Christ has no hands here but yours

This picture above is from a real statue that exists outside Christ the King Catholic Church in San Diego. The hands were broken off by vandals around 1980. Instead of repairing the hands, the church decided to put up a plaque at the base that states, 'I have no hands but yours.' This is a reference to a poem by St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) that reads the following:

Christ has no body now on earth but yours,
no hands but yours, no feet but yours,
Yours are the eyes through which to look out
Christ's compassion to the world
Yours are the feet with which he is to go about
doing good;
Yours are the hands with which he is to bless men now.

The statue without hands is still there in San Diego, a powerful symbol of a great truth. We ARE His hands. And He wants us to use them in His service, which means in the service of others.

Some people try to do, love, give, abstain, or serve just enough to get by. I guess you can live life that way. But, there is another way...a better way.

There is a way that gives more than it takes, that loves more than it is loved, and that experiences Christ in such a way that it cannot help but to extend itself practically so that people may actually catch a real glimpse of Christ by looking at us. That's the way I want to live. When I arrive at the end of my life, I pray that I have spent myself in a mission that is worth more than my comfort or self interests. Those are convicting words and a great challenge. I hope to live up to them.

"He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, "Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else." (Mark 9:35 New Living Translation)

For Christ,
Robert Prater