How can I get my relatives to come to church? Well, frankly, we can’t. We have no control over the choices our adult relatives make and the more we push, the more likely they are to pull away. But we are not powerless either…
During Advent we ponder the mystery of the Incarnation. We believe that, in Jesus, God came to be with us right here in our history and is still alive and living with us now, gathering a community, the Body of Christ, to transform the world with the love that he embodied.
Fr. Ron Rolheiser points out that when we say that we are "the Body of Christ" it is not an exaggeration or a metaphor. Our scriptures do not say "we represent" or "replace" or "symbolize" Jesus, they just say "WeARE the body of Christ." The incarnation is not something that happened long ago, but rather continues in us right at this moment. A story…
There was a woman who, in the midst of great suffering, wanders into her empty church, sits down, closes her eyes and fervently prays, “God, I am in great pain and I need to know you are with me. I know I’m not supposed to ask for miracles or signs, but I’m at the end of my rope. Please, I beg of you, give me a sign of your presence.”
And she keeps repeating this last line, “Please, I need a sign of your presence.” She waits a long while, eyes closed tight, and all of a sudden she feels a hand on her shoulder! Her stomach flips and for a moment she is paralyzed. Could it be that God is actually touching her shoulder as a sign of support?!?
She slowly turns and sees behind her one of her friends. The woman can’t hide her disappointment. Her friend says, “You seem distressed, can I help you in anyway?” The woman explains how she thought her friend was God touching her on the shoulder, and her friend asks “But, what hand did you think God would use?”
St. Theresa of Avila writes: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.Your are the hands with which He blesses all the world.Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
Fr. Rolheiser says “We all have relatives and friends who don’t come to Mass with us anymore. They have been hurt or feel unaccepted and we pray for them, but we also do much more. If our touch is Christ’s touch, then by loving and forgiving our alienated friends and relatives, in so far as they receive love and forgiveness from us, they are receiving love and forgiveness from God.
Not unlike the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and was healed from 11 years of sickness, WE are the hem of Jesus’ garment for others, connecting them to the body of Christ.
Maybe your child no longer goes to church, no longer prays, no longer respects your faith and is openly agnostic or atheistic. What can you do?
You can continue to pray for them and live out your own faith, hoping that your example will have power where your words are ineffectual. But you can do even more. You can continue to love and embrace them and insofar as they receive that love and forgiveness from you, they are receiving love and forgiveness from God! Since you are part of the Body of Christ, when you love them Christ is loving them.
Part of the wonder of the incarnation is the astonishing fact that we can do for each other what Jesus did for us! Our love and forgiveness are the cords that connect our loved ones to God, to salvation, and to the community of saints, even when they are no longer walking the path of explicit faith.”
During Advent we ponder the mystery of the Incarnation. We believe that, in Jesus, God came to be with us right here in our history and is still alive and living with us now, gathering a community, the Body of Christ, to transform the world with the love that he embodied.
Fr. Ron Rolheiser points out that when we say that we are "the Body of Christ" it is not an exaggeration or a metaphor. Our scriptures do not say "we represent" or "replace" or "symbolize" Jesus, they just say "We
There was a woman who, in the midst of great suffering, wanders into her empty church, sits down, closes her eyes and fervently prays, “God, I am in great pain and I need to know you are with me. I know I’m not supposed to ask for miracles or signs, but I’m at the end of my rope. Please, I beg of you, give me a sign of your presence.”
And she keeps repeating this last line, “Please, I need a sign of your presence.” She waits a long while, eyes closed tight, and all of a sudden she feels a hand on her shoulder! Her stomach flips and for a moment she is paralyzed. Could it be that God is actually touching her shoulder as a sign of support?!?
She slowly turns and sees behind her one of her friends. The woman can’t hide her disappointment. Her friend says, “You seem distressed, can I help you in anyway?” The woman explains how she thought her friend was God touching her on the shoulder, and her friend asks “But, what hand did you think God would use?”
St. Theresa of Avila writes: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.Your are the hands with which He blesses all the world.Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
Fr. Rolheiser says “We all have relatives and friends who don’t come to Mass with us anymore. They have been hurt or feel unaccepted and we pray for them, but we also do much more. If our touch is Christ’s touch, then by loving and forgiving our alienated friends and relatives, in so far as they receive love and forgiveness from us, they are receiving love and forgiveness from God.
Not unlike the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and was healed from 11 years of sickness, WE are the hem of Jesus’ garment for others, connecting them to the body of Christ.
Maybe your child no longer goes to church, no longer prays, no longer respects your faith and is openly agnostic or atheistic. What can you do?
You can continue to pray for them and live out your own faith, hoping that your example will have power where your words are ineffectual. But you can do even more. You can continue to love and embrace them and insofar as they receive that love and forgiveness from you, they are receiving love and forgiveness from God! Since you are part of the Body of Christ, when you love them Christ is loving them.
Part of the wonder of the incarnation is the astonishing fact that we can do for each other what Jesus did for us! Our love and forgiveness are the cords that connect our loved ones to God, to salvation, and to the community of saints, even when they are no longer walking the path of explicit faith.”
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