" I was in prison and you came to see me. "

The saying emphasizes that by caring for the "least of these,"

believers are showing love and care for Jesus himself.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9

The souls of the just are

In the hands of God and no torment shall touch them.

In the eyes of the unwise they appear to be dead. Their going is held as a disaster;

it seems that they lose everything by departing from us, but they are in peace.

Though seemingly they have been punished, immortality was the soul of their hope.

After slight affliction will come great blessings, for God has tried them and found them worthy to be with him;

 

after testing them as gold in the furnace, he has accepted them as a holocaust.

At the time of his coming they will shine like sparks that run in the stubble.

They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will be their king forever.

Those who trust in him will penetrate the truth, those who are faithful will live with him in love,

for his grace and mercy are for his chosen ones.

 

Ps 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

 

＊＊＊ 2nd Reading ＊＊＊

Romans 6:3-9

Don't you know that in baptism, which unites us to Christ, we are all baptized and plunged into his death?

By this baptism in his death, we were buried with Christ and, as Christ was raised from among the dead by the glory of the Father,

we begin walking in a new life. If we have been joined to him by dying a death like his, so shall we be, by a resurrection like his.

 

We know that our old self was crucified with Christ, so as to destroy what of us was sin,

so that, we may no longer serve sin if we are dead, we are no longer in debt to sin.

But, if we have died with Christ, we believe we will also live with him. We know that Christ,

once risen from the dead, will not die again, and death has no more dominion over him.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Matthew 25:31-46

When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all his angels, he will sit on the throne of his glory.

All the nations will be brought before him; and, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,

so will he do with them, placing the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.

 

The king will say to those on his right, 'Come, blessed of my Father!

Take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world.

For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink.

I was a stranger, and you welcomed me into your home. I was naked, and you clothed me.

I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to see me.

 

Then the righteous will ask him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, and give you food; thirsty,

and give you something to drink; or a stranger, and welcome you; or naked, and clothe you?

When did we see you sick, or in prison, and go to see you? The king will answer,

'Truly I say to you: just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it to me!

 

Then he will say to those on his left, 'Go, cursed people, out of my sight, into the eternal fire,

which has been prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry, and you did not give me anything to eat;

I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not welcome me into your house;

I was naked, and you did not clothe me; I was sick, and in prison, and you did not visit me.

 

They, too, will ask, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, thirsty, naked or a stranger, sick or in prison,

and did not help you? The king will answer them, 'Truly I say to you:

just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.

And these will go into eternal punishment; but the just, to eternal life."

 

Gospel Reflection ：

 Lectio Divina

Reflection:

"Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord..."

Read: Wisdom reminds us that the holy souls are at peace with God. Saint Paul writes of Christ's victory over death. Jesus describes the Last Judgement, when we will be judged on our love.

 

Reflect: Death seems so final, but faith assures us that death has been transformed by Christ's cross

and resurrection into the beginning of our life in all its fullness with God.

There is sadness as we remember those we miss dearly.

But that sadness is not empty, since we have hope in the resurrection.

And so, we pray for the souls of the departed, that they might be forgiven their sins and welcomed into God's Kingdom.

November is traditionally dedicated to praying for the souls in purgatory.

 

Purgatory is our purification after death which enables us to stand before God with a renewed heart.

We support the faithful departed by praying that God might shower his mercy upon them and draw them ever closer to himself.

Saint Catherine of Genoa said, "a great happiness is granted to the Holy Souls that grows as they draw nearer to God."

And so, we pray, Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord...

 

Pray: Pray for the faithful departed and for the comforting of the bereaved.

 

Act: Visit the graves of family and friends to pray for them.