examination of the heart 118 But the fear of judgment should deter and dissuade us from evil far more than pagans. For we have not been taught by fables, but by the mouth of eternal Truth, that we must face a judge in order to render an account of all our thoughts, words, and deeds; and not some invented and fictional judge, but rather the true Judge, the Son of the true God. This Son of the one and only God rose from the tomb after a most painful death and about forty days later, entered the heavenly Kingdom.10 From there He shall come to judge the living and the dead, according to the testimony of one of the apostles (cf. 2 Tim 4:1).11 Now, if the signs that shall precede this Day of Judgment are to be so dreadful that they would compel men to long for death (cf. Rev 9:6),12 how much more dreadful shall be the judgment itself and its proceedings? Therefore, ponder the Lord’s coming with two perspectives: salvation and condemnation, and with both of them in mind, try to seriously prepare yourself for it by good deeds and by this Holy Communion. 2. “there shall be signs” (Lk 21:25) [DRB]. Although this teaching about the signs that shall appear before the Day of Judgment is very clear, you may also consider it in this way: Imagine that the sun signifies the Savior of the world, who is the “Sun of [J]ustice” (Mal 4:2);13 the moon signifies the most Holy Mother of God, of whose charm it was said: “fair as the moon” (Cant 6:10); and the stars signify all the just and the saints 10 The plural is used in the original: Regna caelestia intravit, (“he entered the heavenly kingdoms”). This refers to the image of Heaven as being composed of regions or spheres, which was well-known among Jews (cf. 2 Cor 12:2), pagan philosophers, and neoplatonic theologians. Cf. Encyklopedia Katolicka, vol. IV, Towarzystwo Naukowe Katolickiego Uniwersytetu Lubelskiego, Lublin 1983, col. 963 (s.v. Empirejskie niebo). [Hereafter Encyklopedia Katolicka will be abbreviated as EK.] Cf. Fr. Marka Starowieyskiego, Ed., Apokryfy Nowego Testamentu, vol. I, Wydawnictwo WAM, Kraków 2003, pp. 151-163. 11 DRB: “… Jesus Christ, who shall judge the living and the dead” (2 Tim 4:1). Cf. 1 Pet 4:5 and Mt 16:27. 12 DRB: “And in those days men shall seek death, and shall not find it: and they shall desire to die, and death shall fly from them” (Rev 9:6). 13 DRB: “… my name, the Sun of justice” (Mal 4:2).
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