One of the most powerful images Jesus used to illustrate how to cultivate our friendship with God is that of the road or Way. A road implies obedience, because by staying on it one does not abandon legitimacy or disregard the traffic rules. The Way gives us assurance of reaching our goal if we decide to follow its path. If we wish to stay safe and not harm others, it is important that we follow the rules of the Way. For the disciples of Jesus, the “Way” was the very name of the Lord’s teaching (see Acts 24.14 and 22). This was founded on the response that Jesus gave to Thomas during the Last Supper when the Apostle asked Him, “How can we know the way?”—“I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
Through the sacrament of Baptism, the catechumen and the Heavenly Father enter into a covenant sealed by the oath of adoption. Those who take such an oath must walk the road that leads to the fulfillment of their covenant. The sacrament of Confirmation indeed seals the feet of the newly baptized pilgrims of the Father, so that they may remain on this holy road: “In the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, this fragrant oil of incorruptible and heavenly grace may anoint your feet and guide your steps towards eternal life without hesitation.”
When the priest anoints the feet of the baptized child, it is Himself, the Lord Jesus, who, just as at His Last Supper with His disciples, takes off His robes, puts on the apron of a servant, takes the feet of every baptized child of God into His own hands, and gives the newly created disciple His own Holy Spirit as a compass to remain in Him, the Way, and never stray.
Our Lord Jesus brands the feet of every Christian with that special grace through which we are all called to build the Heavenly Father’s Church. Some are called to be prophets, others are sent as apostles, and still others are given as teachers. Some are the poor, others are those who mourn, and the heroic martyrs who gave their lives to remain faithfully on this Way. But all, everyone without exception, are faithful disciples of His Good News.
Our Lord Jesus planted His divine preaching in our feet, so that every step reveals the beauty immortalized by the psalmist, who sings of the joy of hearing those steps announcing the Father’s Good News, in accordance with the graces of the Holy Spirit given to each of us.
In the words of the hermit Alessandro Dehó, becoming a disciple of Jesus means feeling that our feet are in the Lord’s caring hands. In this sense, I wish that God may live in your feet. May He guide our steps toward the new paradise of His life-giving love—the Church—and expand the reach of our Heavenly Father’s grace.