Section III:

The Upper Room

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Small Groups as an opportunity for the washing of feet

Throughout our Synod process, I was delighted to witness a more subtle “washing of the feet” reflected in small group conversations that were respectful and affirming. While we did not always agree with one another, we did listen and strive to respect the dignity of the other. We received the other as other. Time and again I have heard the testimony of those who felt an exceptional unity in our Synod events: a unity born in prayer and in small groups that culminated in the beautiful liturgies of the Synod Assembly. It is my hope that this “washing of the feet” experience continues in our parishes.

St. Teresa of Calcutta worked among the poorest of the poor throughout the world, yet she would say that the greatest hunger of the human person was the “terrible hunger for love.” She even found that this hunger was often most pronounced in the wealthiest nations on earth. “Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.” In her visits to the United States she had particular compassion on the many lonely hearts that she encountered here, noting that “[t]he hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”

In the Synod Small Groups last fall, there was a clear desire for connection: for experiencing the love of God directly and as expressed through other sisters and brothers in Christ. This desire was heard again at the Synod Assembly, as Proposition 19 (Small Groups) was one of the top five voted-upon propositions. I was not surprised: our parishes with strong small group ministry have consistently shown that small groups continue to be an excellent vehicle for the provision of Christ-centered care, with heart speaking to heart.

The first “foot-washing” action I will be asking our parishes to take, through the work of their Synod Evangelization Teams, will be to begin the process of creating or growing a small group ministry that fosters personal relationships, builds community, and provides formation to help parishioners grow as joyful missionary disciples of Christ. I saw this incarnated when I visited St. Pius X Parish in White Bear Lake this summer, where one of the Synod Small Groups formed in 2021 had decided to continue to meet. They named themselves “Agape,” with a commitment to serve – wash the feet – by taking new responsibility for hospitality and welcome within the parish.

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The primary small group: The family

This radical love is not only needed in the parish church, but also in the domestic church: the family. After all, the primary small group is the family. No wonder then that Proposition 28 (Parents as Primary Educators: Form and inspire parents to understand and fulfill their responsibility as the first teachers of their children in the ways of faith) was the proposition receiving the highest number of votes.

We are becoming increasingly aware that parenting is an intense form of youth ministry: a mission of corporal and spiritual works of mercy directed toward one’s own children. The family is the place where each of us first encounters love, where the mother’s smile first evangelizes the infant held close and affirms the child’s goodness. The family is the primary place where foot-washing of the youth occurs: clothing the naked; feeding the hungry; giving drink to the thirsty; sheltering the homeless; visiting the sick; instructing the ignorant; counseling the doubtful; admonishing the sinner; bearing wrongs patiently; forgiving offenses; comforting the sorrowful; and praying for the living and the dead. What an expression of foot-washing we find in every Christian home!

A family that is rooted and united in Jesus and that has experienced his love so humbly expressed in the Upper Room, will be a shining example of evangelization and mission. Such a family will wash the feet not only of those in their household, but also of those in the household of the Church – a family of families.

(Source: archspmmainsite/Synod_Pastoral+Letter)