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Manila Bulletin devider Opinion devider He will separate them one from another

He will separate them one from another

Published Mar 9, 2025 04:10 pm

REFLECTIONS TODAY

Gird your loins

 

The parable of the Last Judgment or the Judgment of the Nations tells us how we shall be judged personally once we pass on from this life or in the universal judgment at the glorious coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The criterion of judgment is not how we have attended to our practices of piety but rather how we have recognized the Lord Jesus in the faces of the poor and the needy and served him in them. 


In this life God allows both the good and the unjust persons to live together, giving each person the time and opportunity for metanoia or change of heart and return to him. But at the end there will be separation of the good and the just as symbolized by the sheep from the evildoers as symbolized by the goats. Actually, it is not the Lord who does the separation but the wicked who in their lifetime chose to separate themselves from the Lord and from their needy brothers and sisters who could have been their bridge to the Lord, for whatever is done to these is done to the Lord himself. So, it is not God who will punish us. Instead, every deceit and closed-heartedness we do against our neighbor has an effect on us—we are the ones who punish ourselves. Our willful blindness and indifference in the face of suffering have an effect on us. In the evening of our life, we shall be judged by love. Let us then choose love.

 

Gospel • Mt 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.’... And these will go off... to eternal life.”

Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2025,” St. Paul’s, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.

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