Good morning. You may recall that in last Monday’s Gospel, the rich young man came to Jesus and asked him what he must do to “inherit eternal life.” Our Lord replied to him, saying: “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me" (Mark 10:17-27). We then heard that the rich young man’s “face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions” (id). Jesus tells us not to seek treasures in this world that will perish, but to seek treasures in heaven that are eternal. We start when we come and follow him, when he heed his great commandment to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and soul, and to love our neighbor. . . “give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven.”
Then, last Friday, we heard the Lord God speak to his people Israel (and to us) through the Prophet Isaiah about how he desires us to fast, saying: “This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own” (Isaiah 58:1-9a). These are concrete things we can do to give purpose and meaning to our fasting because we are not focused on what we are denying ourselves, rather we are redirecting God’s gifts of time, talent, and treasures to do our part in building up God’s kingdom here on earth.
All of these are summed up in Jesus’ teaching on the “judgment of nations” in today’s Gospel, in which Christ tells us what we must do to inherit eternal life, saying: “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. . . Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:31-46). This teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation of the Church’s social teachings on the corporal works of mercy: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the prisoners, bury the dead, and give alms to the poor (USCCB.org).
My sisters and brothers in Christ, when we carry out the corporal works of mercy, God promises us this: “Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; Your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!” (Isaiah 58:1-9a). More than that, on the day of judgment, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will say to us: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:31-46).
. . .
Gospel of the Day (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."
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