As we move through the Last Four Things, we now look at the second of them; that being Judgment. Last week we focused on Death and looked at the reality that all of us will die. After we die, we will all be judged.
Death is final. Death ends all opportunities to grow in holiness or improve our relationship with Jesus, which is why it is so important that we are constantly looking at our end and caring for our souls. After we die, each of us will be rewarded according to his works and faith (CCC 1021). When we are judged, we will be sent to one or two places: Heaven or Hell. This judgment that we receive is final, there is know crossing over between the two.
So what will we be judged upon? We will be judged upon how well we lived our lives in relationship with Jesus and choosing to place him above all things. When we sin, we are willingly choosing to turn our backs on God and to do what we desire to do, instead of what Jesus desires of us to do. One of my favorite saints, St. Ignatius of Loyola, tells that the principle and foundation of our lives is to praise, reverence, and adore our Lord, and thereby to save our souls. From the very beginning of creation we were created to be in relationship with Jesus. Even today in our postlapsarian world, we are called to be in relationship with Jesus and that judgment depends on this relationship.
This is why going to confession is so very important. Anytime we fall into sin, especially mortal sin, we cut ourselves off from this relationship with Jesus, we have chosen to deny him. By going to confession we restore our relationship with him and actively tell him we are sorry. Jesus is very clear about this reality. In 2 Timothy 11, it says that “if we deny him, we will deny us.”
If there is anything on your soul in the way of your relationship with Jesus, go to confession.
- Fr. Andrew