The particular judgment - the guilty soul before its judge

We must all be manifested before the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Cor. v. 10).

Oh, how great will be the terror of the soul the first time it sees the Redeemer, and beholds His countenance full of wrath! Who shall stand before the face of his indignation? St. Bernard says that the sinful soul will suffer more at seeing the indignation of Jesus Christ than in hell itself.

I. We must all be manifested before the Judgment seat of Christ.

It is the common opinion of Theologians, that the Particular Judgment takes place at the very moment of death; and that on the very spot where the soul is separated from the body, it is judged by Jesus Christ Who will not send another, but will come Himself to judge it according to its works. At what hour you think not the Son of man will come (Luke xii. 40). "He will," says St. Augustine, "come in love to the good, in terror to the wicked." Oh! how great will be the terror of the soul the first time it sees the Redeemer and His countenance full of wrath! Who, says the Prophet Nahum, shall stand before the face of his indignation? (i. 6). This thought made Father Louis de Ponte tremble so as to shake the walls of the cell in which he lay. Hearing the Dies Irae sung, and reflecting on the terror of the soul when it is presented before the tribunal of Jesus Christ, the Venerable Juvenal Ancina took the resolution of forsaking the world. And this resolution he carried out. The sight of the wrath of the Judge will announce the sentence. The wrath of the king is as messengers of death (Prov. xvi. 14). St. Bernard says that the soul will suffer more in seeing the indignation of Jesus Christ than in hell itself. When taken before an earthly judge, criminals have been known to perspire with a cold perspiration. Such was the confusion which Piso felt at the thought of having to appear as a criminal before the Senate, that he killed himself. How great is the pain of a child, or of a vassal, in appearing before an angry parent or an enraged sovereign! Oh, how much greater will be the pain and confusion of the soul when it beholds Jesus Christ enraged against it for the insults it offered to Him during life! They shall look upon him whom they have pierced (Jo. xix. 37). The soul will see in wrath the Lamb that bore with it so patiently during life, and that there is no hope of appeasing His anger. This will make the soul call upon the mountains to fall upon it to hide it from the fury of the wrath of the Lamb (Apoc. vi. 16). Speaking of Judgment, St. Luke says: Then they shall see the Son of man (Luke xxi. 27). Oh! what pain will the sight of the Judge in the form of man excite in the soul of the sinner! The sight of a Man-God Who died for his salvation will upbraid him with his ingratitude.

O my Jesus, I will always call Thee Jesus! Thy Name consoles and encourages me, because it reminds me that Thou art my Saviour Who didst die for my salvation. Behold me at Thy feet. I acknowledge that I have deserved hell as often as I have offended Thee by mortal sin. I am unworthy of pardon, but Thou hast died to merit pardon for me. Pardon me, then, immediately, O my Jesus, before Thou comest to judge me. I shall not then be able to ask pardon: I can now ask it from Thee, and I hope for it.

II. When the Saviour ascended into Heaven, the Angels said to the disciples: This Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come as you have seen him going into heaven (Acts i. 11).

With the same Wounds with which He ascended into Heaven, Jesus Christ will come to judge the soul. The Wounds of the Redeemer will console the just and terrify the wicked. When Joseph said to his brothers, I am Joseph, whom you sold, the Scripture tells us that, through fear, they were silent and unable to utter a word. His brethren could not answer him, being struck with exceeding great fear (Gen. xlv. 3). Now, what answer will the sinner make to Jesus Christ? Will he dare to ask mercy when he must first render an account of his abuse of the mercy he has received? "With what face," says Eusebius Emissenus, "will you, who are to be first judged for contempt of mercy, ask for mercy?" What, then, will become of the sinner? Where, says St. Augustine, will he fly? He will behold an angry Judge above; hell open below; on one side his own sins accusing him; on the other, the devils ready to inflict chastisement; and within, remorse of conscience. "Above shall be an enraged Judge; below, a frightful chaos; on the right, sins accusing him; on the left, the devils dragging him to punishment; within, a burning conscience. Beset in this manner, whither will the sinner fly!"

Thy Wounds, my Jesus, will then fill me with terror, but now they give me confidence. My dear Redeemer, I am sorry above all things for having offended Thy infinite goodness. I purpose to submit to every pain, every loss, rather than forfeit Thy grace. I love Thee with my whole heart. Have pity on me. Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy. O Mary, Mother of Mercy, obtain for me a great sorrow for my sins, pardon, and perseverance in Divine love. I love thee, O my Queen, and trust in thee.