Don’t worry, be happy…
“Pope” Francis:
‘Don’t Fear the Last Judgment!’
“Chaos Frank” is at it again. In today’s Wednesday “catechesis”, “Pope” Francis reflected on the Last Judgment, and essentially told his faithful that they shouldn’t sweat it because it’s not that big of a deal.
This is perhaps the most blatant expression to date of his false “all-mercy, no-justice” gospel, which preaches a god that is always merciful and never really condemns. (On November 12, 2013, Francis blasphemously asserted that God merely “scolds” but never punishes or “hurts” us. He may want to review the Old and New Testaments for a reality check. Then again, he had already clarified in September that he doesn’t believe in the Catholic God, so at this point, what he really believes is anyone’s guess.)
If there is one thing this wicked world needs to hear, it is the terrible and perfect justice of God that will be meted out to us at the Last Judgment — to everlasting salvation if we die in the state of sanctifying grace (after a mandatory sentence of purgatory for most), and to everlasting punishment in hell if we die in mortal sin. Though in this particular “catechesis” Francis somewhat acknowledges that “non-believers” will be “condemned” (apparently this doesn’t, however, include his Jewish friend Rabbi Skorka, whose meals he himself ensures are kosher; and in any case, Francis rejects the idea that Jews need to convert to Christ for salvation), he nevertheless seems to be saying that all believers will be saved — as though the fires of hell were no real or acute danger even to the members of the church. By speaking in this manner, Francis suggests the heresy of sola fides, “faith alone,” preached by the Protestant archheretic Martin Luther, quite in contrast to the clear teaching of Holy Scripture: “…by works a man is justified; and not by faith only” (James 2:24). And even as regards his admission of unbelievers being “condemned,” he does not really say what this condemnation consists of, calling it a mere “closing in on ourselves”, a typically Modernist phrase that could mean anything — anything but eternal hell fire, actually.
The entire text of Francis’ reflection on the Last Judgment is available in Italian here, but the Vatican web site does not offer the full text in English translation. Nevertheless, this link here seems to have most of the catechesis in English. We will quote a few salient parts:
Do not be afraid of the final judgment of God, when the good will be separated from the bad, because Jesus will always be at our side, because we can rely on the intercession and the benevolence of the saints and because God “did not send his Son to condemn, but to save” and “he who believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is already condemned,” and in this sense “the judgment has already begun”.
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“I believe in eternal life” was the passage from the Creed chosen by the Pope, focusing on the final judgment. “But – he immediately said – do not be afraid.” “When we think of the return of Christ and his final judgment, which will reveal even to its furthest consequences the good each person has done or failed to do during their earthly life, we perceive that we are faced with a mystery that hangs over us that we can not even imagine. A mystery that almost instinctively arouses in us a sense of awe, and perhaps even trepidation. However, if we think carefully about this fact, it can only swell the heart of a Christian and be a great reason of comfort and confidence.”
Firstly, because the Christian revelation ends, in the Apocalypse, with “the embrace of Jesus, who is the fullness of life, the fullness of love. So we embrace Jesus! If we think of the judgment in this perspective, all fear and doubt vanishes and leaves a deep joy and expectation. It will be the time when we will be judged finally ready to be clothed with the glory of Christ, like a wedding garment, and be conducted to the banquet, an image of full and definitive communion with God”.
(“Pope: Never fear the final judgment, because Christ will always be at our side”, Asia News, Dec. 11, 2013)
Francis’ carefree attitude toward death and judgment is not new — his immediate predecessor, Benedict XVI, also had an aversion to mentioning that alternate destination to Heaven. He began his first encyclical letter, supposedly on charity, by omitting an unpopular part of a beautiful Gospel passage he quoted (the words in red are the ones Benedict omitted): “For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting” (Jn 3:16). You can verify for yourself that Benedict left out these crucial but “negative” words from his encyclical on luv — CLICK HERE for a screen shot of the page on the Vatican web site, and click here for the link to the full encyclical (the quote with the omission is found in the second paragraph of the introduction).
By contrast, Holy Mother Church has always given us to understand that we must have a holy, filial fear of death and God’s judgment, which is infinitely perfect and totally unlike the judgments of men, who can only see the outside and are subject to deception, misunderstanding, and a lack of knowledge.
The great Fr. Franz Hunolt, nicknamed the “German St. Alphonsus,” preached powerful sermons about all aspects of Christian life as it pertains to the salvation of our souls, including some on the Four Last Things (Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell). You can read them for free online (start with this link for the sermon index – see Volume 5), or you can purchase a print copy here (BookFinder) or read a scanned version here.
Holy Scripture, of course, is filled with passages speaking of the end of our lives, salvation and damnation, judgment, Heaven, hell, God’s justice and mercy, forgiveness and punishment. Consider just the following few “unpopular” samples and ask yourself if the testimony of Holy Writ does not perhaps create a picture that is a bit less, shall we say, “upbeat” about the soul’s final judgment than the impression Francis gives:
- Isaias 11:3-4
And he [the Messiah] shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge according to the sight of the eyes, nor reprove according to the hearing of the ears. But he shall judge the poor with justice, and shall reprove with equity for the meek of the earth…. - Micheas 7:4
He that is best among them, is as a brier: and he that is righteous, as the thorn of the hedge. The day of thy inspection, thy visitation cometh: now shall be their destruction. - Sophonias 3:5,8
The just Lord is in the midst thereof, he will not do iniquity: in the morning, in the morning he will bring his judgment to light, and it shall not be hid: but the wicked man hath not known shame. Wherefore expect me, saith the Lord, in the day of my resurrection that is to come, for my judgment is to assemble the Gentiles, and to gather the kingdoms: and to pour upon them my indignation, all my fierce anger: for with the fire of my jealousy shall all the earth be devoured. - Amos 5:18,20
Woe to them that desire the day of the Lord: to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light. Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light: and obscurity, and no brightness in it? - Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is prudence. - Malachias 4:5
Behold I will send you Elias the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. - Matthew 7:13-14
Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it! - Matthew 7:22-23
Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and done many miracles in thy name? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity. - Matthew 10:28
And fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body in hell. - Matthew 13:49-50
So shall it be at the end of the world. The angels shall go out, and shall separate the wicked from among the just. And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. - Luke 13:24-25
Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able. But when the master of the house shall be gone in, and shall shut the door, you shall begin to stand without, and knock at the door, saying: Lord, open to us. And he answering, shall say to you: I know you not, whence you are. - Acts of the Apostles 24:25
And as he treated of justice, and chastity, and of the judgment to come, Felix being terrified, answered: For this time, go thy way: but when I have a convenient time, I will send for thee. - Romans 2:2,5
For we know that the judgment of God is, according to truth, against them that do such things. But according to thy hardness and impenitent heart, thou treasurest up to thyself wrath, against the day of wrath, and revelation of the just judgment of God. - Hebrews 10:30-31
For we know him that hath said: Vengeance belongeth to me, and I will repay. And again: The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. - 1 Peter 4:17-18
For the time is, that judgment should begin at the house of God. And if first at us, what shall be the end of them that believe not the gospel of God? And if the just man shall scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? - 1 John 2:28
And now, little children, abide in him, that when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be confounded by him at his coming. - Jude 1:14-15
Now of these Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying: Behold, the Lord cometh with thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to reprove all the ungodly for all the works of their ungodliness, whereby they have done ungodly, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against God. - Apocalypse 3:3
Have in mind therefore in what manner thou hast received and heard: and observe, and do penance. If then thou shalt not watch, I will come to thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know at what hour I will come to thee. - Apocalypse 6:15-17
And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and tribunes, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of mountains: And they say to the mountains and the rocks: Fall upon us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of their wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? - Apocalypse 20:11-15
And I saw a great white throne, and one sitting upon it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away, and there was no place found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing in the presence of the throne, and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged by those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and hell gave up their dead that were in them; and they were judged every one according to their works. And hell and death were cast into the pool of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast into the pool of fire.
Truly, there is nothing that ought to be feared more than the judgment of Almighty God! Biblical testimony is simply super-abundant on this point.
Consider also the wise instruction of the great St. Alphonsus Liguori, who taught the following in a sermon about the Particular Judgment:
Now, what shall be the terror of each of us when we shall be at the point of death, and shall have before our eves the judgment which must take place the very moment the soul departs from the body? Then shall be decided our doom to eternal life, or to eternal death. At the time of the passage of their souls from this life to eternity, the sight of their past sins, the rigor of God’s judgment, and the uncertainty of their eternal salvation, have made the saints tremble. St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi trembled in her sickness, through the fear of judgment; and to her confessor, when he endeavored to give her courage, she said: “Ah! Father, it is a terrible thing to appear before Christ in judgment.” After spending so many years in penance in the desert St. Agatha trembled at the hour of death, and said: “What shall become of me when I shall be judged? The venerable Father Louis da Fonte was seized with such a fit of trembling at the thought of the account which he should render to God, that he shook the room in which he lay. The thought of judgment inspired the venerable Juvenal Ancina, Priest of the Oratory, and afterwards Bishop of Saluzzo, with, the determination to leave the world. Hearing the Dies Irae sung, and considering the terror of the soul when presented before Jesus Christ, the Judge, he took, and afterwards executed, the resolution of giving himself entirely to God.
(St. Alphonsus, Sermon on the Particular Judgment for the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost)
Apparently St. Alphonsus didn’t get the memo that the Final Judgment would be a cakewalk for all who simply “believe” the Gospel.
Let us also recall the warning of St. John Vianney that any soul that does not pray for the grace of final perseverance will not receive it. Not exactly what Jorge Bergoglio has been spouting as of late, is it?
Then there’s the well-known sequence Dies Irae (Day of Wrath), which Holy Mother Church has her priests recite at Requiem Masses for the dead, gives melodic and poetic expression to the terrible and frightening event that will be our judgment. You can watch a beautiful clip of its musical performance here (Mozart version) and read the text in the Latin and in English translation at this link. Ask yourself if the content of the Dies Irae is compatible with Bergoglio’s hippie gospel. Hint: It’s Dies Irae, not Dies Gaudii – Day of Wrath, not Day of Joy.
Don’t be fooled by those Novus Ordo apologists who will find for you a quote here or there from Francis where he seems to be teaching you some orthodox doctrine (if they can find one!), where he appears to be contradicting what he taught on Dec. 11, 2013, in his Wednesday catechesis. Such are but the tricks of heretics and deceivers, which allow them to inject the poison of their errors all the more cleverly:
It often happens that certain unworthy ideas come forth in the Church of God which, although they directly contradict each other, plot together to undermine the purity of the Catholic faith in some way. It is very difficult to cautiously balance our speech between both enemies in such a way that We seem to turn Our backs on none of them, but to shun and condemn both enemies of Christ equally. Meanwhile the matter is such that diabolical error, when it has artfully colored its lies, easily clothes itself in the likeness of truth while very brief additions or changes corrupt the meaning of expressions; and confession, which usually works salvation, sometimes, with a slight change, inches toward death.
(Pope Clement XIII, Encyclical In Dominico Agro [1761], n. 2)
Similarly, Pope Pius VI firmly denounced…
the erroneous pretext that … seemingly shocking affirmations in one place are further developed along orthodox lines in other places, and even in yet other places corrected; as if allowing for the possibility of either affirming or denying the statement, or of leaving it up to the personal inclinations of the individual – such has always been the fraudulent and daring method used by innovators to establish error. It allows for both the possibility of promoting error and of excusing it.
He then slammed the heretic Nestorius, who…
expressed himself in a plethora of words, mixing true things with others that were obscure; mixing at times one with the other in such a way that he was also able to confess those things which were denied while at the same time possessing a basis for denying those very sentences which he confessed.
The same Pope Pius then gave clear instruction as to how to deal with such heresies-in-orthodox-disguise:
Whenever it becomes necessary to expose statements that disguise some suspected error or danger under the veil of ambiguity, one must denounce the perverse meaning under which the error opposed to Catholic truth is camouflaged.
(Pope Pius VI, Bull Auctorem Fidei [1794], corpus)
Anyone who would seek to deny the truth about the danger of hell and the seriousness of God’s judgment, preaches a false gospel; he is a false prophet, a false teacher, a liar, and an antichrist (cf. 2 Cor 11:4; 2 Tim 4:3; Gal 1:6-9; 1 Jn 4:3; 2 Jn 1:9). We have been warned!
Ponder this: Who would have an interest in making sure you do not fear your own judgment? Is it God? Or is it not rather the old Enemy, the father of lies (cf. Jn 8:44) that already tempted Eve in the Garden, claiming deceitfully, “No, you shall not die the death” (Gen 3:4)?
The gospel preached by Francis is straight from hell.
“But the hireling, and he that is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and flieth: and the wolf catcheth, and scattereth the sheep: And the hireling flieth, because he is a hireling: and he hath no care for the sheep” (Jn 10:12-13).
Regardless of whether Francis be the wolf or the hireling, he is definitely not the Shepherd!
Do not listen to Francis — he is an antipope, a deceiver, a false teacher (see more evidence here). Take good care of your soul; fear God’s judgment, and prepare your soul for the day when you shall meet Him to render an account of your works: “…for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible: and who can stand it?” (Joel 2:11).
Francis’ new and improved version of Michelangelo’s Last Judgment in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel. Clearly, the Renaissance artist totally missed the true nature and impact of this little get-together at the end of our lives, which, acc. to Francis, essentially consists of a high-five, a back slap, and a hearty “Welcome to Heaven, buddy!”
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