Plan of Discourse.
To be judged by Christ, a Man like ourselves, shall be a source of the most terrible pain for the sinner. Such is the whole subject of this meditation.
That we may derive the proper spiritual fruit from this and the preceding sermons, we expect the grace of God, through the intercession of Mary and of our holy guardian angels.
An accused person is best examined by one of his own condition. To insure the conviction of a criminal, so that he will not have a word to say against it, there is no better means than to appoint one to try him who is either of the same standing and condition, or otherwise has known the accused for a long time, and is well acquainted with his manner of life and the various wiles he employs to carry out his plans. Thus it would be altogether unsuitable for a great king to try a peasant for not paying his rent or taxes. Why? Because the king who lives in a palace surrounded only by noblemen knows nothing of the condition of the peasant, nor how far his liabilities and obligations may extend. No matter how wise and experienced the king may be, nor how simple and ignorant the peasant, the latter might easily befool the king by alleging his extreme poverty, the pressure of hard times, the losses he has suffered, and so forth; nor would the king have any reply to make to all this, but rather, moved by compassion, would be inclined to believe the peasant’s lies and let him off scot-free. The proper thing in such a case is to leave the matter in the hands of one of the same con dition, who knows by experience how to detect false excuses and to refute them.
Because Christ is a Man like us, the sinner’s judgment shall be all the more severe. Unheard-of, my dear brethren, are the love and goodness of the great God in deigning to take on Himself our lowly nature, and as St. Paul says, to put on the “form of a servant,”[1] with all our weaknesses and miseries, sin alone excepted, even to sorrow and death and to the extent of being tempted by the devil: “Tempted in all things such as we are, without sin.”[2]Therefore since He Himself has borne our miseries, He can have a heartfelt compassion for us. Truly, that is a great consolation for us as long as we are on this earth! But when I consider the matter aright, that very same circumstance makes the last judgment more terrible still to me and to all sinners; that namely, the same Man, like unto us in every respect,
