Last night my wife and I joined in our Parish Holy Thursday Mass. We heard and then celebrated Jesus’ washing his disciple’s feet as related in John 13. We washed one another’s feet as a symbol of our service to one another. We prayed for everyone who provides service to the parish including our pastor, staff, religious educators, lectors and Eucharistic ministers, social ministers, maintenance volunteers, and those who serve simply by joining in prayer with us. We followed the Bread and Wine into a place of repose and knelt in reverence and worship.
The evening was quiet and inspiring for both of us.
This morning we talked briefly about the fact very few of us would return to the parish to perform service. Most of us would go out into the world and perform some kind of service. Our friend John will go back to his print shop and prepare documents for his customers. Charlie will use his carpentry skills to help people maintain their homes. My wife will teach children the skills they will need in their futures. Our four grown children will; 1) write an instructional video in medical Spanish; 2) construct buildings for Radford University students and faculty; 3) serve law students out of the Georgetown dean's office; and 4) teach music to inner city middle school students. Doctors will heal patients and financial planners will help their clients provide for their families and retirements.
Last night we were inspired by all the prayers we said for those who perform service inside the parish. This morning we wished that we had also prayed for everyone who would perform a service in their places of work or homes. None of these people will benefit from a prayer that could easily have been added to the liturgy.
By any calculation the overwhelming majority of service done by our parishioners throughout the week will be done outside the confines of the parish walls.
I suggest this prayer as an addition to the Holy Thursday liturgy:
“Jesus, Joseph and Mary, please be with us as we return to our homes and places of work. Help us to remember that our work is a form of service, that every customer, boss, and coworker is a child of God, and that our work is an opportunity to create a better world, one aligned with your wishes. Help us to find a balance among work, worship, community service and holy leisure. Help us to continue our service when we return to our families in love.”