Body-ody-ody: Cycles + Stages & Reflections by Melissa Cedillo

Body-ody-ody: Cycles + Stages & Reflections

Melissa Cedillo

Day 1 or 5: The Fragmented Body

At my Catholic high school we had this hymnal we sang at the end of the mass.

It went something like: We are one body, one body in Christ, and do not stand alone. We are one body, one body in Christ, and He came that we might have life.

Until recently, I had not thought of that song in probably 7 or 8 years. But these days, these words and beliefs around being one body have helped me to understand both my feelings of loneliness in the church and also allow me to dive deeper in what my faith means to me.

The Church is not immune to the political tensions these days; and has given out mixed messages about where it stands on the two party system in the US or how catholics should ultimately respond to COVID.

While the pope got the vaccine and encouraged all catholics to do the same, some US bishops refused the vaccine. And while the pope could be spotted with a mask on, many catholic institutions could not decide if they should institute a mask mandate.

These mixed signals not only create harm, but they begin to fragment the body of the church. I sit in mass and try to process this unfathomable idea that the literal presence of Jesus Christ is supposed to present himself in a mere little cracker and that I belong to the same body as people I so vehemently disagree with?

We are one body, one body in Christ, and do not stand alone. We are one body, one body in Christ, and He came that we might have life.

What happens when the body parts are actively working against each other? When these body parts seek out moral superiority over any sense of shared compassion and obligation?

The solution to this cannot be a false sense of unity where the truth is obscured, but rather an intense desire for the truth that the body is in pain. It is only in this pain and in this fragmentation that we can begin to honestly discern how to heal.

In what ways do you feel fragmented from your community? What sort of healing or reconciliation would you need to become one body with people you not only disagree with but that could cause you harm? Is it possible?

May we ask for the gift of truth, for the power of community and for the grace of authentic healing.

We are one body, one body in Christ, and do not stand alone. We are one body, one body in Christ, and He came that we might have life.

Day 1 or 5: The Fragmented Body

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