Automatic translation from Italian, under review.
When we meet a person we have never seen before, we should welcome them as if we had always known them, because we know the most important thing about them: Christ has united them to himself in such a way that loving them means loving him. Jesus, in fact, went so far as to tell us that whatever we would do for one of his least brothers or sisters, we would have done for him (cf. Mt 25:40).
He therefore wished to ‘identify’ himself with each one of us. Speaking of the final judgment, he makes it clear to us that, at the end of our life, we shall be judged only on how much we have concretely loved him, by meeting and loving others. He explains to us that every gesture of attention toward the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, and so on, is an act of love done to him; likewise, what we refuse to do for our neighbor, we deny to him.
It is obvious, then, that loving a hungry person is one thing and loving a thirsty person another: we cannot give water to someone who is hungry or bread to someone who is thirsty; this helps us understand that we must pay attention to the real needs of others.
Every person is unique in the world, no two are alike, and it is not possible to love everyone in the same way. Love must be expressed differently, according to the personality, temperament and needs of the brother or sister with whom we come into contact. The spiritual or material needs of each are different, just as the needs of the various peoples of the earth are different or even conflicting: one need only think of the chasm that divides the countries afflicted by hunger and poverty from those of technology and prosperity.
To build a more just world there is no other road than that of the Gospel. A fairer society begins with us: it cannot come about without first establishing relationships of authentic charity in the environment in which we live. Loving our neighbor is loving Christ; but love is real only if it is concrete and not merely spiritual: it asks us to put in common what we are and what we have.