A Different Night

“If I, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” John 13:14-15

My plan was to go to St. Augustine. God’s plan was that I went to Little Flower. 

Why did I choose to go to St. Augustine instead of Little Flower which is my parish? It was just a matter of timing. The services on Holy Thursday last about two hours. St. Augustine was starting at 7 pm. Little Flower was starting at 8 pm. I wake up very early, so by 9 pm I’m wiped out. Therefore, it was just a matter of timing.

I arrived to St. Augustine at 6:40 pm, twenty minutes before the services began, and their parking lot was already full. My hubby drove around the church, and there was not even a tiny space where to squeeze in our car. I was actually so happy to see this. The Church was packed, long before the services even started. St. Augustine is next to the University of Miami. I could imagine that many young people would be there as well.

We drove one block away, and saw a small space between two cars on the opposite side of the road. My husband drove to the corner to be able to do a u-turn and return to grab that spot. A car was coming in the opposite direction so he rushed to beat him. But by the time we returned, another car had stopped and had his left signal blinking, indicating that he had every intention to grab that spot we had seen first. But we were on our way to mass so we were not going to behave like most people would in a shopping center fighting for the last available spot. We drove on and allowed that man to take that space.

At that point we decided it was best to head to Little Flower. And what a blessing that was. We arrived a whole hour early, thus giving us the opportunity to get ready for the services. We were not the first ones, but there was plenty of seats available so we got to sit towards the front. At St. Augustine most likely we would not have found space not even at the back of the church. We would have had to stand for the entire service or sit on the sides. This would not have been good for my ADD.

I have been doing a Holy Week retreat with Matthew Kelly. On the Holy Thursday meditation, he said: “Arrive a little early so you can put yourself in the state of mind necessary to experience mass as if it were your first, last, and only mass.” I arrived not a little early but a huge early. It was God’s plan for me. I was able to pray before mass. I was even able to read the “Florida Catholic” which has great stories and I hardly ever take the time to read it.

One of the things that happened on the first Holy Thursday when Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples was the institution of the priesthood. I read about a celebration that took place in our Archdiocese recently, where fourteen priests were honored for their combined 625 years of service to our Church, and six religious women and one Jesuit priest celebrated a combined 340 years of religious life. The services at Little Flower were presided by about ten priests. One by one they said how many years they had been serving as priests, and we had almost 200 years of combined service in our midst.

I am sure the services at St. Augustine were just as great, but I was meant to be at Little Flower. I witnessed the washing of the feet of 12 parishioners, 6 men and 6 women, ranging in age from about 5 years old to over 90. The little girl was simply adorable. She sat on the stool waiting patiently for the priest to get to her. She put out her little foot for Father Manny Alvarez to wash it. At the end, I saw Father Manny give her an affectionate peck on the cheek. I would not have been able to witness this if I had been at the back of the church.

The washing of the feet made me reflect on the one that took place 2,000 years ago when Jesus washed his disciples feet. As Matthew Kelly points out on his meditation: “These men, they didn't wear shoes like you and I wear. They didn't bathe like you and I do. They wore open sandals and wandered along dusty roads. Their feet would have been filthy and sweaty and smelly.” But as the Scriptures read, "The Son of Man came to serve, not to be served."

My plan was to go to St. Augustine, but I’m so glad that God had a different plan, and that as a pilgrim, I allowed Him to lead me. As Father Manny said in his homily, this night was different than all other nights. I didn’t get home until past 10, but it did not matter. I got to spend three hours with Jesus. I shared the Last Supper with Him when I received the Eucharist which contains His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. He instituted the Eucharist on this day when He said "Take this, all of you, and eat. This is my body." 

I also got to spend time with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. After the services ended, Father Manny took the Holy Hosts that had been consecrated for Good Friday, to the altar of repose that had been prepared next door at Comber Hall. We followed him in procession around the church. The altar of repose was in the middle surrounded by plants which reminded me of the Garden of Gethsemane which I was blessed to visit in the Holy Land six years ago. I knelt with Jesus at the Garden where His anguish was so overwhelming that He begins to sweat blood. 

There were a lot of people at this garden, keeping Him company, just like the disciples kept Him company all those years ago at that other Garden. And just like them, I was tired and falling asleep, but I knew that God had brought me here on this different night to teach me a lesson. I learned on this different night, that God loves me unconditionally, He serves me without expecting me to pay Him back, and He washes my feet willingly. And I must do to others what He has done for me.

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