'The Master of the House Washed My Feet!' Holy Thursday.

Jesus washes the feet of the Apostles

Church of St Aignan, Chartres, France [Wikipedia]

Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Readings(Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)

Note: The page above has the readings for the Chrism Mass and, below them, those for the Mass of the Lord's Supper. 

Gospel John 13:1-15 (New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition, Canada)  

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus answered, ‘You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ Peter said to him, ‘You will never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.’ Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!’ Jesus said to him, ‘One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.’ For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, ‘Not all of you are clean.’

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.

From The Gospel of John

Directed by Philip Saville

'The Master of the House Washed My Feet'
By Fr Gary Walker

In March 2008 I posted this story from The Far East, the magazine of the Columbans in the Region of Australia and New Zealand (now, with Fiji, the Region of Oceania) about a Hindu, Nomo, who proclaimed the gospel after a Holy Thursday experience. What struck me is its similarity to the story of the Samaritan woman at the well, who also became a missionary by telling the people in her town that she had discovered the Messiah. Fr Walker the author, was then editor of The Far East. He is from Brisbane, Australia.

Pray for the soul of Nomo.

An Easter Triduum story comes from Sindh province in Pakistan where the Columbans work. The extraordinary experience of a Hindu man who was caught up in the Holy Thursday liturgy and had his feet washed by the parish priest, Irish Columban Fr Tomás King.

Matli is a town in Sindh where the Columbans have worked for over 30 years. At Easter Catholics come to town from many areas to celebrate the Easter Triduum; they stay in the Catholic compound while they are in the town. At the same time a Hindu man by the name of Nomo came to Matli to visit his relatives from Nagar Parkar, a town right on the eastern extreme of Pakistan near its border with India. These are tribal people, Parkar Kholi people, who are Hindu and Christian as well as Muslim.

Nomo was several hundred kilometres from home and invited to the Holy Thursday night liturgy by a Catholic friend. Fr Tomás King, the resident priest at that time, randomly arranged for some men to have their feet washed at the altar. It just happened that Nomo was chosen and totally unaware of what was going to take place sat up in front of the altar with the other men. But when he saw that Father Tomás was washing their feet, the poor fellow tried to run away - but they managed to persuade him to stay and Father Tomás washed his feet.

This ritual washing had an extraordinary effect on him and he told others after Mass, Now I have seen a true religion - I came into this house, a total stranger and the master of the house washed my feet! Imagine the master of the house washing a stranger's feet.

He returned to Nagar Parkar and related this story, not only to his family but also his neighbours and friends. Nomo was a well-known figure and a prominent person in the Hindu community in Nagar Parkar. Even though he was not baptized he proclaimed this message of love and service as he experienced it at the hands of a Catholic priest.

Sadly he died in questionable circumstances. Some Catholics in the area believe that he was poisoned while trying to bring peace and reconciliation between two parties that were at odds with one another. He had accepted the gospel as his way of life.

Fr Tomás King

One of the antiphons that may be  sung duriing the Washing of the Feet, a ceremony that will not take place this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic

Antiphon John 13:4, 5, 15

Postquam surrexit Dominus a cena, misit aquam in pelvim,

After the Lord had risen from supper, he poured water into a basin

et coepit lavare pedes disciplulorum:

and began to wash the feet of his disciples:

hoc exemplum reliquit eis.

he left them this example.

Ps 47 [48]:2. Magnus Dominus, et laudabilis nimis; in civitate Dei nostri, in monte sancto eius.

Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in His holy mountain.

Postquam surrexit Dominus a cena, misit aquam in pelvim,

After the Lord had risen from supper, he poured water into a basin

et coepit lavare pedes disciplulorum:

and began to wash the feet of his disciples:

hoc exemplum reliquit eis.

he left them this example.

'I want my life, my character, my actions to speak of me and say that I am following Jesus Christ.' Sunday Reflections, 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Rest on the Flight into Egypt (detail), Caravaggio [Web Gallery of Art]

But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me,
    my Lord has forgotten me.’
Can a woman forget her nursing-child,
    or show no compassion for the child of her womb?
Even these may forget,

    yet I will not forget you. (Isaiah 49:14-15. First Reading).

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)

Gospel Matthew 6:24-34 (New Revised  Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition) 

Jesus said to his disciples:

 ‘No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Thursday 2 March is the sixth anniversary of the death of Shahbaz Bhatti, seen with Pope Benedict in the video above during an audience in September 2010. He was assassinated in Islamabad, Pakistan, shortly after leaving his mother's home. Mr Bhatti, a Catholic, was the first Christian to be appointed to the Cabinet in Pakistan and was responsible for minorities. The Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for his death.

Sandro Magister, one of the leading journalists covering the Vatican, wrote about the death of Shahbaz Bhatti on 14 April 2011 in A Lesson of Holiness from Remote Pakistan. [The link to this no longer works.] Magister writes:

The Bible that Shahbaz always had with him is now in Rome in the memorial for the martyrs of the past century, in the basilica of Saint Bartholomew on the Isola Tiberina.

One of the most informative and concerned articles on what his murder has meant in Pakistan and in the whole world is without a doubt the one published in La Civiltà Cattolica dated April 2, 2011.

An article that is all the more significant given that this magazine of the Rome Jesuits is printed after inspection and authorization by the Vatican secretariat of state. So it reflects the thinking of the Holy See in this regard.

In Pakistan, out of a population of 185 million inhabitants, Christians are 2 percent, one million of them Catholic. But among the Muslims as well there are minorities in danger: Shiites, Sufis, Ismaili, Ahmadis.

Clement Shahbaz Bhatti شہباز بھٹی

(9 September 1968 – 2 March 2011)

'I do not want popularity, I do not want positions of power. I only want a place at the feet of Jesus. I want my life, my character, my actions to speak of me and say that I am following Jesus Christ.'

The article in La Civiltà Cattolica was written by Fr Luciano Larivera SJ and includes most of The spiritual testament of Shahbaz Bhatti. I have highlighted parts of this.

'My name is Shahbaz Bhatti. I was born into a Catholic family. My father, a retired teacher, and my mother, a housewife, raised me according to Christian values and the teachings of the Bible, which influenced my childhood. Since I was a child, I was accustomed to going to church and finding profound inspiration in the teachings, the sacrifice, and the crucifixion of Jesus. It was his love that led me to offer my service to the Church.

'The frightening conditions into which the Christians of Pakistan had fallen disturbed me. I remember one Good Friday when I was just thirteen years old: I heard a homily on the sacrifice of Jesus for our redemption and for the salvation of the world. And I thought of responding to his love by giving love to my brothers and sisters, placing myself at the service of Christians, especially of the poor, the needy, and the persecuted who live in this Islamic country.

'I have been asked to put an end to my battle, but I have always refused, even at the risk of my own life. My response has always been the same. I do not want popularity, I do not want positions of power. I only want a place at the feet of Jesus. I want my life, my character, my actions to speak of me and say that I am following Jesus Christ.

'This desire is so strong in me that I consider myself privileged whenever - in my combative effort to help the needy, the poor, the persecuted Christians of Pakistan - Jesus should wish to accept the sacrifice of my life. I want to live for Christ and it is for Him that I want to die. I do not feel any fear in this country. Many times the extremists have wanted to kill me, imprison me; they have threatened me, persecuted me, and terrorized my family.

'I say that, as long as I am alive, until the last breath, I will continue to serve Jesus and this poor, suffering humanity, the Christians, the needy, the poor. I believe that the Christians of the world who have reached out to the Muslims hit by the tragedy of the earthquake of 2005 have built bridges of solidarity, of love, of comprehension, and of tolerance between the two religions. If these efforts continue, I am convinced that we will succeed in winning the hearts and minds of the extremists. This will produce a change for the better: the people will not hate, will not kill in the name of religion, but will love each other, will bring harmony, will cultivate peace and comprehension in this region.

'I believe that the needy, the poor, the orphans, whatever their religion, must be considered above all as human beings. I think that these persons are part of my body in Christ, that they are the persecuted and needy part of the body of Christ. If we bring this mission to its conclusion, then we will have won a place at the feet of Jesus, and I will be able to look at him without feeling shame.'

Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, Vermeer [Web Gallery of Art]

Can anyone fail to be moved by the testament of Shahbaz Bhatti who saw his vocation as a Christian to serve his people as a politician but whose only desire was to have a place at the feet of Jesus? This is a member of a small, often despised minority, living out his Christian vocation as a politician and who can say I want to live for Christ and it is for Him that I want to die.

The British band Ooberfuse whose lead singer, Cherrie Anderson, is the daughter of a Filipina mother, wrote the song above for the first death anniversary of the death of Shahbaz Bhatti and sang it at a prayer rally organised by Christian Pakistanis in Britain and held in Trafalgar Square, London. They incorporated part of the last televised interview in English that Shahbaz Bhatti gave in which he said I know what is the meaning of [the] Cross.

The song above was written by Eric Sindhu who knew Shahbaz Bhatti. Fr Finbar Maxwell, a Columban who served in Pakistan for many years and is now here in the Philippines told me that the song is in Urdu and is in the traditional 'dirge' form of singing.  The lyrics refer to  Christian faith of Shahbaz, to his blood spilled, and to the 'book' of his life. Father Finbar echoed my own comment when he wrote: The tone, sentiment and beauty of the song indeed transcend the need for translation. 

Fr Tomás King and Gerard Bhatti

Fr Tomás King, an Irish Columban priest in Pakistan, met Gerard Bhatti, a brother of Shahbaz and wrote Shahbaz Bhatti: 'I know what is the meaning of Cross.' 

After the death of Shahbaz the Pakistani government offered his position in the Cabinet to the family who decided that Paul, another brother, should take it. He is a medical doctor who worked for some years in Italy. He too has been receiving death threats.

No one can serve two masters, Jesus tells us in this Sunday's gospel. Shahbaz Bhatti described his Master in detail: I believe that the needy, the poor, the orphans, whatever their religion, must be considered above all as human beings. I think that these persons are part of my body in Christ, that they are the persecuted and needy part of the body of Christ. 

In his Mass in the chapel of Domus Sanctae Marthae on Monday 16 September 2013 Pope Francis asked us to Pray for politicians that they govern us well. One politician I don't pray for but pray to regularly is this Pakistani martyr for the justice that our Catholic Christian faith demands is Clement Shahbaz Bhatti. I truly believe that he has won a place at the feet of Jesus.

A Christmas Reflection from Pakistan

Fr Tomás King is a Columban priest from Ireland who works in the Diocese of Hyderabad, in the Sindh Province of Pakistan. This is his Christmas reflection.

View of Nagarparkar City from Karoonjhar Mountains

CHRISTMAS 2014, Nagarparkar 

Dear Friends, greetings from Pakistan. I hope all is well with you as you prepare to celebrate Christmas. 

 Malala Yousafzai 

Last weekend I sat down to put a few thoughts together to send as Christmas greetings. I was hoping to focus on the good news story for Pakistan in recent weeks; that being the teenager Malala Yousafzai being joint winner of the Nobel Peace prize along with, Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian    child rights activist. Malala was shot a few years ago by the Taliban, but survived.  Her offence; to go to school, as well as to demand education for all children, particularly girls. Malala, in her acceptance speech, she asked her government to 'build schools and not tanks'. 

Kailash Satyarthi

But just a few days later, Tuesday 16th the Taliban attacked a school in Peshawar city and killed 148 people, most of whom, 132, were children. It is simply incomprehensible, impossible to understand the mentality that would motivate one to carry out such acts.The children were systematically and intentionally targeted, so as to cause as much death, damage and destruction as possible.  

What kind of response is possible, and necessary to such pure hatred? Are there any hints of answers in the Christmas story? St Luke’s Gospel tells us that the 'shepherds were keeping watch in the night'. What were they looking for? Maybe for something to brighten up their difficult lives. Maybe they were looking for the 'the light that shone in the darkness' which is the image used in St John’s Gospel to describe Jesus’ presence among us. How does light shine in darkness, as the image seems to suggest?  

Christ being born in our world, is very much about finding God inside of ordinary every day events. And also it seems, even in the darkness of sin, violence, war, greed and the other negative realities that are part of our world, difficult as that is. Christmas is about light being seen inside of darkness. Christmas invites and challenges us to watch like the shepherds when we look at the world and see the light which is God’s presence, grace, graciousness, forgiveness, love, unselfishness and innocence. 

We also need the attitude and disposition of Mary. St Luke’s Gospel also tells us that when Mary heard from the shepherd what Jesus was to become her response was to 'treasure all these things and ponder them in her heart'.  There is a lot in this appearance of God in the world that we cannot understand. But ‘watching,’ ‘treasuring’ and ‘pondering’ will help us on the way to understanding and enable us to give and receive the blessing, the ‘benediction’ that Rabindranath Tagore speaks off below: 

Benediction 

Bless this little heart, this soul that has won the kiss of heaven for our earth. 

He loves the light of the sun, he loves the sight of his mother's face. 

He has not learned to despise the dust, and to hanker after gold. 

Clasp him to your heart and bless him. 

He has come into this land of an hundred cross-roads. 

I know not how he chose you from the crowd, came to your door, and grasped you hand to ask his way. He will follow you, laughing the talking, and not a doubt in his heart. 

Keep his trust, lead him straight and bless him. 

Lay your hand on his head, and pray that though the waves underneath grow threatening, 

yet the breath from above may come and fill his sails and waft him to the heaven of peace. 

Forget him not in your hurry, let him come to your heart and bless him.  

Rabindranath Tagore

    

Peace and Blessings this Christmas for the coming year. 

Father Tomás

Adoration of the Shepherds, El Greco, c.1610

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York [Web Gallery of Art]

Photos from Wikipedia.