Theme: Truth, Humility, and Reconciliation in a Continent that Remembers
Core Gospel: John 13:1–20 (Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet)
Total Length: 75 minutes (1 hour 15 minutes)
Welcome & Gathering
(5 minutes)
Atmosphere: gentle instrumental music; a map of Europe; a candle unlit.
Opening Prayer
God of memory and mercy,
of cities and fields,
of wounds and hope,
be with us as we listen, share, and pray.
Give us courage to face the truth,
and humility to walk the path of reconciliation.
Amen.
Wondering
- I wonder what this land asks us to remember truthfully.
Setting the Scene:
Landscapes of Europe
(10 minutes)
Europe is a land where beauty and burden are held close together. From heathered hills and olive groves to industrial valleys and ancient cities, the land carries long memory. Battlefields lie beneath wildflowers. Borders have shifted again and again, leaving scars in soil and soul. Empires rose and fell, leaving both culture and harm in their wake.
This is a continent shaped by Christian faith — and by the Church’s complicity in violence, exclusion, colonialism, and silence. The need for penance runs deep: not as self-condemnation, but as honest reckoning. Reconciliation here cannot be rushed. It must move at the speed of truth, listening carefully to voices long marginalised.
Yet Europe also bears signs of peace-making. Former enemies collaborate across borders. Cities once divided have learned to live together again. Communities light candles where hatred once burned. Reconciliation appears not in grand gestures, but in small acts of courage, hospitality, and service.
Wondering
- I wonder which histories Europe still finds hardest to face.
Gospel Listening: John 13:1–20
(15 minutes)
First Reading
Read John 9:1–12 and 35–41 slowly.
Pause in silence (30–45 seconds).
Invite people to notice:
- A word, gesture, or image that stays with them.
Second Reading
A different voice reads the same passage.
Brief sharing (keep light and short):
- What stayed with you?
- Where do you find yourself — with Peter, the other disciples, or Jesus?
Gospel Reflection: Kneeling Love
(10 minutes)
Jesus kneels.
The one who carries divine authority chooses the posture of a servant. The basin and towel become the place where truth is enacted: power released, pride undone, relationship restored. This is penance as humility — not shame, but the courage to be seen and served.
Jesus does not wait for worthiness. He washes the feet of those who will deny him, fail him, and betray him. Reconciliation here is not the reward at the end of repentance; it is the first movement of love. Peace is made at ground level.
For Europe, long shaped by hierarchies of power, this Gospel offers a radical re-ordering. The Church is called not to dominance or certainty, but to proximity — standing beside those wounded by history, listening before speaking, serving before explaining.
Wondering:
- I wonder what it means that Jesus kneels before everyone — even Judas.
Voices from the Landscape
(10 minutes)
You may read fuller extracts from the Lent landscape book if available.
Tbilisi, Georgia – A Living Space of Peace
“In the Indian context, truth is not a weapon to win arguments, but a bridge for understanding. It is relational. It is revealed in dialogue, in hospitality, and in shared ethical struggle. Reconciliation grows when communities learn to tell their stories honestly – acknowledging both wounds and wisdom – and when each tradition recognises the partial, pilgrim nature of its own truth.
So the Indian context can be described as one of many faith identities negotiating shared life. This is not relativism but realism: the conviction that God’s truth exceeds the grasp of any single faith. Reconciliation begins when we dare to meet one another in humility – when truth ceases to be a possession and becomes a shared pursuit of the good.”
This place mirrors John 13. Peace is made not by erasing difference, but by kneeling before it with respect.
Silence
Wondering:
- I wonder how shared spaces change hearts more than shared arguments.
Conversations
(15 minutes)
Form pairs or groups of three.
Truth and Humility
- What does Jesus reveal about power in John 13?
- Where does humility challenge how the Church has acted in Europe?
Memory and Reconciliation
- Where do we see unresolved wounds in our own communities or nations?
- What happens when memory is ignored or silenced?
Making Peace Close to the Ground
- What might “bowl and towel” service look like where we live?
- Where might reconciliation begin with listening rather than action?
Return to the whole group.
Invite one short phrase or insight from each group.
Contemplative Action: The Towel
Place a folded towel near the candle.
Leader says:
This towel represents humility, service, and the courage to draw close.
Invite participants to hold in silence:
- one relationship marked by tension or misunderstanding,
- one history or truth they struggle to face,
- one place where humility might open a path to peace.
Silence (2 minutes).
Prayer
God of tenderness and truth,
teach us the way of humility
that leads to peace.
Amen.
Closing Prayer & Sending
God of memory and mercy,
you meet us where history aches
and where pride resists healing.
Give us courage to remember truthfully,
humility to serve one another,
and patience to walk the long road of reconciliation.
May we learn to kneel where you kneel,
and to make peace close to the ground.
Through Christ,
who loves without condition.
Amen.
Whole-group check-in:
In one word or sentence, what are you taking with you?
Action for the Days Ahead
- Listening Practice: Listen carefully to a story — personal or historical — that you would usually avoid or dismiss.
- Act of Humility: Choose one small act of service that restores dignity or relationship.
