¹ Now, dearest brothers, when the divine reading was proclaimed, we heard the blessed Apostle both fearfully and beneficially warning us. For he says: “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive recompense for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil”. The Lord Himself also declares this in the Gospel, saying: “The Son of Man will come in His glory with His angels, and then He will repay each person according to his deeds”.

² I ask you, dearest brothers, to listen carefully and to tremble together with me, for He did not say that He will repay each one according to His mercy, but according to his deeds. Here, He is merciful; there, He is just. For the fact that He does not immediately punish sinners is an act of patience, not neglect. He has not lost His power but has reserved us for repentance. Therefore, we must greatly fear that the longer He waits for us to amend our ways, the more severely He may judge us if we refuse to change.

³ Since this is so, dearest brothers, we must recognize and understand that nothing is more beneficial for us than to renounce the pleasures of this present life and instead reflect on the moment when we will depart from this world—when, on the final day, we will lay aside the tent of our body, only to receive it again at the time of the resurrection. And we will receive it again in order to be judged according to what we have done, whether good or evil.

⁴ Therefore, I urge you, brothers, to think daily about what we will be like on the Day of Judgment, when we will be presented before the most pure sight of the angels and will have to give an account before the eternal Judge, according to the books of our conscience. For on that day, there will be no external proofs needed—it is certain that a person will stand before God, and his very soul will be shown to him as in a mirror of the heart. The witnesses against him will not come from outside, but from within his own soul.

⁵ There will be no foreign or unknown testimonies presented, but rather those that are all too familiar—his own deeds. Before the wretched soul, its sins and crimes will be laid out, so that both the evidence may convict it and the recognition may bring it shame, according to what is written: “I will rebuke you and lay it all before your eyes”. Whoever neglects to amend himself now, while he still has time, will first suffer the punishment of shame before the entire heavenly assembly. And the soul that now refuses to heal the festering wounds of its sins through the swift remedy of repentance will remain forever wounded before that fearsome tribunal, without any hope of cure.

⁶ Since this is so, it would go well for us if we now repented over our sins in the same way that we will one day regret them—though then, it will be without remedy. If only we could see now, with the same clarity we will have then, the filth and shame of our sins! If we could already perceive and recoil in horror at them as we will on that day! Oh, if only we could now gaze upon the face of a sinful soul with our bodily eyes and bring the image of our conscience before our very sight! If this were possible, it is beyond words how urgently and fearfully we would strive to set right what has been defiled, to cleanse what is stained, and to heal what is wounded. But since we cannot do this with our bodily eyes, let us examine ourselves as much as we are able with the eyes of the heart. Let us now bring our conscience before the presence of our inner self. Let us correct ourselves, and let us hold ourselves accountable for our daily conduct.

⁷ Each soul should speak to itself in the depths of its heart and ask: “Have I passed this day without sin, without envy, without slander, without murmuring? Have I done anything today that contributes to the growth of my soul? Did I lie today? Was I overcome by anger or desire? Did I do good for anyone? And finally, did I even sigh with sorrow at the fear of eternal death?” Who will give me back this day that I have wasted on empty things, that I have spent consumed by harmful and wicked thoughts?

⁸ And so, brothers, let us be struck with compunction for all our negligences in our inner chambers—that is, in our hearts. Let us condemn ourselves, let us accuse ourselves daily before our Judge. While we are still in this flesh, let us, with the Lord’s help, battle daily against the flesh itself. Let us overcome our desires and intentions while we await that most longed-for and blessed time, when the happy transformation into eternal life succeeds this present state. Then shall be fulfilled what the Lord said: “They will be like the angels”, and again: “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father”.

⁹ Consider what the radiance of souls will be like then, when the brightness of bodies will match the splendour of the sun! For when we have reached that blessedness, there will be no sorrow, no fear, no death. No weakness will remain to hinder us from serving our Lord, nor will any opposition of bodily misery stand against us. Nor will there be any further necessity for struggle. That time will come when there will be no longer any need for food or sleep, no weariness from fasting, and no fear of restlessness from the flesh or temptation from the enemy. But once our adversary has been cast down into the depths of hell, we shall first rejoice in this happiness: that we shall no longer even desire to sin, nor be able to.

¹⁰ When all iniquity, all misery, and all sorrow cease, innocence will reign supreme, joy will be complete, and happiness will be perfect. No one who is in a lower state will suffer wretchedness, nor will the more fortunate fear envy, for every trace of malice will be removed and utterly extinguished. The love of the angels will pass into the hearts of men, and human beings, now joined to them, will shine with celestial glory in their restored bodies—bodies free from the frailty of the flesh.

¹¹ Thus, they will no longer grow weary of the eternal power of their Lord, nor will they ever falter in their everlasting exultation of praise. We shall possess perfect beatitude among the boundless blessings of our God, so that we shall never tire of giving Him thanks. We will have become coheirs with Him who said: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world”.

¹² Behold what blessedness will be lost by the one who refuses to amend his ways during the time given for repentance, who fails to redeem himself with his own possessions while they are still his to give, who turns the remedies for his wounds into instruments of greed or luxury and submits his unhappy neck to them. But we, brothers, with God’s help, must refuse to be slaves to sins when such great beatitude is being prepared for us in heaven. While we still have the chance and it remains within our power, let us reject what is false and fleeting so that we may be found worthy to receive what is truly good. Let us empty ourselves of vices and be filled with virtues, for no one can receive what is good unless he is first willing to be freed from evil.

¹³ Indeed, vessels filled with mud cannot receive or contain the pure liquid of the elements, and a field overgrown with thorns will not nourish the seeds sown upon it unless diligent labour has first uprooted them. Instead, it will choke the seed, for it is written: “The kindly spirit of the Lord will not dwell in a body enslaved to sin”.

¹⁴ As we sail through this world, like travelers navigating a stormy sea, let us hasten to drain the bilge of our vices so that we may reach the homeland of paradise. Let our souls be adorned with good works, like a ship laden with precious cargo, so that we may cast anchor in the harbor of eternal beatitude and be found worthy to enter the company of angels. There, freed from the hearing of all evil, may we deserve to hear that happy and longed-for voice: “Well done, good and faithful servant! Because you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your Lord”.

¹⁵ All this is granted by our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom belong honour and dominion forever and ever. Amen.