About this Christ Has No Body Poem
The prayer (or poem) Christ Has No Body is attributed to St. Teresa of Avila, although it is not found in her writings.
St. Teresa of Avila
Teresa lived in the 16th century in Spain, and was a contemporary of Martin Luther. She entered the Carmelite order, where she struggled to stay away from attachments to worldly desires. She eventually fell ill and her struggle continued. Later however, her prayer life improved and she found delight in it. Eventually she sought to found a new convent founded on poverty and prayer. She was met with opposition, but eventually was able to found a new monastery named St. Joseph’s. She was a prolific writer, and she also promoted many reforms in the religious orders of the time. Her writings largely focus on prayer, especially mental prayer. She is a founder of the Discalced Carmelites.
Christ Has No Body
Christ has no body now but yours
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes through 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 on earth but yours
Resources
St. Teresa of Avila
Learn more about this Spanish mystic and doctor of the Church.
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Get a set of note cards with this prayer
Prayer made St Teresa of Ávila an exceptional woman
Pope Francis explains how prayer was central to the spirituality of St. Teresa.
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I have her book “The INterior Castle” and was wondering where her pryaer was first published, certainly noot in this book of mine. The words of this prayer are affixed to the walls of our Church (All Siants) in Wath upon Dearne, Yorkshire, England.
It is generally attributed to her but is not found in her writings. Like many quotes attributed to saints, it might have actually been said by her and passed down verbally, or it might have been written by a follower who attributed it to her.