Although we are all used to Lent beginning on what is now known as Ash Wednesday, it used to begin on a Monday. The earliest evidence of the observance of Lent was the beginning of a forty day penitential period before Easter for the “public” sinners of a community. This forty day period of public penance gradually developed into a penitential season for all baptized Christians.
For the first century or more of the Church’s history, the forty days before the celebration of Easter saw the Church gather and proclaim the Gospel that we hear today, the scene of the Last Judgment where Jesus separates the sheep from the goats. After proclaiming the Gospel, those who were recognized as public sinners were asked to leave the assembly and spent the next forty days at the entrance to the church clothed in sack cloth and ashes where everyone who entered could see them. These people were generally guilty of one of three sins: murder, adultery, or apostasy. At the end of the forty days, on what we now all Holy Thursday and the celebration of the Lord's Supper, they were readmitted to the church and allowed to wear the white robe of their baptism again. This ritual was allowed only once in the life of the individual Christian. If the sinner fell again, he or she was permanently excluded from the assembly.
This ancient practice was not only the beginning of the history of Lent but also is the beginning of the celebration of what we now call the Sacrament of Penance or of Reconciliation. Sometime during the Middle Ages, the practice of “going to confession” was extended to all Christians. The penitent confessed his/her sins and was given a penance to complete. As the Church continued to develop, the practice of celebrating this sacrament became more frequent. Canon Law required that anyone guilty of serious (mortal) sin was required to go to confession sometime between Ash Wednesday and the Feast of Pentecost. This was known as one’s “Easter Duty.” Annual confession for serious sins is still required as one of the Commandments of the Church.
Those who raise sheep and goats in our own day would probably maintain that separating them into the good and the bad is a dubious distinction. However, there is one difference that exists between them. Goats will consume anything in their path whereas sheep are generally more discriminating in their choice of fodder.
The Gospel of St. Matthew envisions the judgment scene as a judgment of nations rather than individuals. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:31-33). The Gospel goes on to enumerate the actions that the sheep performed that resulted in their inheriting a place in the Kingdom of God. Conversely, the goats are accused of failing to perform these actions. It is quite natural to come to the conclusion that the sheep “earned” a place in the Kingdom through their actions and that the goats were denied because they did not perform them. However, we know that our salvation is not earned; rather it is freely given by God. Consequently, it is important to see the actions of the sheep not so much as an attempt to earn heaven as the manifestation of their love for God. Jesus states that performing works of mercy for the “least” is the same as performing them for Him. They are manifestations of love for Jesus.
As we ponder this Gospel reading today, it is important to note that the actions of feeding the hungry and giving drink to the thirsty, of clothing the naked and of visiting the sick and imprisoned are the sole criteria by which the nations are judged. I have to admit that in all the years that I have been a confessor, I have heard very few people accuse themselves of failing to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, or visit the sick or imprisoned. Perhaps we have begun to look at these actions are optional. The Gospel for today seems to indicate otherwise.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator