Foundational Arts: Mural Painting and Missionary Theater in New Spain

Appendix. The Last Judgment

159 Exemplum Entitled The Last Judgment Attributed to Fray Andrés de Olmos From the Spanish translation by Fernando Horcasitas Scene 1 [Sound of flutes. The Heavens will open. Saint Michael will descend to Earth.] Saint Michael Oh, creatures of God: hear, as you already know, the divine orders of God, Our Lord, how the world and the things created by God Our Beloved Father will end, how they will be lost. They will be lost, all the things that He made, every kind of bird, every kind of animal, and you as well will perish. You shall disappear, oh, men of the Earth! In your hearts, you already know that the dead will rise and the just, who obediently served the true judge, God, shall be taken there, to his royal house, to enjoy the glory with his saints. But the wicked, who did not serve God Our Lord in their hearts, will suffer the torments of Hell. Weep for that! Remember this! Have fear! Be frightened ! Because the Day of Judgment—a frightening, dreadful, awful, tremulous day—will come upon you. Live your lives with rectitude, with regard to Appendix The Last Judgment (El auto del juicio final) 160 · Appendix the seventh [sacrament],1 because the Day of Judgment is coming. It has arrived ! It is here already! Scene 2 [Sound of flutes; Saint Michael will go upstairs [and exit]. Penitence, Time, the Holy Church, Confession, and Death will enter.] Penitence Let no one speak anymore about the foolishness of all the inhabitants of the world, overwhelmed by all sorts of sins. What do they believe in? Why do they behave so? They do not want to give up their heart’s dreadful transgressions, the harshness of their blindness. Oh, four-hundred times wretched people! They will die for their sins. They are deaf: they no longer listen. They are blind: they no longer see. It would appear that sin has destroyed their eyes. It has tasted sweet, it has smelled of perfume. They have versed themselves in sin, as if they were building a house for themselves, as if they were covering themselves with a cloak. They can no longer have life; they have considered it as water, food. And they have forgotten Our Lord God, oh, four-hundred times wretched people! Their life on Earth is coming to an end! Time I am Time. Time is always a divine sign that God Our Lord bestowed on me and of which He put me in charge. Every day, I take care of them, watch over them, and remind them. I don’t abandon them for a single moment, day or night. I shout into their ears: remember the Creator, God the Maker, the Sovereign. I exhort them to weep, to glorify Him, to serve Him, to fulfill the wishes of God Our Lord. I implore them to go to His dear house, to serve Him, to beg him to grant them his beloved grace. But they fail to benefit from my life, from my work. I tell them: “I want to save you; I am not to blame.” They will have to defend themselves in the presence of God, when they are summoned one by one. When they are questioned, they will know what to answer. And I am going to report to God the Father, who gave me all the power. And they will find no excuses. Soon, they shall be summoned! Holy Church I am the merciful mother. My beloved young Lord Jesus Christ put me here on Earth for the men of the world. I cry for them all the time, first and foremost when one of them dies. I shed tears for them; I pray before my beloved Holy Mother, a source of bliss, that she may take pity on them, that she may enlighten her creatures, so they do not spurn the seventh sacrament . I hold [the sacraments] here, for the moment in which they are needed to sanctify [humanity]. I will feed them. I will give them something to drink when they are thirsty. And now I wait for them, although I am sad. Let them go, let them live their lives with rectitude, let them pray. They will take pity on themselves. And let them weep: let them repent from their sins and shortcomings! Confession Oh, Mother of the true faith! Everything you say is true. But they...