February
15, 2016
Monday
of the First Week of Lent
Saints
of the Day: Saints Faustinus and Jovita, Martyrs (+ c. 121), Blessed Michal Sopocko, Priest (1888-1975), Saint Claude de la Colombiere
Reading 1
1The
LORD said to Moses, 2“Speak
to the whole assembly of the children of Israel and tell them: Be
holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.
11“You
shall not steal. You
shall not lie or speak falsely to one another. 12You
shall not swear falsely by my name, thus
profaning the name of your God. I
am the LORD.
13“You
shall not defraud or rob your neighbor. You
shall not withhold overnight the wages of your day laborer. 14You
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.
15“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. 16You
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.
17“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. 18Take
no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen. You
shall love your neighbor as yourself.
I
am the LORD.”[1]
Responsorial Psalm
8The
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.
9The
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.
10The
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.
15Let
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 2 Corinthians 6:2b
Behold,
now is a very acceptable time; behold,
now is the day of salvation.
Gospel
31Jesus
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,[2] 32and
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.[3]
33He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. 34Then 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. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and
you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36naked and you clothed me, ill
and you cared for me, in
prison and you visited me.’
37Then
the righteous will answer Him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?[4]
38When did we see you a stranger and welcome You, or naked and clothe You? 39When
did we see You ill or in prison, and visit You?’ 40And 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.’
41Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you accursed, into the
eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels.[5]
42For I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no
drink, 43a 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.’
44Then
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?’[6]
45He 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.’ 46And these will go off to eternal
punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Notes on readings:
[1] Leviticus 19:18 - You shall love your
neighbor as yourself: cited by our Lord as the second of the two most important
commandments of God. Compare with Matthew 22:39 Mark 12:31. Although in the present context the word
"neighbor" is restricted to "fellow countrymen," in Luke 10:29-37 Christ extends its meaning to embrace all men, even
enemies. Compare also with Matthew 43-45.
[2] Matthew 25:31-46 - The conclusion of
the discourse, which is peculiar to Matthew, portrays the final judgment that
will accompany the parousia. Although often called a "parable," it is
not really such, for the only parabolic elements are the depiction of the Son
of Man as a shepherd and of the righteous and the wicked as sheep and goats
respectively (Matthew 25:32-33. The criterion of judgment will be the deeds of mercy
that have been done for the least of Jesus' brothers (Matthew 25:40) A difficult and important question is the
identification of these least brothers. Are they all people who have suffered
hunger, thirst, etc. (Matthew 25:35, 36) or a particular group of such sufferers? Scholars are
divided in their response and arguments can be made for either side. But
leaving aside the problem of what the traditional material that Matthew edited
may have meant, it seems that a stronger case can be made for the view that in
the evangelist's sense the sufferers are Christians, probably Christian
missionaries whose sufferings were brought upon them by their preaching of the
gospel. The criterion of judgment for all the nations is their treatment of
those who have borne to the world the message of Jesus, and this means
ultimately their acceptance or rejection of Jesus himself; compare with Matthew 10:40, "Whoever receives you, receives me."
[3] Matthew 25:32 - All the nations:
before the end the gospel will have been preached throughout the world Matthew 24:14; thus the Gentiles will be judged on their response to
it. But the phrase all the nations includes the Jews also, for at the judgment
"the Son of Man . . . will repay everyone according to his conduct" (Matthew 16:27).
[4] Matthew 25:37-40 - The righteous will
be astonished that in caring for the needs of the sufferers they were
ministering to the Lord himself. One of these least brothers of mine: compare with Matthew 10:42.
[5] Matthew 25:41 - Fire prepared . . .
his angels: compare with 1 Enoch 10, 13 where it is said of the evil angels and Semyaza,
their leader, "In those days they will lead them into the bottom of the
fire - and in torment - in the prison (where) they will be locked up
forever."
[6] Matthew 25:44-45 - The accursed (Matthew 25:41) will be likewise astonished that their neglect of the
sufferers was neglect of the Lord and will receive from him a similar answer.
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Dear Humanity,
I personally encourage everyone to emulate JESUS' values on LOVE, FAITH, HOPE
and CHARITY, as the humanity has been a failure; which resulted to the more than two (2) years of pandemic and its after-effects on economy, not only here in the Philippines but worldwide.
And the saddest part of it, is that, it affected the POOREST of the POOR to even extremely be more poorer, in exchange of the affluent to be more richer.
Thank you and may GOD bless you and the whole family to have an enjoyed life's journey at home, Church, schools/universities, corporate commitments, public and places of interest.