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!
1- Prudence. 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. You do not want to live like a “kite Christian,” someone that goes where the wind blows, here one day, somewhere else the next, and in general 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 daily plan, then it does not 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 your hands, and that if something unpredictable happens, you have to use different strategies or ask others for help. You will have temptations and difficulties in life and the solutions will depend on your ability, your prudence, and your prayer. With prudence, you can achieve great peace; but without it, your life can become a constant war.
2- Foolish. Foolishness is the attitude of not looking ahead, of not considering the consequences of what one does or says. Reckless or imprudent people, like the virgins who ran out of oil, are overconfident, and they do not see the whole situation, they never analyze the whole picture. There are times when having everything or believing you know everything leads you to be foolish, to be reckless and not see the consequences of your actions. When you do not plan ahead and live each day simply trying to solve what’s urgent, you forget what’s really important, you forget your aim in life. Remember that short term gain is long term pain. Do not fall into the folly of not looking towards your future. During your life, you must learn to be prudent.
3- The ‘husband’. In today’s reading the husband refers to God. Sooner or later, He will come 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 have done in your life. So, do not be overconfident, because in order to keep the lamp burning it is not enough to go to mass every Sunday. It involves planning your life, being conscious of your strengths and weaknesses. So, get to work, be prepared, and stay awake because we do not know when the Husband will arrive.
Never forget that something good is on the way!
God bless you, be with you and protect you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
