"Why does the Church cause this Gospel concerning the Last Judgment to be read to-day?
To prepare our hearts by penance for the coming of Jesus as our judge.
What signs shall precede the Last Judgment? The sun shall be darkened, the moon shall not give light, the stars shall fall from heaven; the heavens themselves shall pass away with a great noise, the elements shall melt with heat, and the earth with all that is in it shall be burned up. At the command of God the world shall be shaken to its centre; fearful tempests shall arise; the sea and wave? shall roar, and wild struggle and destruction take the place of quiet and order. Men shall wither away with fear, not knowing whither to fly. Then shall appear the holy cross, the sign of the Son of man a terror to sinners who have hated it, a consolation to those who have loved it.
How will the Last Judgment begin?
At the command of God the angels, with the sound of the trumpet, shall summon all men to judgment (i. Thess, iv. 15).
