Archbishop encourages students to be arms of Christ in the world

Several students from St. Gabriel School in Connversville kneel in prayer during the Jan. 31 Catholic Schools Week Mass at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis. From left, they are fifth-graders Victor Riedman and Madison Fain, sixth-graders Hannah Shelton, MIssy Schnelle and Mackenzie Fuller, and fifth-grader Jacob Hackleman. (Photo by Sean Gallagher)

By Mike Krokos

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When life is difficult and someone suffers for any reason, when a situation seems unfair, people of faith have a choice to make: They can either become bitter and resentful or they can take the pain and use it to be the arms of Christ in the world.

That was the message Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein shared with several hundred students at an All-Schools Mass celebrated on Jan. 31 at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis. The liturgy was among the highlights of the archdiocese’s celebration of Catholic Schools Week.

In his homily, the archbishop shared the story of a college student and an elderly man on crutches whose encounter showed how any of us—no matter what our situation is in life—can be the arms of Christ.

The student’s new shoes got stuck in mud in a parking lot, and the old man walking by used one of his crutches to retrieve the young man’s loafers.

“My young friends, think about it. That old man might feel bad because he can’t walk. He might be tempted to laugh at a young man who jumped into mud with new shoes,” Archbishop Buechlein said.

“Who could really expect him to help a young man stuck in mud? He had trouble getting around on crutches,” the archbishop said. “But he did help, and he did so without being asked. Isn’t that a way of being the arms of Christ?

“It is not natural to be generous in pain. It is not easy to be alert to the needs of others around us,” the archbishop said. “It is not always easy to be the arms of Christ.”

One way to become more Christ-like, Archbishop Buechlein told the students, is to become people of prayer.

“If we are people who pray like Jesus, we will be generous and caring like Jesus. We can be his arms in the stuff of everyday life,” Archbishop Buechlein said.

“Praying is our way of letting Jesus and us know we need him, and that he needs us to be his arms.”

There are challenges that confront people when they try to pray, the archbishop noted.

“Sometimes we may feel like we are not worthy of Christ’s love, that our prayer isn’t good enough,” he said. “Always remember, God is the one who makes something good of our prayer. All he asks is that we do it.”

Being humble people of prayer will help us take on life’s challenges, the archbishop said.

“Jesus wants us to be his arms, ready to help anyone in need even if it seems like they have a better life than ours,” he said. “That takes a lot of humility. Generous love and humility are born in prayer.

“If you pray every day, in your own way, everything will be OK. You will be able to say ‘yes’ to the call of Jesus to be his arms and to make a difference.”

Zach Turi and Kaitlin Weber, both freshmen at Cathedral High School in Indianapolis, said the archbishop’s message hit home with them.

“They were really powerful words,” Kaitlin said, “and the archbishop was able to touch each age group by using simple terms.”

Zach said he felt being the arms of Christ translates to “helping other people more” in life.

Joan Jordan and Joel Stocksdale, eighth-graders at Seton Catholic High School in Richmond, said they plan to take the archbishop’s words home with them.

“I think I’ll help others [more],” Joan said.

“I hope I can help whoever is in need,” Joel added, “no matter [what] their status.” †