Reflections
November 20, 2011
MANILA, Philippines — Matthew 25:31-46
Jesus said to His disciples, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory,
and all the angels with Him, He will sit upon His glorious throne, and
all the nations will be assembled before Him. And He will separate them
one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He
will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. Then the
King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by 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, a stranger and you welcomed Me, naked and you clothed Me, ill
and you cared for Me, in prison and you visited Me.’ Then the righteous
will answer Him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed
You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and
welcome You, or naked and clothe You? When did we see You ill or in
prison, and visit You?’ And the King will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I
say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of Mine,
you did for Me. Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me,
you accursed, 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, a stranger and you gave Me no welcome, naked and you
gave Me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for Me.’
Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or
thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to
Your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not
do for one of these least ones, you did not do for Me.’ And these will
go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Reflection:
Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine. It is said
that heaven’s gate will be guarded not by Peter but by the poor who will
let in only those they recognize who have helped them. There the
question will no longer be what we believe in, what we have
accomplished, or what we are bringing in. There and then, the question
will be simpler: What have you done for these least of my brothers? And
it will not be a question only of actions. We may have done charity, we
may have donated much, and we may have given our time. But where was our
heart? How did we live our life? Was care and concern our language?
It is also said that only two things will be asked at the end of
life: First, did you find joy in your life? Second, was your life a joy
to others?
Visit an orphanage with your family this Sunday.
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