We,the Body of Christ

Corpus Christi Sunday Mass at St. Stanislaus Kostka R.C. Church, built in 1891 on the Strip in Pittsburgh.

The presider reminds us that the body of Christ is both the sacrament we receive and our communion with each other as followers of Jesus Christ.

He gestures with arms outstretched, taking in everyone seated in the pews.

He does not ask if anyone has “dirty hands.”

He does not distinguish between men and women. He does not say that women are as much the body of Christ as men but that their gender disqualifies them from responding to the call to be priests.

No, on this special feast of Corpus Christi he simply and plainly affirms our oneness in Christ. If only the “mitered pinheads”–so designated by the late Father Andrew Greeley–could see as clearly.

Glorious mural down the street from the church on the Strip, capturing the life
of the cafes offering frothy cappuccinos and fresh biscotti, markets bursting
with tantalizing cheeses and cured meats,vendors selling flowers and
potted herbs, men playing cards after church….