Our Particular Judgment 1 Death puts an end to human life as the time open to either accepting or rejecting the divine grace manifested in Christ…immediately after death each person will be rewarded immediately after death in accordance with his works and faith. CCC 1021 Jesus was very clear about this when He taught: “the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.” John 5:28-29 CCC 1022 “Each man receives his eternal reward or punishment in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven-through a purification or immediately, or immediate and everlasting damnation.” 2 Fulfilling Our Heart’s Desire We should understand our particular judgment not so much as • a courtroom with God sitting in Judgment • Rather as God giving us what we wanted throughout our lives. Pope Benedict XVI writes: “With death, our life-choice becomes definitive – our life stands before the Judge. Our choice, which in the course of an entire life takes on a certain shape, can have a variety of forms. There can be people who have totally destroyed their desire for truth and readiness to love, people for whom everything has become a lie, people who have lived for hatred, and have suppressed all love within themselves…In such people all would be beyond remedy and the destruction of good would be irrevocable: this is what we mean by the word Hell. On the other hand there can be people who are utterly pure, completely permeated by God, and thus fully open to their neighbors – people for whom communion with God even now gives direction to their entire being and whose journey towards God only brings to fulfillment what they already are.” The third category is where most of us fall – not utterly pure when we die. But thanks be to the Mercy of God All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death we undergo a purification in purgatory, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. In your particular Judgment • God will enable you to understand your personal story • What you chose your whole life • What were the consequences of those choices personally St. Catherine of Genoa writes: The soul goes where it wants to go. 1 3 Image of Judgment from CS Lewis Last Battle Aslan comes to Judge all the creature of Narnia Behind him stood all the stars so that Aslan’s huge black shadow streamed away to his left • As the creatures came rushing on • They came right up to Aslan • One of two things happened to each of them • They all looked straight in his face • And when some looked, the expression of their faces changed terribly… • For some…It was fear and hatred o They did not find in Aslan what they wanted • They swerved to His left and disappeared into His huge black shadow But the others looked in the face of Aslan and loved him • They found in Aslan what they wanted All these swerved to His right, • into the light of Heaven If at death the soul has spent its life seeking and choosing God, • then it gets what it wanted – union with God in heaven. On the other hand • if a soul has spent its life choosing itself over and against God and neighbor, • then at death it gets what it wanted: • Itself and that is All! (That is Hell) “At the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love.” John of the Cross 4 Since we will all face our particular judgment immediately after death St Francis De Sales writes: Detest your sins. They alone can condemn on that dreadful day. I will judge myself now, so that I may not be judged then! I will examine my conscience and condemn myself. I will accuse myself and amend my life, so that the eternal Judge may not condemn me on that dreadful day. I will, therefore, confess my sins and receive all necessary advice. Daily Examination of Conscience & Frequent Confession • Is the best way to prepare for our Judgment CCC 1470 In the sacrament of Reconciliation, the sinner, placing himself before the merciful judgment of God, anticipates in a certain way the judgment to which he will be subjected at the end of his earthly life. For it is now, in this life, that we are offered the choice between life and death, and it is only by the road of 2 conversion that we can enter the Kingdom, from which one is excluded by grave sin. In converting to Christ through penance and faith, the sinner passes from death to life and "does not come into judgment." Confession is like a dress-rehearsal of Our Particular Judgment 5 At the beginning or end of each day or at the beginning of your Rosary, hit pause and do a brief examination of your conscience. 1. Begin with Gratitude a. For what am I grateful? b. To whom am I grateful? First, I am grateful to God. All these things for which I am grateful are concrete manifestations of his love for me. c. How have I corresponded to His love? 2. Then look back over your last 24 hours and acknowledge where you have thought, said and done things that were wrong or failed to do what was right, the things that left us empty and unhappy. a. This honest assessment will cause us to grow in our desire and love for God, purifying our disordered desires 3. Finally, make a game plan to learn from this and live better today – this is part of your resolution flowing out of prayer – some simple concrete thing to put into practice today to live better and be more happy. 3 .