Today we must consider the imposing image of the last Judgment not like something terrifying, but like a reason for a hope that, simultaneously, appeals to our responsibility. God is justice and He creates justice: this one is our consolation and our hope. But in His justice there is also the grace.

We can discover this by looking at Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected. Both —justice and grace— have to be seen in their right relationship. Grace does not exclude justice; it does not turn injustice into rightness. The Judgment of God is hope, whether because it is justice, as it is also grace. If it would only be grace, everything earthly would become irrelevant and God would still owe us an answer to the question about justice in our history. If it would only be justice, it would be in the end only a reason to fear.

—Your incarnation, O Lord, has joined judgment and grace in such a way that justice firmly settles down. However, grace allows me to head full of confidence for the encounter with my “Judge-Lawyer”.