Friday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
The Lord will judge the world with justice. It has been said that the justice of God is a frightful thing. While I wholeheartedly believe in the mercy of God, the justice of God is still a terrifying thing - terrifying, that is, for those who have committed themselves to injustice. Such a person would recoil in fear and bitterness at the coming of such a Judge. Why wouldn’t they recoil after having made the Judge their enemy? But we must never forget that the coming of such a Judge is first and foremost an act of mercy. It is mercy for all the victims of injustice. It is mercy for all those who have chosen justice. It is mercy for all those who have accepted the Judge. The Judge comes and says to the wronged, “I have heard your cries and I pity you.” Instead of loathing the Day of the Lord, we would do well to let it move us to hope. We would do well to see the Day of the Lord as the answer to our prayer Thy kingdom come. That the Lord will judge the world with justice is good news - and may we yearn for such justice.