March 10, 2025
Monday of the First Week of Lent
Lectionary: 224
Reading 1
The LORD said to Moses,
"Speak to the whole assembly of the children of Israel and tell them:
Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.
"You shall not steal.
You shall not lie or speak falsely to one another.
You shall not swear falsely by my name,
thus profaning the name of your God.
I am the LORD.
"You shall not defraud or rob your neighbor.
You shall not withhold overnight the wages of your day laborer.
You shall not curse the deaf,
or put a stumbling block in front of the blind,
but you shall fear your God.
I am the LORD.
"You shall not act dishonestly in rendering judgment.
Show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty,
but judge your fellow men justly.
You shall not go about spreading slander among your kin;
nor shall you stand by idly when your neighbor's life is at stake.
I am the LORD.
"You shall not bear hatred for your brother in your heart.
Though you may have to reprove him,
do not incur sin because of him.
Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
I am the LORD."
Responsorial Psalm
R. (John 6:63b) Your words, Lord, are Spirit and
life.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart.
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart
find favor before you,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
Verse Before the Gospel
Behold, now is a very acceptable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.
Gospel
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."
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031025.cfm
Commentary on
Leviticus 19:1-2,11-18
The general theme of the Book of Leviticus is in today’s
opening sentence:
You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
Today’s reading comes from a section dealing with moral and
religious regulations related to daily life, with obvious links to the Ten
Commandments. Some of them sound somewhat strange today such as: “You shall not
round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard” (as
presumably some of Israel’s ‘pagan’ neighbours were doing).
In today’s reading the call is clear: the measure of our
holiness is that of God himself. Obviously that is not something to be even
remotely achieved in our lifetime; rather, it is an ideal to be constantly aimed
at as we continually try to raise our sights. But are there are any measures by
which we can measure our progress in something so abstract as holiness?
Very simply, today’s reading says that holiness consists in
the way we treat (or do not treat) those around us. It is perhaps worth
observing that everything here is expressed in the negative, the things we
ought not to do towards our brothers and sisters:
- No
stealing or fraud.
- No
irreverent use of God’s name.
- No
abuse of others through exploitation or robbery or by failing to pay just
wages at the proper time.
- No
abuse or neglect of the disabled: the blind and the deaf are mentioned.
- Avoiding
all forms of prejudice and bias either towards the weak or the powerful.
- No
passing of judgement on others beyond the bounds of justice and fairness.
- Never
criticising out of hatred, but only out of a desire to help.
- No
exacting vengeance and no holding grudges.
It is quite obvious that it is not enough just not to
do these things, but rather positively to do the opposite in each case. And
they are all finally summed up in one positive injunction:
…you shall love your neighbor as yourself…
In the context within Leviticus, it is clear that
‘neighbour’ means a fellow Jew, but Jesus—as well as Paul and James in their
letters—would extend its meaning to embrace every single person.
Some of the stricter Pharisees interpreted ‘loving the
neighbour’ as implying that one should ‘hate the enemy’. But others came closer
to Jesus’ injunction that love for neighbour should even extend to those who
would want to harm us. For instance, the medieval Spanish Rabbi Moses ben
Nahman (also know as Nahmanides) said:
One should place no limitations upon the love for the
neighbour, but instead a person should love to do an abundance of good for his
fellow being as he does for himself.
It is clear from this and the later teaching of Jesus that
‘neighbour’ included every single person and not just those close to us by
place, nationality, race, religion, class or gender – even those who would want
to harm us. And, as today’s Gospel makes clear, our neighbour is particularly
to be identified with any person who is in need of help of any kind.
Later, Jesus would push the command even further when he
told us to love each other, not just as much as we love ourselves, but to the
degree that he loved us—by ‘emptying’ himself and giving his life for every
single one of us.
As I reflect on this passage during Lent, I may ask: Where
do I stand in my relationships with my friends, my ‘enemies’ or the needy in my
community?
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Commentary on
Matthew 25:31-46
Both of today’s readings deal with the way we ought to
behave towards each other. The First Reading tells us the kinds of things we
ought not to do, while the Gospel emphasises more what we should be
doing.
The Gospel describes the great scene of the Last Judgment
when all will face their Lord Jesus. We will be divided into sheep and
goats—i.e. those who are with Jesus and those who are not. The criteria on
which we will be judged are interesting. There is nothing about the Ten
Commandments (normally the matter of our confessions). Nor is there anything
about the behaviors mentioned in the First Reading, which more or less reflect
the contents of the Ten Commandments. There is nothing about what we normally
call ‘religious obligations’ (e.g. being ‘at Mass’ on Sundays and holydays).
The test will be very simple. Did we love all our brothers
and sisters or not? There is some discussion as to the identity of these
‘brothers and sisters’. Does it refer to all who are hungry, thirsty, in need
of clothes, in need of medical care or in jail—or to a particular group? The
passage may primarily be about Christians, and especially Christian
missionaries whose preaching brought them suffering and persecution. These
missionaries were more likely, too, to end up in prison. To reject and abuse
these people and their message is tantamount to rejecting Jesus himself.
However, we have traditionally extended the passage to
include all who suffer in any way because of our neglect, and we recognise
Jesus as being present in these people in a special way.
And the things we are supposed to do are so simple: give
food to Jesus hungry and drink to Jesus thirsty; to clothe Jesus naked; to
visit Jesus sick and Jesus in jail. And naturally people will ask:
Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a
stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you?
And the Judge will answer:
Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the
least of these, you did not do it to me.
He says “to me”, not “for me”. Jesus
identifies himself especially with the person in need. Every time we neglect to
help a brother or sister in need, we neglect Jesus himself. Our worst sins, our
most dangerous sins, will be our sins of omission. We can keep the Ten
Commandments perfectly and still fail here.
The next time we examine our conscience, let us think about
that. Whether we realise it or not, every time we spontaneously take care of a
brother or sister in need, it is Jesus himself we are serving.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/l1012g/
Monday, March 10, 2025
Season of Lent
Opening Prayer
Lord, holy God, loving Father,
you give us the task to love one another because You are holy and You have loved us
before we could love You. Give us the ability to recognize Your Son in our brothers and sisters far and near.
Make us witnesses that love exists and is alive and that You, the God of love, exist and are
alive now forever.
Gospel Reading -
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."
Reflection
• The Gospel of
Matthew presents Jesus as the New Messiah. Like Moses, Jesus also promulgates
the Law of God. As with the ancient law, the new one, given by Jesus, also
contains five books or discourses. The Sermon on the Mountain (Mt 5: 1 to 7:
27), the first discourse, opens with eight Beatitudes. The discourse on
vigilance (Mt 2: 4, 1 to 25, 46), the fifth discourse, contains the description
of the Last Judgment. The Beatitudes describe the door of entrance into the Kingdom,
enumerating eight categories of people: the poor in spirit, the meek, the
afflicted, those who hunger and thirst for justice, the merciful, the pure of
heart, the peacemakers and the persecuted because of justice (Mt 5: 3-10). The
parable of the Last Judgment tells us what we should do in order to possess the
Kingdom: accept the hungry, the thirsty, the foreigners, the naked, the sick
and the prisoners (Mt 25: 35-36): At the beginning, as well as at the end of
the New Law, there are the excluded and the marginalized.
• Matthew 25: 31-33:
Opening of the Last Judgment. The Son of Man gathers together around Him the
nations of the world. He separates people as the shepherd does with the sheep
and the goats. The shepherd knows how to discern. He does not make a mistake;
sheep on the right, goats on the left.
Jesus does not make a mistake. Jesus does not judge nor
condemn. (cfr. Jn 3: 17; 12: 47). He does not separate alone. It is the person
himself/herself who judges and condemns because of the way in which he/she
behaves toward the little ones and the excluded.
• Matthew 25: 34-36:
The sentence for those who are at the right hand of the Judge. Those who are at
the right hand of the judge are called Blessed of my Father! That is, they
receive the blessing which God promised to Abraham and to his descendants (Gen
12: 3). They are invited to take possession of the Kingdom, prepared for them
from the foundation of the world. The reason for the sentence is the following:
I was hungry, a foreigner, naked, sick and prisoner, and you accepted me and
helped me! This sentence makes us understand who are the sheep. They are the
persons who accepted the Judge
when he was hungry, thirsty, a foreigner, naked, sick and
prisoner. Because of the way of speaking about my Father and the Son of Man, we
can know that the Judge is precisely Jesus Himself. He identifies Himself with
the little ones!
• Matthew 25: 37-40:
A request for clarification and the response of the Judge: Those who accept the
excluded are called just. That means that the justice of the Kingdom is not
attained by observing norms and prescriptions, but rather by accepting those in
need. But it is strange that the just do not even know themselves when they
accepted Jesus in need. Jesus responds: Every time that you have done this to
one of my brothers, you have done it to me. Who are these little brothers of
mine? In other passages of the Gospel of Matthew, the expression “my brothers” indicates the disciples (Mt 12: 48-50;
28: 10). This also indicates the members of the community who are more
abandoned and
neglected who have no place and are not well received (Mt
10: 40). Jesus identifies Himself with them.
In the broader context of the last parable, the expression “my smallest
brothers” is extended and includes all those who have no place in society. It
indicates all the poor. The just and the blessed by my Father are all the
persons from all nations who accept and welcome others with total gratuity,
independently of the fact that they are Christians or not.
• Matthew 25: 41-43:
The sentence for those who were at the left-hand side. Those who were on the
other side of the Judge are called cursed and they are destined to go to the
eternal fire, prepared by the devil and his friends. Jesus uses a symbolic
language common at that time to say that these persons will not enter into the
Kingdom. And here, also, their is only one reason: they did not accept or
welcome Jesus as one who is hungry, thirsty, a foreigner, naked, sick and/or a
prisoner. It is not that Jesus prevents them from entering into the Kingdom,
rather it is our way of acting that is our blindness which prevents us from
seeing Jesus in the little ones.
• Matthew 25: 44-46:
A request for clarification and the response of the Judge. The request for
clarification indicates that it is a question of people who have behaved well,
people who have their conscience in peace. They are certain to have always
practiced what God asked from them. For this reason they were surprised when
the Judge says that they did not accept Him, did not welcome Him. The Judge responds:
Every time that you have not done these things to one of my brothers, the
little ones, you did not do it to me. It is the omission! They did not do
anything extra. They only missed practicing good towards the little ones and
the excluded. This is the way the fifth Book of the New Law ends!
In the saints and Church Fathers we have a lot to learn
about virtues and vices. It is not enough to just avoid vice, or sin, but to
also work toward attaining virtue and virtuous behavior. To do no harm is not
the same as to help. This is what we are called to do: to not just avoid doing
wrong or harm, but to go out of our way to do good as well.
Personal Questions
• What struck you the
most in this parable of the Last Judgment?
• Do I focus my life
more on avoiding harm or on doing good for others?
• Stop and think: if
the Last Judgment would take place today, would you be on the side of the sheep or on the side of the goats?
Concluding Prayer
The precepts of Yahweh are honest, joy for the heart;
the commandment of Yahweh is pure, light for the eyes. (Ps 19: 8)
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