The Gospel
John 13:1‑15
The washing of the Feet. As I have done, so you must do.
St. Gaspar
It [the soul] loves God because it sees how he has loved the soul from all eternity: He first loved us.[1] It reconsiders especially the themes concerning redemption and exclaims: The love of Christ impels us.[2] It does so especially when seeing how far that love went when in his capacity as redeemer, [Christ] shed his blood to the last drop: He loves us and has washed away our sins in his blood.[3] Faint with love, the soul exclaims, "Oh wounds, oh precious blood of my Lord, that I might praise you in eternity!" What a great thing it is that the blood of Jesus is even our drink in the Eucharist and how, finally, through the merits of the blood of Jesus Christ we shall arrive in paradise. With your blood you purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue, people and nation]. You made them a kingdom. . . .[4] [5]
"Herein lies the glory of the priesthood, instituted for applying the price of redemption to souls, so that the divine Blood will not have been shed in vain, due to our own fault, as we note in the Holy Scriptures: “Quae utilitas in Sanguine meo?”[6] ... Sanguis Jesu Christi emendabit conscientias nostras ab operibus mortuis." [7] [8]
Reflection
It would have been a normal gesture of hospitality, providing water for your guests so they could wash the dust of the road from their tired feet. Maybe there would have been an extra measure of devotion on the part of the disciple who assisted the master in washing his feet. But here we have another example of how Jesus has turned the world upside down. The master washes your feet.
But as he got up from the table and "took off his outer robe," we have an indication of something larger. He has taken off more than his robe. St. Gaspar wants us to see how far this love has taken him. He has emptied himself completely. He had no fear that his role or prestige or his person would be diminished. He did not even fear death. He was now in a place where he knows who he is, where he is from and where he is going.
And during supper Jesus, knowing that God 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.
It is the same for us. This is no mere gesture. This is not simply a sign or re-enactment. This is not about some past event. This is a celebration of who we are now and who we are to become.
This day also marks the origin of the priesthood. This is the glory of the priesthood, as Gaspar teaches, to effect and make known this incredible love of Jesus. Those who have been washed in him, who now share completely in him, in his life and his mission, we know who we are, where we have come from and where we are going. Death has no more power over us. We can live without fear and do what needs to be done because we know that nothing, not even betrayal, will prevent the reign of God from being revealed in us.
[1] 1 Jn. 4:19
[2] 2 Cor. 5:14.
[3] Rv. 1:5 (Jerusalem Bible translation)
[4] Rv. 5:9‑10
[5]from the treatise "In omnibus divites factis in Illo" by St. Gaspar
[6] Psalms 30:10, "What gain would there be from my lifeblood." Gaspar quotes this passage quite often in his letters, eg. the June 1827 letter to Cristaldi, the July 1825 letter to Leo XII, as well as the letter quoted here. It is also used in his May, 1827 letter to Santarelli on the Month of the Precious Blood
[7] Hebrews 9:14 (Vulgate) quanto magis sanguis Christi qui per Spiritum Sanctum semet ipsum obtulit inmaculatum Deo emundabit conscientiam vestram ab operibus mortuis ad serviendum Deo viventi Hebrews 9:14. (Douay) How much more shall the blood of Christ, who by the Holy Ghost offered himself unspotted unto God, cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve the living God?
[8] from Letter 1240 to Pope Leo XII, September 1, 1825, Resources 8, Strokes of the Pen II, XXIII, 2
John 13:1‑15
The washing of the Feet. As I have done, so you must do.
St. Gaspar
It [the soul] loves God because it sees how he has loved the soul from all eternity: He first loved us.[1] It reconsiders especially the themes concerning redemption and exclaims: The love of Christ impels us.[2] It does so especially when seeing how far that love went when in his capacity as redeemer, [Christ] shed his blood to the last drop: He loves us and has washed away our sins in his blood.[3] Faint with love, the soul exclaims, "Oh wounds, oh precious blood of my Lord, that I might praise you in eternity!" What a great thing it is that the blood of Jesus is even our drink in the Eucharist and how, finally, through the merits of the blood of Jesus Christ we shall arrive in paradise. With your blood you purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue, people and nation]. You made them a kingdom. . . .[4] [5]
"Herein lies the glory of the priesthood, instituted for applying the price of redemption to souls, so that the divine Blood will not have been shed in vain, due to our own fault, as we note in the Holy Scriptures: “Quae utilitas in Sanguine meo?”[6] ... Sanguis Jesu Christi emendabit conscientias nostras ab operibus mortuis." [7] [8]
Reflection
It would have been a normal gesture of hospitality, providing water for your guests so they could wash the dust of the road from their tired feet. Maybe there would have been an extra measure of devotion on the part of the disciple who assisted the master in washing his feet. But here we have another example of how Jesus has turned the world upside down. The master washes your feet.
But as he got up from the table and "took off his outer robe," we have an indication of something larger. He has taken off more than his robe. St. Gaspar wants us to see how far this love has taken him. He has emptied himself completely. He had no fear that his role or prestige or his person would be diminished. He did not even fear death. He was now in a place where he knows who he is, where he is from and where he is going.
And during supper Jesus, knowing that God 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.
It is the same for us. This is no mere gesture. This is not simply a sign or re-enactment. This is not about some past event. This is a celebration of who we are now and who we are to become.
This day also marks the origin of the priesthood. This is the glory of the priesthood, as Gaspar teaches, to effect and make known this incredible love of Jesus. Those who have been washed in him, who now share completely in him, in his life and his mission, we know who we are, where we have come from and where we are going. Death has no more power over us. We can live without fear and do what needs to be done because we know that nothing, not even betrayal, will prevent the reign of God from being revealed in us.
- How do I participate in foot-washing ministry?
- Is the priesthood a gift or a bother? Why?
- How does the Eucharist lead me to give of myself?
[1] 1 Jn. 4:19
[2] 2 Cor. 5:14.
[3] Rv. 1:5 (Jerusalem Bible translation)
[4] Rv. 5:9‑10
[5]from the treatise "In omnibus divites factis in Illo" by St. Gaspar
[6] Psalms 30:10, "What gain would there be from my lifeblood." Gaspar quotes this passage quite often in his letters, eg. the June 1827 letter to Cristaldi, the July 1825 letter to Leo XII, as well as the letter quoted here. It is also used in his May, 1827 letter to Santarelli on the Month of the Precious Blood
[7] Hebrews 9:14 (Vulgate) quanto magis sanguis Christi qui per Spiritum Sanctum semet ipsum obtulit inmaculatum Deo emundabit conscientiam vestram ab operibus mortuis ad serviendum Deo viventi Hebrews 9:14. (Douay) How much more shall the blood of Christ, who by the Holy Ghost offered himself unspotted unto God, cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve the living God?
[8] from Letter 1240 to Pope Leo XII, September 1, 1825, Resources 8, Strokes of the Pen II, XXIII, 2
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