To stand before the Son of Man

Jer 33,14-16; Ps 24,4-5.8-10.14; 1 Ts 3,12-4,2; Lk 21,25-28.34-36.
2 DECEMBER

At one time, when talking about hell, it was taught that the pain that gives more suffering is not that of the senses, but that of harm. God, supreme good, eternal joy, delight that fills the heart, happiness without measure, absolute divine perfection has been lost for the fleeting good, of an instant. Time for relationship to eternity is not comparable even to the duration of a lit match. The match is lit and it is immediately consumed. This is the duration of time. While eternity is without beginning and without end. For a moment of sin the highest and infinite good has been lost. For an ephemeral joy we are far from eternal joy forever. We lose God our Father, Christ our brother, the Holy Spirit our truth and light, the Mother of God and our Mother, Angels and saints our friends, for what profit? For the eternal perdition in an unspeakable suffering.

If the rich villain were allowed to return to the earth, not only he would have taken Lazarus’s place, he would not have even sat in front of the doorway of rich people to avoid falling into the temptation of desiring anything of their table. Even the desire for the belongings of others is prohibited by the Law of the Lord. He would have gone to live in the woods, he would have fed on grass or berries or fruit matured on uncultivated trees, in order not to transgress any commandment. Unfortunately this experience is not possible. To every man the Lord has assigned the way of faith in his Word. Even if Eve and Adam could have gone back, they would have turned away from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and would have never approached it. We say it again. The Lord has given only faith in his Word as the way of life.

“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.” “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”

The path of life and death is faith and non faith. In faith in the Word is life and eternal blessing. In the non faith in the Word is death and eternal curse. The Gospel is the way of life for those who believe in it. It is the path of death for those who do not believe. If the Christian wants others to believe in the Gospel, he must be the first to attest with his life his purest and truest faith in the Word of Jesus. If he does not believe, if he lives as if the Gospel did not exist, if he is the one even to deny the truth contained in it, how does one manage to think that anyone else can believe? If I, a Christian, say that the fire for the rich villain was only a temporary and fleeting pain, while it is eternal punishment, might only one man believe in the truth of the Word of Jesus? Today this is the impossibility for faith to arise in the hearts: the non faith of those who call themselves disciples of Jesus, but live as if the Lord had never spoken.

Today the crisis of faith in the Word of Jesus is profound. It seems utterly hopeless. All the truths that spring from the Word are rejected. Even the most basic, fundamental and essential ones are declared void. Now it is time that those who still believe take away their faith from the mothballs in which it has been stored and preserved and manifest to the world all its beauty. Every disciple of Jesus is responsible for the faith of the whole world. Those who believe must have the strength to live and manifest their faith to the end. Even with martyrdom, if requested by the Heavenly Father. Thus, the single person becomes responsible for the faith of the whole universe. No one must feel justified by the non faith of his brothers. Everyone must believe.

Mother of God, Angels and Saints ensure that every Christian lives and manifests all his faith.