Judgment

Judgment is an act of the mind affirming or denying something. God’s judgment is His affirmation of a decision we make as to whether we want to spend eternity with Him in heaven.

If we want to spend eternity with God in heaven, we cooperate with His grace by preparing ourselves for heaven. In this life, if we are invited to a wedding, we prepare by wearing a suit and tie or elegant dress. If we deliberately show up wearing a sweatsuit the offended host will not let us come in, but in truth we kept ourselves out. The existence of hell is consistent with divine justice. The lost souls condemn themselves by their resistance to God’s grace. God respects human freedom.

Jesus instituted the Catholic Church to teach us how to prepare for heaven. He is serious. Mt 7:21 “Not every one who says to Me ’Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom … Then will I declare to them, ’I never knew you; depart from Me, you evildoers.” The Church teaches us to love God, and love one another. If we are generous with others, God will be generous with us. Jesus added, Lk 6:37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.” God’s perfect justice lets us decide how merciful He will be! To gain His mercy we must forgive everyone, absolutely everyone, for their trespasses against us.

God’s judgment reflects the objective condition of our soul. It has no relation at all to whether we “feel holy.” In fact, our feelings are apt to deceive us. As a soul comes closer to Christ it becomes more and more aware of the contrast between Christ’s perfection and its own shortcomings. Its sins become clear. As it strives toward the perfection it can never reach, the remaining sins loom large in its consciousness. The soul confident of its own excellence is equally wrong. As a soul sinks into sin it feels better than its surroundings. It can feel pride only when distant from Christ and immersed in sin.

The Particular Judgment is God’s irrevocable decision as to whether a particular human soul will spend eternity in heaven or hell. Although God’s judgment may also be to send the person to purgatory, purgatory is not a “last thing” because a soul’s stay in purgatory eventually ends.

The General Judgment will occur at the end of time. All still alive on earth will be judged at the same instant. Mt 24:40 “Two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left.” St. Paul described that glorious day, 1 Thes 4:16 “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”