question on which he is to be tried; there are the assessors who examine the case; there are the accusers and witnesses; and finally, there is the sentence pronounced by the judge which either absolves or condemns the accused. All these circumstances are a source of consolation for the just, but a terror for the wicked. The summoning of the accused before the tribunal is the subject of this day’s meditation, which shall consist in the answer to this one question;
Plan of Discourse.
Who are those who shall be summoned? All men, without exception. Oh, what a wonderful change shall then take place in the minds of many! This shall serve as a salutary meditation by way of consolation for the just and of warning for the wicked.
Touch the hearts of both by Thy grace, O future Judge and still merciful Saviour! We ask this of Thee through the intercession of Thy Mother Mary and of our holy guardian angels.
Faith tells us that all men shall be summoned to judgment. To prove that we and all mankind shall be summoned before the tribunal of the Almighty nothing more is necessary than the words of Our Lord Himself, the divine Judge: “When the Son of man shall come in His majesty,” He says in the Gospel of St. Matthew, “and all the angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the seat of His majesty: and all nations shall be gathered together before Him.”[1] All without exception, from every country in the world—great and small, rich and poor, men and women, all who have ever lived on earth shall meet there. In the four quarters of the globe shall be heard the awful sound of that trumpet which re-echoed in the ears of St. Jerome day and night: Arise, ye dead, and come to judgment! Arise, ye princes and kings, who ruled the world! away with you to the tribunal of your Supreme Lord! Arise, ye heroes and warriors, whose arms filled the world with dread! away with you to the muster which is to be held in the presence of your General-in-chief! Arise, ye judges and superiors, who have so often tried others and pronounced sentence on them! it is now your turn to hear the final decision of your Supreme Judge! Arise, ye merchants and men of business, who have travelled over land and sea to make money! your account-books have now to be examined by your
- ↑ Cum autem venerit Filius hominis in majestate sua, et omnes angeli cum eo, tunc sedebit super sedem majestatis suæ, et congregabuntur ante eum omnes gentes.—Matt. xxv. 31, 32.
