When Did We See You?
Monday of the First Week of Lent
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
Matthew 25:31-46 - 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.”
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
“Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
There are some Gospel passages that we have heard so many times that we don’t pay very close attention to them. The passage, “I was hungry and you gave me food…” is one of those passages. But we would do well to pay great attention to it, because Jesus is using it in the context of eternal judgment. We will be judged on our love and our acts of love. Take a moment to look at the things Jesus mentions, called the “corporal works of mercy” and see how well we do the following: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, caring for the sick, visiting the prisoner.
We might not do all of these things directly, but we can do all of them in part. We can give food, clothes, or money to our shelters or parish drives. We can include the unpopular people in our activities at school or work. We can visit the hospital, the lonely neighbor, the nursing home or prison, or write an elderly family member more often. The love of charity is a lived-out love. It matters how we love. It matters to those who need to be loved. It matters to God. Ultimately, it matters to us. Which one of these works can I improvement upon? Is there a work of mercy that I can do today?
As a family, pray a portion of the Rosary together (very short if children are young) reflecting on the Scripture passage above. (Optional: allow a brief time for discussion or questions from children concerning their thoughts and prayer.)
Reminder for Parents: Pier is just meant to be a jumping off point. The real goal is that you pray & eventually use the fruits of your personal prayer as the content of your family’s prayer. Duc in altum.
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