A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew 13:47-53
(Glory to you O Lord!)
Jesus said to the disciples:
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,
which collects fish of every kind.
When it is full they haul it ashore
and sit down to put what is good into buckets.
What is bad they throw away.
Thus it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous
and throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”
“Do you understand all these things?”
They answered, “Yes.”
And he replied,
“Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven
is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom
both the new and the old.”
When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.
The Gospel of the Lord (Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ!).
Reflection: The great reunion
Today we hear a parable on how the end of the ages will be like when our Lord Jesus and the kingdom of Heaven returns. The angels will separate all the wicked from the righteous.
It will be the day of judgment where the ones who chose to live a wicked and worldly life even to their dying breath will face the eternal punishment of judgment into the fiery furnace, while the ones who decide to be faithful in life to God…to chose a life of holiness, to love and follow God, and to love and care for everyone will be gathered to be reunited for all eternity in the holy presence of our Heavenly Father… with all the angels and saints, with all the faithful ones who have gone before us. It will be the great reunion!
We have all been given the gift of free will by God. We are free to choose which paths to take during our earthly lives. However, we live in this life as humans with a very short time of years, with most of us not even reaching 100 years of age, compared to the living forever in the grace of peace and joy with God in Heaven. Our lives are very short, but we can still make the most of our remaining time to make a choice towards holiness!
What does that mean? This means that if we have not yet chosen to care for the least of our brothers and sisters, to care for the ones who are oppressed, locally or abroad, if we have not yet asked for forgiveness for all of our shortcomings and forgive those who have wronged us, we still have a chance… to
ask God for forgiveness, to ask our Lord Jesus to guide us, to give us the strength to overcome the temptations and distractions in life that keep us from choosing what is holy and what our Lord Jesus wants us to do.
And what is the key to seeking to choose what is holy? Our Lord Jesus says it best… to follow the two greatest commandments: the first is foremost, to Love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength; and we cannot forget the second greatest Commandment: To love our neighbors as ourselves. These two greatest Commandments are the key.
Brothers and sisters! If we decide to choose to love God first and foremost, before all things, by following his gentle daily promptings to choose holiness in our daily lives, then God can guide us to bring order to our lives, and to be granted the grace of strength, wisdom and understanding, to truly care for and love our neighbors as ourselves.
There will be a great reunion at the end of the age. Listen to the daily promptings of God to choose a life of holiness.
Action for the Day: In silent prayer, share our gratitude to God for granting us the grace to witness another new day, then ask God for forgiveness for all our shortcomings. Lord Jesus, thank you for accompanying us in our daily journey on earth. Forgive us of our shortcomings. Please give us the strength to only choose your ways of holiness and remove the distractions in life from our minds and hearts that keep us from following you. What would you like me to do for you today? Lord Jesus, guide us through your Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Thank you. God bless.