WATCH AND BE READY Mike Van Vranken, Spiritual Director
I’ll begin with questions that arise for me when I read our final gospel narrative for November. “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world” (Mt 25:34). Question 1: Who are those who are “blessed by my Father?” Fortunately, the gospel explains “those who are blessed.” It reads: “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” (Mt. 25:35). Wow! That’s it? That’s how I’m going to be judged? Really? When I fed, and welcomed, and clothed, and cared for Christ determines my eternal judgment? God, we need to talk!
NOVEMBER IS OUR MONTH TO REMEMBER OUR LOVED ONES WHO HAVE TRANSITIONED FROM THIS LIFE TO THE NEXT. It is also a time to
ponder Christ’s ultimate return. Gospel stories this month will help us focus on Christ’s coming. They mention the judgment of the righteous, the wise and foolish virgins, the fearful and lazy servant who buried the master’s treasure, and the final judgment using the analogy of separating the sheep and the goats. Each story has a contemporary meaning. They are sobering reminders for us today that we must watch and be ready, for we do not know when all of this is going to happen. These scriptures have meaning for us in today’s life and for all eternity. The call is to stay awake in every moment. The outcome and consequences are eternal. I invite us all to ask ourselves some questions this month to help us stay awake. These queries will offer us a way to examine our preparedness for Christ’s coming and how we will experience the rest of eternity. The following are sample questions you can discuss with God. And I encourage you to ask Him other questions he desires you to consider.
Question 2: How can I feed, welcome, clothe, and care for Christ? Isn’t He already in heaven? Again, the gospel story answers my question: “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’” (Mt. 25: 40). Oh! So, when I do these things for another person, even those I don’t like or deem unworthy. If I do these things for them, I am really doing them for Christ? And again, this is how my eternal judgment is determined?
PRAYER FOR NOVEMBER:
Lord, please give me the grace to stay awake and notice you in every person in every moment of my life, so I can feed, welcome, clothe, and care for you, and them, at all times. NOVEMBER 2023 13
