Faith AND Works - Sharing Is Not Optional

Jesus said to his disciples:
"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 these 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

Matt 25: 31 -46

Faith alone?  I think not.  It is entirely possible that Martin Luther had some novel interpretation of Matthew 25 31-46 that helped bolster his statement that we are saved by faith alone.  I just do not see how he could come to that conclusion when Jesus says that you have to not only acknowledge Him as your personal Lord and Savior, but you have to follow Him and do what He would do and that is to spread love and charity wherever we went.  To believe in Jesus is the first step and is absolutely required but to believe and not do is not acceptable for the serious Christian. 

But let's not argue about this point anymore.  Let us taken as read that if we do not do as Christ did that He will not know us on the day of His return.  Lent is the season when we should be more willing to share and to give more than we receive because when we give from our hearts we give not to another human being but to Christ Himself.  So, have faith in Jesus and show that faith this very day by carrying your cross with dignity and pride and sharing what little you might have with those that have even less and do it in the name of the Lord. 

Remember our blessed dead in Purgatory, using your time to pray for then is a great act of charity that will be remembered by them for all eternity. 

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