18. Luke W says:

    And so we go from laughing at EOTT’s post, to crying after reading the Pope’s fervorino…

  19. MikeM says:

    ‘”…What has been said and what doesn’t change is what’s important; what I hear—from myself and my closed heart—more than the Word of the Lord…”

    What an odd argument. I would have thought that it went without saying that what I imagine God wants is more likely to come “from myself and my closed heart” than what was recorded as coming from Christ, than what has been passed down through the centuries, etc.

  20. comedyeye says:

    The Church lives or dies on Her symbols. If wanting to defend them makes me “obstinate” then I am the biggest sinner out there.

  21. Sword40 says:

    I am so grateful that I can attend the EF Mass every week and that (so far) I don’t have to deal with the innovations that our Pope is putting in place. I will not speak against him but I certainly disagree with him.
    Hold fast to the traditions which you have received.

  22. Blaise says:

    At least “may” does not mean “must” and I believe the footwashing rite is still optional.

  23. WYMiriam says:

    “Christians who obstinately maintain ‘it’s always been done this way,’ this is the path, this is the street—they sin: the sin of divination.”

    obstinate: adjective [to stand against] unreasonably determined to have one’s own way; not yielding to reason or plea; stubborn; dogged; mulish.

    obstinacy: noun the state or quality of being obstinate

    divination: noun (1) the act or practice of trying to foretell the future or explore the unknown by occult means; (2) a prophecy; augury; (3) a successful guess; clever conjecture.

    Okay, I give up; I confess my stupidity. Just how does obstinacy equate to divination?

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