Holy Thursday

Readings of the Day

Day after day we must take up the Basin and the Towel…

These lyrics by Christian artist Michael Card come to mind for me every Holy Thursday. This year the meaning is bittersweet, as we will not be able to publicly celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper with the Washing of Feet. Yet we can still read today’s gospel and imagine Jesus as He took up the basin and the towel to wash the feet of his shocked disciples, including the most resistant one of all, Simon Peter.

What Jesus did was more than simply a mandate to serve; it points to our need for that gentle washing away of our brokenness, fears, pain, and divisions. This is the daily work of Catholic Charities, even in these most difficult of times. And it is the work of our daily lives as disciples of Jesus.

We take up the basin and the towel in marriage, parenting, and friendships: helping a spouse during rehab; tending a sick child; or checking on a homebound parishioner. Think of someone who has been quarantined long before Covid 19, patiently taking care of a spouse with Alzheimer’s 24/7!

Perhaps now more than ever, we have opportunities to take up the basin and the towel as we are quarantined in our homes, having perhaps to temporarily home school our children, and trying to keep each other’s spirits up during this scary time.

Another line in that song speaks of the greatest challenge to foot washing: one must kneel and one must yield. I think we are all much better at kneeling and serving, than yielding and letting others serve us. It is often harder to receive, than give.

It's not easy to give up control, and let another do for us - in other words, have our feet washed. We see this in Peter, who at first vehemently objected to letting Jesus wash his feet.

But our journey of life and faith is a blend of both kneeling and yielding; and we have the perfect example of this in Jesus Himself.

Jesus kneels to wash the feet of His disciples, not only as an example for us all, but anticipating how He will wash us of our sins come Good Friday, His ultimate act of loving service.

Jesus also yields to what is asked of Him in the garden of Gethsemane, namely the Cross. And He continues to yield to us in the person of the poor, sick, refugee, immigrant – all those most vulnerable who have need of our love and care. What you do for these least ones, you do for me! Might we see Jesus yielding in those who come for our services?

So, whether in our Catholic Charities programs or quarantined in our homes, let us take up the basin and the towel, ready to kneel and serve the needs of others, but also at times, to yield and let others serve us.

Deacon Lucio Caruso if Director of Mission at Catholic Charities of Louisville and a member of the CCUSA Parish Social Ministry Leadership Team.

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