You Did It For Me
Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (A)
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
Matthew 25: 31-36 – 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 the 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 the least brothers of mine, you did for me.”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
At the end of time, or at our death, we will all meet Jesus, and His Kingship will be unmistakable. For then we will see Him in His glory. But we cannot forget that Jesus already reigns here on earth. But here on earth He tends to show Himself in ways we do not expect. While we prefer to associate with those who are famous, healthy, rich, beautiful, talented, interesting, intelligent, etc., on earth, Jesus chooses to associate most frequently with the “least” of people.
Who do we know that is sad, or lonely, or sick, or elderly, or poor, or boring, or smelly, or unattractive, or unpopular, or unintelligent…? Think of them now. Think of their names. Now go a step further. What people do we know who are guilty, or addicted, or harsh, or unstable, or angry, or wrong…? Think of them now. Think of their names. Believe it or not, Jesus is with all these people. Jesus is even, in some way, in these people. Even further, to some extent the Gospel says that these people are Jesus. If we want to find Jesus on earth, we need to meet Him in the “least” of people. During prayer let’s each consider one of the specific people we just thought of. Let’s make a commitment to speak with that person as soon as possible. Congratulations, now each of has a meeting with Jesus!
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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