Pope marks Holy Thursday with washing of feet

(April 23, 2011) Pope Benedict XVI celebrated the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday evening, washing the feet of 12 priests, in commemoration of Christ’s gesture of humble service, the evening before his death on the cross. The Pope poured water from a golden pitcher onto the foot of each priest, then wiped each foot dry with a towel. The collection taken up at the Mass was earmarked by the Pope to help those affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The disaster left more than 14,000 dead and another 13,660 unaccounted for; more than 150,000 were made homeless. The liturgy of Jesus’ Last Supper was held at Rome's Basilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of the Pope, the bishop of Rome.
In his homily, Pope Benedict said that Jesus' final meal with his disciples was a type of “messianic wedding feast” that marked the founding of the church and the inauguration of the transformation of the world. But Jesus was also well aware that not everyone responded to his message and invitation. The Holy Father alluded to the countries of the West, saying that Jesus “knows all about empty places at table, invitations refused, lack of interest in him and his closeness.” “For us,” he said, “the empty places at the table of the Lord’s wedding feast, whether excusable or not, are no longer a parable but a reality, in those very countries to which he had revealed his closeness in a special way.” “Jesus desires us, he awaits us. But what about ourselves? Do we really desire him? Are we anxious to meet him? ... Or are we indifferent, distracted, busy about other things?” he said. Those who attend the Eucharist celebration merely out of habit do not really participate, because “their hearts are elsewhere,” he said. “Eucharistic communion requires faith, but faith requires love; otherwise, even as faith, it is dead,” he said.
Pope Benedict also spoke about the Eucharist as the sacrament of unity. “The Eucharist,” he said, “is the mystery of the profound closeness and communion of each individual with the Lord and, at the same time, of visible union between all.” In the Eucharistic Prayer of the Holy Mass, he noted, “we mention the Pope and the Bishop by name: unity is something utterly concrete, it has names. In this way unity becomes visible; it becomes a sign for the world and a concrete criterion for ourselves.” “All of us need the conversion which enables us to accept Jesus in his reality as God and man,” the German Pope said. “We need the humility of the disciple who follows the will of his Master. Tonight we want to ask Jesus to look to us, as with kindly eyes he looked to Peter when the time was right, and to convert us.” Pope Benedict concluded is homily with a prayer for unity: “Strengthen us in unity with you and with one another. Grant unity to your Church, so that the world may believe.”