St Matthew 25 31-46
‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put 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; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was ill and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”
‘Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison and go to visit you?”
‘The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
‘Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was ill and in prison and you did not look after me.”
‘They also will answer, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or ill or in prison, and did not help you?”
‘He will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”
‘Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.’
The Gospel of the Lord …
The Mass Intention is for Novena Mass/ Clifford Stanslaus RIP
Commentary
Today, on this last Sunday of ordinary time we celebrate the feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.
He is King of all that exists or will exist and King of our own little world when we allow him into our lives and let him rule our minds, our hearts, and our wills.
The Gospel for today speaks of the last judgement when Christ the King has taken his throne then all peoples will appear before him.
He will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats- some to his right, some to his left.
What are his criteria for making this decision?
The things Our Lord lists are simple things- food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, clothing for the naked, comfort and compassion for the sick and the lonely, and visiting those in prison.
These are the things anyone can do simply help given to the people that we meet every day. Those who helped did not realize they were helping Christ, there was the natural reaction of a concerned and loving heart.
Those who had ignored the needs of those around them, however, gave the impression that they would have helped if they had known it was Christ asking this of them. How have we responded to the needs of our brothers and sisters in love? May Christ rule in our hearts today as we learn the generosity and love which without calculation helps our brothers and sisters in need.
