“… 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.’ … ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’”
Mass Readings – MassTimes.org – TheCatholicDirectory.com – VIDEO: Sunday Mass – Washington, D.C. – VIDEO: Sunday Mass – Univ. of Notre Dame
FIRST READING: Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17
The Holy Prophet Ezekiel explains that God promises to act as our Shepherd tending His Flock, gathering the sheep that have scattered, bringing back the lost, healing the sick and injured:
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 … I … will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest … The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal …
At the same time, God will judge between us, as a shepherd separates rams from goats.
This promise parallels the Gospel passage from Matthew 25, in which Jesus explains that, at the end of time, God will divide out the good from the evil, like a shepherd dividing sheep from goats.
The Lord is my Shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28
Saint Paul writes to the Christians of Corinth that Jesus Christ has been Raised from the dead, and that in Christ all who belong to Christ be brought back to life.
Christ will reign and bring all His enemies under His Feet, finally including death.
At the end of time, He will hand over the Kingdom to His Father.
Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. … in Christ shall all be brought to life … each … 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. …
Jesus explains to His Disciples that at the end of time, He will come in His Glory, attended by Holy Angels, and sit upon His Throne with all nations before Him to be judged.
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.
Christ the King will reveal that He has been among us in distressing disguise, appearing as those who are hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, in prison and a stranger. He shall invite to Eternal Life those who showed Him Mercy:
… 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.’
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… ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
