Through our receiving the Body and Blood of Christ…Christ lives in us and we in Christ and thus we become the Body of Christ. This “indwelling” of Christ in us both as individuals and as community has enormous implications for our lives….individually and communally. We become “the Body of Christ”, present in the world…called to be the visible compassion and love of Christ reaching out to the immigrant, the refugee, to those discriminated against and treated unjustly because of the color of their skin or their gender or their abilities, “to be for” all those who suffer, are marginalized and who are in need. As Christ was “for the world” so too we are to be “for the world”. Our daily action, our work, our relationships all of them must reflect Christ. Even our relationship with the earth itself should reflect that we are the Body of Christ!
We are called to be living witnesses to the words and actions of Jesus Christ. We are called to live our lives in such a way that we become visible, tangible signs of God’s love for the earth and all its peoples, and the Eucharist emboldens and strengthens us to be able to do this.
How does my life reflect my being part of the Body of Christ? When I leave Mass what do I take with me into the world? What am I being called to “pick up” or “lay down” in my life that I might, more fully, live a life of witness to the words and actions of Jesus Christ?
Blessings,
Fr. Tim