MY daily reflection and prayer:
Monday, February 15, 2016
The first Week of Lent
Dear my friends,
Here is the Gospel for us today according to St. Matthew 25:31-46
Jesus says, “When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. Then the King will say to those at his right hand, `Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’
Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’
Then he will say to those at his left hand, `Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, `Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.’ And they will go away into eternal
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.
***
IN today’s Gospel Jesus Christ grants eternal life to those who do good to others, whom he identifies as his very self. So he says, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.”
Contrariwise, he sends to eternal damnation those who did nothing to help others, whom he identifies as his very self. Clearly he says, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.”
What can we learn from these words? First, holiness is essentially seeking the good of others. It is why the Catholic Church teaches us that “charity is the soul of the holiness to which all are called. (Cfr. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 826). Second, when we do good to others we also manifest God’s mercy in our lives. Pope Francis reminds us that we cannot escape this Lord’s words. It is the criteria upon which we will be judged: whether we have fed the hungry, given drink to the thirsty, welcomed the stranger and chlothed the naked, spent time with the sick and those in prison (Cf. “Misericordiae Vultus” 15).
In the Perpetual Adoration of the Eucharist, while worshipping Jesus Christ, we ask him that we are encouraged to do the best to others with charity works of mercy. There we also do spiritual works of mercy by praying for others.
Let’s pray: Lord Jesus Christ, you call us to seek holiness by doing good to those need our charity. Help us to make our holiness real. Open our eyes to all the good that we can do for others and show this world your love and mercy now and forever. Amen.
Kredit foto: Ilustrasi (Ist)
