471. Thirty-fourth Wednesday of Ordinary Time

Meditations no. 415 (unofficial computer-aided translation)

At the end of the world, Jesus Christ will come to judge the living and the dead.

At the end of the world there will be the last judgement, when Christ will come to judge all the living and the dead. Our Lord says in the Gospel: for as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of man.

Then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, that is, according to the traditional interpretation, the holy Cross. A stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, despised, considered meaningless, to be avoided at all costs, the holy Cross will one day appear before the astonished gaze of all. The time for meriting and rectifying will cease. Our Lord will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. All who have dwelled on earth since the time of Adam will be gathered together. And they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory and all the angels with him; then he will sit on his glorious throne.

Christ will come in glory so that all may acknowledge him as the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world, the King and Lord of the entire universe. He will show himself to those who denied him or his Church, to those who persecuted him, to those who ignored him, and also to those who sought to love him with deeds. All mankind, every single person, will have to acknowledge his Kingship, some with joy, others with remorse. But all will see clearly that God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

It will be a tremendous moment when we find ourselves facing Christ, the one ordained by God to be judge of the living and dead. to render an account of our deeds. Then the true worth of our life will be seen by Christ and all humanity. Our Father wrote: I would like to go around everywhere, reminding many, confidentially, that God is merciful, but He is also very just! That is why he declared: “I too will disown whoever disowns me before men.”

If we have been faithful, our daily effort to attain sanctity will seem well worthwhile. We will rejoice to see the Cross that we have striven to place at the summit of all human activities, triumphing then over all peoples. And great will be our joy at having spent our whole life as servants whose only concern was to extend the reign of that King, Christ, who is now before us in all his majesty and glory.

The particular judgement at the moment of death.

For all who die before the last judgement, there will have been a particular judgement at the very moment of death. Our Father wrote: That piece of information made me think. Fifty-one million people die every year; ninety-seven every minute. The Master had already told us when he said: the fisherman throws his nets into the sea; the Kingdom of heaven is like a drag-net… , and from the catch the good will be selected; the bad, those that are of no use, will be rejected for ever. Fifty-one million people die every year, ninety-seven every minute. Tell other people as well.

In the particular judgement, everything will come to light before Christ’s tribunal, even the smallest things we have done: thoughts, words and deeds.

All the foolish thoughts, all the absurdities we have failed to reject… ; all our interior weaknesses, which perhaps are so difficult for us to acknowledge, will then be clearly seen. For God will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Our words too will confront us: words at times of vanity; at other times, lying words, or perhaps uncharitable or unjust comments. Everything will come before Jesus’ judgement seat, for he himself told us, on the day of judgement men will render an account for every careless word they utter.

But God will also take into account the words we have uttered for his glory, to draw souls closer to him. My children, our Father told us, I’m obliged to speak clearly to you, since one day - perhaps tomorrow, perhaps within twenty years, whenever God wants -I’ll have to render an account to our Lord for my actions: Redde rationem villicationis tuae (give an account of your stewardship). “Have you spoken clearly to your daughters and sons?” he’ll ask me. You see how I tell you things plainly, with a great love for all souls, and a special love for the Pope and the Church’s hierarchy.

We’ll also be judged by our external deeds: For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, Christ will look for deeds done for love of him and of souls. He will also see every opportunity we had to serve others, to do good, to be demanding on ourselves: opportunities that perhaps we let slip because of our comfort-seeking or scant love.

What will we be able to say on that day, when we face our Lord and our Judge? We feel the weight of so many omissions and shortcomings. And so we appeal now to Jesus, who is infinitely just, but also infinitely merciful, our Friend and the Love of our life. We ask him to change our heart and make it his own. Thus the thought of the particular judgement, which comes immediately after our death, and of the general judgement, will spur us to contrition, to a renewed eagerness to fulfil God’s most lovable will at every moment; and it will also be a cause of joy, as we saw in our Father’s life.

People in love yearn to see each other. Lovers only have eyes for their beloved. Isn’t it only natural? That’s the way the human heart is. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t deeply affected by the thought of contemplating Christ’s face. Vultum tuum, Domine, requiram: Lord, I long to see your face. I love to close my eyes and think that, when God wills, the moment will come when I will be able to see him not as in a mirror dimly, but… face to face. Yes, my children: My heart yearns for Cod, the living God. When shall I go and behold the face of God?

Trusting in Christ, our Judge.

Our Mother the Church doesn’t remind us of the judgement in order to make us anxious at the thought of our failings, or at the demands Christ will make of us. She wants to encourage us in our daily struggle, and help us to respond more faithfully to our vocation. She doesn’t want to frighten us: I know the plans I have for you … plans for welfare and not for evil. Rather, she wants us to have a clear idea of our end and to help us strive upwards every day.

Moreover, Christ will not be an unknown judge for us. We have the immense good fortune of being among the chosen friends of the One who is to judge us. And each day our friendship grows stronger. By fulfilling our Norms, our small mortifications, our acts of love, our constant apostolate, we increasingly identify ourselves with him. Our Father wrote in The Way: “I was amused to hear you speak of the ‘account’ that Our Lord will demand of you. No, for none of you will he be a Judge, in the harsh sense of the word; he will be simply Jesus.” -This phrase, written by a holy Bishop, which has consoled more than one troubled heart, could very well console yours.

By our dedication in the Work, we want to give Jesus everything we are and everything we may become, so that we can devote ourselves entirely to his service. It’s true that at times there isn’t enough refinement in our love. We could do our work and assignments better; we could receive the means of formation more fruitfully; we could carry out a more constant apostolate. It’s also true that we have offended him. However, in spite of everything, we are more in love with our Lord every day, and more resolved to dedicate everything to him. Though we know our faults have offended him, we also know that a small token of our love is enough to draw back his loving gaze. He often smiles at our efforts in our interior life and apostolate.

Besides, as our Father wrote: The Guardian Angel always accompanies us as our principal witness. It is he who, at your particular judgement, will remember the kind deeds you performed for our Lord throughout your life. Furthermore, when you feel lost, before the enemy’s terrible accusations, your Angel will present those intimations of your heart - which perhaps you yourself might have forgotten - those proofs of love for God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.

That is why you must never forget your Guardian Angel, and that Prince of Heaven shall not abandon you now, or at that decisive moment.

Therefore, we view the moment of our judgement with great hope and confidence, since our only aim in life is to please God. How can we be afraid or uneasy when our vocation necessarily entails trying to please Jesus! Furthermore, our Mother will be present, providing her protection and support, as she always has done. Our Lady will do what we ask of her every day: ut loquaris pro nobis bona, say good things about us, with motherly affection.