Saturday, November 22, 2014

For the Least


By Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ

I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest—oracle of the Lord GOD.  The lost I will search out, the strays I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, and the sick I will heal; but the sleek and the strong I will destroy.  I will shepherd them in judgment.  Ezekiel 34:15-16

When everything is subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.  1 Corinthians 15:28

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 the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’  Matthew 25:37-40

Piety
Piety is our response to the Lord who rules from the Tree of Life.  The Cross of Christ is his throne.  His call is on our hearts from what he does on the cross in giving his life for ours.  Our piety challenges us to be the good news of God’s love for us in Christ.  We die with Christ to rise with him.  We are his presence in completing with all we do the good news of salvation.

Study
How special is Christ to those who love him.  Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.  We see him as the love of our life.  We watch how he does things in the gospels and want to do the same.  Christ opens the scriptures up by his willingness to be our life.  He feeds us with his life and we are blood brothers and sisters by the Eucharist of his body and blood that we share.  The world was created through him and for him. He is the King of our universe.  The most significant person of life pales in his presence.  He gives us all of his life.  When we let him die for us we are born again in his person.  We have been baptized into being his life for our world.  We give all of ourselves back to him.

Action
Because he has died for us, he lives again by the victory of his Resurrection in all of us.  Whatever we do for the least one of our brothers and sisters, he considers done for himself.  The Victory of the Cross and his Resurrection live in all of us because he is the ultimate meaning of the love we have for one another.  Christ rules our hearts.  The victory of the cross lives in us as the Resurrection grace.  His love is the love of our hearts, which we have for each other.  He rules the world in the victory of the Resurrection.  He is part and parcel of all the good we do. Christ is the king of life and the ruler of heaven.  His dominion is forever.

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