Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 25,1-13.
Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them,
but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.
Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
At midnight, there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.
The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
But the wise ones replied, ‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’
While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked.
Afterwards the other virgins came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’
But he said in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’
Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
Stay awake!
- To be prepared you have to be responsible. What does being responsible mean in the context of today’s reading? Well, it refers to the person who plans things out and is prudent. In your life it is good that you live day to day but don’t take things to the extreme. You don’t want to live like a “Kite Christian;” someone that goes where the wind blows, here one day, somewhere else the next, not having any plan of action. Neither is it good to be a “Schedule Christian;” where everything is meticulously programmed and if something does not fit into the schedule or day planner, then it doesn’t fit into your life. Prudence involves being organized and knowing how to prepare for life, being aware that there are many factors that are not in our hands, and that if something unpredictable happens, we have to use different strategies or ask others for help.
- The reckless people (in this case the virgins who ran out of oil) are over-confident, they do not see the whole situation. They make themselves the center of attention and do not take into account anything else. A reckless or imprudent person never analyzes the whole picture. There are three different types of imprudence: physical, psychological, and moral. Physical imprudence is when you act in a way that does not correspond to the moment; putting ‘your foot in it’ so to speak. Some may say, ”That’s the way I am”, but if their actions don’t help others, then they have to consider the situation once again. Psychological imprudence is when someone conveys a thought without first having analyzed it well. It’s like they were thinking aloud without thinking the consequences of what they were saying. Moral imprudence is when someone ridicules someone and on top of that they argue that they are the ones who are telling the truth. Even if they are telling the truth, if they say something difficult to hear in front of others, or if someone reports a colleague to their superiors without having talked to the accused before, they are being imprudent; there is no fraternal correction in attitudes like that. Check whether you are reckless in any of these ways and work on ‘being ready.’
- The ‘husband’ in today’s reading refers to God. Sooner or later He comes into your life. He wants to find you ‘awake’ and He will ask you to turn on the light – the light of your virtues, of the good things you’ve done in your life. So, don’t be overconfident, because to keep the lamp burning it’s not enough to go to Mass every Sunday. It involves planning your life, being conscious of your strengths and weaknesses. So, get to work, don’t fall asleep because we don’t know when the Husband will arrive.
God bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[ecp code=”donaciones”]
