Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 25, 31-46
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that 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 something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me 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 nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’
What you do to your brother you do unto God
1) They will be assembled. We must be united, not foster division among us. We will have temptations that separate and divide. Just look around you, even in the church, you will notice there are arguments to see who organizes what, for example. Today, Jesus reminds us He will reunite us because in life we must learn to come together, to respond to the needs of others and not to hurt them.
2) Faith with actions. A key aspect of Lent is that we must make our faith known through our actions, we must demonstrate our faith through helping others. What good is there in fasting, only to serve the purpose of losing weight, if you are angry at your brothers and sisters, and you become unbearable? Penance is a personal act, don´t be a penance for others. Instead, think of concrete ways you can help others.
3) “Come, you who are blessed by my Father.” Jesus invites you to return to Him during Lent and to live for others, to help others. But before you do so, you must learn to live in Him, because you cannot give what you do not have. You have a lot to give, and faith helps you give the best in yourself. You are a hero, you are the hero of your life story and you must lead by example. Keep up this challenge during Lent.
God bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Always remember Heaven is our goal.
