Movement IV: The Dismissal/Sending

The Shape of the Liturgy

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
-Teresa of Avila (1515–1582)

Now that we have received and been nourished from the Lord, we are sent out with a charge and blessing. This can be as simple as, “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord,” to which the congregation responds, “Thanks be to God!” Just as we have been fed, we are now to go and feed others. The life that we have received enables us to be life-givers for the sake of the world. We remember the prayer that St. Theresa of Avila prayed in which she repeatedly said: “Christ has now body now on earth but yours.” Therefore we are sent out to be the body of Christ in and for the world.

*We hope you have found these brief posts helpful in understanding the shape of our worship (they will eventually be on our website). The shape of our worship significantly forms us in ways we cannot see. If you ever have questions about the liturgy, please don’t hesitate to ask! In the not too distant future we hope to do a mid-week evening “Instructed Eucharist.” This will be a time when we walk through the whole Eucharist and explain what each part means as we go along.*