"Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come." In the midst of the busiest month of the year, the Church invites us to focus our minds and hearts on the coming of Christ.

"For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me . . ." Christ shepherds his people compassionately. He has given us a mandate to join him in reaching out with love to the least of our brethren.

When we realize the blessings God has given us, our best way to say Thank You is to proclaim God's goodness. As Jesus said to the Samaritan leper after his healing: "Stand up and go! Your faith has saved you."

"Come, share your master's joy!" We know not when the Lord will return in glory but until then, we live in his light.

"As for the exact day or hour, no one knows it, neither the angels in heaven nor the Son, but the Father only." The focus of today's Gospel is on the end times, but that is not a cause for fear. It's a call to hope in the saving power of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted." Jesus teaches us an invaluable lesson in humility and discipleship.

"These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress. They have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb." The saints are our role models as they lead us to Christ.

"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart... You shall love your neighbor as yourself." By placing love of neighbor on equal footing with loving God, Jesus single-handedly moved morality forward in one giant leap.

"Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God." If we render to God what belongs to God - our hearts, our very selves - then that which we render to Caesar will be put into proper perspective.

"The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike..." Jesus' invitation is a call to conversion of heart, to turn away from sin and enter a life of grace.