St. Vincent De Paul Society

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This Lenten season we have found ourselves "sheltering in place" and practicing "social distancing" when not sheltering.  It is an unusually quiet time in our lives and promises to become even more quiet in the weeks ahead.  This quiet offers us the opportunity to reflect on our faith, on our relationship with God.
We have arrived at the holiest week of our year and we are confronted with the reality that we will celebrate it without being with our family and parish at Mass.  The focus of the week is, appropriately, on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, but I want to offer some thoughts about Holy Thursday.
On a typical Holy Thursday we celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Supper and our Gospel is about Jesus washing the disciples' feet.  Jesus tells his disciples that he has given them a model to follow and he says, "If I, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet."
Now we know, of course, that every time Jesus teaches his disciples, he is teaching us as well.  So, is he telling us that we should wash each other's feet?  Probably not literally, but he is telling us that we should recognize the value of all people, that we should love each other without reservation, and that we should serve each other without any expectation of reward or return.
Jesus is calling us to be servants and, when we have the opportunity to lead, he is calling us to be servant leaders.  But what does this mean for us in this unusual time?  How do we serve others when we and they are sheltering in place?  How do we lead others whom we can't see?  How do we wash the feet of others when we can't be near?
It seems to me that we wash each other's feet when we take seriously the call to stay home.  And when we must go out, we maintain a safe distance.
We wash each other's feet when we put our neighbors' needs ahead of our own and when we pray for them and not just for ourselves.

We wash each other's feet when we are patient with the other family members who are trapped with us inside our houses.

We wash each other's feet when we call out to say hello to those walking past our homes trying to get some fresh air.
Importantly, there are a great number of very brave servant leaders who are washing our feet by serving on the front lines as first responders, medical personnel, and essential service providers.  We pray in a special way for all of these servant leaders.
Here is a wonderful prayer from Father Larry Tensi, pastor of St. Columban Church in Loveland.  It's a great reminder of where we should put our priorities is this difficult time.
 

Prayer for a Pandemic
May we who are merely inconvenienced, remember those whose lives are at stake.
May we who have no risk factors, remember those who are the most vulnerable.
May we who have the luxury of working from home,remember those who must choose between preserving their health or making their rent.
May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when their schools close,remember those who have no options.
May we who have to cancel our trips, remember those that have no place to go.
May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market, remember those who have no margins at all.
May we who settle in for a quarantine at home, remember those who have no home.
During this time when we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other let us find ways to be the loving embrace of God to our  neighbors.
Amen