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."
Dawg's thought:
Today's prayer intention is for those in your life who are in need of conversion.
In Ecclesia in America (January 22, 1999), Pope John Paul II announced the theme of the Special Assembly for America of the Synod - Encounter with the Living Jesus Christ: The Way to Conversion, Communion and Solidarity in America.
Today, we are still called to this same theme. We can encounter Christ in many ways, but today's reading is one that allows us not only to serve Christ, but also imitate Christ in a profound way. In the same way that we are called to be "active" in our faith, we are called to be "active" in "encountering Christ." Today's first reading is the Ten Commandments, the "minimum" we can do as Christians. It is not enough just to live by these commandments just as Jesus told the man with many riches whom "followed all of God's commandments" but could not follow God in His ways.
We are called to imitate God in serving the poor, just as Jesus Christ gave all that He is to each of us who live in the poverty of our fallen nature. We are called to serve Him in those who have nothing, just like Christ who was stripped of His clothing before He was crucified. This is God's commandment to us today, and a very real way we can "Encounter the Living Jesus Christ." Take care and God Bless.
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