Saint Augustine of Hippo on the Second Coming

Well, we are in the last two weeks of Ordinary Time, something that the Office of Readings today brought home to me with a discourse by Saint Augustine that focuses on preparation for the second coming of Christ. 

Some of my reflection (full text below):

What is more true than that they should not themselves expect mercy from the judge, who themselves were unwilling to show mercy. What is imputed to those placed on his left side? That they refused to show mercy. 

The only criterion ever given by Jesus for particular judgment is whether mercy was freely given, and it should therefore be the most desirable of attributes. Mercy cannot be understood without justice: we know what we deserve and fear to suffer those consequences. Thinking of them as separate, I want to prefer one over the other, but in the Divine Essence these are not separate: God is entirely Mercy, God is completely Justice, and they are therefore inseparable. 

Let us hate our sins and love him who will exact punishment for them.

It is a strange idea that we should be grateful for punishment, that this ought to increase our love for God. But justice is an attribute of our Creator and something built into our nature: to love justice is essentially human, and by overcoming fear we come to desire it even for our own offenses. It is a gift that allows us to grow through our faults, a demonstration of God's desire that we overcome obstacles in order to increase and purify our love; he gives us the remedy of mercy by the treatment of justice.

If you wish to receive mercy, be merciful before he comes; forgive whatever has been done against you; give of your abundance. 

Here the Doctor makes it clear that he is referring to giving of material wealth, yet even those of us who lacking that have much to give in forgiveness. Everyone who receives God's forgiveness and mercy will receive it in abundance and therefore have much to give to others.

Second reading
From a discourse on the Psalms by Saint Augustine, bishop
Let us not resist the first coming, so that we may not dread the second

All the trees of the forest will exult before the face of the Lord, for he has come, he has come to judge the earth. He has come the first time, and he will come again. At his first coming, his own voice declared in the gospel: Hereafter you shall see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds. What does he mean by hereafter? Does he not mean that the Lord will come at a future time when all the nations of the earth will be striking their breasts in grief ? Previously he came through his preachers, and he filled the whole world. Let us not resist his first coming, so that we may not dread the second.

What then should the Christian do? He ought to use the world, not become its slave. And what does this mean? It means having, as though not having. So says the Apostle: My brethren, the appointed time is short: from now on let those who have wives live as though they had none; and those who mourn as though they were not mourning; and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing; and those who buy as though they had no goods; and those who deal with this world as though they had no dealings with it. For the form of this world is passing away. But I wish you to be without anxiety. He who is without anxiety waits without fear until his Lord comes. For what sort of love of Christ is it to fear his coming? Brothers, do we not have to blush for shame? We love him, yet we fear his coming. Are we really certain that we love him? Or do we love our sins more? Therefore let us hate our sins and love him who will exact punishment for them. He will come whether we wish it or not. Do not think that because he is not coming just now, he will not come at all. He will come, you know not when; and provided he finds you prepared, your ignorance of the time of his coming will not be held against you.

All the trees of the forest will exult. He has come the first time, and he will come again to judge the earth; he will find those rejoicing who believed in his first coming, for he has come.

He will judge the world with equity and the peoples in his truth. What are equity and truth? He will gather together with him for the judgment his chosen ones, but the others he will set apart; for he will place some on his right, others on his left. What is more equitable, what more true than that they should not themselves expect mercy from the judge, who themselves were unwilling to show mercy before the judge’s coming. Those, however, who were willing to show mercy will be judged with mercy. For it will be said to those placed on his right: Come, blessed of my Father, take possession of the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the beginning of the world. And he reckons to their account their works of mercy: For I was hungry and you gave me food to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me drink.

What is imputed to those placed on his left side? That they refused to show mercy. And where will they go? Depart into the everlasting fire. The hearing of this condemnation will cause much wailing. But what has another psalm said? The just man will be held in everlasting remembrance; he will not fear the evil report. What is the evil report? Depart into the everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels. Whoever rejoices to hear the good report will not fear the bad. This is equity, this is truth.

Or do you, because you are unjust, expect the judge not to be just? Or because you are a liar, will the truthful one not be true? Rather, if you wish to receive mercy, be merciful before he comes; forgive whatever has been done against you; give of your abundance. Of whose possessions do you give, if not from his? If you were to give of your own, it would be largess; but since you give of his, it is restitution. For what do you have, that you have not received? These are the sacrifices most pleasing to God: mercy, humility, praise, peace, charity. Such as these, then, let us bring and, free from fear, we shall await the coming of the judge who will judge the world in equity and the peoples in his truth.