SEEING CHRIST IN OTHERS

Monday of the First Week of Lent

Matthew 25:31-46

Homily: Seeing Jesus in Others - Monday of the First Week of Lent

Do you see Jesus in the people around you?

Few people have given themselves to the poor and forgotten like Mother Teresa. Her life was a true reflection of Jesus’ generosity. She knew that when we serve others, especially those in need, we are serving Jesus himself. She saw the face of Jesus in everyone she met, especially in the poor.

Story: a Dominican priest who went to Calcutta to give a retreat for the Missionaries of Charity. After finishing a retreat one day, the priest went back to his room. Suddenly, a terrible smell came through the window. He looked outside and saw a man lying in the street with a huge wound, maggots crawling around it, and moaning in pain. The priest, feeling disgusted, shut the window because he didn’t want his clothes to catch the smell.

But as he sat there, he felt guilty. He was a priest, a servant of Jesus, yet he couldn’t love this dying man because of the smell. As he prayed, he heard two voices outside: one was a younger woman saying, “I’ll do it for you,” and the other was an older woman insisting, “No, I must do this.” The priest looked out and saw something that changed his life forever.

It was Mother Teresa, on her knees, lifting the man into her arms and saying, “My Jesus, my Jesus, welcome to my home.” When the priest saw that, he broke down. He went to his bed, knelt, and started to cry. He prayed, “God, what is wrong with me? Help me. I want to be like that. I want to be able to love like that.”

While the priest was crying and praying at his bedside, someone knocked on the door. He opened it and there was St. Mother Teresa holding the dying man. She said, “Father, he is going to die. Would you bless him?” He said, “Yes.” He took the man into his arms, close to his chest, and began to pray. And the man died shortly after that.

The priest later said, “My life changed that day, as I saw one lady who didn’t show any partiality, who saw every person she met as Jesus Christ. She spoke to and loved everyone as if it were Jesus”

Reflection Question: Do I see Jesus in the people I meet, especially those who are in need? How can I love others more like Jesus?

This Lent, let us pray for the grace to see Jesus in every person we encounter and to serve them with love, just as Mother Teresa did.