Christ is “at hand”

Newsletter article for March 2026

St. Patrick’s breastplate says, “Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ at my right, Christ at my left.” Christ is everything in our daily lives, but also at worship.

Christ is heard at worship. He’s heard in the Scriptures—all the Scriptures. He speaks, of course, in the Gospel in a more profound way. (It’s why we stand.) He speaks also through the Prophets and the Apostles. His Spirit spoke through them. We hear His Words in Baptism. We hear His Words at Communion. We hear His Words in the Liturgy, which are often just more words from the Scriptures! We hear Him in the preaching and the teaching. “Whoever listens to you is listening to Me,” Christ says. (Lk 10)

Christ isn’t just heard at worship: He’s seen! You see Christ crucified in the crucifixes. You see Christ baptized on the side of our baptismal font. You see Christ incarnate and born in the Créche. All these preach Christ to you visually. You see Christ—His body and blood—through the blessed bread and wine. You see Christ washing away sins through the water and word of Baptism. You see Christ, the Good Shepherd, through the Office of His man, His under shepherd, the Pastor. It’s one of the reasons we have vestments. They hide the man!

Christ is also seen in other symbols used from time to time on our paraments and vestments, on the banners, in the bulletins, or even elsewhere in the Sanctuary or Nave. IHS proclaims His holy name JESUS, for it is an abbreviation of His name. (The first two and last letters: JESUS) There is also the Chi-Rho (☧), which is an abbreviation of Christ. (The first two letters in Greek: Christ.)

All this placarding of “Christ” everywhere confesses that Christ is with us, that He’s present among us, that He’s near, that He’s, to use a traditional expression, “close at hand.” “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am among them,” He says (Mt 18)—even present among us with His body and blood! But “Christ” is also seen elsewhere in the most unlikely place. Although it is “handy.” The pastor’s hand!

The way that I hold my right hand in blessing isn’t just done because there’s something wrong with my hand, or even that I want to show how flexible my hand is! Actually, my hand spells Jesus Christ in Greek. (Ἰησοὺς Χριστός) Well, actually it’s an abbreviation of that, using only first and last letters: ΙΣ ΧΣ, which can also be written, ΙϹ ΧϹ. I’ve included a picture to help illustrate how the hand spells those four letters.

There is one other practice that breaks this “rule.” It’s the distribution of the host at communion, that is, the bread which is Christ’s body. At communion distribution, when I distribute the host, I keep my thumb and index finger together, lest any crumbs fall to the floor. And, since your probably wondering, I do take time to rinse my thumb and forefinger as I clear the altar of the sacred vessels.

Anyway, in terms of the contorted hand, it has nothing to do with dexterity but rather Christ! Christ is the one blessing through the office, it’s His Word of blessing, His cross is the source, and even “JESUS Christ” is spelled on the hand that gives the blessing. “Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ at my right, Christ at my left,” even at the pastor’s right hand!