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.”

Awaiting

1. Waiting. There is nothing more difficult than to wait. More so in these fast-paced times, it is difficult to know how to wait and not to despair. Despair comes from Latin and means “to be without hope”, and that leads to anxiety and even going through crises. To be happy you need two things: you and your trust in God. You must “be  awake” like the prudent virgins and await the arrival of the “spouse” that is God. The rush of your daily life can make you forget why and what you are here for, you can even forget who you are awaiting and, to make matters worse, you can run out of the oil of joy, enthusiasm, drive, and strength. Those are the things that brighten your life; and if you are not prudent, when you least realize it, you may run out of them.

2. Reckless. They are these virgins that ran out of oil. They represent people who are overconfident, and do not see the whole situation. They make themselves the center of attention and do not take into account anything else.  They live in a rush, only interested in their own things  and in obtaining something from everything. At some point, they feel that their life, their youth and even their family have swiftly passed. Time and life are fleeting, enthusiasm and the people around you too; we are limited. But recklessness comes from closing yourself off, from focusing solely on yourself  and not looking at the bigger picture, at what is around you. You are rash when you simply look at the short term and do not project your life into the future. Do you think about and plan for the future?

3. Prudent. The virgins who are well prepared represent people who plan things ahead and are responsible and organized; they know how to prepare for life, aware that there are many factors that are not in their hands. This means that you must learn how to wait in life and be willing to face unpredictable situations that may appear – and when they do occur, you should not victimize yourself, but rather learn to take them on and solve them, using different strategies or asking others for help. With your simple heart, assume whatever comes your way in life and work hard to solve it.

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.