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Judgment |
"When
the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he
will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be
assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place
the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 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 thirsty
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.' Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord,
when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you
drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked
and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit
you?' And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you,
whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did
for me.' Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me,
you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his
angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty
and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome,
naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did
not care for me.' Then they will answer and say, 'Lord, when did
we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in
prison, and not minister to your needs?' He will answer them,
'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least
ones, you did not do for me.' And these will go off to eternal
punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." (Our Lord
Jesus Christ, Mt. 25:31-46)
"Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to his Son the possession of life in himself. And he gave him power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation.
I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me."
(Our Lord Jesus Christ, Jn. 5:25-30)
"[W]e
shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is
written: 'As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend before
me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.' So (then) each of
us shall give an account of himself (to God)." (Rom 14:10-12)
"For we must all appear
before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil."
(2 Cor. 5:10)
"Make no mistake: God is not mocked, for a person will reap only what he
sows" (Gal. 6:7)
"And
as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the
judgment" (Heb. 9:27)
"Next I saw a large white throne and the one who was sitting on it. The earth and the sky fled from his presence and there was no place for them. I saw the dead, the great and the lowly, standing before the throne, and scrolls were opened. Then another scroll was opened, the book of life.
The dead were judged according to their deeds, by what was written in the scrolls. The sea gave up its dead; then Death and Hades
gave up their dead. All the dead were judged according to their deeds. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the pool of fire. (This pool of fire is the second death.
Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the pool of fire."
(Rv. 20:11-15)
"Fear
the day of judgement." (St. Benedict)
"Two
events await each person: death and judgment."
"In
the day of judgement no one can excuse himself." (Pope
Pelagius II, c. 585 A.D.)
"Live
in fear of the day of judgement and have a great horror of
hell." [St. Benedict (Rule)]
"Let
none then doubt that the last judgment will be by Christ
Himself." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church)
"When
God comes to judge you, you will not be able to say that you did
not know what you should have done." (St. John Vianney)
"For
no one is redeemed except through unmerited mercy, and no one is
condemned except through merited judgment." (St. Augustine,
Doctor of the Church)
"The rewards or punishments appointed for men after the
particular judgment are heaven, purgatory, or hell."
(Baltimore Catechism)
"The resurrection of the dead shall take place at the end
of the world, and shall be followed by the General Judgment."
(Catechism of Pope St. Pius X)
"The judgment which will be passed on all men immediately
after the general resurrection is called the general
judgment." (Baltimore Catechism)
"The judgment which will be passed on each one of us
immediately after death is called the particular judgment."
(Baltimore Catechism)
"Let
no one, because judgement is delayed, tickle himself with flattery
in respect to deserved punishment; for His wrath is kindled
suddenly." (St. Hilary of Poitiers, Doctor of the Church)
"My children, God will not say to us at the Day of
Judgment, 'Give Me an account of thy body'; but, 'Give Me an account of thy soul; what hast thou done with
it?'" (Catechism of the Cure de Ars)
"Consider
that when the soul quits the body, it must go either to the left
hand or to the right. Whither will yours go? Which will be its
path? Even such as it has chosen while on earth." (St.
Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Church)
"Most
just is it also that He who was most iniquitously condemned by the
judgment of men should Himself be afterwards seen by all men
sitting in judgment on all." (Catechism of the Council of
Trent)
"The
Sacred Scriptures inform us that the general judgment will be
preceded by these three principal signs: the preaching of the
Gospel throughout the world, a falling away from the faith, and
the coming of Antichrist." (Catechism of the Council of
Trent)
"We
always have two secretaries: the devil, who writes down our bad
actions, to accuse us of them; and our good angel, who writes down
our good ones, to justify us at the Day of Judgment."
(Catechism of the Cure de Ars)
"Nothing
but crosses will reassure us at the Day of Judgment. When that day
shall come, we shall be happy in our misfortunes, proud of our
humiliations, and rich in our sacrifices!" (Catechism of the Cure de Ars)
"We
know that we shall all stand before the tribunal of Christ, so
that each may receive in accord with those things he did in the
body, whether good or evil, and not according to what he might
have done had he lived longer." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the
Church)
Q:
"If everyone is judged immediately after death, why will
there be a general judgment?" A: "Although everyone is judged
immediately after death, it is fitting that there be a general
judgment in order that the justice, wisdom, and mercy of God may
be glorified in the presence of all." (Baltimore Catechism)
"Our
catechism tells us, my children, that all men will undergo a particular judgment on the day of their death. No sooner shall we have breathed our last sigh than our soul, without
leaving the place where it has expired, will be presented before the tribunal of God. Wherever we may die, God is there to exercise His justice." (Catechism of the Cure
de Ars)
Q:
"If every one has to be judged by Jesus Christ in
particular judgment immediately after death, why must all be
judged in the general judgment?" A: "We must all be judged in the
general judgment for several reasons: (1) That God may be
glorified; (2) That Jesus Christ may be glorified; (3) That the
Saints may be glorified; (4) That the wicked may be confounded;
(5) That along with the soul the body may receive its sentence of
reward or punishment." (Catechism of Pope St. Pius X)
"Since
we know these things and are well aware of that terrible day and
of that fire, and have in mind those terrible torments, let us
turn aside at last from the path on which we have strayed. For the
hour will come when the theater of this world will be dissolved,
after which there will be no more contending for the prize, no
more exertions to be made after the end of this life, no more
crowns to be merited after the collapse of this theater. This is
the time for repentance, that the time of judgment." (St.
John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church)
"Moreover,
we declare that according to the common arrangement of God, the
souls of those who depart in actual mortal sin immediately after
their death descend to hell where they are tortured by infernal
punishments, and that nevertheless on the day of judgment all men
with their bodies will make themselves ready to render an account
of their own deeds before the tribunal of Christ, 'so that
everyone may receive the proper things of the body according as he
has done whether it be good or evil' [2 Cor. 5:10]." (Pope
Benedict XII, 1336 A.D.)
"Since
'in many things we all offend' (Jas. 3:2), each one ought to keep
severity and judgment in view as well as mercy and goodness.
Neither should anyone pass judgment on himself, even if he is
conscious of no wrong, because the entire life of man should be
examined and judged not by human judgment, but by the judgment of
God who 'will both bring to light the things hidden in darkness and
make manifest the counsels of hearts; and then everyone will have
his praise from God' (1 Cor 4:5), who, as it is written, will
render to every man according to his works (see Rom 2:6)."
(Council of Trent)
"Notwithstanding
the uncertainty of death, the uncertainty of the judgment conduces
to watchfulness in two ways. First, as regards the thing ignored,
since its delay is equal to the length of man's life, so that on
either side uncertainty provokes him to greater care. Secondly,
for the reason that a man is careful not only of his own person,
but also of his family, or of his city or kingdom, or of the whole
Church, the length of whose duration is not dependent on the
length of man's life. And yet it behooves each of these to be so
ordered that the day of the Lord find us not unprepared."
(St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest
theologian in the history of the Church")
"We
shall rise again, therefore, our souls united again to our bodies,
the latter now made incorruptible and having put corruption aside;
and we shall stand before the awesome tribunal of Christ. And the
devil and his demons, and the man that is his, the Antichrist, and
the impious and the sinners shall be consigned to everlasting
fire, not material fire such as we know, but such fire as God
would know. And those who have performed good actions will shine
like the sun with the angels in eternal life, with our Lord
Jesus Christ, seeing Him forever and being ever in His sight, and
deriving increasing joy from Him, praising Him with Father and
Holy Spirit in the infinite ages of ages. Amen." (St. John
Damascene, Doctor of the Church, c. 8th century A.D.)
"I
think that not all who have received this earthly body will be
judged in the same way by the just Judge; for there are external
circumstances far different with each of us which must cause
judgement to vary for each of us. The combination of circumstances
to which we are subject and which are not in our power but are
involuntary, makes our sins more grievous or even renders them
lighter...[If someone who falls into sin] had many invitations to
better things - education, teachers, hearing more divine
discussions, salutary readings...if he falls into the same sin as
the other [who did not have these things], how were it possible,
when he is called to account for his life, that he would not be
deserving of a more severe penalty than the other?"
(St. Basil the Great, Doctor of the Church)
"Oh,
what a day that will be, and how great when it comes, dearest
brethren! When the Lord begins to survey His people and to
recognize by examining with divine knowledge the merits of each
individual! To cast into hell evildoers, and to condemn our
persecutors to the eternal fire and punishing flame! And indeed,
to present to us the reward of faith and devotion! What will be
that glory, and how great the joy of being admitted to the sight
of God! To be so honored as to receive the joy of eternal light
and salvation in the presence of Christ the Lord, your God! To
greet Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the patriarchs,
apostles, prophets, and martyrs! To rejoice with the just and with
the friends of God in the Kingdom of heaven, in the delight of the
immortality that will be given! To receive there what eye has not
seen nor ear heard, what has entered into the heart of man!"
(St. Cyprian of Carthage, 253 A.D.)
"It
has likewise defined, that, if those truly penitent have departed
in the love of God, before they have made satisfaction by the
worthy fruits of penance for sins of commission and omission, the
souls of these are cleansed after death by purgatorial
punishments; and so that they may be released from punishments of
this kind, the suffrages of the living faithful are of advantage
to them, namely, the sacrifices of Masses, prayers, and
almsgiving, and other works of piety, which are customarily
performed by the faithful for other faithful according to the
institutions of the Church. And that the souls of those, who after
the reception of baptism have incurred no stain of sin at all, and
also those, who after the contraction of the stain of sin whether
in their bodies, or when released from the same bodies, as we have
said before, are purged, are immediately received into heaven, and
see clearly the one and triune God Himself just as He is, yet
according to the diversity of merits, one more perfectly than
another. Moreover, the souls of those who depart in actual mortal
sin or in original sin only, descend immediately into hell but to
undergo punishments of different kinds." (Council of
Florence, 1439 A.D.)
"For
I confess that all men from Adam, even to the consummation of the
world, having been born and having died with Adam himself and his
wife, who were not born of other parents, but were created, the
one from the earth, the other... however, from the rib of the man
[cf. Gen. 2:7, 22], will then rise again and stand before the
Judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the proper
things of the body, according as he has done, whether it be good
or bad [Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10]; and indeed by the very bountiful
grace of God he will present the just, as vessels of mercy
prepared beforehand for glory [Rom. 9:23], with the rewards of
eternal life; namely, they will live without end in the society of
the angels without any fear now of their own fall; the wicked,
however, remaining by choice of their own with vessels of wrath
fit for destruction [Rom. 9:22], who either did not know the way
of the Lord, or knowing it left it when seized by various
transgressions, He will give over by a very just judgment to the
punishment of eternal and inextinguishable fire, that they may
burn without end. This, then, is my faith and hope, which is in me
by the gift of the mercy of God, in defense of which blessed Peter
taught [cf. 1 Pet 3:15] that we ought to be especially ready to
answer everyone who asks us for an accounting." (Pope
Pelagius, from the letter "Humani generis" to Childebert
I, 557 A.D.)
"[T]he
details mentioned in the Gospels and Epistles in connection with
the last advent are not sufficient to enable us to determine the
time of the judgment, for the trials that are foretold as
announcing the proximity of Christ's coming occurred even at the
time of the Early Church, in a degree sometimes more sometimes
less marked; so that even the days of the apostles were called the
last days (Acts 2:17) when Peter expounded the saying of Joel
2:28, 'It shall come to pass in the last days,' etc., as referring
to that time. Yet it was already a long time since then: and
sometimes there were more and sometimes less afflictions in the
Church. Consequently it is impossible to decide after how long a
time it will take place, nor fix the month, year, century, or
thousand years as Augustine says in the same book (Ep. 199 ad
Hesychius). And even if we are to believe that at the end these
calamities will be more frequent, it is impossible to fix what
amount of such calamities will immediately precede the judgment
day or the coming of Antichrist, since even at the time of the
Early Church persecutions were so bitter, and the corruptions of
error were so numerous, that some looked forward to the coming of
Antichrist as being near or imminent; as related in Eusebius'
History of the Church vi,7 and in Jerome's book De Viris
Illustribus lii." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church
and "greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"But,
perhaps there are some rich people, who, although they are not
wont to help the Church's poor by bounteous gifts, yet keep other
commands of God, and among their many meritorious acts of faith
and uprightness think they will be pardoned for the lack of this
one virtue. But this is so important that, though the rest exist
without it, they can be of no avail. For although a man be full of
faith, and chaste, and sober, and adorned with other still greater
decorations, yet if he is not merciful, he cannot deserve mercy:
for the Lord says, 'blessed are the merciful, for God shall have
mercy upon them.' And when the Son of Man comes in His Majesty and
is seated on His glorious throne, and all nations being gathered
together, division is made between the good and the bad, for what
shall they be praised who stand upon the right except for works of
benevolence and deeds of love which Jesus Christ shall reckon as
done to Himself? For He who has made man's nature His own, has
separated Himself in nothing from man's humility. And what
objection shall be made to those on the left except for their
neglect of love, their inhuman harshness, their refusal of mercy
to the poor? as if those on the right had no other virtues and those
on the left no other faults. But at the great and final day of
judgment large-hearted liberality and ungodly meanness will be
counted of such importance as to outweigh all other virtues and
all other shortcomings, so that for the one men shall gain
entrance into the Kingdom, for the other they shall be sent into
eternal fire." (Pope St. Leo the Great, Doctor of the Church)
"Some
men have held the opinion that the souls of the saints shall not
be rewarded in heaven, nor the souls of the lost punished in hell,
until the Judgment-day. That this is false appears from the
testimony of the Apostle (2 Corinthians 5:8), where he says: 'We
are confident and have a good will to be absent rather from the
body, and to be present with the Lord': that is, not to walk by
faith but by sight, as appears from the context. But this is to
see God in His Essence, wherein consists eternal life, as is clear
from John 17:3. Hence it is manifest that the souls separated from
bodies are in eternal life. Consequently, it must be maintained
that after death man enters into an unchangeable state as to all
that concerns the soul: and therefore there is no need for
postponing judgment as to the reward of the soul. But since there
are some other things pertaining to a man which go on through the
whole course of time, and which are not foreign to the Divine
judgment, all these things must be brought to judgment at the end
of time. For although in regard to such things a man neither
merits nor demerits, still in a measure they accompany his reward
or punishment. Consequently all these things must be weighed in
the final judgment... Although the reward or punishment of the body
depends upon the reward or punishment of the soul, nevertheless,
since the soul is changeable only accidentally, on account of the
body, once it is separated from the body it enters into an
unchangeable condition, and receives its judgment. But the body
remains subject to change down to the close of time: and therefore
it must receive its reward or punishment then, in the last
Judgment." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"Each
man is both an individual person and a part of the whole human
race: wherefore a twofold judgment is due to him. One, the
particular judgment, is that to which he will be subjected after
death, when he will receive according as he hath done in the body
(2 Corinthians 5:10), not indeed entirely but only in part since
he will receive not in the body but only in the soul. The other
judgment will be passed on him as a part of the human race: thus a
man is said to be judged according to human justice, even when
judgment is pronounced on the community of which he is a part.
Hence at the general judgment of the whole human race by the
general separation of the good from the wicked, it follows that
each one will be judged. And yet God will not judge 'the same
thing a second time,' since He will not inflict two punishments
for one sin, and the punishment which before the judgment was not
inflicted completely will be completed at the last judgment, after
which the wicked will be tormented at the same time in body and
soul... The sentence proper to this general judgment is the general
separation of the good from the wicked, which will not precede
this judgment. Yet even now, as regards the particular sentence on
each individual, the judgment does not at once take full effect
since even the good will receive an increase of reward after the
judgment, both from the added glory of the body and from the
completion of the number of the saints. The wicked also will
receive an increase of torment from the added punishment of the
body and from the completion of the number of damned to be
punished, because the more numerous those with whom they will
burn, the more will they themselves burn.... The general judgment
will regard more directly the generality of men than each
individual to be judged, as stated above. Wherefore although
before that judgment each one will be certain of his condemnation
or reward, he will not be cognizant of the condemnation or reward
of everyone else. Hence the necessity of the general
judgment." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"I
answer that, Judgment cannot be passed perfectly upon any
changeable subject before its consummation: just as judgment
cannot be given perfectly regarding the quality of any action
before its completion in itself and in its results: because many
actions appear to be profitable, which in their effects prove to
be hurtful. And in the same way perfect judgment cannot be passed
upon any man before the close of his life, since he can be changed
in many respects from good to evil, or conversely, or from good to
better, or from evil to worse. Hence the Apostle says (Hebrews
9:27): 'It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the
Judgment.' But it must be observed that although man's temporal
life in itself ends with death, still it continues dependent in a
measure on what comes after it in the future. In one way, as it
still lives on in men's memories, in which sometimes, contrary to
the truth, good or evil reputations linger on. In another way in a
man's children, who are so to speak something of their parent,
according to Ecclesiasticus 30:4: 'His father is dead, and he is
as if he were not dead, for he hath left one behind him that is
like himself.' And yet many good men have wicked sons, and
conversely. Thirdly, as to the result of his actions: just as from
the deceit of Arius and other false leaders unbelief continues to
flourish down to the close of the world; and even until then faith
will continue to derive its progress from the preaching of the
apostles. In a fourth way, as to the body, which is sometimes
buried with honor and sometimes left unburied, and finally falls
to dust utterly. In a fifth way, as to the things upon which a
man's heart is set, such as temporal concerns, for example, some
of which quickly lapse, while others endure longer. Now all these
things are submitted to the verdict of the Divine Judgment; and
consequently, a perfect and public Judgment cannot be made of all
these things during the course of this present time. Wherefore,
there must be a final Judgment at the last day, in which
everything concerning every man in every respect shall be
perfectly and publicly judged." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor
of the Church and "greatest theologian in the history of the
Church")
"When
shall we die? Alas! will it be in a year, in a month? Perhaps
tomorrow, perhaps today! May not that happen to us which happens
to so many others? It may be that at a moment when you are
thinking of nothing but amusing yourself, you may be summoned to
the judgment of God, like the impious Baltassar. What will then be
the astonishment of that soul entering on its eternity? Surprised,
bewildered, separated thenceforth from its relations and friends,
and, as it were, surrounded with Divine light, it will find in its
Creator no longer a merciful Father, but an inflexible Judge.
Imagine to yourselves, my children, a soul at its departure from
this life. It is going to appear before the tribunal of its Judge,
alone with God; there is Heaven on one side, Hell on the other.
What object presents itself before it? The picture of its whole
life! All its thoughts, all its words, all its actions, are
examined. This examination will be terrible, my children, because
nothing is hidden from God. His infinite wisdom knows our most
inmost thoughts; it penetrates to the bottom of our hearts, and
lays open their innermost folds. In vain sinners avoid the light
of day that they may sin more freely; they spare themselves a
little shame in the eyes of men, but it will be of no advantage to
them at the day of judgment; God will make light the darkness
under cover of which they thought to sin with impunity. The Holy
Ghost, my children, says that we shall be examined on our words,
our thoughts, our actions; we shall be examined even on the good
we ought to have done, and have not done, on the sins of others of
which we have been the cause. Alas! so many thoughts to which we
abandon ourselves - to which the mind gives itself up; how many in
one day! in a week! in a month! in a year! How many in the whole
course of our life! Not one of this infinite number will escape
the knowledge of our Judge. The proud man must give an account of
all his thoughts of presumption, of vanity, of ambition; the
impure of all his evil thoughts, and of the criminal desires with
which he has fed his imagination. Those young people who are
incessantly occupied with their dress, who are seeking to please,
to distinguish themselves, to attract attention and praise, and
who dare not make themselves known in the tribunal of Penance,
will they be able still to hide themselves at the day of the
judgment of God? No, no! They will appear there such as they have
been during their life, before Him who makes known all that is
most secret in the heart of man. We shall give an account, my
children, of our oaths, of our imprecations, of our curses. God
hears our slanders, our calumnies, our free conversations, our
worldly and licentious songs; He hears also the discourse of the
impious. This is not all, my children; God will also examine our
actions. He will bring to light all our unfaithfulness in His
service, our forgetfulness of His Commandments, our transgression
of His law, the profanation of His churches, the attachment to the
world, the ill-regulated love of pleasure and of the perishable
goods of earth. All, my children, will be unveiled; those thefts,
that injustice, that usury, that intemperance, that anger, those
disputes, that tyranny, that revenge, those criminal liberties,
those abominations that cannot be named without blushes..."
(Catechism of the Cure de Ars)
Also
See: All
Are Tried / Those Who Are Lost Could Have Been Saved | The
State of a Soul at Death Determines Its Eternity | A
Single Unrepented Mortal Sin Is Sufficient to Condemn a Soul to
Hell for All Eternity (Sacraments Section Reflections) | There
is No Confession After Death (Sacraments Section Reflections)
| Now
is the Time for Repentance | Fear
of God | Heaven
| Hell
/ Eternal Damnation | Purgatory
| Suffering
& Death (Catholic Life Section) | Resurrection
| Second
Coming | Jesus
Christ | No
Salvation Outside the Church | Sin
| Mortal
Sin |
Original
Sin | Salvation
| Few
Are Saved | Repentance
| Penance
/ Confession (Sacraments Section Reflections)
| Penance
/ Confession (Sacraments Section)
| Evil
/ Satan / Devil | Tough
Love in the New Testament | Do All 'Good People' Go To
Heaven? / No Salvation Outside the Church | Heaven
(Topical Scripture) | Hell
(Topical Scripture) | Judgment
(Topical Scripture)
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