Choose a topic from Part 3 Suppl:
1. Christ as man will judge mankind at the lastday. Our Lord is God the Son who became man by assuming humannature. When His true humanity is emphasized, scripture calls him"the Son of man." And we read (John 5:27): "He hathgiven him power to do judgment because he is the Son of man."Christ is our Lord and master because he is God; but he is also ourLord and master because he redeemed us by dying for us asman. Hence, as man he has authority to judge us.
1. In Isaias we read (65:17): "Behold, I create newheavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be inremembrance." And the Apocalypse says (21:1): "I saw anew heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven, and the firstearth was gone." The earth will be renewed after the last orgeneral judgment. All bodily things were created for man, and whenman is renewed in the resurrection of thebody, the earthshould receive a splendor of renewal for renewed man.
2. Christ will come "with great power andmajesty" (Luke 21:27) to judge mankind. He will come in theglorified body in which he appeared after his Resurrection. He whocame in weakness and "in the body of our lowness" (Phil.3:21) to be our redeemer, will come in strength and majesty to beour judge.
2. "Time shall be no longer," says theApocalypse (10:6). It appears then that the movement of theheavenly bodies must cease, for it is this movement which enablesman to measure time; the movement itself is the reality oftime.
3. At the final judgment the wicked will behold Christ as man,and, at the same time, will thoroughly realize that he is God. Butthey will not behold his divinity directly, for, if they did, theywould be filled with joy, which is contrary to their condition andtheir perverse will.
3. After the last judgment, the renewal of the earth willfind its counterpart in a new splendor of the heavenly bodies.Isaias says (30:26): "The light of the moon shall be as thelight of the sun, and the light of the sun shall besevenfold."
4. As we have noted, all bodily things are for men andwill somehow reflect his glory in heaven. There will be brightnessin all common things. Earth will gain a transparency; water will beas crystal; fire will have the beauty of the most wondrousstars.
5. Plants and animals will have no place in the renewedworld; no living things except those that are deathless will bethere.
"Lord, take from me everything that hinders me from going to You. give me all that will lead me to You. Take me from myself and give me to Yourself."
St Nicholas Flue
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"God has no need of men."
St Philip Neri
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"It is not God's will that we should abound in spiritual delights, but that in all things we should submit to his holy will."
Blessed Henry Suso
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