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89. Persons to be Present at the Last Judgment

1. Christ our Lord will come to judge all men. Scripture says(John 5:22): "The Father hath given all judgment to theSon." Yet there will be holy men associated with our Lord, andthese are said to judge, but the active and effectualjudgment will be that of Christ alone. The apostles, for instance,are thus to sit in judgment with our Lord, for scripture says(Matt. 19:28): "You [apostles] also shall sit on twelve seatsjudging the twelve tribes of Israel."

2. Those saints who will be privileged to sit with Christthe judge, and thus to judge with him, will all be saints notablefor the virtue of voluntary poverty. For this virtue makes a manfree from all creatural influence, and therefore disposes him wellfor the office of a judge.

3. The angels, who have not man's nature, will not bejudges of men. But they will minister to the Judge by gathering allmen before his judgment seat (Matt. 13:41).

4. The fallen angels will carry out upon the damned, thesentence of the Judge; for sinners, by their sin, subjectthemselves voluntarily to the devil and his minions, and it isfitting that they should be punished by the same evil spirits.

5. All human beings without exception, will be present atthe general judgment. For we read in scripture (Apoc. 1:7):"Behold, he cometh with the clouds, and every eye shall seehim."

6. The good who love God perfectly will be submitted to nojudgment beyond being assigned to their reward. The good who areimperfect will be judged as to their imperfections, but will besaved.

7. The evil will be judged and sentenced to eternalpunishment of a degree and intensity determined by the degree oftheir guilt.

8. The angels will not be judged at the general judgmentof mankind. For the judgment of angels has already occurred.Scripture says (John 16:11): "The prince of this world [thatis, the devil, a fallen angel] is already judged."

"Before a man chooses his confessor, he ought to think well about it, and pray about it also; but when he has once chosen, he ought not to change, except for most urgent reasons, but put the utmost confidence in his director."
St Philip Neri

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"The one thing necessary which Jesus spoke of to Martha and Mary consists in hearing the word of God and living by it."
R. Garrigou-Lagrange, OP

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"Whom do you seek, friend, if you seek not God? Seek him, find him, cleave to him; bind your will to his with bands of steel and you will live always at peace in this life and in the next."
St Alphonsus de Liguori

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