Hello there Rosary lovers! In this post we will ask: what is Judgment Day?
Judgment Day is Written on the Human Conscience
We’ve seen the movies, we’ve heard the phrase ‘judgment day’ thrown around a lot. But Judgment Day is a reality and is coming upon the world.
Instinctively we know this. We know it because we have consciences. When we do bad things, we feel bad, we punish ourselves inside by feeling guilty. This is a foretaste of Judgment Day.
We also know right from wrong. When we see wrong in the world, we want to cry out against it. This is because we have consciences and a strong sense of justice within ourselves.
Unfortunately, however, it is a sad fact of life that many bad people get away with doing bad things. They never get punished, even their conscience seems to ‘let them off the hook’.
If we really think about it, so many bad things have been done to so many people for thousands of years without retribution that we feel inside ourselves that there must be a future ‘setting things right’ someday.
Surely if there is a god, he will one day punish the wicked? Surely it cannot be that all of those many people who have done so many bad things will just get away with it?
So our consciences cry out inside of us for some kind of punishment and justice, even if it is in the future.
Religions Speak of Judgment Day
This is what Judgment Day will be. God has appointed a day when he will come to judge the world in righteousness.
The Bible speaks of this in the Old Testament, Jesus Christ spoke of it in the Gospels, the Apostles spoke of it in the New Testament and the Catholic Church has always spoken of it.
Even other religions speak of it. Islam speaks of it and Judaism speaks of it.
The concept of future punishment is also in Hinduism, where people are punished in the next life for how they lived their former life.
So the idea of future punishment on us all is certain. Everyone of us will be judged by God.
The Catholic Teaching on Judgment Day
The Catholic faith believes that God has appointed his eternal Son, Jesus Christ, to judge the world in righteousness. Jesus will come with his angels to judge the world.
All of us will stand before Christ, the Son of God, and give an account of our deeds done in our lives.
It is massively important that we have trusted in Jesus Christ in this life. This means we have embraced Jesus Christ and his teachings, we have been baptised, we have believed he is the Saviour of the world, we believe in his resurrection.
It also means that, once we become aware of the truth of the Catholic Church, that we join the Catholic Church. This is because the Catholic Church is Christ’s true Body on earth.
To stubbornly refuse to join the Catholic Church, whilst knowing that she is true, means we cut ourselves off from Christ’s Body. This will come back to haunt us on Judgment Day.
The Basis for Judgment: the Ten Commandments
We can all think that we are good people. Most people think this about themselves, but that isn’t what really matters. What matters is how we measure up to God’s all-holy standards.
God’s standards are revealed in the Ten Commandments. Have we ever lied? Have we ever sworn? Have we ever used God’s name, or Jesus’ name, in blasphemy or as a curse word? Have we ever been unpleasant to a sibling or to our parents? Have we ever been unpleasant to anyone?
Have we dishonoured authority, or our employer, or employee? Have we committed adultery, or lusted after someone in our hearts? Do we love money?
Have we slept around outside of marriage? Have we remarried even though our first spouse is still alive? Have we had an abortion? Do we use artificial contraception? And so on.
The list is endless, but all of the above are examples of crimes against LOVE.
It is not true that ‘love is love’. That is a phrase empty of true meaning. The question is: what is love? And love is defined by God, because God is Love.
God defines love as loving God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength, AND loving your neighbour as much as you love yourself.
Love is to care for and sacrifice yourself for everyone else, to never do anything nasty to anyone in anyway at all.
All of us have failed here. We all fall short of God’s standards. And rightly, God could send us all to hell.
The Ten Commandments exist first of all to show WHAT SIN IS, and how badly we need God’s mercy. No-one can say to God that they are righteous in and of themselves, because we’ve all messed up countless times.
What we desperately need is God’s mercy and forgiveness.
The Gospel of the Catholic Church
In his mercy, God sent the Son of God to save us from hell. God sent Jesus, born of a woman (Mary!), to save us.
Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross for us, so that we could all be forgiven by God for all the bad things we’ve done.
‘The Son of God loved me and gave himself up for me’ (St Paul in Galatians).
But we can only be forgiven if we accept the forgiveness God offers us in Jesus. If we say, ‘No’ to Jesus and to God, then we cannot be forgiven. This is the only way we can be forgiven by God.
To say ‘YES’ to Jesus is to seek to be baptised in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and to try to obey all that Jesus taught.
This means trying, with Jesus’ help, to follow the Ten Commandments in the sense that Jesus taught them. To not be unkind in anyway. To show true concern for everyone who comes to you. To pray for the world and especially the poor.
A large part of saying ‘YES’ to Jesus is to find out about his Catholic Church and to seek to join her when we come to believe that she is true.
This is vital because the first commandment is to put God first and worship only him. But the supreme Worship of Almighty God is only found in the Catholic Church at the great Sacrifice of the Mass, where Jesus offers his Body and Blood to God for us.
Without attendance at Holy Mass every Sunday, it is not possible for us to worship God in the way he calls upon us to worship him. Which means we can’t properly obey the very first commandment.
With Jesus in our lives and his Church by our side, we have all we need to be found blameless on that final day of Judgment Day. NOT because we’ve lived perfect lives, but because we are forgiven sinners who now seek with all our hearts to live in the way God wants us to live.
To live lives filled with love and goodness. To truly worship God.
We can only do this with Jesus in our souls. Jesus said: ‘Without me, you can do nothing.’
God bless you! And if you have any questions, please ask away.