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TRUE MERCY “As long as you did it …” (see Matthew 25:40)
The late Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical “Dives in Misericordia” (Rich in Mercy), wrote: “The true and proper meaning of mercy is not simply that one gazes, however penetratingly and compassionately, on moral or physical or material evil. No, what is special about true mercy is that it discerns, fosters and elicits good from all forms of evil in the world and in human beings. Thus understood, mercy is the central teaching of Christ’s messianic message and the power that explains His work.”
Therefore, our calling is one of total surrender to the will of God, of living out the mystery of the mystical Body of Christ in a very vivid reality. We are called to see, as the late Mother Teresa of Calcutta did, Jesus Christ in every man, woman and child including the shut-in, the unwanted, the unloved, the alcoholic, the drug addict, the dying, the abandoned, the lonely, the outcast, the leper. In other words, we should see Christ in all those who are considered “burdens” in our society. Once we have seen, we are also called to act! We must lend a hand, give drink to the thirsty, bind the wounded, uphold the weak, lift up the fallen, counsel the doubtful, give ourselves totally in servitude to the Christ amongst us and to allow our hearts to love Him in them.
We must ponder in prayer the merciful love of Christ towards us, His fallen race. We must understand, deep in our hearts, the effect human wretchedness has on the mystical Body of Christ. The wounds we see in the poor, the ill, the abandoned, the sinner, are real wounds in the mystical Body of Christ. “As long as you did it for one of these, the least of My brethren, you did it for Me.” (Matthew 25:40)
The late Mother Teresa was a shining example of heroic self-giving. She realized that the more good deeds she accomplished, the greater the graces, for God begets goodness with more goodness. One must be able to say, like Saint Paul, Mother Teresa and Saint Faustina: “I rejoice now in the suffering I bear for Your sake, and what is lacking in the suffering of Christ, I fill up in my flesh for His Body, which is the Church.” (Col 1:24)
There is no time to be wasted – every minute is precious. You would not want Christ to suffer in front of you and then hear the Judge say: “Away with you; I do not know you.” On the contrary, You must hear Him say “I thirst”, give Him drink and subsequently hear: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Let me close this reflection with the words of Saint Leo the Great: 
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