19 February, 2024 | Monday of the First Week of Lent

 Reading : Lv 19:1-2, 11-18

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:

In loving our neighbour, Jesus declares that we are loving him, and whenever we render loving service to our fellow human beings, especially those in greatest need, we are rendering loving service to Jesus and to God.

The opposite is also true. Whenever we neglect to love our neighbour in need, we are neglecting to love Jesus. This is the case whether we are aware of it or not. It is striking that,  the gospel, both groups were unaware that they were serving the Lord in love or neglecting to do so. Jesus says that there is a great deal more going on in our dealings with each other than we often realize, especially in our dealings with the most vulnerable. These are small issues that won't make the headlines but they are important to God. 

Activity:

Today, let us visit a sick people in our neighbourhood, and spend time with them believing that it is Jesus whom we visit and reach out our helping hand.