This Sunday, November 22, we are celebrating the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe; and with this, we are ending Ordinary Time to make way for the Advent Season. It is very important that we ask ourselves if Jesus Christ is our King, the owner of our lives, our hearts, and all our desires. If Jesus Christ is Our King, we always do His will and as He tells us to do in this Sunday’s Gospel (Saint Matthew 25, 31‐46). Do we feed the hungry, offer a drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, visit the sick and the imprisoned? 

We cannot carry out these works of charity if we do not put aside all rash judgments. Remember what our Lord Jesus Christ tells us, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” (Saint Matthew 7:21). It would be hypocritical on our part to pray, pray, and say that Jesus is our Lord if we do not attend to the needs of the most needy. Our King tests our Faith every day, putting hungry, thirsty, naked, outsiders, sick, and imprisoned people in our path. Do we reach out to them, or do we ignore them? The King of the Universe will reward us when we are judged for the good or bad deeds we have done. 

Perhaps many of us lead a life of piety, prayer, fasting, mortification, sacrifice, devotions, and popular religiosity, but all of this does not reflect who we are, because we ignore and marginalize the most vulnerable and needy. And what will be our sad and unfortunate reward, and He will answer: “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 (Saint Matthew 25, 45‐46). Do we want to reign forever and ever with our King in heaven? 

If so, then let’s do what he asks of us in this Sunday’s Gospel; let’s stop judging and making reckless judgments. Let’s always do good without looking at whom for. “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. ”(James 2: 14‐17). 

With love and respect, your servant: 
Father Alberto Villafan‐Romero, OFM

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