We have reached the end of another year in the Church's calendar; next Sunday we shall begin the Advent Season which marks the beginning of a new Liturgical Year.

At the gateway between the years, the Church places the figure of Christ the King

We find very difficult to understand the implications of calling Jesus a “king” be cause we are not used to having kings around, unless in fairytales.

The kingship of Jesus is a theme that runs through all the Gospels: from the very beginning, when the Gabriel foretells that “ will sit on the throne of his father David” to the very end at his trial in front of Pontius Pilate. The INRI sign on the top of the Cross stands for” Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jesus”

In the Gospels the” Kingdom of God” stands for a reality, a world, a dimension  where justice, peace and brotherhood prevail. We pray everyday for the realization of this reality when we recite the “Our father”.; we pray for a time when people will look at each other with a friendly eye, as brethren.

On this final Sunday in the church’s year, the reading from Matthew 25 presents an elaborate scenario with Jesus the glorious Son of Man as the judge of “all the nations” revealing the criteria by which we will be judged.

Michelangelo's Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican is probably the most famous portrayal of what today's Gospel is talking about.

It is God's Final Judgment. But how will it come about? What questions will the prosecutor ask?  We are blessed because today Jesus briefs us about the final test we will have to take. He tells us the questions we will be asked, giving us ample time to get ready with the right answers.

“I was sick, I was naked, I was thirsty and you…..”

These little realities insignificant in themselves are very important. Traditionally they called the corporal works of mercy. When I was a little child I was told that they are divided in two groups of seven.

The traditional enumeration of the corporal works of mercy is as follows:

• To feed the hungry;
• To give drink to the thirsty;
• To clothe the naked;
• To shelter the homeless;
• To visit the sick;
• To ransom the captive;
• To bury the dead.

The spiritual works of mercy are:

• To instruct the ignorant;
• To counsel the doubtful;
• To admonish sinners;
• To bear wrongs patiently;
• To forgive offences willingly;
• To comfort the afflicted;
• To pray for the living and the dead.

The final test looks very simple and easy to pass. We realize that anything good you try to do for others is of in­finite worth, if it is done for Jesus Christ.

This message was so important that it was engraved on the doors of the cathedrals: seven representations on the left and seven on the right, as a perennial reminder to the faithful entering the church.
In many Italian cities the cathedrals were flanked by the Public Hospital and the University.

Jesus teaches us few simple things:

• There will be a judgment for everyone.

• injustice and evil will not have the last word.

• Sins of omissions should frighten us because  the opportunities missed will never come back again. For whatever good I have failed to do is irretrievably past.

• In God's sight, failure to do good, weighs more heavily than doing evil. I might comfort myself with the fact that I have not killed anyone. But that is not enough in God's sight if I have been unaware of the needy.

• Jesus identifies him­self with all of those who suffer such deprivation. Whoever notices them finds him. Whoever does them good also does it to him.

• Jesus tells us that Everything Is Decided Today

By the way, many fail to understand that this judgment is passed on us every Sunday as we listen to the Gospel.  You must have noticed that when the Gospel is proclaimed in churches, people stand. Not only because is God’s Word, but must so, because it is God’s judgment. When the sentenced is passed in court people stand. Our judgment is a verdict of acquittal.