The Body and Blood of Christ is not only something we “get” when we go to Mass…it is what we become!
As Roman Catholics, we believe in the “real presence” of Christ in the Eucharist and while we will never fully understand how this is, we gather each Sunday, around the “table of the Lord” to be nourished…and to be changed…changed ever more fully into the Body of Christ.
Through our receiving the Body 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 both individually and communally.
We become “the Body of Christ” present in the world and are 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, their gender or where they came from. We are called “to be for” all those who suffer and who are in need, in any way. As Christ was “for the world” so too we are to be “for the world”.
Our daily actions, our work, our relationships, all of them must reflect the Divine indwelling. As disciples, our lives are to be a living witness to the words, actions, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
And by no means do I miss the point that this is a tall order, called “the great commission.” It is the very core of what true discipleship of Jesus Christ is: to live and to love as Jesus lived and loved! It is an enormous challenge, but we do not do it on our own, we do it as a community and we do it in and through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, through the Divine indwelling that Christ, promised that would be ours. We are alive in Christ!
We are called to live our lives in such a way that we become visible, tangible signs of God’s amazing and passionate love for all people, to stand up to the systemic racism that pervades our society, that has been woven through the fabric of our country over 400 years.
I believe that to refuse to sit in the discomfort of confronting the reality of racism in our country and our own white privilege is to deny the primary message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and God’s deep and passionate love for ALL people, just as they are, just as he created them…as the beloved of God!
When we embrace that all who are “other” from “me,” that they are the “BELOVED” of God, then there is no place in our hearts or in our lives for racism, bigotry or “otherness”.
So, let us ask ourselves: how does my life reflect my being part of the Body of Christ? When I leave Mass after having received Eucharist, what do I take with me out into the world?
What is the Eucharist calling me to “pick up” or “lay down” in my life that might allow me to more deeply engage in working to bring an end to racism and bigotry and all forms of marginalization and exclusion of people, in our social and political policies, in all areas of our society, so that we might better work together to build up the Reign of God in the here and now? So that ultimately each child, woman and man will be seen, respected, valued and cared for, as the child of God. Let us all embrace the Divine presence that dwells within each one of us, and let God transform our lives, and the world through us.
Blessings,
Fr Tim
As Roman Catholics, we believe in the “real presence” of Christ in the Eucharist and while we will never fully understand how this is, we gather each Sunday, around the “table of the Lord” to be nourished…and to be changed…changed ever more fully into the Body of Christ.
Through our receiving the Body 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 both individually and communally.
We become “the Body of Christ” present in the world and are 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, their gender or where they came from. We are called “to be for” all those who suffer and who are in need, in any way. As Christ was “for the world” so too we are to be “for the world”.
Our daily actions, our work, our relationships, all of them must reflect the Divine indwelling. As disciples, our lives are to be a living witness to the words, actions, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
And by no means do I miss the point that this is a tall order, called “the great commission.” It is the very core of what true discipleship of Jesus Christ is: to live and to love as Jesus lived and loved! It is an enormous challenge, but we do not do it on our own, we do it as a community and we do it in and through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, through the Divine indwelling that Christ, promised that would be ours. We are alive in Christ!
We are called to live our lives in such a way that we become visible, tangible signs of God’s amazing and passionate love for all people, to stand up to the systemic racism that pervades our society, that has been woven through the fabric of our country over 400 years.
I believe that to refuse to sit in the discomfort of confronting the reality of racism in our country and our own white privilege is to deny the primary message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and God’s deep and passionate love for ALL people, just as they are, just as he created them…as the beloved of God!
When we embrace that all who are “other” from “me,” that they are the “BELOVED” of God, then there is no place in our hearts or in our lives for racism, bigotry or “otherness”.
So, let us ask ourselves: how does my life reflect my being part of the Body of Christ? When I leave Mass after having received Eucharist, what do I take with me out into the world?
What is the Eucharist calling me to “pick up” or “lay down” in my life that might allow me to more deeply engage in working to bring an end to racism and bigotry and all forms of marginalization and exclusion of people, in our social and political policies, in all areas of our society, so that we might better work together to build up the Reign of God in the here and now? So that ultimately each child, woman and man will be seen, respected, valued and cared for, as the child of God. Let us all embrace the Divine presence that dwells within each one of us, and let God transform our lives, and the world through us.
Blessings,
Fr Tim
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