1st MONDAY OF LENT - Gospel (Matthew 25:31- 46) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
- NHA CHUA CHA
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
FIRST READING - Lv 19:1-2, 11-18
"Judge your neighbor justly."
A reading from the Book of Leviticus
1 The Lord said to Moses: 2 Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.[a]
11 [a]You shall not steal. You shall not deceive or speak falsely to one another. 12 You shall not swear falsely by my name, thus profaning the name of your God. I am the Lord.
13 You shall not exploit your neighbor. You shall not commit robbery. You shall not withhold overnight the wages of your laborer. 14 [b]You shall not insult the deaf, or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but you shall fear your God. I am the Lord.
15 You shall not act dishonestly in rendering judgment. Show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty, but judge your neighbor justly. 16 You shall not go about spreading slander among your people; nor shall you stand by idly when your neighbor’s life is at stake. I am the Lord.
17 [c]You shall not hate any of your kindred in your heart. Reprove your neighbor openly so that you do not incur sin because of that person. 18 Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your own people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Mt 25:31-46
"Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me."
✠From the Gospel according to Matthew
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, 32 and all the nations[a] will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 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. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous[b] will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ 40 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.’ 41 [c]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. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 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.’ 44 [d]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?’ 45 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.’ 46 And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
1st MONDAY OF LENT - Gospel (Matthew 25:31- 46)
THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
Dear people of God,
From the very beginning of creation, God created the heavens and the earth. He created man in His image.
The image of God within each person is never lost, and the Words decreed by God never change.
Today's Word of God reveals to humanity that there will be a day of final judgment, a day when man must stand before God’s judgment seat.
On that day, He will sit upon a high throne, surrounded by the host of angels and archangels who minister to Him, and all the nations of the earth will have to face before Him.
God always loves humanity; He sent His Son into the world to become human to atone for sins, to save humanity from death and from the captivity of Satan, and He always accompanies and teaches humanity at all times and in all places.
God teaches humanity: to attain eternal life and to enter into the enjoyment of happiness and glory with Him, everyone must live by the law of love that God has given, which is to fear God alone and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
In today's Word of God, God teaches humanity that when someone treats our fellow human beings, especially the least to the poorest, with love, giving, and self-sacrifice without distinguishing between good or bad people, without distinguishing between the righteous or the sinful people, then we are helping God Himself, for everyone is the image of God.
As for those who do not know how to love their fellow human beings, those who are selfish, divisive, or sectarian, who only help those who love them or only help those who help them, that is hypocrisy, and that is the work of Satan.
God calls upon everyone to follow His teachings: to love everyone, for when we stand before the Final Judgment seat on the last day, God will reward those who have lived and acted according to His teachings.
As for those who do not practice and do not live according to what the Word of God teaches, they will also be judged by God: they will have to enter hell, where the fire is never extinguished, and will be with Satan, who is their master; because while they lived, they did not live according to what God instructed: to love everyone; knowing to give, knowing to help the poor, the destitute, and the least in this world, and to help sinners return to God.
God always loves, forgives, and calls humanity to:
Live and act according to what the Word of God teaches, so that we may inherit eternal happiness with His Father in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Do not follow your own will, do not cause division, do not live in hatred, do not wage war, do not be arrogant; live in love, for in His Kingdom there is only love.
Live as the Word of God calls us to: to live holy, for God is the Holy One.
God also reveals that the judgment will certainly take place on the last day, when the sheep and the goats will be separated, and a distinction will be made between the righteous and the wicked.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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