But, Lord?!

17 Sep

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the Kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day,
‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?
Did we not drive out demons in your name?
Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’
Then I will declare to them solemnly,
‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.'”  (Mt 7:-21-23)

Today’s Gospel for the feast of St. Robert Bellermaine is, in many ways, a continuation of the theme of yesterday’s readings.

That is, we must live our faith to the fullest, not merely proclaim that we believe.

How wretched would it be to hear the Lord say, “I never knew you!”

Yet, that is precisely what He is saying when He tells the people that there are some who claim to be of the Lord but who, in reality, are far from Him and his teachings.

St. Robert Bellermine was a very intelligent person.  Entering the Jesuit order, he quickly became established as a person who far exceeded the knowledge of others.  Pope Clement VIII made him a cardinal and proclaimed that “he had not his equal for learning.”

Yet, for all that Bellermine was and could have become, he remained very humble.

He gave much away and lived very frugally, even though he could easily have lived as a prince in the Vatican palace.  Once he gave away the wall hangings from his room to clothe the poor claiming that “the walls won’t catch cold.”

Bellermine knew that to be a disciple of Christ, he had to reach out to the Lord’s people and provide for their needs.

The needy are all around us.  We encounter them on a regular basis.

FAITH ACTION:  If you know of someone in need either materially, emotionally, or spiritually, make sure that you provide for them this day.