Gospel
Matthew 25:31-46
31 And when the Son of man shall come in his majesty, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit upon the seat of his majesty. 32 And all nations shall be gathered together before him, and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left. 34 Then shall the king say to them that shall be on his right hand: Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in:
36 Naked, and you covered me: sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me. 37 Then shall the just answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see thee hungry, and fed thee; thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 And when did we see thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and covered thee? 39 Or when did we see thee sick or in prison, and came to thee? 40 And the king answering, shall say to them: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.
41 Then he shall say to them also that shall be on his left hand: Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry, and you gave me not to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave me not to drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you took me not in: naked, and you covered me not: sick and in prison, and you did not visit me. 44 Then they also shall answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to thee? 45 Then he shall answer them, saying: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to me.
46 And these shall go into everlasting punishment: but the just, into life everlasting.
Today’s Gospel emphasizes acts of Christian charity. Truly, this passage fulfills today’s first reading in which God tells Moses that the people of Israel should be “holy”, loving God, caring for their neighbor as themselves, being honest, treating each other fairly and with compassion. As our Lord said, this is the heart of the Law, to love God and neighbor. All the stringent regulations of Torah Law were due to the hardness of their hearts. What God really demanded was justice, fairness, piety and love.
Here, Jesus makes a statement that (as usual) must have shocked His listeners. Jews were not allowed to associate with gentiles. The tribal peoples of the nations in that time had little regard for people outside of their tribe or nationality. In another parable, our Lord explained that the Good Samaritan who cared for the man left robbed and beaten beside the road was a neighbor to him. That was significant, because the Jews regarded the Samaritans as lower than dogs. Jesus shows the Good Samaritan as more godly than religious Jews. In this passage though, He goes further.
Each man, woman and child is created by God and made in His image. Each is due respect and kindness and it is a sin to mistreat anyone of any religion, race or nationality. The Christian though, has even greater dignity because he is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, Jesus lives within the Catholic through the Eucharist. Truly, to mistreat or to refuse to help another, especially a Catholic Christian, is a grave insult to God. Sometimes we may not have money to give but we can always show kindness. And Jesus tells us plainly that all care we give to our brothers and sisters in Christ is given to Him. All unkindness we show to others is an insult to Him. Embracing this truth is the only way we will ever have peace in our lives and in our world. No amount of piety or greatness is worth anything without kindness and genuine love.
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Gospel passages are taken from the Douay Rheims Bible.
Thank you for your reply, I see what you mean now. GB
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23
“Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Do not be conceited” Romans 12:16
“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” Luke 18:14
How could Catholic Christians have more dignity? Catholics may be more obedient to God, but I think it is much harder for most to show charity to like-minded Christ followers than those who are downcast by society.