Gospel MT 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.”

Reflection

A Lenten Letter from your Father in Heaven!

My Child, I love you.

I love you not only because of your goodness; I love you in spite of your weaknesses, sins, and failings. I love you because I AM love. The only thing that is impossible for ME to do is to stop loving you.

I made you in MY IMAGE and filled you with MY LOVE so that you may spread MY LOVE throughout the world.

Because you are made in my image you have the ability to love your own children in exactly the way I love you. Your love for your children is the mirror image of my love for you.

Your Brother, My son, Jesus, selflessly gave His life so that you could know of My love for you.

During this Lenten season the most precious gift you can give to Me, your Father, is to selflessly sacrifice for the most needy of my sons and daughters, your brothers and sisters.

The homeless, the hungry, the downtrodden and oppressed, the imprisoned and depressed all need to feel My love.

If, during this Holy Season of Lent, you want to please Me and show your gratitude and love to Jesus for giving His life for your sake, then help those who are in need.

Make My love known through your selfless service to my suffering children.

“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”  Matthew 25:40