We ARE all part of the Mystical Body of Christ!
In today’s second reading by St. Paul, we are given the image that though we are many parts, we are all parts of the same body- the “Mystical Body of Christ”. I believe that many of us lose sight of this central belief within our faith, from time to time. The image is that we have many roles, but all are towards the same life-promoting end. Some of us are priests, some religious, some are married – some with children and others without, some are single and some are children , some adults, some elderly full of a lifetime of wisdom but trapped in a failing body. At first blush, we might certainly and perhaps adamantly state we are not part of the same body and we are certainly not unified! Our differences we now call “diversity”, just as a hand is different from a foot. Yet we are all connected somehow. Each of us is important.
Our lack of unity is one of our failings as humans and it is certainly not God’s plan that someone should not be cared for by the community in which they live. Our diverse interests are not our central identity. Our primary identity is that we all are children of a God who loves us. We are asked to respond to this initiative of God’s love or “prevenient grace”, by responding in love to love offered. When this article is published the West Coast March for Life will have concluded the day before, and I believe that it must cause God tremendous heartache for us to allow ourselves to become divided on core beliefs within our faith such as the integrity of each and every human life. When the Sandy Hook murders were emblazoned on our front pages only one month earlier, people were shocked that anyone could deprive so many children of a chance to live, celebrate their families, some young ones may have become doctors- perhaps discovering the cure for cancer while some were destined for ordinary jobs and more or less ordinary lives. We will never know and for their families and ourselves, we mourn.
We were properly shocked at the carnage. Yet there are some who allow that if life is terminated one at a time under any other justification , such as lifestyle maintenance or
revenge (for capital punishment) that this is okay. When one part of our body is hurt, it affects us all. Can’t we all remember when we had a broken bone and somehow learned to appreciate more and more the functioning of that broken part of our body. For example, when I first came to St. Brendan’s, I broke a thumb hanging Christmas lights. Because of that very minor injury, I had to modify and improvise, especially during Mass, my functions. I even had my cast modified by a hand surgeon, so that it would appear less awkward. I learned how important my use of this left thumb was by having its usefulness temporarily taken away. Each person is created in the image and likeness of God. When we criticize or reject that person’s dignity or right to life we are diminished as a body. In our readings we are exhorted to choose life, not for some, but for all! We ARE all one in Christ.
Fr. Mike
