Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46

Jesus said to his disciples:

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne,

32 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.

33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 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.

35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,

36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’

37 Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?

38 When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?

39 When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’

40 And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

41 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.

42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,

43 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.’

44 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?’

45 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.’

46 And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Reflection:

Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

“What does it take a man to inherit the Kingdom of God?”

In the Gospel, we are reminded of the things that are important when Christ sits as a King on His throne at his second coming:

“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.”

To inherit the Kingdom of God means to go with Christ Jesus to heaven for eternity. To do this, we must invest here on earth and do the things that our Father expects from us.

At times like this, when the world is in total devastation and corruption, we need to stand our faith and aid the needy, the hungry, the sick, the homeless, the blind. We can still opt to help others even though we are poor because God is watching at us and He will provide.

Let us not be tempted by the things that this temporary world is offering us. No matter how hard the situation may be, we need to pray and offer our services in the aid of others.

You don’t have to be a nun or priest to help your fellowmen. All it takes is a cheerful heart who is willing to give. Let us teach the young generation as well the virtues our Father in heaven has taught us.

To become a child of God and enter the Kingdom of Heaven as He promised, we have to bear the burden that this world will throw at us because in heaven we will all live harmoniously without fear of anything. – Clea | Helpline PH