Tough teachings: Judgment

In life, we like drama.  The drama of Game 7 of the recent World Series and the drama of the recent Presidential election are evidence of this.  Both got great TV ratings.  Drama is” an exciting, emotional, or unexpected series of events or set of circumstances”.    As human beings, we are attracted to drama in any sphere, both in entertainment and in real-life.  I believe this is true whether we believe our own lives have too much drama, or, perhaps more often the case these days, our lives are boring because it seemingly lacks it.

In reality, however, our lives are always dramatic.  We are always making a move towards something or another.   In that sense, it is always exciting and emotional, never static.   In the Catholic worldview, we are always moving towards heaven or hell.  It is not so much, as some make it out to be, that we move forwards or backwards, or towards, or away from something.   We are always moving toward something.   Life is always a progression; one can never “stop the clock”.  The clock is always ticking, the game is always on.   The drama is always there.  The game is never over, and no matter what, we are always “in” the game; it is never won or lost until the final act.

We can say our lives are always dramatic, not just because it is always in motion, but even more some because the outcome is never certain.  When the outcome of something is never certain, it makes it more interesting and exciting, but it can also produce some nerve-wracking, scary moments.  We can never be sure if we will wind up in heaven or hell.  The ending is something we cannot know.   We can indeed have a sure and certain hope that we will be saved, but never a certainty.  (Back in June I discussed the virtue of hope.)  It is this, not being sure of our final outcome, which makes life ultimately, indeed, dramatic.   

So when do we find out the final outcome of our life?  When do we know for sure?  The Church teaches that it is not until the particular judgment that our fate is revealed.  Paragraph 1021 and 1022 of the Catechism say the following:   “Death puts an end to human life as the time open to either accepting or rejecting the divine grace manifested in Christ…Each man receives his eternal retribution 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.”   So immediately upon death, we are judged and our souls enter purgatory, heaven, or hell.  (I did a post recently on each of them, click on the orange banner above to access them.)

As we know from experience though, those who have departed from this world still have their bodies buried in the Earth.  At the particular judgment, the body is not there.   However, the human person is indeed both body and soul.   If we lived this life with a body and a soul, and our eternal destiny was decided based on the actions, or inactions, of our body, animated by the soul, then it deems to reason that the bodies, far from being just rotted corpses for all eternity, would be glorified, or damned, like our souls.  So when we do the bodies get reunited with the souls?   The Church teaches there is a second judgment, the last judgment.   This will occur when Our Lord returns, as He promised (see Matthew 24 and 25).    The reunification of body and soul will occur just before that in what is called the resurrection of the dead when the following happens which Our Lord speaks of in John 5:28-29, “for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ^and will come out—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”   No one stays in the grave forever!  That sounds like good news on the surface, and indeed it can be very good news for some, but not for others.  As I said before, everyone lives forever, it is just a question of where.

So now our bodies and souls are reunited. Then what exactly happens at the last judgment which proceeds immediately after that reunification?  The Church teaches some amazing things in Paragraphs 1039 and 1040.  In the presence of Christ, who is Truth itself, the truth of each man's relationship with God will be laid bare. The Last Judgment will reveal even to its furthest consequences the good each person has done or failed to do during his earthly life…The Last Judgment will come when Christ returns in glory. Only the Father knows the day and the hour; only he determines the moment of its coming. Then through his Son Jesus Christ he will pronounce the final word on all history. We shall know the ultimate meaning of the whole work of creation and of the entire economy of salvation and understand the marvelous ways by which his Providence led everything towards its final end. The Last Judgment will reveal that God's justice triumphs over all the injustices committed by his creatures and that God's love is stronger than death.    So no one knows when it will occur (adding to the aforementioned drama).  When it does, our lives will be laid out bare for all to see.   All that stuff we thought was hidden will not be so anymore!  Everything we thought we did alone or hidden, both the good and the bad stuff, will be laid out for all to see.   Finally, we will understand all things we could not before.  The mysterious ways of God, not just in our own lives, but in the whole cosmos, will be laid out for all to see and comprehend.    When all is indeed laid out, those who are in, or bound, for heaven, will rejoice in the goodness, justice, love and mercy of God.  Those who are in, or bound, for hell, will experience pain and regret that goes beyond words as they experience the same attributes of God, but it is a different experience entirely.

So, there are two judgments, the particular, and the last or universal.  Every man and every woman who has lived, are living, or will live, will experience both.   The first is between the individual and God.  The second will be a public judgment for the entire world to see.  This should give us impetus to live always for God’s glory as everything we think is secret now will be revealed to all someday.  Let’s realize that our lives are not decided until judgment.  We can never rest, thinking we have it won.  We can never despair, thinking we have it lost.  We can live good lives, and at the last minute turn from God, and be damned.  Likewise, like the good thief on the Cross (Luke 23:39-43), we can live miserable sinful lives, and at the last minute, turn to God, and be saved.  Our lives are indeed a drama and like all good dramas, it leaves us unsure until the final act.   Like we do with any good drama, let’s be active participants in it, not fall asleep, and stay with it until the end, lest we get careless, lazy, and slide into habits that will take us places we do not want to go.

We indeed never know when our death (and therefore when our particular judgment) will be, and of course, we do not know when the final judgment will be.  However, we do know we will die, even if we do not know when.  Saint Joseph is the patron of the dying.   We will close with a prayer to him for a happy death:

O Glorious St. Joseph, behold I choose thee today for my special
patron in life and at the hour of my death. Preserve and increase
in me the spirit of prayer and fervor in the service of God.
Remove far from me every kind of sin; obtain for me that my
death may not come upon me unawares, but that I may have
time to confess my sins sacramentally and to bewail them
with a most perfect understanding and a most sincere and
perfect contrition, in order that I may breathe forth my soul
into the hands of Jesus and Mary. Amen
perfect contrition, in order that I may breathe forth my soul
into the hands of Jesus and Mary. Amen

Reflections on the Presidential election

It has been a few weeks since the Presidential election, which ended with a surprise victory by Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton.  Much has been written about the reasons why it went the way it did.  For the purpose of this blog post, I will focus on spiritual, personal, and moral factors, as opposed to political and social realities.  Here are some of my thoughts:

1)      The outcome of the election cannot be explained by natural factors alone.   Donald Trump had to have everything break his way.   He had to win every swing state, and flip one or two “blue” states. Right up until the early evening the day of the election, every pundit was proclaiming it would be a Clinton victory, and most were predicting it would be a decisive one at that.  To have the outcome occur the way it did, considering everything that had to happen, is just too miraculous to be explained by social and political factors alone.   How could it be that in every swing state, and in several “blue” states, it went the way it did, that voters for Trump came out in numbers, while voters who would have voted Democrat stayed home?  If just a few more minorities had come out, and voted the way they normally do, this Trump surge would still have not been enough.  If just some of the people who ultimately decided to vote for Trump who had voted for Obama twice had decided to stay home, or vote for Clinton, the outcome would have been different.  So much had to happen for Trump to win.  The fact that it did defies natural explanation, in my opinion.

2)      One of those aforementioned supernatural factors at play was prayer.  There were a lot of people, especially in the last days of the campaign, and on Election Day itself, praying and fasting for a good result to the election.  I want to state one thing clearly, and this is my observation only based on my reading of the tea leaves.  People were not praying for Trump to win.  They were praying for Clinton not to be elected.  I can assure you that was the case with me, as well.  I know this may seem like splitting hairs, but it is critical that we point that distinction out.  Clinton represented a clear threat to the mission of the Catholic Church.  Under her administration, the Church and her various agencies would have to comply with mandate after mandate that would force one to violate his or her seriously held religious beliefs, be it forced birth control, abortion, or acceptance of the active homosexual lifestyle.  One could easily see the Church, by not going along with these evils, or by speaking out against them, being threatened with fines, release of tax exempt status, or maybe imprisonment in extreme circumstances.   A Clinton administration, through laws, mandates, and Supreme Court appointments, would also spell the end of any chance of any reasonable restrictions being put on access to abortion and contraception, as well as any chance for states who wanted to defend traditional marriage not to have to fund programs that supported a homosexual agenda.  I believe God heard the persistent and desperate pleas of many at prayer, and he intervened.   I watched the election results online on a program run by a Catholic website called Church Militant, and every so often, they would stop their analysis of the results, and pray a Hail Mary, and a few other prayers, and then return to election coverage.  It was a powerful experience, and it was a night and early morning I will never forget.  I went down on my knees several times throughout the evening, and when it became final early in the morning, I felt a joy that I will never forget hopefully.  The Lord is alive!

3)      One cannot put the immigration issue on the same level as the abortion issue. I respectfully disagree with those in the Church, who expressing concern with Trump’s seeming position on immigration, seem to be disappointed with the outcome of the election.  I agree we should be welcoming to all people.  Our Lord, after all, was a migrant immigrant.  However, it is justified to put some restrictions on immigration out of security concerns.  In a group of immigrants, especially from countries with a heavy ISIS or Al Qaeda presence, there could be some coming to cause trouble and to prevent that, it is OK to restrict access until reliable vetting procedures are in place.  Now, I ask this; when is an unborn baby ever a threat? It never is.  Therefore, it is never justified to end the life of an innocent child.  There is a major difference, and those who seek to equate the two may have noble ideals and goals, but they are misguided in their moral thinking.

4)      Regarding the concerns of racism, bigotry, homophobia, and misogyny, I do not believe they are founded.   I believe those who take Trump seriously do not take him literally.  Those who take him literally do not take him seriously.  One who studies Trump seriously would not come to the conclusion that he is a racist or hates women.   The same holds true for Pence on the homophobia issue.  Just because one does not support the lifestyle of active homosexuals, and therefore, does not support same sex marriage, does not make him or her a bigot.  One can love the homosexual person without supporting his or her sexual actions.  (Please refer to my blog post, “Tough Teachings: Same Sex Marriage”, for details explaining this teaching.)   To those of you upset or distraught about the result of the election, I plead with you to give the new administration a chance.  I believe with all my heart this was the best outcome for everyone; man, woman, child, white, minority, straight, and gay alike.  You are better off today not just economically and politically, but spiritually and morally.

5)      Even if those concerns were founded, it does not mean their opponent was qualified to hold office, either.  Despite all this, let’s say for argument’s sake I am wrong and Trump and Pence are indeed racist, bigoted, and homophobic.   This means they dislike minorities, women, and homosexuals. If they would enact policies that discriminate against them, that would be wrong, and that would disqualify them from being worthy of office.  But consider this; those who support abortion are OK with killing all of the above if that minority, female, or homosexual person is still in their mother’s womb.   It is one thing to dislike or be prejudiced against someone, and it is awful to be that way.  But is an entirely different level to be OK with the killing of them in certain circumstances.  Those who are OK with that, in my view, are disqualified to hold office.  That is why Clinton could not be considered worthy of office.

6)      The Catholic Church is off life support for now.  She would have been on life support in the event of a Clinton victory.  Now, she is breathing on her own.  But, if she sticks to “unhealthy” habits, she could once again in the near future be put on life support again, not by government powers, but by her own doing.  She must continue the healthy habits that so many of her members practiced in earnest over the final days of the Election, namely prayer and fasting.  She must also give alms like never before.  This unexpected victory was an unmerited gift from God for the Church, one we honestly did not deserve considering how lukewarm we have been living our Faith. In this closing month of the Year of Mercy, Our Lord, through the intercession of Our Lady, has performed a miracle, one perhaps last great act of mercy for our nation and the Church. Our desperate prayers were answered. He is giving us another chance. Life and religious liberty won.  But we must now not forget God again as we have in the past. We must continue to pray, and must do more good than more good than we ever have before.  Let us not squander this opportunity.  If we do, next time, we may incur God’s justice instead of His mercy.

7)      I am grateful to God.   God has performed several miracles recently in my life, and this was one of them.  The words of Mary in her Magnificat ring true for me as much now as perhaps at any other time in my life. It was not just what just happened, but there are other things, too, going on in my life, that are causing me to rejoice. I echo her beautiful words, "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. For he has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly." (Luke 1:46-49).

Good Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Mother of God, Head of the Holy Family, and Protector of Holy Church, continue to pray and intercede for us.