When the Son of Man comes in his glory, all the nations will be gathered before him, Jesus tells us in the Gospel of Matthew.

God has placed us in this world and offers us His help so that we may love Him, obey Him, and be happy with Him in Heaven. I remember learning as a child—it was customary for us to memorize the answers—that God is the Lord and Creator of all things, that He rewards the good and punishes the wicked. We understand that punishment is sought by willfully disobeying, by not wanting what is good, and by rejecting the path God offers us to go to Heaven.

The Gospel describes what the Last Judgment will be like at the end of time. It also explains the existence of a Particular Judgment, at the moment the soul separates from the body. We see examples of each person’s destiny, to Hell or to Heaven, in the parable of the rich man and in Christ’s words to the good thief. The rich man is in Hell for not loving God or others. He wants to leave, or at least for his family to be helped to go to Heaven. This is understandable, because it is eternal suffering. The good thief shows his repentance, and Christ assures him that he will be in Heaven that very day. He gives us encouragement and hope that we always have time to return to God, but it must be during this life; afterward, it is too late.

We will be judged by our deeds, in relation to our love for God and what He proposes to us. We are reminded of this now in November, the month of the dead, not so that we may fear God. On the contrary, it is to correct what leads us astray from the path shown to us through the Commandments and the Sacraments, indispensable aids to reaching Jesus. Loving God above all things leads us to desire to know Him better, and this is achieved through prayer. And the Lord tells us that without Him we can do nothing, but He offers us the help of receiving Him in Holy Communion, repentant of our sins, through the Sacrament of Penance.