Do As Jesus Says.

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. 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: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left. 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. 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: naked, and you covered me: sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me. Then shall the just answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see thee hungry, and fed thee; thirsty, and gave thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and covered thee? Or when did we see thee sick or in prison, and came to thee? 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. 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. For I was hungry, and you gave me not to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave me not to drink. 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. 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? 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. And these shall go into everlasting punishment: but the just, into life everlasting.
Matthew 25:31-46 (Douay-Rheims Bible)

Prayer Reflection

Dear Father there is so much to think about with this reading. What have I done for another whose circumstances are less than mine or for that matter who has more but is still in need in some way. Jesus gives us such beautiful messages to stop looking at our own needs and to look at our neighbors and say to ourselves what have I done to bring hope to their life. Asking myself these same questions Jesus posed so long ago, did I feed someone who was hungry, did I give them water for their thirst and so forth. Did I give them spiritual food or spiritual water? Or did I avoid helping when I knew they needed help, did I snicker rather than console. The greatest danger is not helping at all but thinking these people need to walk on their own two feet. But according to this reading, Jesus exhorts us to help, to do for others lest we find ourselves in everlasting punishment. Have I then given help to another so they could also walk in the light of Christ. Let us then do as Jesus says. Amen