Friday, December 5 : Saint Augustine

«Our God will come openly and will not keep silent» (Ps 50[49],3 Vg). The first coming of Christ the Lord, God's Son and our God, was in obscurity; the second will be in sight of the whole world. When he came in obscurity no one recognized him but his own servants; when he comes openly he will be known by both good people and bad. When he came in obscurity, it was to be judged; when he comes openly it will be to judge. He was silent at his trial, as the prophet foretold: «He was like a sheep led to the slaughter, like a lamb before his shearers. He did not open his mouth» (Is 53,7). But, «Our God will come openly; our God will come and will not keep silence»... Nowadays, good people and bad enjoy this world's so-called happiness; good people and bad suffer from what are deemed this world's misfortunes. Those whose lives are geared to the present rather than the future are impressed by the fact that this world's blessings and sufferings fall to the lot of good and bad without distinction. If wealth is their ambition, they see it being enjoyed not only by decent folk, but also by people of the worst kind. If they are in dread of poverty and all the other miseries of this world, they also see that the good and the bad both suffer from them. Therefore they say to themselves, "God does not see» (Ps 94[93],7); he does not care about human affairs, he exercises no control over them. On the contrary; he has sent us into the abyss of this world, and simply abandoned us to its sufferings. He shows no sign of his providence. Consequently, seeing no evidence of anyone being called to account, such people hold God's commands in derision... If God always gave sentence here and now, there would be nothing reserved for the Day of Judgment. That is why much is kept for that day. But in order to put the fear of God into those whose cases are deferred, and so convert them, some judgments are made here and now. For it is clear that God takes no pleasure in condemning. His desire is to save, and he bears patiently with evil people in order to make them good.