What the Candles Teach
Even the pagans gave their candles some kind of symbolism. For them, the candle represented a weak and poor imitation of their sun-god, who they thought gave them light and warmth. If they can see such things represented in a candle, how much more should a follower of Christ see! 

Of course, for us the candle also represents a deity, but not some pagan god, but the one, true God—Our Lord Jesus Christ. We are but poor and weak imitations of Christ in this world. Even though it was the Lutherans who initially, in the 1500’s, took the pagan custom of lighting candles during the winter season and gave to their custom a Christian meaning and symbolism, it does not annul certain truths found therein. Otherwise the Catholic Church would not have accepted and integrated the custom into its bosom. For some particular aspects of truth can still be discovered even by those who are in general error. 

Candle Controversies
Some Advent wreathes have four candles; other have five. Those which have five, always have a larger white candle in the center of the four surrounding candles (4 purple, or 3 purple and 1 rose; or 4 white; or 4 blue—varying from country to country, and from one religious denomination to another). Some may argue over the number and the color and which is more appropriate, but personally, since the custom comes the pagans and was then ‘christened’ by the Lutherans, and only then adopted and adapted by the Catholics, I don’t think it really matters—after all, it is not a dogmatic thing, but a symbolic thing, and the symbolic interpretations are many and varied, even among Catholics alone!

Christ is Central
The most Christocentric combination would seem to be the larger, wider and taller central candle that represents Jesus Christ, being surrounded by the four smaller candles. For Christ should be at the center of all things; He should be the center of our existence; He should have the prime place in the center of our hearts; our whole life should revolve around Him. 

As for the color, it seems most fitting and theologically correct that the larger central candle, representing Christ, should be made of beeswax (symbolizing innocence and purity); and that the surrounding candles be purple—which symbolizes penance, which in turn presupposes, not innocence and purity, but sin and guilt, that have to be paid for through penance. The small candles are not made of beeswax, but of some lesser material, representing the world. its sin, guilt and worldliness. 

Advent Candles & Paschal Candles
This is a foreshadowing of the use of two kinds and sizes of candle used during the Paschal or Easter Vigil ceremonies, that bring to an end another penitential period—that of Lent. There we see the large Paschal Candle representing Christ, which is lit in total darkness—symbolizing the darkness of a world that tries to do without Christ—and from that Paschal Candle we light our smaller candles. Again, the Paschal Candle is made of beeswax, but the smaller candles are not. The more candles that are lit from the Paschal Candle, the more light is shed around and everything brightens up.

The flame of the candles represents God, His divinity and grace. God the Father appeared to Moses in the burning bush; God the Son showed Himself as a burning heart to St. Margaret Mary; God the Holy Ghost came down upon Our Lady and the Apostles in the form of tongues of fire at Pentecost. God chooses fire to show both His love, His mercy and His justice. Those in Heaven experience the fire of His love; those in Purgatory experience the fire of His mercy; those in Hell experience the fire of His justice. We even say, in the prayer to the Holy Ghost, “Come O Holy Ghost … enkindle in us the fire of Thy love.”  

Without God and His grace in our souls (candles), we are useless, just like an extinguished candle. A candle was made to burn, not to be extinguished. It should spend its life giving light to those around, as Our Lord said: “Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house. So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father Who is in Heaven” (Matthew 5:15). 

Candle & Virtue
The candle very fittingly represents the three theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. A candle gives off light, so that we see the things around us clearly, just as Faith helps us see God more clearly and helps us see the world for what it really is. 

A candle is also necessary to light our path and to lead us out of pit or cavern of this world, in which we have blundered into; without that light, there is a danger of injury in the darkness by stumbling into things, and there is no hope of seeing where to go in order to emerge from the darkness; this symbolizes the virtue of Hope. 

The candle also gives off, not just light, but also warmth. This is a symbol of Charity, that we should show to all those around us, just as God  does, so “that you may be the children of your Father Who is in Heaven, Who maketh His sun to rise upon the good, and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5:45).

The combination of these three virtues should lead us to imitate the larger Candle of Christ, in burning ourselves out in this life for the love of God and neighbor … “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind: and thy neighbor as thyself” (Luke 10:27) ... “Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13) ... and our first and foremost Friend is God (Father, Son and Holy Ghost), then Our Lady, then the rest of the Mystical Body in hierarchical order.

Candle, Mercy & Grace
As the candle cannot light itself, neither can we obtain the grace of God by ourselves—nobody has an automatic meritorious right to the initial grace of God. Grace, as the catechism tells us, is “a gift of God, freely given.” God’s grace inspires us; God’s grace ‘jump-starts’ us; God’s grace keeps us running until we reach our destination—“Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5). Each time we relight the Advent candles, we should think of the times when grace was absent from our souls, and God, by His mercy, re-lit divine life in our sinful repentant souls. 

In the previous Daily Advent Thoughts, we spoke of the candles symbolizing both Christ and ourselves. Let us begin with a deeper reflection upon that point. The wax of candle is a figure of the body, and the wick inside the body of the candle represents the soul. If we use a 5-candle Advent wreath, with the 5th candle being a larger white candle, surrounded by four smaller purple candles, we can see the beautiful symbolism of the innocence of Christ reflected in the color white, and the guilt and need for penance of ourselves reflected in the color purple.

Weeping Burning Candles
The wax that the purple candles 'weep' and drip, is symbolic of tears of sorrow for sin. The diminishing size of the candles as they burn with the flame of love and sorrow, is a symbol of humility, as St. John the Baptist, the prophet of penance who burned in the scorching desert heat, said: "He must increase, but I must decrease"(John 3:30). These two aspects, humility and charity, are the foundation of our sanctity and salvation. Let us develop that theme a little a more.

The purple candles will have been lit and burned at different stages throughout Advent, yet all will have spent considerable time burning before they enjoy seeing the white candle of Christ finally lit and burning in the midst of them at the end of the Vigil of Christmas, at midnight, signifying the birth and long-awaited arrival of the Son of God at Bethlehem. The fact that the purple candles have been lit at different stages throughout Advent (1st week, 2nd week, 3rd week and 4th week) can interpreted in various ways.

Advent Candles and the Vineyard
One interpretation is linked to the parable of the workers in the vineyard, where the owner of the vineyard, “…went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard. And having agreed with the laborers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 


"And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing in the market place idle. And he said to them: ‘Go you also into my vineyard, and I will give you what shall be just.’  And they went their way.  


"And again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did in like manner.  But about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing, and he saith to them: ‘Why stand you here all the day idle?’  They say to him: ‘Because no man hath hired us’. He saith to them: ‘Go you also into my vineyard.’  


"And when evening was come, the lord of the vineyard saith to his steward: ‘Call the laborers and pay them their hire, beginning from the last even to the first.’  When therefore they were come, that came about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.  But when the first also came, they thought that they should receive more: and they also received every man a penny.  


"And receiving it they murmured against the master of the house, saying: ‘These last have worked but one hour, and thou hast made them equal to us, that have borne the burden of the day and the heats.’  But he answering said to one of them: ‘Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst thou not agree with me for a penny?  Take what is thine, and go thy way.  I will also give to this last even as to thee.  Or, is it not lawful for me to do what I will?  Is thy eye evil, because I am good?’” (Matthew 20:1-15).

This dovetails beautifully with the symbolism of the Advent candles. We have the master calling in workers at four main periods of the day, just as we have the four weeks of Advent: 

(1) the start of the day, as the first candle is lit at the start of Advent and burns throughout the whole Advent period; 
(2) at the third hour, which is akin to the second week of Advent; 
(3) at the sixth hour, which can represent the third week of Advent; and 
(4) the ninth hour, in which we can see the fourth week of Advent. 
Finally, being merciful, he goes out at the eleventh hour, which could represent Christmas Eve and even accepts workers at the last minute, like Christ accepted the Good Thief’s repentance on the cross, at the last hour of his life. 


Yet, no matter at what time the laborers came into work, they all saw the same reward—one penny! That penny seems a little thing to us today, for today's minimum wage is many hundreds of pennies for just one hour’s work! Yet that little penny can also be seen to represent the little child Jesus, Who wants to give Himself to each and every one of us, no matter how early or how late we came in to labor and sweat in His vineyard. The reward is the same—the little ‘mustard-seed’ of the infant Jesus is given to all who repent of sin, do penance and sincerely (and even half-sincerely) desire Him.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE ADVENT SEASON

Advent is the liturgical season that precedes and prepares for Christmas. It is a season of hope and of longing, of increased prayer and penance, of joyful expectation and of peaceful preparation. Many symbols and traditions are associated with Advent, especially the Advent Wreath with its four colored candles (three purple and one pink), but also Advent calendars, special Advent music, food, processions, and other traditions that may vary from one culture or region to the next. Here are a few interesting things to know about Advent:

When and how long is Advent? 
For most Christians, the Advent Season always begins four Sundays before Christmas; so it is rarely four full weeks long, but only between three and four weeks, depending on what weekday December 25th happens to be in a certain year. (click here for more specifics on the calendar) 

The First Sunday of Advent, which also marks the beginning of the new liturgical year for the Church, could be as early as November 27th or as late as December 3rd. 

The Third Sunday of Advent is traditionally called “Gaudete Sunday” (from Latin, meaning “Rejoice!), because the “Entrance Antiphon” of this Sunday’s Mass is taken from Paul’s letter to the Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near.” (Phil 4:4-5) 

The Fourth Sunday of Advent could be as early as December 18th, a full week before Christmas (as in 2005 and 2011), or as late as December 24th, making it the same day as “Christmas Eve” (as in 2006 or 2017). 
Advent technically ends of the afternoon of December 24th, since that evening, Christmas Eve, begins the Christmas Season. 

Most Eastern Orthodox and other Eastern Christian Churches have a “Nativity Fast” (now often called “Advent Fast”), which usually lasts forty days before Christmas; it may begin on November 15th (for those Churches that celebrate Christmas on December 25th), or in late November (for those Churches that celebrate Christmas on January 7th or 8th). The fasting and penance of Advent has changed greatly over the centuries, leaving us with almost nothing today. In the earlier days of the Church, a forty-day fast was commonplace as a preparation and build-up to Christmas.

What does the word “Advent” mean? 
When capitalized, “Advent” usually refers to “the coming of Christ into the world” or to “the liturgical period preceding Christmas”; it may also refer to the “Second Coming” of Christ (the “Advent of our Lord”). 
In secular English, “advent” (not capitalized) may refer to any “coming” or “arrival,” especially of something so important that it radically changed a whole culture (e.g., “The advent of electricity” or “The advent of the computer age”). 

The word is derived from the Latin adventus (“arrival, approach”), made up of the preposition ad- (“to, towards”), the verbal root ven- (from venire, “to come”), and the suffix -tus (indicating verbal action). 

The word is very similar in many other European languages: Advent, Advento, Avent, Avvento, Adviento, etc. 

What are the traditional colors of Advent? 
In the Roman Catholic Church, the official liturgical color for most of the Season of Advent is violet. Only on the Third Sunday of Advent is a rose (pink) colored candle lit, as a symbol of joy; the priest may also wear rose vestments on this Sunday. 

Many Anglicans and some Protestant Churches use blue instead of violet throughout Advent, although they may also use rose/pink on the Third Sunday. 

Other church decorations (altar cloths, banners, etc.) will often have combinations of violet, pink, and blue throughout the season. Liturgically-minded churches will avoid greens and reds (the secular Christmas colors), and will wait until the Christmas season to use decorations with white, silver, and gold colors. 

What is the Advent Wreath? 
Many churches and families prominently display an evergreen wreath with four candles throughout the Advent Season.

It is traditionally made of some type or mixture of evergreens (fir, spruce, juniper, holly, etc.), symbolizing the continuation of life in the middle of the cold and dark winter (in the northerly latitudes, at least). 

Advent wreaths traditionally include three purple/violet candles and one pink/rose-colored candle, which are arranged evenly around the wreath, although some people use four violet or four white candles. 

Only one purple candle is lit during the first week, two in the second week, three (incl. the pink one) in the third week, and all four during the fourth week of Advent; the gradually increasing light symbolizes the approach of Christmas, the birth of Jesus, the light of the world. 

Since the rose candle is not lit until the Third Sunday of Advent, it is best to start on the First Sunday of Advent lighting the purple candle located directly opposite the pink one, and then to continue clockwise around the wreath in the following weeks. Thus, one could go in the following orders: 1-right, 2-front, 3-left (rose), 4-back; or 1-front right, 2-front left, 3-back left (rose), and 4-back right. 

In many churches, a large wreath is ritually blessed at the beginning of the first liturgy on the First Sunday of Advent. Families can also use a smaller Advent wreath in their homes, which they themselves can bless 

Families can gather around the wreath daily for some brief Advent prayers and readings, especially at the time of the evening meal, lighting the appropriate number of candles for each week. Click here for some Advent Family Prayers; or see the Blessing Rituals for Advent, from the Shorter Book of Blessings. 

Some traditions assign specific symbolism to each of the candles:

1) The Prophet’s Candle, symbolizing Hope; 2) The Bethlehem Candle, symbolizing Faith;
3) The Shepherd’s Candle, symbolizing Joy; 4) The Angel’s Candle, symbolizing Peace. 

Some churches and families add a fifth candle (white) in the middle of the wreath for Christmas Eve or Day; others continue using the same wreath throughout the Christmas Season, replacing the colored Advent candles with fresh candles that are white or gold, symbolizing the arrival of Christ, the light of the world. 

What are the “O” Antiphons at the end of Advent?
The seven days from December 17th to December 23rd also make use of the “O Antiphons,” during Vespers (Evening Prayer) in the Liturgy of the Hours. 

These Antiphons cover the special period of Advent preparation known as the Octave before Christmas, from December 17th to December 23rd, with December 24th being Christmas Eve and Vespers for that evening being for the Christmas Vigil.

Originally incorporated into the monastic office in the Middle Ages, these Antiphons, often called the “Greater Antiphons” or the “O Antiphons”, are also echoed in the daily breviary. They add a mood of eager expectation to the liturgy, that builds throughout these seven days and climaxes at Christmas. 

The exact origin of the “O Antiphons” is not known. The Antiphons date back at least to the reign of Charlemagne (771-814), and the 439 lines of the English poem Christ, by Cynewulf (around 800 AD), are described as a loose translation and elaboration of the Antiphons.  One source stated that Boethius (c. 480-524) made a slight reference to them, thereby suggesting their presence at that time.  Julian reports that two 11th century copies can be found in manuscripts in the British Museum and the Bodleian. The usage of the “O Antiphons” was so prevalent in monasteries that the phrases, “Keep your O” and “The Great O Antiphons” were common parlance.

What other liturgical celebrations can occur during the Season of Advent?
Several “Feasts” and “Memorials” or "Commemorations" of saints can be celebrated on the weekdays of Advent, but most of them are omitted if their date happens to fall on a Sunday in a particular year, since these celebrations are considered less important than the Sundays of Advent. 

November 30th — Feast of St. Andrew, the Apostle — may occur just before or during the first week of Advent, depending on the year. 

December 6th — St. Nicholas — although the day is only an “optional memorial” on the Roman liturgical calendar, this popular saint gave rise to the gift-giving tradition now woefully associated with the make-believe “Santa Claus.” In certain countries, December 6th is still a day when parents give simple gifts (often fruit or nuts) to their children. 

December 8th — Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary — a Holy Day of Obligation in the United States; if December 8th falls on a Sunday, this Solemnity is transferred to Monday, December 9th.
 
December 12th — Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe — only ranked as a “Memorial” in much of the world, but considered an important “Feast” in the United States and many Latino countries. 

The “Memorials” of several other saints can be celebrated during Advent, but only if they fall on a weekday, not on Sunday: 

St. Francis Xavier (December 3rd), St. Ambrose (Decemebr 7th), St. Lucy (December 13th), and a few other “optional memorials” (St. John of Damascus, St. Nicholas, St. Juan Diego, Pope St. Damasus I, St. Peter Canisius, and St. John Cantius).

Q. What is the meaning of the word Advent, and what do we understand by it?
A. He word Advent signifies Coming, and by it is understood the visible coming of the Son of God, at two different times, to this world.

Q. When was the first coming of Christ?
A. It was when the Son of God, conceived by the Holy Ghost in the womb of the most pure Virgin Mary, was born, according to the flesh, in the fullness of time, and sanctified the world by His coming for which the patriarchs and prophets had so longed (Genesis 49:10; Isaias 64:1; Luke 10:24).

Q. Since Christ had not yet come—how were the just of the Old Law saved?
A. Immediately after their sin God revealed to our first parents (Genesis 3:15) that His only begotten Son would become man and redeem the world. In the hope of this Redeemer and through His future merits all in the old covenant who participated in His merits by innocence or by penance, and who died in the grace of God, were saved, although they were excluded from Heaven until the ascension of Christ.

Q. When will the second coming of Christ take place?
A. At the end of the world when Christ will come with great power and majesty to judge both the living and the dead.

Q. What is Advent, and why has the Church instituted it?
A. Advent is that solemn time, immediately preceding Christmas, instituted by the Church in order that we should in the first place meditate on the Incarnation of Christ, the love, patience and humility which He has shown us, and to prove our gratitude to Him that He came from the bosom of His heavenly Father into this valley of tears, to redeem us; secondly, that we may prepare ourselves by sincere repentance, by fasting, prayer, alms-deeds, and other works pleasing to God, for the coming of Christ and His birth in our hearts, and thus participate in the graces which He has obtained for us; finally, that He may be merciful to us when He shall come again as judge of the world. “Watch ye and pray, for ye know not at what hour the Son of Man may come” (Matthew 24:42-44)

Q. How was Advent formerly observed?
A. Very differently from now. It then commenced with the feast of St. Martin, and was observed by the faithful like the Forty Days Fast with strict fasting and pious devotional exercises; as even now the most religious communities fast, and the Church has forbidden all noisy amusements, weddings, dancing and concerts among Christians during Advent. Pope Sylverius ordered that those who seldom receive Holy Communion should at least do so on every Sunday in Advent.

Q. How should this solemn time be spent by Christians?
A. They should recall, during these four weeks, the four thousand years in which the just under the Old Law expected and desired the promised Redeemer, think of those days of darkness in which nearly all the nations were blinded by Satan and drawn into the most horrible crimes, then to consider their own sins and evil deeds and purify their souls from them by a worthy reception of the Sacraments, so that Our Lord may come with His grace to dwell in their hearts and be merciful to them in life and in death.

Furthermore, to awaken in the faithful the feelings of repentance so necessary for the reception of the Savior in their hearts, the Church orders that besides the observance of certain fastdays, the altar shall be draped in violet, that Mass shall be celebrated in violet vestments, that the organ shall be silent and no Gloria sung. Unjust to themselves, disobedient to the Church, and ungrateful, indeed, to God are those Christians and Catholics who spend this solemn time of grace presented to them, without any special devotions, without performing any good works, with no longing for the coming of Christ into their hearts, without receiving the sacraments, perhaps in foolish, even sometimes in sinful amusements.

Q. What were “Rorate-High-Masses” and why were they celebrated?
A. They were the solemn High-Masses celebrated in some countries in commemoration of the tidings brought to the Blessed Virgin by the Archangel Gabriel, announcing to her that she was to become the Mother of God, and derive their name from the words of the Intro it in the Votive-Mass in honor of our beloved Lady “Rorate coeli desuper”; and are also sometimes called the Angel’s High-Mass. They were celebrated very early in the morning, because the Blessed Virgin preceded Our Lord, as the aurora the rising sun.

 
PRAYER IN ADVENT
God, who by Thy gracious advent hast brought joy into this world, grant us, we beseech Thee, Thy grace to prepare ourselves by sincere penance for its celebration and for the Last Judgment. Amen.

The First Sunday in Advent is the first day of the Ecclesiastical Year, and the beginning of the holy season of Advent. The Church commences, on this day, to contemplate the great longing with which the just of the Old Law desired the coming of the Redeemer; on these days and during the entire season of Advent she unites her prayers with their sighs in order to awaken in her children also the desire for the grace of the Redeemer; above all to move them to do true penance for their sins, because these are the greatest obstacles in the path of that gracious Advent; therefore she sings at the Introit or Entrance Hymn  of the day’s Mass: 

“To Thee, Lord, have I lifted up my soul. In Thee, my God, I put my trust; let me not be ashamed. Neither let my enemies laugh at me: for none of them that wait on Thee shall be confounded. Show, Lord, Thy ways to me and teach me Thy paths” (Psalm 24:1-4). Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. Amen. 

THE PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
“Show forth Thy power, Lord, and come that we may merit to be delivered by Thy protection from the imminent danger of our sins, and be saved by Thee, our Liberator. Who livest and reignest with God the Father together with the Holy Ghost, God for ever and ever. Amen. “

THE EPISTLE (Romans 12:11-14)
“Brethren! You know the time, that it is now the hour for us to rise from sleep. For now our salvation is nearer than when we believed. The night is passed and the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day, not in eating and drunkenness, not in chambering and impurities, not in contention and envy: but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Q. What does St. Paul teach us in this Epistle? 
A. After fully explaining the duties of a Christian life to the Romans who were converted especially by St. Peter, he exhorts them to hesitate no longer to fulfill them, and seeks to move their hearts in this time of grace, presented to them by the Christian regulation. 

Q. What is meant here by sleep? 
A. The stupidity and blindness of the soul that, forgetting her God, is sunk in a lukewarm, effeminate, slothful and lustful life, which when it is gone, leaves behind nothing more than a dream had in sleep. 

Q. Why does St. Paul say, “salvation is nearer”? 
A. He wishes to impress upon the Romans that they now have far greater hope of salvation than when they first became Christians, and that they should secure it by a pious life, because death, and the moment on which depended their salvation, or eternal reward, was drawing near. “What is our life”, says St. Chrysostom, “other than a course, a dangerous course to death, through death to immortality”? 

Q. What is the signification of day and night? 
A. The night signifies the time before Christ, full of darkness, of infidelity and of injustice; the day represents the present time, the time of grace and of the gospel light in the Church, in which Christ enlightens the whole world with the light of the true faith. 

Q. What are “the works of darkness?” 
A. All sins, and especially those which are committed in the dark, and shun the eye of God and man. 

Q. What is the “armor of light?” 
A. That faith, virtue and grace, the spiritual armor, with which we battle against our three enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil, and in which we should walk honestly before all men. A Christian who in Baptism, has renounced the devil and all his pomps, dares not live in vice and impurities, but must put on Christ Jesus, that is, must adorn his soul with the imitation of Christ’s virtues, as with a beautiful garment. This text (verse 13) moved St. Augustine to fly from all works of uncleanliness in which he has been involved, and to lead a pure life which he had before thought is difficult to do. 

ASPIRATION
Grant, Lord, that we may rise by penance from the sleep of our sins, may walk in the light of Thy grace by the performance of good works , may put on Thee, and adorn our souls with the imitation of Thy virtues. Amen. 

THE GOSPEL (Luke 21:25-33). 
“And there shall be signs in the sun and in the moon, and in the stars: and upon the Earth distress of nations, by reason of the confusion of the roaring of the sea, and of the waves. Men withering away for fear, and expectation of what shall come upon the whole world. For the powers of heavens shall be moved: and then they shall see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with great power and majesty. But when these things begin to come to pass, look up and lift up your heads: because your redemption is at hand. And He spoke to them a similitude. See the fig-tree and all the trees: when they now shoot forth their fruit, you know that summer is nigh. So you also, when you shall see these things come to pass, know that the kingdom of God is at hand. Amen, I say to you, this generation shall not pass away, till all things be fulfilled. Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” 

Q. Why does the Church command the Gospel of the Last Judgment to he read today? 
A. To move us to penance, and force us to prepare our souls for the coming of Christ by placing the terrible coming in the Last Judgment before our minds. For nothing can, and nothing should, more deter us from sin and urge us on to virtue, than the thought that, in this judgment, all good and all evil will be made public, and be either rewarded or punished in the presence of the whole world. 

Q. What signs will precede the Last Judgment? 
A. The sun will be obscured, the stars will lose their light and disappear in the firmament (Isaias 12:10), and in their place fiery objects will be seen in the heavens and will fall upon the Earth; lightning and flames will surround the Earth and wither up everything; the powers of Heaven will be shaken, the elements be dissolved and brought to confusion; the waters of the Earth will rise up and break in upon the land, and their roaring joined with the howling of the winds, and the beating of the storms, will fill man with terror and dread. Such evils and distress will come upon the world that men will wither away from fear not knowing whither to turn. Even the choirs of angels and the heavenly dominations will be terrified, until at last the sign of the Son of Man, the Sign of the Cross, will appear in the heavens, the terror of the sinners who have scorned it, the consolation of the just who have loved it (Matthew 24:30). 

Q. Why will all this come to pass? 
A. Because the people have loved the creatures of God inordinately, more than the Creator, and used them only to His dishonor, He will destroy them in this terrible manner, arming all creatures for the vengeance of His enemies (Wisdom 5:8), and showing by the manner of their destruction the evils which will fall upon all sinners. The darkness of the sun will indicate the darkness of Hell, the blood-red moon the anger and wrath of God; the disappearance and falling of the stars the fall of sinners into the abysses of Hell and their disappearance from Earth; and the madness of the elements the rage of the beast of Hell. Sinners will then vainly and too late repent that they have attached their hearts to things which will end so horribly and that only increase their torments. 

Q. Why, through all this, does Christ command: “Lift up your heads for your redemption is at hand”? 
A. These words are spoken to the just who as long as they live  on Earth are like prisoners and exiles, but at the Last Judgment  will be taken body and soul into their long desired fatherland, the  Kingdom of Heaven: into the freedom of the children of God. These will have reason to raise their heads, now bowed in mourning and to rejoice. 

Q. How will the Last Judgment commence? 
A. By the command of God the angels will sound the trumpets summoning men from all the four parts of the Earth to come to judgment (Thessalonians 4:15). Then the bodies of the dead, of the just and of the unjust, will unite with their souls, be brought to the Valley of Jehosophat, and there placed, the just on the right, the unjust on the left (as stated in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25:33). Then will appear the angels and also the devils, then Christ Himself will be seen coming, in a cloud in such power and majesty, that the sinners will be filled with terror, will not dare to look at Him, and will cry to the mountains to fall upon them and to the hills to cover them up (Luke 23:30). 

Q. How will the judgment be held? 
A. The books of conscience closed with this life, upon which all men are to be judged, will be opened; all good and evil thoughts, words, deeds and motives, even the most secret known only to God, will then be as plainly revealed to the whole world as if they were written on each ones forehead; and by these each one will be judged, eternally rewarded or eternally punished.  Heavens above! If we must then give an account of every idle word (Matthew 12:36), how can we stand in the face of so many sinful words and actions! 

Q. Why will God hold an universal public judgment? 
A. Although immediately after death a special, private judgment of each soul takes place, God has ordained a public and universal judgment for the following reasons: 

First, that it may be shown clearly, to all, how just has been His private judgment, and also that the body, which has been the instrument of sin or of virtue, may share in the soul’s punishment or reward. 

Secondly, that the justice they could by no means obtain in this life, may be given before the whole world to the oppressed poor, and to persecuted innocence; and that the wicked who have abused the righteous, and yet have been considered honest and good, may be shamed before all. 

Thirdly, that the graces and means of salvation bestowed upon each may be made known.

Fourthly, that the blessed providence of God which often permitted the righteous to suffer evil while the wicked prospered, may be vindicated, and it be shown, on that day, that His acts are acts of the greatest wisdom. 

Fifthly, that the wicked may learn the goodness of God, not for their comfort or benefit, but their greatest sorrow, that they may see how He rewards even the slightest work performed for His love and honor. 

Finally, that Christ may be exalted before the wicked on Earth, as before the good in Heaven, and that His word’s truth may be solemnly made manifest.