32nd Sunday Ordinary Time
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Cycle A
- A188: You know, people have been waiting a long time for Jesus to return. Why is it such a big deal if one gets a "little lax" after a couple of thousand years of waiting?
- With the Lord unceasingly
- Q344: Why didn’t the five “wise” virgins give extra oil to the five “foolish” virgins? Did you notice that the five “foolish” virgins took no oil with them? How foolish can one be?
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A188: You know, people have been waiting a long time for Jesus to return. Why is it such a big deal if one gets a "little lax" after a couple of thousand years of waiting?
Our Gospel today [Matt 25:1-13] Jesus tells a great parable about five bridesmaids who are prepared and ready, and who wait faithfully for the seemingly tardy Groom to appear. Jesus contrasts those five wise ladies with the five "foolish" ladies who got a "little lax" when the Groom did not show up according to their own timetable. Since they were unprepared, they were unable to respond properly when the time came. In fact, because of their lack of preparation, even though they fully knew what was expected of them, they wound up having the door to the great wedding banquet shut in their face.
The Church continually reminds us that Christ is coming soon. We express and confirm that belief when we recite the Creed every Sunday: "...from there [i.e., the right hand of the Father] he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead." Jesus himself said that no one knows when that will be, "neither the day nor the hour." But he also said that we could read the signs of the times with plain old common sense. These are those times!
It is a good and gracious God who gives us still one more opportunity to repent and change our ways. Act as if this is your last opportunity! Be in a state of preparedness at all times. This means having a good daily private prayer life; worshipping with the community at least weekly; confessing our sins at least monthly (or more); and recognizing Christ in each and every marginalized person we encounter.
Know Your Catechism! Are you prepared for Him to come today? What steps have you taken (your "lamp oil") to be ready? Jesus was referring to himself when he talked about the "bridegroom" and Master. Read CCC #796 about Jesus as Bridegroom and the Church (that's you and me) as the Bride. Then read CCC #668-677 which explains what we mean in the Creed about Jesus "coming again in glory." Don't gamble by putting off what needs to be done now! A "little laxity" can cost you eternal happiness!
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Robert Bolt, the British playwright, did justice to Sir Thomas More in an heroic drama about his life, appropriately named A Man for All Seasons. Surely Thomas' greatest season was when he stood trial for treason against Henry VIII for allegedly denying to the King his claim to be head of the Church of England.
Although he, indeed, held that view, More, as the "King's good servant," had been careful to make no public statement on the matter. Like a good lawyer he demanded that the court prove its case against him. Of course, the court intended to condemn him anyhow, proof or no proof.
Once the judgment had been given, St. Thomas More felt free to state his belief. He denied that "a temporal lord could or ought to be head of the spirituality." Yet he held no grudge against those who had sentenced him to death for this Catholic principle. St. Paul, he reminded the tribunal, had originally persecuted the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen; but Paul had subsequently become a Christian and joined Stephen in the ranks of the martyrs. Now he prayed that he and his judges would share the joys of eternal life: "I verily trust, and shall therefore right heartily pray, that though your lordships have now here on earth been judges of my condemnation, we may yet hereafter in Heaven merrily all meet together to everlasting salvation."
"… We shall be with the Lord unceasingly. Console one another with this message." (I Thessalonians, 4: 17-18. Today's second reading).
-Father Robert F. McNamara
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Q344: Why didn’t the five “wise” virgins give extra oil to the five “foolish” virgins? Did you notice that the five “foolish” virgins took no oil with them? How foolish can one be?
Memories are short! “Aw, we don’t have to worry about this hurricane. We’ve lived through a lot of them, and none of them have been as bad as this one is predicted to become. Don’t worry about it.” There are a lot of other stories: “Aw, don’t worry about gas or food. As soon as the storm passes over, we’ll go down to the grocery store and replenish our shelves… There is always a lot of gas and food...” Or, how about this one: “A flood? Here? Not a chance… A tornado hit us? Here? Not a chance…” There is something prophetic about the decades-old Boy Scout motto, “Be Prepared.” A lot of people pooh-pooh that motto, believing that they are immune to disaster. They prefer to believe in the magical tooth fairy…
Sometimes we forget one element of today’s gospel story (Matt 25:1-13). That element is that all the virgins fell asleep, not just the foolish ones. However, the wise virgins had still prepared themselves beforehand, by having a good supply of oil ready for their lamps, in case it was needed. Maybe it was an overabundance of caution? Perhaps; but it paid off, because when the time came, they needed that oil to greet the Bridegroom who arrived unexpectedly.
Each one of us has been invited into the Kingdom of God, and each one of us has been warned that the Bridegroom is going to come at a time that we do not know. That “warning” is almost a “plea” to be ready at all times. Because if we are not ready – if our “lamps” are lacking “oil” – it will be too late for us. That metaphor of “oil” refers to the way we do or do not live the virtuous life that God freely empowers us to live. You cannot “borrow” these virtues at the last moment; you must “live” them. These are very sobering words in the gospel, and a reminder that we can never use the excuse that “no one told me.”
KNOW YOUR CATECHISM! Following Christ is not just about virginity (CCC #1618); it is about “following” the virtuous life that Jesus led, a life available to and necessary for all Christians. Surely we all can read the “signs of the times” (CCC #1788) and discern whether the life offered and lived by our culture is the real life we are being asked to live through the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.
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