Book of Ezekiel 34,11-12.15-17. Thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will look after and tend my sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep. I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark. I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal but the sleek and the strong I will destroy, shepherding them rightly. As for you, my sheep, says the Lord GOD, I will judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats.
Psalms 23(22),1-2a.2b-3.5.6. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me; He refreshes my soul. He guides me in right paths For his name's sake.
You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come.
First Letter to the Corinthians 15,20-26.28. Brothers and sisters: Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came also through a human being. For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life, but each one in proper order: Christ the firstfruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ; then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father, when he has destroyed every sovereignty and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death, When everything is subjected to him, then the Son himself will (also) be subjected to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint 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."
ANGELUS 22 November 2020 Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good Morning!
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, which closes the liturgical year, the great parable that unfolds the mystery of Christ: the entire liturgical year. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end of history; and today’s liturgy focuses on the “Omega”, that is, on the final goal. The meaning of history is understood by keeping its culmination before our eyes: the goal is also the end. And this is precisely what Matthew accomplishes in this Sunday’s Gospel (25:31-46), placing Jesus’ discourse on the universal judgement at the end of his earthly life: He, the one whom men are about to condemn is, in reality, the supreme judge. In his death and resurrection, Jesus will manifest himself as the Lord of History, the King of the Universe, the Judge of all. But the Christian paradox is that the Judge is not vested in the fearful trappings of royalty, but is the shepherd filled with meekness and mercy.
In fact, in this parable of the final judgement, Jesus uses the image of a shepherd, recalling images of the prophet Ezekiel who had spoken of God’s intervention in favour of his people against the evil shepherds of Israel (cf. 34:1-10). They had been cruel exploiters, preferring to feed themselves rather than the flock; therefore, God himself promises to personally take care of his flock, defending it from injustice and abuse. This promise God made to his people is fully accomplished in Jesus Christ, the Shepherd. He is indeed the Good Shepherd. He too says of himself: “I am the good shepherd” (Jn 10:11, 14).
In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus identifies himself not only with the king-shepherd, but also with the lost sheep, we can speak of a “double identity”: the king-shepherd, Jesus identifies also with the sheep: that is, with the least and most needy of his brothers and sisters. And he thus indicates the criterion of the judgement: it will be made on the basis of concrete love given or denied to these persons, because he himself, the judge, is present in each one of them. He is the judge. He is God-Man, but he is also the poor one. He is hidden and present in the person of the poor people that he mentions right there. Jesus says: “Truly, I say to you, as you did it (or did it not) to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it (you did it not) to me” (cf. vv. 40, 45). We will be judged on love. The judgement will be on love, not on feelings, no: we will be judged on works, on compassion that becomes nearness and kind help. Do I draw near to Jesus present in the persons of the sick, the poor, the suffering, the imprisoned, of those who hunger and thirst for justice? Do I draw near to Jesus present there? This is the question for today.
--->Therefore, at the end of the world, the Lord will inspect the flock, and he will do so not only from the perspective of the shepherd, but also from the perspective of the sheep, with whom he has identified. And he will ask us: “Were you a little bit like a shepherd as myself?” “Were you a shepherd to me who was present in those people who were in need, or were you indifferent?”. Brothers and sisters, let us look at the logic of indifference, of those who come to mind immediately. Looking away when we see a problem. Let us remember the parable of the Good Samaritan. That poor man, wounded by the brigands, thrown to the ground, between life and death, was there alone. A priest passed by, saw, and went on his way. He looked the other way. A Levite passed by, saw and looked the other way. Before my brothers and sisters in need, am I indifferent like this priest, like this Levite and look the other way? I will be judged on this: on how I drew near, how I looked on Jesus present in those in need. This is the logic, and it is not I who is saying this: Jesus says it. “What you did to that person and that person and that person, you did it to me. And what you did not do to that person and that person and that person, you did not do it to me, because I was there”. May Jesus teach us this logic, this logic of being close, of drawing near to him, with love, in the person who is suffering most.
Let us ask the Virgin Mary to teach us to reign by serving. Our Lady, assumed into Heaven, received the royal crown from her son because she followed him faithfully — she is the first disciple — on the way of Love. Let us learn from her to enter God’s Kingdom as of now through the door of humble and generous service. And let us return home only with this phrase: “I was present there. Thank you!”. Or: “You forgot about me”.
FAUSTI - "What you did to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me", the Lord will answer to those who will ask, in the end, when they have ever seen Him. And the sign of His coming is that of the "least of these my brothers" with whom He is always present among us. The judgment that the King will make of us "then" is the same judgment that we now make of the poor. In reality we are the ones who judge Him, welcoming Him or rejecting Him. He will only see what we do. In the end He will read what we have freely written. He tells us in advance, with an efficient representation, to open our eyes to what we are doing now. The piece, splendid and unique, is a synthesis of Matthew's theology, we are judged according to what we do to the other. Every other is always the Other! In fact, the first commandment is the same as the second,(22,39) because the Lord Himself has made Himself our neighbor and is always with us (28,20) under the sign of the Son of Man: that of the Crucified One, who has the face of all the poor of the earth. The narrative places at the center of the story the Son of Man, Who identifies Himself with the last.To welcome Him or not means to welcome salvation or not. The universal message that can be derived from this is that every man is judged on the basis of his love for the poor and the weak. To isolate the command of love for the last from the experience of God's love that has become the last, is to make it a meaningless principle, an ideology incapable of generating positive behavior. The command to love the least is certainly the broadest possible foundation of an action that leads to communion among men. Jesus effectively sets a criterion for action that goes beyond any religious/ideological fence. Mother Teresa's love for the dispossessed of the earth has been the most universal and comprehensible language she has spoken to the world today about the mystery of God and man. In the smallest of brethren, the Christian reader sees his King. In them, in fact, the Lord's Passion for the salvation of the world continues. (Col,24). The poor are the "bankers" who make our talent fruitful (v 27). The love we have for one another is towards God. I realize myself as a son by living as a brother. In fact, the whole law is reduced to loving the Lord and neighbor with the same act of love, because He has made Himself my neighbor and brother in the Son. Whoever does not love God and His Word, does not love the children of God (1 Jn 5:2). In conclusion, we can say that the final judgment, like all eschatological discourse, sends us back from the future to the present. Ethics is based on eschatology. Man is such because he acts reasonably, for a purpose he desires. The purpose of man is to become like God. Adam's error is not to want to become like Him, but not to know the One who He is. One becomes like God by loving, because He is Love! Jesus is always with us, like the poor, like the smallest of the brothers. The Church, in her love for the last, loves Her Lord, and knows that it is not She who saves the poor, but the poor who saves Her.
Book of Ezekiel
RispondiElimina34,11-12.15-17.
Thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will look after and tend my sheep.
As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep. I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark.
I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD.
The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal but the sleek and the strong I will destroy, shepherding them rightly.
As for you, my sheep, says the Lord GOD, I will judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats.
Psalms
23(22),1-2a.2b-3.5.6.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
He refreshes my soul.
He guides me in right paths
For his name's sake.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
First Letter to the Corinthians
15,20-26.28.
Brothers and sisters: Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came also through a human being.
For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
but each one in proper order: Christ the firstfruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;
then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father, when he has destroyed every sovereignty and every authority and power.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death,
When everything is subjected to him, then the Son himself will (also) be subjected to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ
according to Saint 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."
Hymn
EliminaWord, splendor of the Father,
in the fullness of time
Thou hast descended from heaven,
To redeem the world.
Your gospel of peace
Deliver us from all guilt,
infuse light to our minds,
hope to our hearts.
When you come as judge,
among the splendors of heaven,
welcome us at your right hand
In the assembly of the blessed.
Praise be to Christ the Lord,
to the Father and the Holy Spirit,
As it was in the beginning,
now and for ever and ever. Amen.
POPE FRANCIS
RispondiEliminaANGELUS 22 November 2020
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good Morning!
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, which closes the liturgical year, the great parable that unfolds the mystery of Christ: the entire liturgical year. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end of history; and today’s liturgy focuses on the “Omega”, that is, on the final goal. The meaning of history is understood by keeping its culmination before our eyes: the goal is also the end. And this is precisely what Matthew accomplishes in this Sunday’s Gospel (25:31-46), placing Jesus’ discourse on the universal judgement at the end of his earthly life: He, the one whom men are about to condemn is, in reality, the supreme judge. In his death and resurrection, Jesus will manifest himself as the Lord of History, the King of the Universe, the Judge of all. But the Christian paradox is that the Judge is not vested in the fearful trappings of royalty, but is the shepherd filled with meekness and mercy.
In fact, in this parable of the final judgement, Jesus uses the image of a shepherd, recalling images of the prophet Ezekiel who had spoken of God’s intervention in favour of his people against the evil shepherds of Israel (cf. 34:1-10). They had been cruel exploiters, preferring to feed themselves rather than the flock; therefore, God himself promises to personally take care of his flock, defending it from injustice and abuse. This promise God made to his people is fully accomplished in Jesus Christ, the Shepherd. He is indeed the Good Shepherd. He too says of himself: “I am the good shepherd” (Jn 10:11, 14).
In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus identifies himself not only with the king-shepherd, but also with the lost sheep, we can speak of a “double identity”: the king-shepherd, Jesus identifies also with the sheep: that is, with the least and most needy of his brothers and sisters. And he thus indicates the criterion of the judgement: it will be made on the basis of concrete love given or denied to these persons, because he himself, the judge, is present in each one of them. He is the judge. He is God-Man, but he is also the poor one. He is hidden and present in the person of the poor people that he mentions right there. Jesus says: “Truly, I say to you, as you did it (or did it not) to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it (you did it not) to me” (cf. vv. 40, 45). We will be judged on love. The judgement will be on love, not on feelings, no: we will be judged on works, on compassion that becomes nearness and kind help. Do I draw near to Jesus present in the persons of the sick, the poor, the suffering, the imprisoned, of those who hunger and thirst for justice? Do I draw near to Jesus present there? This is the question for today.
--->Therefore, at the end of the world, the Lord will inspect the flock, and he will do so not only from the perspective of the shepherd, but also from the perspective of the sheep, with whom he has identified. And he will ask us: “Were you a little bit like a shepherd as myself?” “Were you a shepherd to me who was present in those people who were in need, or were you indifferent?”. Brothers and sisters, let us look at the logic of indifference, of those who come to mind immediately. Looking away when we see a problem. Let us remember the parable of the Good Samaritan. That poor man, wounded by the brigands, thrown to the ground, between life and death, was there alone. A priest passed by, saw, and went on his way. He looked the other way. A Levite passed by, saw and looked the other way. Before my brothers and sisters in need, am I indifferent like this priest, like this Levite and look the other way? I will be judged on this: on how I drew near, how I looked on Jesus present in those in need. This is the logic, and it is not I who is saying this: Jesus says it. “What you did to that person and that person and that person, you did it to me. And what you did not do to that person and that person and that person, you did not do it to me, because I was there”. May Jesus teach us this logic, this logic of being close, of drawing near to him, with love, in the person who is suffering most.
EliminaLet us ask the Virgin Mary to teach us to reign by serving. Our Lady, assumed into Heaven, received the royal crown from her son because she followed him faithfully — she is the first disciple — on the way of Love. Let us learn from her to enter God’s Kingdom as of now through the door of humble and generous service. And let us return home only with this phrase: “I was present there. Thank you!”. Or: “You forgot about me”.
FAUSTI - "What you did to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me", the Lord will answer to those who will ask, in the end, when they have ever seen Him. And the sign of His coming is that of the "least of these my brothers" with whom He is always present among us.
RispondiEliminaThe judgment that the King will make of us "then" is the same judgment that we now make of the poor. In reality we are the ones who judge Him, welcoming Him or rejecting Him.
He will only see what we do. In the end He will read what we have freely written. He tells us in advance, with an efficient representation, to open our eyes to what we are doing now.
The piece, splendid and unique, is a synthesis of Matthew's theology, we are judged according to what we do to the other. Every other is always the Other! In fact, the first commandment is the same as the second,(22,39) because the Lord Himself has made Himself our neighbor and is always with us (28,20) under the sign of the Son of Man: that of the Crucified One, who has the face of all the poor of the earth.
The narrative places at the center of the story the Son of Man, Who identifies Himself with the last.To welcome Him or not means to welcome salvation or not.
The universal message that can be derived from this is that every man is judged on the basis of his love for the poor and the weak. To isolate the command of love for the last from the experience of God's love that has become the last, is to make it a meaningless principle, an ideology incapable of generating positive behavior.
The command to love the least is certainly the broadest possible foundation of an action that leads to communion among men. Jesus effectively sets a criterion for action that goes beyond any religious/ideological fence.
Mother Teresa's love for the dispossessed of the earth has been the most universal and comprehensible language she has spoken to the world today about the mystery of God and man.
In the smallest of brethren, the Christian reader sees his King.
In them, in fact, the Lord's Passion for the salvation of the world continues. (Col,24).
The poor are the "bankers" who make our talent fruitful (v 27).
The love we have for one another is towards God.
I realize myself as a son by living as a brother.
In fact, the whole law is reduced to loving the Lord and neighbor with the same act of love, because He has made Himself my neighbor and brother in the Son.
Whoever does not love God and His Word, does not love the children of God (1 Jn 5:2).
In conclusion, we can say that the final judgment, like all eschatological discourse, sends us back from the future to the present. Ethics is based on eschatology.
Man is such because he acts reasonably, for a purpose he desires.
The purpose of man is to become like God.
Adam's error is not to want to become like Him, but not to know the One who He is.
One becomes like God by loving, because He is Love!
Jesus is always with us, like the poor, like the smallest of the brothers.
The Church, in her love for the last, loves Her Lord, and knows that it is not She who saves the poor, but the poor who saves Her.