In God Makes the Rivers to Flow; An Anthology of the World’s Sacred Poetry & Prose, Eknath Easwaran includes a selection from Saint Teresa of Avila entitled “You Are Christ’s Hands.”  I’ve written the following poem-like reflections inspired by this selection.

No Greater Blessing

Christ has no body now on earth but yours,

            no hands but yours, no feet but yours,

Yours are the eyes through which is to look out

            Christ’s compassion to the world….

—Saint Teresa of Avila

There is one Christ that inhabits every body on earth.

No one is missing this Christ.

No one can escape this Christ.

No one can live but by this Christ.

This Christ sees with our eyes, hears with our ears,

            tastes with our tongues, smells with our noses,

            feels with our skin.

Every act we take is experienced by this Christ,

            although it may not be what this Christ would choose.

Christ makes our lives holy.

Every step we take is sacred.

All the ground we walk on is holy ground.

The people we love are loved by this Christ.

The people we do not love are loved by this Christ.

This Christ is the divine in us and unites us with the world

            and everything and everyone in it.

When we experience beauty, it is the Christ in us that sees it.

When we experience peace, it is the Christ in us that grants it.

When we experience love, it is the Christ expressing through us.

It is our oneness with Christ that creates healing.

It is our oneness with Christ that creates joy.

Christ is the truth of our being.

Christ gives us everything worth living for.

And it is our job to let the Christ express through us.

It is our job to let the Christ serve meals to the hungry,

            provide shelter to the homeless,

            clothing to the poor.

It is our job to love the Christ in all Christ’s distressing disguises.

When Christ guides our actions, we know our true selves.

There is no greater blessing than to let Christ bless the world through us.