Christ has no body now on earth but yours

Christ has no body now on earth but yours...

What do we make of that opening line from a prayer by St. Teresa of Avila? What a huge responsibility, you might think. What a huge burden. Yet our faith tells us that we will not be given a burden that is too heavy for us.

Look further into the prayer. Yours are the eyes with which He looks with compassion on the world. Meeting a friend or a stranger, look past the surface. Difficult though it may seem, we are to try to seek the Christ in each person. And, at the very least, a silent prayer for suffering we encounter, or a moment of thanksgiving for joy. 

Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good. Feet that run an errand for a friend. That surprise a shut in with a visit. Feet that accompany a child to a playground, drop in to a hospital, walk in wonder through a flower garden.

Yours are the hands with which he is to bless...Hands that weed and rake, hands that bake or hammer and nail. Hands which reach out to less fortunate. Hands that sort bottles and cans, spin yarn, collect for the food bank. Hands which turn the pages of a storybook or unravel the mysteries of two digit multiplication. Hands which create beauty in art and music.

Christ has no body here on earth but yours... It's not meant to crush but to make us aware of all the myriad ways in which we celebrate Him and the grace with which we are blessed. 

Christ has no body now on earth but yours...