The Mystical Body of Christ.
On his way to Damascus, Saul was nearing the city, when suddenly a light from heaven flashed about him. And he fell to the ground, and heard a voice telling him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. This first revelation of Christ, in which he shows how intimately he identifies with his followers, deeply moved Paul's heart. Later, the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ would be one of the central themes of Paul's preaching: “You were called in the one body. You are the body of Christ and individually members of it."
We Christians are not cut off from others; we are not called to sanctify ourselves in isolation. It is true that sanctity is each one's personal responsibility; but it is sanctity in Christ. Our encounter with God is accomplished in his Son Jesus, and in him we become linked to all other Christians. United in Christ Jesus, we form “a single Body with a single Soul; with one mind, one heart, one feeling, one will, one desire. Nevertheless, we are many organs and members: For as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. So, we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us."
All the members contribute to the good of the whole Body. As the Apostle says: If all were a single organ, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."
In order to be holy, we need the help of others. Christian life is essentially a continuous effort of the soul to meet its Redeemer, but it is also a merging of us all into the one love of Christ. As a result, our struggle to be holy entails the constant effort to stay united, and to help one another through genuine fraternity, the basis of which is the Love of God.
“If you love one another affectionately, with Christ's charity, which is tactful and perceptive, you will all help one another; and the one who was about to fall will find support and strength to be faithful."
If it ever seems hard for us to draw close to God, we should ask ourselves what effort we are putting into loving and serving the others.
The love we have for our Lady, who is a Mother to us all, will draw us closer to the others. The thought that we are all her children will make us even more determined to look after our fraternity much better.
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