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Jesus teaches his disciples, and teaches us today, that the works of mercy will ultimately decide their eternal fate! He says, "Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirst y and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me'" (Matthew 25:34- 36). And he warns of hell if we fail in these. The reason that these works of mercy help us get to Heaven is because they are motivated by and performed out of love for Jesus. Love exists in action. It is not merely a senti- ment and does not mature if it remains merely an affection. Love is an act of the will, to seek the good of the other. Our love of God must propel us to action, which can be expressed through the corporal works of mercy. Pope Francis has done a great service for the Church in reminding us regularly that Jesus calls us to have a "preferential option for the poor." In serving the poor, whether mate- rially or spiritually poor, we must remember that our motivation comes from the demands of the Gospel and charit y, not philanthropy. Pope Francis explains, "The poor person, when loved, 'is esteemed as of great value,' and this is what makes the authentic option for the poor differ from any other ideology, from any attempt to exploit the poor for one's own personal or political interest… Only this will ensure that 'in every Christian communit y the poor feel at home. Would not this approach be the greatest and most effective presentation of the good news of the Kingdom?'" 1 In the same way that Jesus calls us to provide for the needs of the materially poor, the Gospel demands that we meet spiritual needs as well. We see Jesus and the apostles after him teach- ing, preaching, challenging and accompanying those they encounter. We, too, are called to do likewise. We are called to preach the Gospel and lead others to encounter Jesus because we love them! This is the love of neighbor! We love our neighbor and serve the poor because God loves them first, and we love God. I invite all of us to examine our love of neighbor and especially our love of the poor as we con- clude Lent and celebrate the Easter season. Ask yourself and pray with the following questions: 1 Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, 199. 4