Tuesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Tuesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

MT 12:46-50

“Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”

One of the most misunderstood teachings of the Catholic Church is this one:

“Outside the Church there is no salvation”

This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church: Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience—those too may achieve eternal salvation. (CCC 847)

The family of Jesus is diverse and inclusive, encompassing all those who do the will of the heavenly Father. It transcends race, color, and class, welcoming everyone who aligns their actions with the Father’s will.

But one may ask, what is doing the heavenly father's will?

One winter evening, a woman was sitting in a car passing by a street in the city. She saw a little boy, barefoot, with dirty clothes, looking intently at the shoe store through the glass right in front of him. She stopped the car, got out, and came closerto the boy, smiling and saying:

What are you doing here in this cold weather?

The boy replied, “I asked Jesus to give me a pair of shoes.”

The moan said, “Then follow me.”

She holds the boy's hand, and as she leads him into the store, she says, “Let's see if Jesus would help his children and make them happy.”

They went into the shop, and the woman bought a pair of thick socks and a pair of sturdy shoes and then put them on for the boy. The boy stood there with his mouth open, not saying a word. When the woman was about to say goodbye, the boy stared at her, tears started welling up, and the boy asked her:

Grandma! Are you the mother of Jesus? Grandma! Are you the mother of Jesus?

“whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink” is doing the will of the Father. That one is Jesus’s mother, brother, and brother.

Many people may look to us and ask, 'Are you Jesus’s mother? Are you Jesus’s brother? Are you Jesus’s sister?' It's a powerful question that invites us to reflect on our actions in accordance with God's will.

May we all confidently answer, 'Yes, yes, yes, I am his. I belong to him because I am doing his will.

May God bless us all.