This Week
Fr John’s Homily
Today’s Gospel is an important one because it tells us the basis on which we shall be judged when we come before the Lord and that should be of interest to us all. Nothing less than our eternal salvation is at stake.
Jesus will invite to join him in his kingdom those who have fed the hungry, given drink to the thirsty, made strangers welcome, clothed the naked and visited the sick and prisoners. Those are key works of goodness and mercy that should mark out the Christian. If we are not doing any of those things, then it raises a serious question as to whether we can be called Christian and more serious still it calls in to question our very salvation. Jesus makes them the key issues on deciding whether we will enter the kingdom of heaven or not.
When you look at those issues, they concern the essentials for any kind of reasonable human life. We all need enough food and drink and clothes to wear. We all need friendly welcoming people around us and people to visit us during sickness and confinement. We need those things to make life worth living. So, we should be doing those things or at least contributing to charities that do those things.
There’s something very fundamental in what Jesus says in that Gospel. ‘In so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me’. Firstly, he is speaking of us human beings as his brothers – we belong to the family of God, we are in an intimate relationship with Jesus who is our brother. Secondly, he identifies especially with the needy and suffering, he is present within each one of us but especially within the needy and suffering.
We cannot see God, but we can see the needy and suffering all around us and so we can see God, for he is within them, and he expects us to treat them as we would treat God himself. They’re all around us in this world and that is the challenge of our faith, and it certainly is a challenge, isn’t it? Can we respond with love and compassion to the needy and suffering all around us?
Today’s Gospel is an important one because it tells us the basis on which we shall be judged when we come before the Lord and that should be of interest to us all. Nothing less than our eternal salvation is at stake.
Jesus will invite to join him in his kingdom those who have fed the hungry, given drink to the thirsty, made strangers welcome, clothed the naked and visited the sick and prisoners. Those are key works of goodness and mercy that should mark out the Christian. If we are not doing any of those things, then it raises a serious question as to whether we can be called Christian and more serious still it calls in to question our very salvation. Jesus makes them the key issues on deciding whether we will enter the kingdom of heaven or not.
When you look at those issues, they concern the essentials for any kind of reasonable human life. We all need enough food and drink and clothes to wear. We all need friendly welcoming people around us and people to visit us during sickness and confinement. We need those things to make life worth living. So, we should be doing those things or at least contributing to charities that do those things.
There’s something very fundamental in what Jesus says in that Gospel. ‘In so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me’. Firstly, he is speaking of us human beings as his brothers – we belong to the family of God, we are in an intimate relationship with Jesus who is our brother. Secondly, he identifies especially with the needy and suffering, he is present within each one of us but especially within the needy and suffering.
We cannot see God, but we can see the needy and suffering all around us and so we can see God, for he is within them, and he expects us to treat them as we would treat God himself. They’re all around us in this world and that is the challenge of our faith, and it certainly is a challenge, isn’t it? Can we respond with love and compassion to the needy and suffering all around us?
This week's newsletter
View the online version here
View the online version here
The Order of the Mass
In a new series of videos, Father Michael explains more about the Order of the Mass, covering the Introductory Rites, the Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Eucharist and Concluding Rites.
In a new series of videos, Father Michael explains more about the Order of the Mass, covering the Introductory Rites, the Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Eucharist and Concluding Rites.
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To watch other videos about St Catherine's please see our Parish YouTube channel