Cycle A - Year II:  

8 November 2020:  Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Wisdom 6:12-16

Second Reading:   1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Gospel:  Please Read  Matthew 25:1-13

"Stay awake and keep watch!"

One day a young man asked an old man: "Sir, which is the best time to pray?"

The old man replied: "My son, the best time to pray is the day before you die."

The boy was astonished and replied: "Sir, how can I know the day of my death?"

And the old man answered: "No one knows the day of his death, that's why we need to pray every day."

The message of the above story is to always be prepared. Stay awake and keep watch, with vigilant faith!

This Sunday's Gospel narrative demonstrates a message of preparation in the Parable of the Ten Virgins.

Now, we know that Jesus was a master in story-telling.  The circumstances of the Parable of the Ten Virgins were taken from the marriage customs among the Jews, to explain the great day of Christ's second coming.  This Parable of theTen Virgin is a real-life situation at that time.

The Parable teaches that entering God's kingdom will be like the ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom who comes at night time.  Five of the virgins were wise, taking their lamps with enough reserved oil for the night.  But the remaining five were foolish and did not have reserved oil for the night.  Now the bridegroom was delayed in coming, so the foolish ones run out of oil and need to go out to buy more.  But at that time that they were away the bridegroom arrived, and so only the five wise virgins were on hand to welcome him.

Several of Christ's parable and other teachings touch on His second coming, and the need for His people to be ready for that event; expectant to the point of being prepared for it to happen at any time.

And this is the message and lesson of the Parable of the "wise and foolish virgins."  How does this apply to us today in our daily life?

Well, we know that the Son of Man will come as a surprise when people less expect Him.  It can be today, it can be tomorrow, that is why the last warning of the Parable of the Ten Virgins is:  "Stay away and keep watch"....  because no one knows either the day nor the hour of the Lord's second coming.

Thus, the moral of the Gospel narrative is very simple, and the lesson is evident.  We cannot be superficial and must look beyond the present moment, and try to discover the call of God in the smallest things of this life.

So then, our Lord Jesus warns us to be alert and must keep the flame of faith alive in our heart.  And this flame is lit with the oil of charity and prayer, charity performed through and for the love of God, especially during this time of pandemic.

But the Gospel also reminds us that we will not be saved automatically simply by just being members of the Church.  Unless we actively strive for holiness we can not hope to enter the kingdom of God.

The Good News is that  the Lord invites everyone to the wedding feast of the bridegroom.  It is our decision to patiently and prudently prepare for it.... when the Bridegroom comes at a time when we least expect.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!