"This is my body", these are the very words Christ said at the last supper as He broke the bread. What do they signify? What do they mean? I read a three-part article written by Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of the Catholic Church that gives a good description of their meaning. The following is a condensed version of his article:
God gave himself to us, as an innocent victim on the Cross. He died so that we might live. He gave Himself over to death so that we might be saved from death. This is what the Last Supper is about: God made Himself a gift for us, under the forms of bread and wine. Jesus took bread, broke it and gave it to His disciples, saying: "This Is My Body." Father Frank Pavone in a recent article asked the question: Did you ever realize that the same four words that were used by the Lord Jesus to save the world are also used by some to promote abortion? "This is 'my' body."
The same simple words (this is my body) are spoken from opposite ends of the universe, with meanings that are directly contrary to each other. When Jesus spoke those words, He was pointing to Calvary, to what He would do with His body for the sake of others, how He would make His body a sacrifice so that we might have life. Moreover, He so completely makes Himself a gift for us that He invites us to share in His very life. He makes us members of His body; an awesome mystery of perfect love. Paradoxically, a person supporting abortion uses the same words to say the exact opposite: "This is my body. Don’t tell me what to do with it! It's mine, and I can do whatever I want with it, even kill the life within it." The same words can (and do) yield opposite results. Christ gave away His body so that we might have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10). Abortion supporters hold tightly to their own bodies so that others might die.
In giving His body to us, Christ teaches the meaning of love: He says, "I sacrifice myself for the good of the other person." Abortion teaches the opposite of love: It says: "I sacrifice the other person for the good of myself."
It is true for you and me to say, "This is my body," but why? Why is this body mine? Why did God give us that freedom and responsibility? So that we can do as Jesus did, so that we can obey Jesus' command at the Last Supper: "Do this in memory of me."
On the day that you and I were born, our dad and mom said, "This is my body, given for you." They did not say, "This is my body, don't get in my way." This is the vocation and mission of parents. It is the way we reverse Roe vs. Wade. A culture of life is built up one child at a time, with men and women saying with Jesus, out of love for their spouse and out of love for each child that God gives, "This is my body. As God has given my life to me, so I give it as a gift to you." Thus love consists in making oneself a gift for others.
Abortion is refusing to receive the child within as a gift. Not only is it not grateful for the gift of another human person, but abortion distorts the truth of the whole matter. Language gets twisted around; responsibility for others gets cast aside. Instead of being called a child, the unborn is called an aggressor or mere human tissue or some other such dehumanizing term. The refusal to see other persons as gifts of God, the choice to see them as unwanted burdens or intruders into privacy, is clear evidence of a Culture of Death.
From the very moment of conception, we are each and everyone, created by God in love, and we are redeemed by the sacrifice of His Son. To each of us He says, "This is My body given for you." Let us rejoice in the love of God that is stronger than sin and more powerful than death. The love of the living Christ will never fail. Heaven and earth will pass away. Roe vs. Wade will pass away; it is just a matter of time. But love will never pass away. The victory of Christ's love has already begun. His mercy works through us to build a Culture Of Life and a civilization of love.
By George Konig
May 30, 2004
www.georgekonig.org
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