What part do I play?

For cradle Catholics we have heard the words, “The Body of Christ” since we were very young. For others, maybe it started with their conversion. It is through our Baptism that we become members of this Body. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body… (1 Corinthians 12:13). Through baptism we are so united with Christ as to become His very body. These three simple words, “Body of Christ”, can have various levels of significance. We hear these words as we receive the Blessed Sacrament. We hear these words when talking about Jesus’ physical body when He walked the earth. We also hear these words in reference to our being the Body of Christ. This is the aspect I’d like to focus on. In St. Paul’s letter to the Romans he says, For as in one body we have many parts, and all the parts do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ… (Romans 12:4). Ok, so we are part of the Church and part of this Body, but what does that mean to you and me?

One day, after being laid up with an illness and unable to work for an extended period of time, I read this particular passage from Romans. As I meditated on it, I began to see these words in a deeper way. I am part of the Body of Christ. In my self-pity I thought that I was not being a helpful part of that Body at the moment. I wasn’t feeding the poor, visiting the sick, or being productive at work. So what kind of part was I?

What if one of the parts of our own physical body was not so strong? What if the eyes became weak? How would the other parts respond? Science tells us that the ears and sense of touch would work harder to compensate for the loss. What if a kidney were to stop functioning? We know the other kidney is capable of picking of the slack. This made me feel a bit better; while I was laid up other parts could just pick up the slack from my lack of production, right?

As I thought of my physical body I realized that every cell in my body has a purpose, though that purpose may not be well understood. Sometimes we need to look a little deeper to see the multitude of important parts: our brain cells, blood cells, muscle cells, even fat cells serve an important purpose. We often look at our role as producing something useful, but if we look at the Body of Christ in this way, we miss the bigger picture of what our role is.

As a part of the mystical Body of Christ, when I pray I build up not only my own life in Christ but in truth, that of the whole Body. When I attend Mass, make time for spiritual reading, anything for that matter that strengthens my relationship with God, I in fact lift up, edify, the entire Body of Christ. So it’s not just my outward production that contributes to the Body, but also the state of my soul. So when I am in the state of grace, the entire Body of Christ benefits from it.

Following this, the opposite would be true as well. When I sin I wound the Body of Christ. When I neglect my obligations as part of that Body, participating in the Holy Mass; praying for others, especially those in leadership and the sick; taking time to feed my seed of faith with Sacred Scripture, spiritual reading, the Rosary and other devotions, I am not doing my part in this Body of Christ to which I belong. So when I sin, it not only affects me but the entire Body of Christ of which I am a part. When I refuse to forgive, when I neglect others, when I fail to worship God and honor His Holy Name, it really isn’t between just me and God. It harms the whole Body.

So, when we say ‘the Church is broken’, ‘a mess’, or ‘corrupt’, we need to reflect on what part we have contributed to making this a sad possibility. Have we added to, and edified the Body of Christ by our own thoughts, actions, and prayer life or have our behaviors contributed to the weakening and illness many complain about in the Church, the Body of Christ?

Thankfully we have such a merciful, loving God who forgives our sins. Psalm 130 tells us, As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our sins from us. His ways are far from our ways. Yet all sin has consequences. When a nail is nailed into a fence post, it can be removed but the hole remains, so to when we miss the mark, neglect our role, we leave damage to the Body of Christ. Maybe we can all ask God for the grace to be stronger parts of this mystical Body and contribute to its future in more positive ways!