Ask Deacon Mike

I recently received a very thoughtful and insightful question concerning the judgment of our souls. The writer points out that as a child in school (obviously a Catholic school) that it was taught that when we die we will be judged according to the content of our life resulting in our placement in purgatory, heaven or hell. But, the writer goes on: This does not work in my mind when I hear at Mass that Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead. Please explain this to me: Are we judged at the time of our death or when Christ comes again at the end of time? If we are not judged until the second coming of Jesus, where do our souls reside from the time of our death until the time Jesus returns?

Wow! What a great question. This individual obviously has thought about this and has aptly pointed out an apparent conflict. However, it is an “apparent” conflict. In other words, there is no conflict. To get to the meaning of what this person asks I went to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. In 1994 the late Pope John Paul II updated the Catechism based on the Creed that the Church professes every Sunday at Mass. The Catechism opens with these words which undeniably and explicitly state man’s purpose: God, infinitely perfect and blessed in Himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in His own blessed life.

If we accept that God is infinitely perfect (remember that God’s perfection does not depend upon our acceptance of His infinite perfection) then we also must accept that there can be no conflict in what God has revealed and therefore is taught by the Church. The question becomes: Are we judged at our death or at the second coming of Jesus at the end of the world?

Jesus judges us when we die based on the contents of our lives and our disposition or attitude about how we lived. As creatures that possess the same free will as our Creator, we determine our eternal fate. When we pass from this life to the next we are simply continuing our journey that ultimately brings us to everlasting life in the presence of God or to everlasting life in the absence of God. God has placed all things under the reign of His Son, Jesus. Jesus, in turn, has given the Church the authority to act in His name on earth. However, when it comes to making the decisions of our own individual lives, each of us is responsible for our actions. Thus, when we die we are judged and rewarded according to how we lived. So, what is the second coming all about?

In our profession of faith, the Creed, we state that we believe that Jesus “will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. . .” We believe this because Jesus told us that He will return at the end of time. Here is the answer to these questions as stated in the Catechism. Christ already reigns through His Church. But all things of this world are not yet subjected to Him. The triumph of Christ’s Kingdom will not come about without one last assault by the powers of evil. On Judgment Day at the end of the world, Christ will come in glory to achieve the definitive triumph of good over evil which, like the wheat and the tares (weeds), has grown up together in the course of history. When He comes at the end of time to judge the living and the dead, the glorious Christ will reveal the secret disposition of hearts and will render to each man according to his works and according to his acceptance or refusal of grace”.

What this means is that after we die the world will continue until that time when Jesus returns. Whenever that fateful day may be all that still exists on Earth will then be placed under the sovereignty of Jesus. Before this happens Satan will make one last grand stand to dissuade those who remain to reject the grace offered to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus. So, what remains will be judged at that time. Jesus will not return until all things are made subject to Him. As far as we are concerned when we die our subjugation is complete. We have accepted Him and subject ourselves to Him or we have not. What remains then will be judged when Jesus returns.

Thank you and keep your questions coming. You can send me an e-mail at deaconmikefranks@comcast.net or you can put your question in the Sunday collection basket or send it to the parish office. God bless you and I love you all! Deacon Mike.