Pope celebrates Holy Thursday ahead of foot-washing ritual
http://www.hrlnews.com/2019/04/pope-celebrates-holy-thursday-ahead-of.html
Pope Francis is ushering in the most solemn period in the Catholic
liturgical calendar by celebrating a Holy Thursday Mass, made more
poignant this year following the devastation of Paris’ Notre Dame
Cathedral.
The Crism Mass celebrates the unity of priests with their bishops.
During Thursday’s service, Francis blessed the holy oils that will be
used over the course of the year in the administration of sacraments.
In his homily, Francis stressed that when priests use the oil, they
are distributing their vocation and heart to the people of God.
“We anoint by dirtying our hands in touching the wounds, the sins and
the worries of the people,” he said. “We anoint by perfuming our hands
in touching their faith, their hopes, their fidelity and the
unconditional generosity of their self-giving.
This year, Holy Week — which for Catholics commemorates Christ’s
crucifixion, death and resurrection — has taken on particular meaning
following the fire at Notre Dame, a symbol of French Catholicism.
Francis has offered his condolences repeatedly to the French
faithful, and on Wednesday fielded a call from U.S. President Donald
Trump offering the sympathy of the American people over the loss, the
Vatican spokesman said.
Later Thursday, Francis travels outside Rome to Velletri, where he
will celebrate the ritual foot-washing ceremony at a prison. Francis has
frequently chosen to wash the feet of prisoners during the Holy
Thursday ritual, which re-enacts Christ’s washing the feet of his
disciples, in a bid to show his willingness to serve even those on the
farthest margins of society.
On Friday, he presides over the Way of the Cross procession at Rome’s
Colosseum re-enacting Christ’s crucifixion, followed by the Easter
Vigil and Easter Sunday.