© 2014 Victor R. Claveau, MJ
The price of eternal life is infinite.
But how can man, a finite being, pay such a price? How can he be saved?
In the parable of the Last Judgment Christ gives us an answer: there is only one price of eternal salvation, which each person must pay, and that price is love.
Following in the steps of the prophets and John the Baptist, Jesus announced the judgment of the Last Day in his preaching. Then will the conduct of each one and the secrets of hearts be brought to light. Our attitude towards our neighbor will disclose acceptance or refusal of grace and divine love. On the last day Jesus will say: “Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.”
Christ, the Lord of eternal life, has full right to pass definitive judgment on the works and hearts of men as redeemer of the world. He “acquired” this right by his cross. The Father has given “all judgment to the Son.” Yet the Son did not come to judge, but to save and to give the life he has in himself. By rejecting grace in this life, one already judges oneself, receives according to one’s works, and can even condemn oneself for all eternity by rejecting the Spirit of love.
The Book of Isaiah, reminds us of the fundamental criteria that guide the Christian in his examination of conscience. The Prophet points out that what is most important is active charity: “If you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday” (Is 58:10).
These prophetic words are like a “prelude” to what we find in Matthew’s Gospel (25:33-46). We know the text of St. Matthew well, this great vision of the Last Judgment, in which it is love that is decisive. “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, I was ill and you comforted me, in prison and you came to visit me” (Mt 25:35-36). They are those to whom the Judge will say: “Come, O blessed of my Father” (25:34).
Then he will say to those gathered at his left: “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire” (25:41). Why? Because the “account” of your works is “in arrears”: “I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink. I was away from home and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, I was ill and in prison and you did not come to comfort me” (25:42-43). It is clear therefore that “in the evening of life we will be judged on love” (St. John of the Cross, Words of Light and Love, n. 59), both in its personal and social dimensions. In a certain sense, it will be a judgment on the children of the Church, for what they have been in the world.
The Last Judgment concerns the end of human history on earth. At the same time, reflecting on Matthew’s Gospel, we must affirm that this judgment is constantly taking place. It continues at all times and places. In fact, people continue to do good for others, saving others from famine, giving them hospitality, clothing them, taking care of the sick and the imprisoned. . . or, they do none of these things: they are closed in upon themselves, In their selfishness, seeking their own comfort, Insensitive to others and their needs.
In the early days of Nazi Germany, those in authority, who had a moral responsibility to protect those who could not protect themselves put blinders on their eyes and blocked their ears. So began the slide down that slippery slope that led to the death of many millions. It began, in the darkness of night with the murder of the insane and ended with the daylight slaughter of millions of the innocent, simply because these lives were judged as unworthy.
First they came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one
left to speak up for me.
by Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945
In this day and age too often those who suffer with serious debilitating conditions are forgotten and left to die, even by those who claim to love them. We must all stand up for life, not simply because one day they might come for us, but because the love of God demands it.
John of the Cross said, “In the end, we will be judged by our love.”
We must all accept responsibility for a society that encourages the mistreatment of the innocent and those incapable of caring for themselves.
We must never forget that all we do out of love for a brother or a sister, we do for Christ! But similarly, what we do not do for a brother or for a sister, allowing ourselves to be led by selfishness or laziness, this too we do not do for Christ! There will be a reckoning before the throne of God and as we are called to be our brother’s keeper, we can and will be judged on our sins of omission. Let us strive for the protection of life from conception to natural death.