This is the Body of Christ

The 20m-high statue of Christ of Havana in Cuba. Photo: Günther Simmermacher
Beside the throne of God sits Christ the King, Our Lord, Saviour and Redeemer. In praise of his name, the hosts of angels sing in heaven. With him is Mother Mary. Along the knitted bond between mother and son flow the murmurs of her heart.
Nestled in the Sacred Heart of Jesus are the joyful memories and the enduring contemplations of the Blessed Mother. In that embrace, I dare say, we all long to be in our desire that our fragile humanity be touched by the body of Christ.
That we may enter this embrace was made possible through the faith of the humble Virgin Mary. Somewhere in the quietness of her day she heard the call of an angel. Through his voice, heaven proclaimed the coming of Our Lord. Oh, what gentle obedience, and, oh, what humble submission gave rise to our redemption! “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour!” In the shadow of the Holy Spirit was the Word of God made flesh that we may behold the body of Christ.
The infant Jesus grew up in the home of Joseph. The most chaste spouse of Our Lady carried the infant Jesus in his arms, toiled for food that the child may eat and be nourished, and protected him from the bloodlust of King Herod. As Joseph laboured over timber and nails, the Christ-child observed his earthly father and was thus prepared for his own labours to come. Much wood would be carried on the shoulders of the body of Christ.
On that divine head, which cradles the mind of God, was set a crown of thorns. Through each thorn that pierced his skull, he thinks and ponders. Lying below this wreath of pain were the ears that heard the cries of mourning, and the grumbling of insults, mockery and accusations. Let us not forget the divine eyes which caught sight of the distressed Veronica. He welcomed her compassion and wiped his face with her cloth. Thus, she clings to the face of Jesus forever in her palms. The divine mouth which uttered prayers to God the Father consoles the daughters of Jerusalem. The head of Jesus turns to face Golgotha and there will be crucified the body of Christ.
The hands of Christ
The hands of Jesus, forever a priest in the order of Melchizedek, which healed the blind, deaf and lame; which chased away the dealers who dared to turn his father’s house into a place of trade; these very hands which embraced the Blessed Mother, are pierced. The feet which walked on the Sea of Galilee, which sojourned with the chosen Twelve, are nailed to the cross. Beneath it are those who dared to stay until his death. They grieve over the wounded body of Christ.
With a loud cry, the holy voice lamented the seemingly lost presence of God. Who among us has not ever felt abandoned by God at some point? With the piercing of the lance into Jesus’ side, his love for us is manifested. There, for all of humanity, flowed the Precious Blood from the Sacred Heart. A heart which loves, and loves unceasingly. All was given, all of the body of Christ.
He rose on the third day. He rose to the glory of God. He rose that we may have life and have it in abundance. But Thomas, drunk on incredulity, did not believe. But when he saw the flesh and placed his hands in Christ’s wounds, he took it for the truth. Blessed are we who have not seen and yet believe. May we also rise like him, may we also share in his glory, may we pour forth the light of the risen body of Christ.
This article was published in the October 2021 issue of the Southern Cross magazine
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