By virtue of our baptism, Jesus has been giving us an important task to continue Christ’s work of building the Kingdom of God on earth. It can be a great challenge to accomplish this mission work wherever we are, in school, in our workplace, or sharing the faith with family members and friends. During Holy Communion, the priest says, “The Body of Christ,” and our response is, “Amen,”which means “so be it,” or “I believe,” a response to manifest our complete acceptance of the real presence of Christ. When we believe in the body of Christ, it means we are receiving both His blood and His body. However, we always forget the second implication of saying Amen. It reminds us that we embodied the Body of Christ, that each one of us is a part of the Body of Christ. As one Body, we are in communion with each other to participate in the work and mission of Jesus. Our Catholic belief is not only personal but communal. We must unite with each other and collaborate in doing the work of God here on earth. St. Teresa of Avila once said that “Christ has no body on earth now but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours; yours are the eyes through which Christ looks with compassion on the world; yours are the feet with which Christ walks to do good; yours are the hands with which Christ blesses all the world.” Thus, we are sent to be His witnesses into the world when we allow ourselves to be shared in the service of the gospel, bringing the good news to others.
Today’s gospel tells us about those who are not yet ready and His servants who are ready and prepared for the coming of the Son of Man. We have plenty of time to improve our dedication and relationship with God, rather than to think that our faith is another burden to our busyness. We look at it and view how we should live our Christian lives. By being open to Jesus’ presence in our hearts, we receive the fulness of life and joy. Our behavior becomes different by being receptive to His grace, and our sharing of love is indeed easier to accomplish. We can share these loving actions with the people in our daily lives. We become more approachable, more attentive when we listen and more effective when we pray. We become forgiving toward others and are happy to share our faith with them.
Listening to the first epistle today from St. Paul we hear, “Of this I became a minister by the gift of God’s grace that was granted me in accord with the exercise of His power.” It is ultimately the grace of God.
Let us explore, through our life of devotion in prayer, sharing the fruits of our love with others as part of the whole Body of Christ.
God bless you.
Fr. Arlon, osa