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.”
Prudence and foolishness
1. Foolish. We’re foolish when we close in on ourselves and don’t open up to what’s new. There are times when we make vain attempts to sustain things or relationships that no longer hold, maybe because of pride or simple closed-mindedness, but we end up dragging life to unreasonable situations. When you want to sustain the unsustainable, when you stay longer than you should, you end up hurting yourself. When you don’t learn to put an end to things when it’s time to do so, you begin to live degrees of foolishness. When you don’t take the time to mourn something that has ended, you become foolish, and also when you deny the reality that you are living and pretend that nothing is going on. That simply leads you to sadness and anxiety. Don’t be foolish, don’t be afraid to mourn and don’t end up being a denier of reality to live only in fantasies.
2. Prudence. This implies the understanding that life is long and that everything has its time. It’s the ability to control anxieties and to be able to look at the whole of your life and not be tied to one part. Prudence is facing the truth and assuming it, rather than living in a lie that makes you believe that everything is right, or everything is wrong. To be prudent is to know what you can and what you can’t do.
3. The Bridegroom. Learn to dance life without fear, until the music stops. And find out what God has in store for you. Life goes by, children leave, good friends get tired, and people die. Moments are never recovered. On social media many people “like” you, but in life there are people who really love you for who you are. Discover God as your Lord and dare to live your life with him.
Never forget that something good is on the way!
God bless you and protect you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
