Monday of the First Week of Lent
Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Mt 25: 31-46
February 27, 2023 | Monday
When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all his angels, he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be brought before him; and, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, so will he do with them, placing the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.
The king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, blessed of my Father! Take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me into your home. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to see me.’
Then the righteous will ask him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, and give you food; thirsty, and give you something to drink; or a stranger, and welcome you; or naked, and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and go to see you?’ The king will answer, ‘Truly I say to you: just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it to me.’
Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Go, cursed people, out of my sight, into the eternal fi re, which has been prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry, and you did not give me anything to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not welcome me into your house; I was naked, and you did not clothe me; I was sick, and in prison, and you did not visit me.’
They, too, will ask, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, thirsty, naked or a stranger, sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ The king will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you: just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’ And these will go into eternal punishment; but the just, to eternal life.”
Today’s Reflection:
How do we respond when we pass by streets and alleys and notice a beggar extending his hands? How do we respond when somebody needs our help, e.g., the sick and the dying, the lonely and the brokenhearted, the poor and the unemployed? Will our eyes and ears be open to their cries for help? Or do we look the other way and neglect them? As we prepare ourselves for the Easter celebration, may we look back and reflect on the times we failed to see the face of Christ in our needy brothers and sisters. May this season of renewal be a time for us to practice our faith and love for God by leaving behind all forms of selfishness and self-absorption and extending our hands to the poor and hungry. /Vulnerasti, 2023
