"Christ has no body now but yours.
No hands, no feet on earth but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world.
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good.
Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours."
- St. Theresa of Avila
In today's Gospel, Jesus tells us He is the Way.
This statement made such an impact on His followers, that after His death, they called themselves "Followers of the Way". But they were more than that.
And so are we.
In Christ's physical absence, it was their job - and now ours - to show others the Way.
But St. Theresa's quote made me see this from another perspective. Aren't we also "the way" Christ shows His love to the world today?
A wonderful reminder, lest we forget what our first priority is here on Earth.
God Bless you.
I used to love the Doubting Thomas story.
To me, it was always a microcosm of us. We're all followers of Christ who go through periods of varying degrees of understanding - who eventually become passionate believers through the Resurrection.
Then one day I saw something in that story that made me very sad.
First, Jesus shows the eleven "his hands and sides". Then, later, when Thomas arrives, he says "Put your finger here and see my hands".
This, of course, is meant to convince them that He was the same One who was nailed to the cross just days ago.
But can't we look at that same image, and imagine God saying "Look at what you did. I came down from Heaven to live among you, and you pierced me"? I mean, wouldn't the storybook version of the resurrected God have Him look pristine and whole?
Think about that.
God came here to live with us - which is unfathomable in its own right - and we thanked Him by putting nails into His hands.
Who does that???
Answer: we do.
And by the way, how sad is it that it is these holes that finally help the Apostles (and us) believe. Not some glorious piece of evidence, mind you, but icons of the suffering we put Him through.
Yes, Christ showed us his scars so that the twelve, and eventually all of us, all may believe. But for me it is also a very sad reminder of what our sins did to Him.
God Bless you.
What do aspirin and the Eucharist have in common?
Unfortunately, most of the time, not much.
You see, we take aspirin consciously thinking about the effect it will have on us. We have great confidence that it will change something within us. Ease pain. Reduce fever. Etc. Etc.
But how often do we think about the Eucharist with that same confidence and expectation?
How often do we truly think about how it will cleanse our soul, strengthen our spirit, and fill us with Christ?
God Bless you.
Post-Easter let down?
Here is a quick joke to put a smile on your face:
A friend of Joseph of Arimathea asked him why he gave his new tomb to that man called Jesus.
Joseph replied "Oh it wasn't an problem ... He only needed it for the weekend."
God Bless you.
At our Easter Vigil Mass, we have a tradition where the Church is kept dark to start.
The new Paschal Candle is lit outside, and brought into the Church. The priest lights his candle from that, and then lights the deacon's. The deacon lights the alter servers' candles, and they in turn light the candles of the folks in the first pews. Those folks light the candles near them, and so forth and so on. One by one you can see the light being passed from one parishoner to the next. Within five minutes, the previously dark church is aglow in beautiful light.
It is a powerful symbol of the joy of Easter.
Much like the earliest disciples (Mary Magdalene included) learned of Jesus' resurrection and passed it on, we too are called to do the same.
In fact, it is an important reminder that Easter is just the beginning of our year-long calling to spread God's word.
I wish you and your families a very Blessed Easter! Please pray for the conversion of many today.
God Bless you.
There are two specific words in the Matthew's Passion that speak volumes.
The first is Rabbi.
Matthew tells us in one of his earlier gospels (Mt 23:7-8) that Jesus is not a fan of the term Rabbi. And yet, Judas calls Christ this twice in today's reading.
First, Jesus tells his Disciples that one of them will betray Him. Matthew tells us that they all begin to ask "Surely it is not I, Lord?" Only Judas asks Christ, "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?" Perhaps the weight of what he was about to do was so great, that he could not bring himself to use the term Lord. Or perhaps it was his way of showing that, in the moment, he was no longer a believer.
The other time Judas uses this term is later that night, in the garden. Just before he betrays our Lord with the kiss, he proclaims "Hail, Rabbi!"
And here is where the second specific word is used.
In response to this, Jesus says something unbelievable.
He says, "Friend, do what you have come for."
Jesus was just betrayed by Judas - to the point of a horrific death. And He still greeted him with the word friend. Not Judas. Not traitor. Not a word unfit for this blog.
Friend.
It is a word we glance over as we read the pivotal pieces of the Passion. But it speaks volumes to the love and forgiveness of our Savior.
I hope you have a very Blessed Holy Week.
There was one sentence in John's Gospel about Lazarus that stood out at me today.
Mary and Martha find Jesus and tell Him that Lazarus is very ill. Yet, despite the fact that Jesus' friend - one He loves - is about to die, John tells us that Christ "remained for two days in the place He was".
Another reminder for us that God will work His miracles, and reveal His story, on His timeline. Not our human one.
I hope you are having a Blessed Lent.
