Note: In other words what did you do with your graces received, time, money, physical ability, mental abilities, etc. to try to keep people out of Hell.

2.  It is the common opinion of theologians, that, at the very moment and in the very place in which the soul departs from the body, the divine tribunal is erected, the accusation is read, and the sentence is passed by Jesus Christ, the Judge. At this terrible tribunal each of us shall be presented, to give an account of all our thoughts, of all our words, and of all our actions. "For we must all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the proper things of the body, according as he hath done, whether it be good or evil" - II Cor.,5:10. When presented before an Earthly judge, criminals have been seen to fall into a cold sweat through fear.

It is related of Piso, that, so great and insufferable was the confusion which he felt at the thought of appearing as a criminal before the senate, that he killed himself. How great is the pain of a vassal, or of a son, in appearing before an angry prince or an enraged father, to account for some crime which he has committed! Oh! how much greater shall be the pain and confusion of the soul in standing before Jesus Christ enraged against her for having despised Him during her life! Speaking of judgment, St. Luke says: "Then they shall see the Son of Man" - Luke 21:27. They shall see Jesus Christ as man, with the same wounds with which He ascended into Heaven. "Great joy of the beholders!" says Robert the Abbot, "great terror of those who are in expectation!" These wounds shall console the just, and shall terrify the wicked. In them sinners shall see the Redeemer’s love for themselves, and their ingratitude to Him.

3.  "Who", says the Prophet Nahum, "can stand before the face of His indignation?" - i.6. How great, then, shall be the terror of a soul that finds herself in sin before this Judge, the first time she shall see Him, and shall see him full of wrath! St. Basil says that she shall be tortured more by her shame and confusion than by the very fire of Hell. "Horridior quam ignis, erit pudor". Philip the Second rebuked one of his domestics for having told him a lie. "Is it thus", said the king to him, "you deceive me?" The domestic, after having returned home, died of grief. The Scripture tells us, that when Joseph reproved his brethren, saying: "I am Joseph, whom you sold", they were unable to answer through fear, and remained silent. "His brethren could not answer him, being struck with exceeding great fear" - Gen., xlv: 3. Now, what answer shall sinners make to Jesus Christ when He shall say to them: I am your Redeemer and your Judge, whom you have so much despised? Where shall the miserable beings fly, says St. Augustine, when they shall see an angry Judge above, Hell open below, on one side their own sins accusing them, and on the other the devils dragging them to punishment, and their conscience burning them within? "Above shall be an enraged Judge; below a horrid chaos; on the right, sins accusing him; on the left, demons dragging him to punishment; within, a burning conscience. Whither shall a sinner, beset in this manner, fly?" Perhaps he will cry for mercy? But how, asks Eusebius Emissenus, can he dare to implore mercy, when he must first render an account of his contempt for the mercy which Jesus Christ had shown to him? "With what face will you, who are to be first judged for contempt of mercy, ask for mercy?" But let us come to the rendering of the accounts.

5.  In the first place, the Judge shall demand of sinners an account of all the blessings and graces which He bestowed upon them in order to bring them to salvation, and which they have rendered fruitless. He will demand an account of the years granted to them that they might serve God, and which they have spent in offending Him. "He hath called against me the time" - Lam., 1:15.

He will then demand an account of their sins. Sinners commit sins, and afterwards forget them; but Jesus Christ does not forget them: He keeps, as Job says, all our iniquities numbered, as it were in a bag. "Thou hast sealed up my iniquities, as in a bag" - Job 14:17. And He tells us that, on the day of accounts, He will take a lamp to scrutinize all the actions of our life. "And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps" - Soph., 1:12. The lamp, says Mendoza on this passage, penetrates all the corners of the house—that is, God will discover all the defects of our conscience, great and small. According to St. Anselm, an account shall be demanded of every glance of the eyes. "Exigitur usque ad ictum oculi". And, according to St. Matthew, of every idle word. "Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it on the day of judgment" - Matt., 12:36.

6.  The Prophet Malachy says, that as gold is refined by taking away the dross, so on the day of judgment, all our actions shall be examined; and every defect which may be discovered shall be punished. "He shall purify the sons of Levi, and shall refine them as gold" - Mal., 3:3. Even our justices - that is, our good works, confessions, communions, and prayers - shall be examined. "When I shall take a time, I will judge justices" - Ps., lxxiv: 3. But, if every glance, every idle word, and even good works, shall be judged, with what rigour shall immodest expressions, blasphemies, grievous detractions, thefts, and sacrileges, be judged? Alas! on that day every soul shall, as St. Jerome says, see to her own confusion, all the evils which she has done. "Videbit unusquisque quod fecit."

7.  "Weight and balance are judgments of the Lord" - Prov., 16:11. In the balance of the Lord, a holy life and good works make the scale descend; but nobility, wealth, and science, have no weight. Hence, if found innocent, the peasant, the poor, and the ignorant, shall be rewarded. But the man of rank, of wealth, or of learning, if found guilty, shall be condemned. "Thou art weighted in the balance", said Daniel to Balthassar, "and art found wanting" - Dan., 5:27. "Neither his gold, nor his wealth", says father Alvares, "but the king alone was weighed."

8.  At the divine tribunal, the poor sinner shall see himself accused by the Devil, who, according to St. Augustine, "will recite the words of our profession, and will charge us before our face with all that we have done, will state the day and hour in which we sinned" - Con. jud., tom. VI. He will recite the words of our profession; that is, he will enumerate the promises which we have made to God, and which we afterwards violated. He will charge us before our face; he will upbraid us with all our wicked deeds, pointing to the day and hour in which they were committed. And he will, as the same Saint says, conclude his accusation by saying: "I have suffered neither stripes nor scourges for this man". Lord, I have suffered nothing for this ungrateful sinner, and, to make himself my slave, he has turned his back on Thee, Who has endured so much for his salvation. He, therefore, justly belongs to me. Even his angel-guardian will, according to Origen, come forward to accuse him, and will say: I have laboured so many years for his salvation; but he has despised all my admonitions. "Unusquisque angelorum perhibet testimonium, quot annis circa eum laboraverit, sed ille monita sprevit" - hom., lxvi. Thus, even friends shall treat with contempt the guilty soul. "All her friends have despised her" - Lamen., 1:2. Her very sins shall, says St. Bernard, accuse her. "And they shall say: You have made us; we are your work; we shall not desert you" - Lib., Medit., cap. ii. We are your offspring; we shall not leave you; we shall be your companions in Hell for all eternity.

9.  Let us now examine the excuses which the sinner will be able to advance. He will say, that the evil inclinations of nature had drawn him into sin. But he shall be told, that, if concupiscence impelled him to sins, it did not oblige him to commit them; and that, if he had recourse to God, he should have received from him grace to resist every temptation. For this purpose Jesus Christ has left us the sacraments; but, when we do not make use of them, we can complain only of ourselves.

"But", says the Redeemer, "now they have no excuse for their sin" - John 15:22. To excuse himself, the sinner shall also say, that the Devil tempted him to sin. But, as St. Augustine says, "the enemy is bound like a dog in chains, and can bite only him who has united himself to him with a deadly security". The Devil can bark, but cannot bite, unless you adhere and listen to him. Hence the Saint adds: "See how foolish is the man whom a dog loaded with chains bites". Perhaps he will advance his bad habits as an excuse; but this shall not stand; for the same St. Augustine says, that though it is difficult to resist the force of an evil habit, "if any one does not desert himself, he will conquer it with divine assistance". If a man does not abandon himself to sin, and invokes God’s aid, he will overcome evil habits. The Apostle tells us, that the Lord does not permit us to be tempted above our strength. "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able" - I Cor., 10:13.

10.  "For what shall I do", said Job, "when God shall rise to judge me? and when He shall examine, what shall I answer him?" - Job., 31:14. What answer shall the sinner give to Jesus Christ? How can he, who sees himself so clearly convicted, give an answer? He shall be covered with confusion, and shall remain silent, like the man found without the nuptial garment. "But he was silent" - Matt., 22:12. His very sins shall shut the sinner’s mouth. "And all iniquity shall stop her mouth" - Ps., cvi. 42. There, says St. Thomas of Villanova, there shall be no intercessors, to whom the sinner can have recourse. "There, there is no opportunity of sinning; there, no intercessor, no friend, no father shall assist". Who shall then save you? Is it God? But how, asks St. Basil, can you expect salvation from Him whom you have despised? "Who shall deliver you? Is it God, whom you have insulted?" - S. Bas., Or. 4, de Pen. Alas! the guilty soul that leaves this world in sin, is condemned by herself before the Judge pronounces sentence. Let us come to the sentence of the Judge.

"Will God", they say, "really condemn us?" Brethren, adds the Saint, do not speak thus. So many of the damned did not believe that they should be sent to Hell; but the end came, and, according to the threat of Ezechiel, they have been cast into that place of darkness. "The end is come, the end is come ... and I will send my wrath upon thee, and I will judge thee" - Ezec., 7:2,3.

Sinners, perhaps vengeance is at hand for you, and still you laugh and sleep in sin. Who will not tremble at the words of the Baptist, "For now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree, therefore, that doth not yield good fruit, shall be cut down and cast into the fire" ? - Matt., 3:10. He says, that every tree that does not bring forth good fruit, shall be cut down and cast into the fire: and He promises that, with regard to the trees, which represent sinners, the axe is already laid to the roots - that is, chastisement is at hand. Dearly beloved brethren, let us follow the counsel of the Holy Spirit --"Before judgment, prepare thee justice" - Eccl., 18:19. Let us adjust our accounts before the day of accounts. Let us seek God, now that we can find Him; for the time shall come when we will wish, but shall not be able to find Him. "You shall seek Me, and shall not find Me" - John, 7:36. "Before Judgment", says St. Augustine, "the Judge can be appeased, but not in judgment". By a change of life, we can now appease the anger of Jesus Christ, and recover His grace; but when He shall judge, and find us in sin, He must execute justice, and we shall be lost.

~ ~ ~ ~

Truth of the super-natural order:
All grace starts with God, goes to the hands of the Blessed Virgin, and then into the world. God (Grace Himself) came into the world
by the Blessed Virgin, God never changes, all grace follows the same path to this day and until the end of the world.

 
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