Daily Reflections - January 4,2013

Be His Heart Today

 

At the Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord in SM Megamall, one can see in the hallway leading to the chapel, a unique image of a crucifix with a corpus of Christ with no hands and no feet. It is a crucifix which has become quite a popular religious fixture in many religious edifices. There is an interesting story behind this image.

It was said that during World War II, when many churches were levelled by constant bombings, a parish priest with some of his parishioners decided to sift through the rubble of their church. A parishioner found the crucifix but the hands and the feet were burned away. They wanted to throw away the crucifix but the priest decided to use the same crucifix as it was found. The next Sunday at Mass, the people were surprised to see the same crucifix with the dismembered Christ. It had an inscription below that read, “You are My hands and feet.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus begins His ministry with the calling of the first Apostles, Simon and Andrew. Notice that Jesus did not do it alone. I guess He could have, but He didn’t. He invited the Apostles to be His partners, His collaborators. He invited them to be His hands and His feet.

Sometimes we can be like the Apostles, overwhelmed and discouraged by the task at hand, overcome by disappointments. We ask questions like, “With all the evil and suffering around, how can you find goodness?” Friends, as men and women who bear the name of Christ, we don’t actually wait to find goodness. We find goodness by creating goodness. If good is hard to find, then be the good, and that can be the start. As a wise sage once said, “If you are looking for a hand, don’t look far. Remember that there is always one at the end of your arm.” Be the hands and feet of Christ today! Fr. Joel Jason

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Have you ever extended Christ’s hands and feet to another?

 

Have you shied away from the challenge to “give them something to eat yourselves”? “And when I’ve done all that I could, yet there are hearts I cannot move. Lord, grant me hope that I may be Your heart today.”