# Preparation for death/XXV. THE GENERAL JUDGMENT

CONSIDERATION XXV
The General Judgment
"The Lord is known to execute judgment." Ps. ix. 16.
First Point.
If now we consider well, there is no person in the world more despised than Jesus Christ. We take more account of a peasant than we do of God; because we fear, if we have offended such an one, lest he being filled with wrath, should avenge himself; but we commit offences against God over and over again as if God were not able to avenge Himself whenever it pleases Him so to do. " Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them?" (Job xxii. 17.) But therefore it is that the Redeemer has appointed a day which will be the day of general judgment, called, even in Holy Scripture, " The day of the Lord," in which Jesus Christ will be known to be that Sovereign Lord, Who indeed He is. " The Lord is known to execute judgment." (Ps. ix. 16.) Hence such a day is no longer called a day of mercy and pardon, but " a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess." (Zeph. i. 15.) Yes, for then will the Lord very justly redeem to Himself the honour which sinners during this life have sought to deprive Him of. Let us try to imagine in what way the judgment of that great day will come to pass.
Before the Judge shall come, "there shall go a fire before Him." (Ps. xcvii. 3.) Fire shall come from heaven which will burn the earth, and all the things of the earth, " The earth also ​and the works that are therein shall be burned up." (2 S. Pet. iii. 10.) So that palaces, churches, towns, cities, kingdoms, all, will become a pile of ashes. This house, all polluted as it is with sin, will be purged with fire. Behold the end which all the riches, the pomps, and the pleasures of this world will have. For those who are dead, the trumpet will sound, and they will all arise. " For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised." (i Cor. xv. 52.) S. Jerome observes, "As often as I reflect upon the day of judgment, I tremble: that trumpet seems ever to resound in my ears, Arise, ye dead, and come to judgment." At the sound of that trumpet the beautiful souls of the Blessed, will descend to be united to their bodies with which they have served God in this life; but the miserable souls of the lost will ascend from hell, to be united to those accursed bodies with which they have offended God.
Oh, what a difference will there be, then, between the bodies of those who are Blessed and the bodies of those who are lost. The Blessed will appear beautiful, lovely, and more resplendent than the sun. " Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun." (S. Matt. xiii. 43.) O happy he, who in this life knows how to mortify his flesh by refusing to it pleasures that are forbidden; and who, in order to keep it more under control, refuses it even the lawful pleasures of the senses, and ill-treats it as the saints have done! Oh, what happiness will he derive from it at that time!
On the other hand, the bodies of the lost, will appear deformed, black, and offensive. Oh, what anguish will the lost soul feel upon being united to its body! The soul will exclaim, " Accursed body, in order to please thee I am lost." And the body will reply, " Accursed soul, when thou hadst reason in thy power, wherefore didst thou grant me those pleasures which have caused both thee and me to be lost for all eternity?"
Affections and Prayers.
Ah, my Jesus and my Redeemer, Thou Who one day will be my Judge, do Thou pardon me before that day shall arrive. "Cast me not away from Thy presence." (Ps. li. 11.) Now Thou art a Father to me, and as that Father do Thou receive ​into Thy favour a son who returns repentant to Thy feet. My Father, I ask pardon from Thee. I have offended Thee unjustly, I have left Thee wrongfully. Thou didst not deserve to be treated as I have treated Thee. I repent and I grieve with all my heart. Pardon me. "Cast me not away from Thy presence," (Ps. li. 11). Do not turn away Thy face from me; do not drive me from Thee as I deserve that Thou shouldst. Remember the Blood which Thou hast shed for me, and have mercy upon me. My Jesus, I desire no other Judge than Thee.
S. Thomas of Villanova said, " I willingly submit to the judgment of Him Who died for me, and that I might not be condemned, suffered Himself to be condemned to the cross." And before him, S. Paul said, " Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died .... for us." (Rom. viii. 34.) My Father, I love Thee, and for the time to come, I wish never more to leave Thy feet.
Do Thou forget the wrongs which I have committed against Thee, and give me a great love towards Thy goodness. I desire to love Thee more than I have sinned against Thee, but if Thou dost not help me, I am unable to love Thee. Help me, my Jesus; make me live a life ever grateful to Thy love, so that in that day I may be found "in the valley, amongst the number of Thy lovers.
Second Point.
When all those who are dead shall have arisen, it shall be intimated to them by the angels that they must all go to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, there to be judged, " Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near." (Joel iii. 14.) Then when all are assembled there, the angels shall come, and shall separate the wicked from the just, " The angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just." (S. Matt. xiii. 49.) The just will remain on the right hand, and the wicked will be banished to the left hand. What anguish it would cause any one to be expelled from society or from the Church. But how much greater anguish will it cause that one who is expelled from the company of the saints? How, think you, the wicked will be confounded when the just ​being separated, they will be abandoned? S. Chrysostom observes, that if those who are condemned should have no other punishment, this confusion alone would be enough to constitute a hell. The son shall be separated from the father, the husband from the wife, the master from the servant. " The one shall be taken, and the other left." (S. Matt. xxiv. 40.) Tell me, my brother, which place thou thinkest will then be thine? Dost thou wish to be found on the right hand? Then leave the life which leads thee to the left.
Now in this life princes and rich ones are esteemed fortunate, and the saints who live in poverty and humility are despised. Oh, faithful ones who love God, do not grieve upon seeing yourselves so despised and afflicted in this earth! " Your sorrows shall be turned into joy." (S. John xvi. 20.) Then you will be called the truly fortunate, and you will have the honour of being declared one of those who belong to the court of Jesus Christ. Oh, how great will appear many of the saints, some of whom were branded as apostates, others treated as if mad, others renouncing high positions to die in prisons. Oh, what honours, then, will so many martyrs possess who have been ill-treated by their executioners. " Then shall every man have praise of God." (i Cor. iv. 5.) And, on the other hand, what a horrible spectacle will Herod, Pilate, and Nero make, and many others who were great ones of the world, but were afterwards for ever lost. Oh, lovers of the world, in the Valley, in the Valley I am expecting you. There, without doubt, you will change your feelings. There, you will weep over your folly. Miserable ones, who, in order to make a short appearance upon the stage of this world, will afterwards have to act the part of the lost, in the tragedy 01 judgment. The elect, therefore, will be placed on the right hand; nay, for their greater glory, according to S. Paul, they will be raised in the air beyond the clouds, to go with the angels to meet Jesus Christ Who will come from heaven. " We .... shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air." (i Thess. iv. 17.) And the condemned, like so many goats destined to the slaughter, shall be confined upon the left hand to await their Judge, Who will make a public condemnation against all His enemies.
​But, behold the heavens are opening, and the angels are coming to assist at the judgment, and are bearing the tokens of the passion of Jesus Christ. S. Thomas remarks, saying, "When the Lord comes to judgment, the sign of the Cross and other marks of His Passion will be seen." Especially will the Cross appear: " And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn. (S. Matt. xxiv. 30.) Cornelius a Lapide observes, " Oh, how sinners will then weep upon seeing the Cross, even those sinners who, during life, esteemed their eternal salvation of so little value, which salvation cost the Son of God so much." Then declares S. Chrysostom, " The nails will complain of thee, the wounds will speak against thee, the Cross of Christ will proclaim against thee." The holy apostles, with all their imitators, will act as assessors, at this judgment, who, together with Jesus Christ, will judge the nations. "They shall shine .... they shall judge nations." (Wisd. iii. 7, 8.) Finally, the Judge Himself shall come upon a throne of power and light. " And they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." (S. Matt xxiv. 30.) " Before their face the people shall be much pained." (Joel ii. 6.) The sight of Jesus Christ will console the elect, but to the wicked it will bring more anguish than hell itself. S. Jerome thought that, to the lost the punishments of hell will be easier to bear than the presence of the Lord.
S. Teresa said, " My Jesus, do Thou give me every anguish, but do not suffer me to behold Thy face wrathful against me at that day." And S. Basil, " This confusion surpasses all pain." Then will come to pass what S. John predicted, that the lost will pray to the mountains to fall upon them and to hide them from the sight of the angry Judge, and will say " to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." (Rev. vi. 16.)
Affections and Prayers.
O my dear Redeemer, O Lamb of God, Who didst come into the world not indeed to punish, but to pardon sins. Ah! do Thou pardon me quickly, before that day shall come in which ​Thou wilt have to be my Judge. At that time the sight of Thee, Thou Lamb of God, Who hast had so much patience with me, in bearing with me, would be the hell of hells if I should be lost. Ah, I repent, pardon me quickly; draw me with Thy merciful hand from the precipice where I have fallen, through my sins. I repent, O Sovereign Good, for having offended Thee, and for having offended Thee so much. I love Thee, my Judge, Who hast loved me so much. Ah, through the merits cf Thy death, bestow such a grace upon me as may change me from a sinner into a saint. Thou hast promised to hear those, who pray to Thee: " Call unto me, and I will answer thee." (Jer. xxxiii. 3.) I ask Thee not for earthly goods; I ask for Thy grace, Thy love, and for nothing else. Hear me, my Jesus, through that love which Thou didst bear me, dying for me upon the Cross. My beloved Judge, I am the guilty one, but I am the guilty one who loves Thee more than he loves himself. Do Thou have mercy upon me.
Third Point.
But behold the judgment already begins. The trials are brought on; that is to say, the conscience of each one is disclosed. " The judgment was set, and the books were opened." (Dan. vii. 10.) In the first place, the devils will be the witnesses against the wicked, who will say, according to S. Augustine, " Most just God, adjudge him to be mine who was unwilling to be Thine." In the second place, their own consciences will be witnesses against them: "their conscience also bearing witness." (Rom. ii. 15.) Moreover, the very walls of that house in which the sinner has offended God will be witnesses against them, and shall cry for vengeance, " For the stone shall cry out of the wall." (Hab. ii. 11.) Finally, the Judge Himself shall be a witness against them, Who has been present at the time that all the offences have been committed against Him. " Even I know, and am a witness, saith the Lord." (Jer. xxix. 23.) S. Paul says, that then the Lord " will bring to light the hidden things of darkness." (i Cor. iv. 5.) He will make known to all men the most secret and shameful sins of the wicked which have been ​unknown during life: " I will discover thy skirts upon thy face." (Nahum iii. 5.)
The Master of the Sentences, with others, considers that the sins of the elect will not then be manifested, but be hidden, according to what David said, " Blessed is he whose unrighteousness is forgiven, and whose sin is covered." (Ps. xxxii. i.)
On the contrary, S. Basil tells us, that the sins of the wicked shall be seen by all at a glance, as in a picture. S. Thomas observes that if, in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus Christ said, " I am He," all the soldiers who were come forth to take Him went backward and fell to the ground. What will it be when He, sitting as a Judge, shall say to the lost, " Behold, I am He Whom thou hast so much despised?" What will He do, when about to judge, who so did, being judged?
But let us hasten on to the sentence. Jesus Christ will, in the first place, turn towards the elect, to whom He will address these sweet words, " Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." (S. Matt. xxv. 34.) Will it not be, indeed, great joy to hear the Judge exclaim, " Come, ye blessed children, come to the kingdom; no longer will there be any trouble for you; no longer any fear. Already you are, and ever will be, safe for ever. I bless the Blood which I once shed for you, and I bless the tears which you have shed because of your sins; let us quickly enter Paradise, where we shall be together for all eternity." And thus, singing Alleluias, the righteous will enter heaven in triumph, to possess, to praise, and to love God for all eternity.
On the other hand, the lost, turning to Jesus Christ, will say to Him, "And we, poor miserable ones that we are, what are we to do? " The Eternal Judge will then say, " Since you have renounced and despised My grace Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire." (S. Matt. xxv. 41.) Depart from Me, for never more do I wish to see you, neither to hear of you. Go, and go accursed, since you have despised My Blessing." And where, Lord, are the miserable ones to go? " Into everlasting fire." Into hell, to burn in the soul and in the body. And for how many years, and for how many ages? " Into everlasting fire," even for all eternity, whilst God shall be God. After this ​sentence, observes S. Ephraim, the wicked shall be bid farewell by the angels, by the saints, and by their relations. Farewell, ye just; farewell, O Cross; farewell, heaven; farewell, fathers and children; for we shall behold you never more.
And so, in the middle of the valley, a great pit will be opened, where the devils and the lost will fall together, who will hear,
God, those doors to shut behind them which will never open more. Never, never more, through all eternity. Oh, accursed sin, to what a wretched end wilt thou one day lead so many wretched souls? Oh unhappy souls, for whom this wretched end is being preserved!
Affections and Prayers.
Ah, my Saviour and God, what will be the sentence concerning me in that day? If now, my Jesus, Thou shouldst demand an account of my life, what answer could I make, except to tell Thee that I deserve hell a thousand times over? Yes, it is true, my dear Redeemer, I do deserve hell a thousand times; but Thou knowest that I love Thee, and that I love Thee more than love myself; and for the offences which I have committed against Thee, I feel so grieved that it would please me more to have suffered every evil rather than to have displeased Thee. Thou didst condemn, O my Jesus, those sinners who were obstinate in their sins, but not those who repented, and wished to love Thee. Behold me at Thy feet repentant; make me to feel that Thou has pardoned me. But already dost Thou make me hear by the prophet, " Turn ye unto Me, .... and I will turn unto you." (Zech. i. 3.) I leave everything, I renounce all the pleasures and the wealth of the world, and I turn and embrace Thee, my loved Redeemer. Ah, receive me into Thy heart, and there inflame me with Thy holy love; inflame me so much that I may never more think of becoming separated from Thee. My
Jesus, save me, and may my eternal happiness be ever spent in loving and in praising Thy mercy. " My song shall be always of the loving-kindness of the Lord." (Ps. lxxxix. 1.)