Thought for the Day – 20 February – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Five Tribunals
“We can distinguish five courts of justice, each of which, passes sentence on us.
(1) The first, is the tribunal of public opinion, of which some people are so afraid.
(2) Then, there is our own conscience, which shows, us what we are and what we ought to be.
(3) The third, is the tribunal of Penance, and
(4) the fourth is the civil court.
(5) Lastly, there is the judgement seat of God, before which, we shall have to appear one day with all our sins and our few merits.
Public opinion can be deceived by subterfuge and hyprocisy.
Conscience can be ignored, or, it can become warped or deadened.
The tribunal of Penance, can be misused and we can remain obdurate in our sins.
Civil authority can sometimes be evaded, it is also open to deception and corruption.
But, the tribunal of God is different.
We shall be alone before Him – fraud and deceit will be useless.
There will be no excuses, no defence.
Everything will be clear and His judgement, will be just and unchangeable.
Let us reflect on this while we have time.
Let us adopt the necessary remedies, for soon, there will be no more time!”
AnaStpaul 
2 thoughts on “Thought for the Day – 20 February – The Five Tribunals”