Page:Ninety-nine homilies of S. Thomas Aquinas upon the epistles and gospels for forty-nine Sundays of the Christian year (IA ninetyninehomili00thom).pdf/136

 selves from him—Joel iii. 15, “The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.” S. Matt. xxiv. 29, “ Shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven.” (6) From the saints, who will condemn them— S. Matt. xix. 28, “ Ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (7) From the Lord Jesus Christ, Who will judge them—S. Matt. xxv. 34, 41, “ Then shall the King say unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed,” &c. (8) From the angels, who will carry them into hell—S. Matt. xiii. 41, 42, “The Son of Man shall send forth His angels. . . and shall cast them into a furnace of fire.”

II. On the second head, it is to be noted, that there are eight punishments of the wicked, which will greatly distress them. (1) There will be a rational blindness of the highest ignorance, for the torment—S. Greg., “ In the ordained torments it will be permitted to know nothing beyond the torments themselves. (2) There will be a continued trouble of hatred and anger to the irritation of the tormented—Psa. cxii. 10, “ The wicked shall see it and be grieved.” (3) There will be the lack of all sweetness for the punishment of the lustful—S. Greg., “ For what can be a greater misery than ever to desire what never can be, and ever to hate what always is. For the ungodly will never have what he desires. Ps.cxii. 10, “The desire of the wicked shall perish.” (4)There will be a continual sound of weeping and wailing for the punishment of the hearer—Job. xv. 21, “A dreadful sound is in his ears.” S. Jas. v. 1, “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl.” (5) There will be a continual effusion of tears for the punishment of the eyes of the bodies of those who were burned—8. Luke vi. 25, “ Woe unto you that laugh now, for ye shall mourn and weep.” Job 'xx. 18, “He shall be punished for all that he did, and yet not be consumed.” In the lives of the Fathers we read, “Let us pray, children, before we come to that place where tears shall consume our bodies.” (6) There will be an intolerable odour as the smell of the suppliants—Isai. iii. 24, “ Instead of a sweet smell there shall be a stink.” (7) There will be the taste for punishment, food and drink the most bitter—Jer, ix. 15, “I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them the water of gall to drink.” (8) There will be a