'I was ill and you cared for me.' Christ the King, Year A
Submitted by FatherSean on Fri, 11/18/2011 - 21:31.
The Last Judgment, Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo, painted 1537-41
Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)
Gospel Matthew 25:31-46 (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)
Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
"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 the least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Then he will say to those on his left,
'Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a 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.'
Then 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?'
He 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.'
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life."
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 the least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Then he will say to those on his left,
'Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a 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.'
Then 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?'
He 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.'
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life."
King Baudouin of the Belgians (1930-1993)
Leo Jozef Cardinal Suenens (1904-1996), Archbishop of Malines-Brussels from 1961to 1979,one of the leading figures at Vatican II, in a biography of King Baudouin of the Belgians, wrote of the occasion the king heard of a mother who was so ill in hospital that she could not attend the ordination to the priesthood of her son, a Jesuit. The king went to visit her that day. I was ill and you cared for me. When King udied suddenly in Spain on 31 July 1993 that same priest was chaplain in the prison where Belgium's most hardened criminals are kept. They nearly all attended a Mass for the late king and sent a message of sympathy to Queen Fabiola.
Not too long before his death, King Baudouin visited a brothel in Antwerp to listen to the stories of the women there. One of them, a Filipina, spoke at his funeral and said that he was the only man who had ever listened to them. (I am relying on memory here to some degree but the Los Angeles Times report on the funeral said, 'The breadth of Baudouin's popularity was reflected in the list of those who eulogized him: a Cabinet minister, an artist, a community worker, a prostitute and an investigative journalist'.)
The same report quotes Godfried Cardinal Danneels, then Archbishop of Malines-Brussels, at the funeral Mass in St Michael's Cathedral, 'There are kings who are more than kings, they are shepherds of their people. King Baudouin was such a king'. Thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will look after and tend my sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep,so will I tend my sheep' (Ezekiel 34:11-12, today's first reading).
In April 1990 King Bauduoin refused to sign into law a bill legalising abortion. He knew his stand could not prevent the bill from being implemented. The parliament declared him temporarily unable to carry out his duties and the members of the government signed the bill into law before declaring that the king was able to carry out his duties again. The king's stand could have led to the abolition of the monarchy. He himself became king when his father, a divisive figure, abdicated in 1951. I was a stranger and you welcomed me.
Cardinal Suenens' book showed that some wrote to the king for spiritual direction. He was a man whose Catholic faith was fully integrated with his public and private life. He and Queen Fabiola longed to have a child but the queen had five miscarriages.
In the days of Jesus kings were men with great power. Today's monarchs are basically ceremonial heads of state, with little power. But they can have great influence.
A friend of my brother was asked if he could play golf near Belfast with a visitor from the European Continent. The visitor was introduced as 'Mr So-and-so'. After a few holes my brother's friend asked his golfing partner what he did for a living. 'Mr So-and-so' smiled and said, 'I'm the King of the Belgians'.
None of us are kings or queens but many of us have responsibilities towards others, as priests, spouses/parents, teachers, social workers, caregivers, nurses and what not. The feast of Christ the King tells us that the heart of responsibility is loving service, even to giving up our lives if necessary. I believe that King Baudoin is one of many persons from every walk of life whom God has sent to show us how to follow his Son Jesus, God who became Man, whom we honour today as Christ the King.
