I went to church tonight to celebrate Holy Thursday. The church was packed and it was one of the most beautiful services I have experienced. At this Mass, the scripture is read about the last night Jesus spends with his friends before He is killed. While they were having their meal – the Last Supper – Jesus begins to wash His apostles’ feet. At that time, this was a job for the servants of the household. Feet got pretty filthy from walking in sandals in the desert all day. His apostles did not want Jesus to wash their feet as He was their leader. Jesus explained that if we are to follow Him, that we need to follow His example and serve one another. Typically the priest re-enacts the event during Mass by washing the feet of 12 people. When I walked into the church, I noticed several basins setting in some of the aisles. When it came time for the washing, the priest went to each basin one at a time and washed the feet of the person sitting on the end. They had been chosen before hand and were prepared when he came to them. I was sitting just behind one of the women, so got a pretty good view as to what happened. They did not exchange any words. The priest knelt down, poured water over the foot of the woman, and dried it with a towel. Then, he kissed it. He looked up at her and their eyes met. At that instance, I saw Jesus in him. He looked at her with such love you could feel it. It cut to my heart and I felt the tears rush to my eyes. It cut to the woman’s heart too, as she started to cry. He followed the same routine with each of the 12 people. I thought of all the priests who were doing the same thing in churches all around the world and thanked God for the priesthood. As Mass continued, everything was done with such reverence. The holy oils used for anointing were brought in. The altar was set. Communion was distributed. The music was beautiful. At the end, the priest processed out of the church with the rest of the consecrated hosts and placed them in another room in a tabernacle. The room was prepared for a time of adoration – when you can just be in the presence of Christ. It seemed that almost everyone followed the procession to the room. The crowd overflowed into the hallway and I stood with that group. A boy about 12 years old wanted to see what was happening. His parents edged him in front of them. As soon as he saw the tabernacle, the boy fell to his knees in prayer. I was amazed. The choir was dispersed among the people – some inside the room and some outside. They started singing a chant that included, “Stay with me…” The choir finished their part, but the group kept singing until it slowly got silent. After a while, many people went out of the room and more could go in. I was happy when I finally was able to go in and spend some time in prayer.

I Found God today in a beautiful Holy Thursday Mass.