Daily Mass Gospel Reflection - "You Did For Me"

Word on Fire Ministry ^ | 02.27.23 | Bishop Robert Barron

[MurphsLaw]

First Week of Lent
Matthew 25:31–46

Friends, today’s Gospel tells of Christ the King administering the final judgment.
To those on his right he will say:
"Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me."
And to those on his left:
"Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me."

Much of Mother Teresa’s day was taken up with prayer,
meditation, Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, and the Rosary,
but the rest of her time, as we well know,
was spent in the grittiest work among the poorest of the poor,
practicing the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

Fr. Paul Murray, the Irish Dominican spiritual writer and sometime advisor to Mother Teresa,
relates the following story.
He was one day in deep conversation with Mother,
searching out the sources of her spirituality and mission.
At the end of their long talk, she asked him to spread his hand out on the table and,
touching his fingers one by one as she spoke,
she said, "You did it to me."

[MurphsLaw]

+++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."+++