Author: admin

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Gospel: 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.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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“The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.”

The parable begins on an equal playing field. There are ten virgins, each with their lamp lit. It takes time before we are able to separate the foolish from the wise.

The separation happens when Jesus reveals that the bridegroom is delayed. As a result, five virgins run out of oil, while five others refill their lamps using extra flasks of oil, which they brought with them. 

Five came prepared and five did not.

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What might the Lord be saying to us?

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As Christians, we must carry an extra flask of oil, as it were; we must be ready to endure.

For example, it’s one thing to play peacemaker for a day. It’s another to be a peacemaker year after year, especially when conflicts arise at home, in our marriage, or in our personal relationships.

It’s one thing to be generous with our time or talent for a day. It’s another to live generous lives.

It’s one thing to say a prayer. It’s another to, in Saint Paul’s words, “Pray always.”

It’s one thing to forgive a slight misgiving. It’s another to have an attitude of forgiveness.

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Five virgins brought a few hours’ worth of oil.

Five came ready for the long haul.

Which one am I?

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Image credits: (1) iStock (2) Homesteady (3) Window Into the Bible

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Gospel: Matthew 24: 42-51

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this: 
if the master of the house
had known the hour of night when the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

“Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant,
whom the master has put in charge of his household
to distribute to them their food at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so.
Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.
But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is long delayed,’
and begins to beat his fellow servants,
and eat and drink with drunkards,
the servant’s master will come on an unexpected day
and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely
and assign him a place with the hypocrites,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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“Stay awake!” the Lord says.

This idea of staying awake – of being watchful, alert – first surfaces in the Old Testament. 

Physically, it applied to Israel defending itself from foreign armies. As the LORD says through the prophet Isaiah, “I have set watchmen upon your walls, O Jerusalem, by day and by night they shall never be silent.”

Imagine soldiers pacing back and forth, keeping an eye out for an invasion. It was their job to stay awake and protect their city.

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But it was every person’s responsibility within the city walls to protect their heart. This is a person’s most valuable possession in God’s eyes. As we read in the Book of Proverbs, “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.”

Jesus drives this point home in today’s Gospel. “If the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, then he would have stayed awake.”

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It’s Satan’s desire to damage us spiritually; to pollute our hearts, replacing our thoughts of God with the things of this world. 

The three easiest ways to defend ourselves – to protect our hearts – are through our eyes, our ears, and our mouth. We must be sensitive about what we see, what we listen to, and what we say. 

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How aware am I of my need to stay awake – to defend my heart, and by extension my faith?

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“You do not know on which day your Lord will come,” Jesus says.

So, stay awake. Be watchful and ready.

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Image credits: (1) Bible.com (2) Wikipedia, Jerusalem (3) PictureQuotes.com

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Gospel: Matthew 23: 27-32

Jesus said,
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside,
but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth.
Even so, on the outside you appear righteous,
but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You build the tombs of the prophets
and adorn the memorials of the righteous, 
and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors,
we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’
Thus you bear witness against yourselves
that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets;
now fill up what your ancestors measured out!”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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When I entered the seminary, one of the first books I read was a novel called, The Diary of a Country Priest, by Georges Bernanos. 

It’s about a young priest living in a small village in the French countryside. Most of the book is composed of his diary entries, documenting – among other things – the slow erosion of faith that happens in his parish.

Once zealous parishioners become lukewarm of heart. 

“Faith,” he writes, “is not something you lose like a set of keys.”

It slowly weakens over time. 

It can happen to anyone: life gets busy and we start missing Mass; prayer becomes routine or a prayer goes unanswered; a sudden shock or disappointment strikes; God becomes less involved in our daily decision making.

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I wonder if this what happened to some of the scribes and Pharisees whom Jesus criticizes in today’s Gospel.

Most of them were probably good, law-abiding men, whose faith slowly weakened over time; in fact, they became so blind that God was standing right in front of them and they didn’t even realize it!

What caused their loss of faith? 

Perhaps a slow, growing attachment to human praise, important titles, or the world. 

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What is my own spiritual life like? Do I feel my faith slowly slipping away or gradually getting stronger? 

Rarely, if ever, is it neutral.

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Faith is not something we lose like a set of keys.

It’s weakened – or strengthened – over time. May God give us all the grace to strengthen it today.

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Image credits: (1) Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope (2) Roger Ebert (3) Pinterest