Monday 1st of Lent
“Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.”
Today, reading the Gospel: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him” (Mt 25:31), we are reminded of the Final Judgment by letting us mull over the essentials of our faith; feeding the hungry, giving the thirsty to drink, clothing the naked, visiting the sick... these are works of love for those Christians who, upon doing them, can see the very same Christ therein reflected.
Saint John of the Cross says: “When evening comes, you will be examined in love. Learn to love as God desires to be loved and abandon your own ways of acting.” Neglecting to do what is right in the service of the other sons of God, our own brothers, means to deprive Christ of these details of due love: sins of omission.
The II Vatican Council explains the demands of Christian charity through the Gaudium et spes Pastoral Constitution, which confers a meaning to the so called social assistance, saying: “In our times a special obligation binds us to make ourselves the neighbor of every person without exception and of actively helping him when he comes across our path, whether he be an old person abandoned by all, a foreign laborer unjustly looked down upon, a refugee, a child born of an unlawful union and wrongly suffering for a sin he did not commit, or a hungry person who disturbs our conscience by recalling the voice of the Lord, "As long as you did it for one of these the least of my brethren, you did it for me" (Matt. 25:40).”
Let us remember Christ lives within the Christians... and He tells us: “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Mt 28:20).
The IV Lateran Council defines the Final Judgement as a truth of faith: “He will come at the end of time to judge the living and the dead, to render to every person according to his works, both to the reprobate and to the elect (...) so as to receive according to their deserts, whether these be good or bad; for the latter perpetual punishment with the devil, for the former eternal glory with Christ.”
Let us beg the Virgin Mary for her help in our acts of service to her Son in our brothers.