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“As for you, my sheep, says the Lord God, I will judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats.”
St. Francis de Sales wrote:
“Consider that last sentence passed on to the wicked: ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his companions.’ Weigh well these heavy words. Depart, he says. It is a word of eternal abandonment that God utters to those unhappy souls and by it he banishes them forever from his face. He calls them cursed…Consider the contrary sentence passed on the good. Come, says the Judge. Ah, this is the sweet word of salvation by which God draws us to himself and receives us into the bosom of his goodness…O welcome blessing, which includes all blessings!” (Introduction to the Devout Life, Part I, Chapter 14)
The parable in today's Gospel is noticeably clear that there will be a final judgment. What is also clear is that both the good and the evil failed to recognize how the seeds of this last judgment were planted in their everyday interactions with others. Re-read the text; both groups asked the question, “When did we see you…when did we welcome you…when did we visit you…when did we give you…?” Right up until the last day, both groups failed to grasp the intimate relationship between God’s judgment of us and our relationships to one another. Both groups failed to recognize the connection between the love of God and performing simple, ordinary acts of love for others.
This parable challenges us to recognize that the final judgment is not a one-time event in the eyes of God, but that in the eyes of the God - who judges justly - this judgment is an ongoing, daily event. God is extremely interested in judging how we use each moment of our lives, not simply the last one.
But while this parable speaks volumes about God's judgment, it also has a lot to say about our own judgment. In the end, the final judgment is heavily impacted by the kind of judgment we use in relating to one another, day in, day out, in the most unique, as well as the most ordinary, of life's events, circumstances, responsibilities and demands.
What do our affections, attitudes and actions toward others every day say about the final disposition of our souls? What does the way we live our lives on earth say about our lives in the hereafter?
You be the judge.
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“On their lips no deceit has been found...”
The reading from the Book of Revelation describes a sea of people “who have been ransomed from the earth…as the first fruits of the human race for God and the Lamb”. These are “the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes.” Of this ‘unblemished’ multitude it is said: “On their lips no deceit has been found”.
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:
“The Holy Spirit does not dwell in a deceitful or tricky soul. Lying, double-dealing and dissimulation are always signs of a weak, mean-spirited mind. By contrast, fidelity, simplicity and sincerity of speech are certainly a great ornament of a Christian life. David says: ‘I will take heed to my ways so that I do not sin with my tongue. Set a watch, O Lord, beside my mouth and a door about my lips.’” (IDL, Part III, Chapter 30, pp. 206-207)
Do you want to be one recognized as a person who follows the Lamb in heaven? You might want to start by paying more attention to the words that come out of your mouth on this earth!
Beginning today!
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“When you hear of wars and insurrections do not be terrified…”
In this age of 24-7 news cycles, one could be forgiven for being ‘terrified’ from time to time. After all, we never seem to get a break. Whether around the corner or around the world, we are constantly exposed to a never-ending dose of unsettling news reports: stories of violence, accounts of revenge and descriptions of disasters. One could make the argument that you’d have to be crazy to be unconcerned or unaffected by reports of economic, social, political and/or military turmoil!
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales observed:
“With the single exception of sin, anxiety is the greatest evil than can happen to a soul. Just as sedition and internal disorders bring total ruin to a state and leave it helpless to resist a foreign invader, so also if our hearts are inwardly troubled and disturbed they lose both the strength necessary to maintain the virtues they had acquired and the means to resist the temptations of the enemy. He then uses his utmost to fish – as they say – in troubled waters.” (IDL, Part IV, Chapter 11, pp. 251-252)
Francis de Sales believed that people should be informed. We should be aware – and where applicable, concerned – about the things that are happening around us. More importantly, however, is the need to know what is happening inside of us. We need to know the state of our mind and heart. After all, sometimes the effects of the “wars and insurrections” that may surround us are nothing in comparison with the “wars and insurrections” that rage within us!
Trouble is a part of life. Don’t make it worse by allowing it to trouble you on the inside to the point where you can’t manage it on the outside - for your own sake, as well as for the sake of those who depend on you.
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“Great and wonderful are your works…”
In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales wrote:
“The soul that takes great pleasure in God’s goodness…desires that His name be always more and more blessed, exalted, praised, honored and adored. In this praise due to God the soul begins with its own heart...The soul imitates the great Psalmist who considered the marvels of God’s goodness, and then on the altar of his heart immolated a mystic victim: the utterances of his voice in hymns of psalms of admiration and blessings.” (Living Jesus, p. 286)
When’s the last time you considered the “great and wonderful” things that God does in your life and in the lives of others? How can you bless, exalt, praise, honor and adore God for his goodness today?
Not just in words, but also in deeds!
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On this Thanksgiving Day, Francis de Sales offers for our reflection some extremely specific things for which we should be grateful:
“God has placed you in this world to exercise his goodness in you by giving you his grace and glory. For this purpose God has given you intellect to know him, memory to be mindful of him, will to love him, imagination to picture to yourself his benefits, eyes to see his wonderful works, tongues to praise him and so on with the other faculties.”
“Consider the corporeal benefits that God has bestowed on you: the body, goods provided for its maintenance, health, lawful comforts, friends, etc. Consider all thus in contrast to so many other persons perhaps more deserving than yourself who lack such blessings. Consider your spiritual favors! You are a child of the Church! From your childhood God has taught you to know him! How often he has given his sacraments to you! How often you have received his inspirations, interior lights and admonitions for your amendment! How often has he forgiven you your faults!”“By noting each particular thing, you will recognize in some small way how gentle and gracious God has been to you…” (Introduction to the Devout Life, Part I, Chapters 9 – 11)
Looking for “joy of heart”? Then try spending some time today counting your blessings. Try spending some time every day counting your blessings. Consider how “gentle and gracious God has been to you” and how God continues to be “gentle and gracious” to you today and every day.
And of course, family get togethers being what they are, Thanksgiving Day may provide many opportunities to be gentle and gracious to others!
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“Here God lives among his people…”
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:
“God is not only in the place where you are, but God is also present in a most particular manner in your heart and in the very center of your spirit. He enlivens and animates it by his divine presence, for he is there as the heart of your heart and the spirit of your spirit. Just as the soul is diffused throughout the entire body and is therefore present in every part of the body but resides in a special manner in the heart, so also God is present in all things but always resides in a special manner in our spirit.” (IDL, Part II, Chapter 2, p. 85)
God dwells in a very particular way within the heart – within the spirit and soul – of each and every one of us. Using the words from the New Roman Missal, notwithstanding that we may be unworthy to have God enter “under our roof”, God is very much alive and at work in the very core of our being, enlivening us and animating us to meet the demands, challenges and invitations that come our way each and every day.
As we end another liturgical year, let us remember that of all the places in which we might look for God, the most accessible place – and the most enduring place – is to look within ourselves and to look within one another. Why is this important? Because Jesus himself tells us that while even earth and heaven will pass away, His word – dwelling is each of us and among all of us – will never pass away.
Insofar as we are unique expressions of God’s Incarnate Word, God lives within us and among us. How can our lives give testimony to that truth today?
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“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy and that the day catch you by surprise like a trap...”
The readings selected for these remaining days of the waning liturgical year emphasize the “end times”: the final judgment and the importance of being on the lookout for when that climactic moment will occur.
In a letter to the Duc de Bellegarde, St. Francis de Sales wrote:
“Persevere in this great courage and determination which keeps you lifted high above temporal things, making you pass over them like a happy halcyon bird lifted safely above the waves of the world which flood this age. Keep your eyes steadfastly fixed on that blissful day of eternity towards which the course of years bears us on; and as they pass, they themselves pass us stage by stage until we reach the end of the road. But meanwhile – in these passing moments – there lies enclosed as in a tiny kernel the seed of all eternity. In our humble little works of devotion there lies hidden the prize of everlasting glory; the little pains we take to serve God lead to the repose of a bliss that can never end.” (Selected Letters, Stopp, p. 236)
Be watchful! Be alert! Be on the lookout! However, don’t limit your vigilance to the last moment of your life; rather, expand your vigilance to include every moment of your life! In so doing, you might not only avoid having your last day catch you like a trap, but rather, you will be able transform every day into an opportunity!
Grow in your knowledge and love of God, your neighbor and yourself now – and forever.
