Father Michael Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 November 8th, 2020 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Today’s Theme: “Seeking Wisdom and Guidance” “Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!” A Message from Father †Michael Scripture Note Today’s First Reading eulogizes Wisdom. (Wisdom 6:12-16.) We see this Wisdom exemplifies in the five wise bridesmaids in today’s Gospel Parable (Matthew 25:1-13.) Whereas †Paul expects the Second Coming (Parousia) of Christ to happen soon (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18,) Matthew has accepted that it may be delayed. The point of the parable is this: Since the disciples do not know the day nor the hour of the Lord’s coming, they must be prepared so that when He comes they can enter his kingdom. Waiting for the Beloved The parable in today’s Gospel was just a warning to us that the Lord in His goodness has given us to wake up; to shake us from our sloth and carelessness. Wouldn’t it be terrible to arrive at heaven’s door, to knock and then to have the lord come out and say to us, “I do not know you?” Then we would find ourselves outside, alone in the dark, while inside, all is light, joy, community and celebration! We might ask, “ Of which lamp is today’s Parable of the 10 Virgins speaking?” Essentially, it is the lamp of love. Love, in order to be genuine, doesn’t have to be extraordinary. What we need is love without getting tired or cynical. We know a lamp burns through a continuous input of small drops of oil. If the drops of oil cease, the lamp will gutter. These drops of oil, in reference to our own lives, are the small things of daily life: Faithfulness; punctuality; small words of kindness; a thought for others; our way of being silent; of looking; of speaking; and of acting. These are the “drops of love” that keep our religious life “burning” like a lively flame. Jesus shared our life, our loneliness, our anguish and our death. He is not far away from us—rather, He is very close. We can touch, serve and love Him every day of our lives. With the “oil of prayer” and our good works, we must keep the “lamp of faith” burning brightly, and He’ll recognize us. We won’t be judged on a momentary lapse, but on our life as a whole. Since we, like the 10 virgins, do not know the day nor the hour of the Lord’s coming, we must prepare ourselves to enter His kingdom. To be prepared means to be a “doer” rather than a mere “hearer” of the Word. All that Jesus says to us in this parable is meant as a warning. This warning is a sign of His love for us. It tells us that every moment should be beautiful—that the soul should always be ready for the coming of the Bridegroom, and always waiting for the voice of the Beloved. The Lamp of Wisdom Wisdom is one of the great themes of the Bible. And it is easy to see why. Without Wisdom we are like travelers in the dark. With wisdom, though, we have an unfailing lamp for our steps. Wisdom is acquired slowly and often, painfully, if it is found at all. To meet someone who has gleaned Wisdom along the path of life, is a great joy—a great encouragement and a great inspiration. It is believed if most prisoners, facing a long sentence of incarceration, were offered a drug that would let them sleep until the end of their sentence, they would accept it. Others, would decline the offer, believing that they will learn a great deal about themselves during their imprisonment. in so doing, many are indeed more humble and even, perhaps, wiser for the experience. Nonetheless, we might understand why some would take the sedative at the beginning of their sentence. Being ashamed and embarrassed by their crimes, they might hope that the “ground would swallow” them. Like the foolish bridesmaids, in today’s Gospel selection, they would sleep their lives away. Those who might decline sedation, however, would see it as something that would deny them valuable understanding. Although sleep may well have helped to effectively “shorten” their time in prison, making it easier to bear, the experience is seen to be something not to be skimmed over lightly and painlessly. They would seek to live it out slowly, and deliberately, step-by-step, day-by-day, in order to gain its salutary experience. Lacking proper perspective, many prisoners squander their time in prison. When released, they return to the world worse, not better, than when they entered prison. They have no awareness, no reflection in their lives. We call them “hardened,” by it all. Wisdom is the highest virtue. Through Wisdom, God communicates to us the meaning of life and the grandeur of our destiny—to be with God—a greater good than life, itself. Unlike knowledge, which is acquired through diligent effort, Wisdom is a gift from God and is found only by those who desire and seek it. In Christ’s story, we are not talking about a momentary lapse of memory on the part of the foolish bridesmaids—forgetting to bring adequate oil for their lamps. Rather, we are dealing with two contrasting attitudes toward the wedding feast. The wise maids considered it a “chance of a lifetime,” a “never to be repeated” opportunity to meet the Bridegroom. For the foolish ones, it was more like “fun,” or “a lark.” We may understand why a prisoner may want to sleep his life away, but not the bridesmaids. Since they didn’t know exactly when He would come, they had to wait in readiness. Yet five of them couldn’t do that and found themselves locked outside. We are like the waiting bridesmaids. We are not dealing with a once-off wedding feast. We are dealing with something infinitely more precious—entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. As a beacon guides a ship to port, this vision should guide our way on earth. Hopeful Grieving The early Christians believed that Jesus would return soon, and take them all to heaven. This made it difficult for them to accept death of some of their members, before Jesus returned to glory. In our Second Reading today, we heard †Paul tell the Thessalonians that surely as God raised Jesus from the dead, Jesus will raise those who have died, and present them to God, in the final showing of His Kingdom. But meanwhile, they were grieving. But rather than tell them not to grieve, †Paul says they should have hope. Grief is not an easy enemy to handle, for anyone, and some people directly, or indirectly, discourage it. Grief follows the death of a loved one as surely and naturally as night follows day. It is one of the strongest emotions any of us will ever experience. Although many people have difficult expressing it, and may try to suppress it, to do so can result in serious emotional problems. To live fruitfully after the death of loved one, people need to go through a period of mourning. They have to deal with grief—not run away from it, or pretend it isn’t there—and face it, working through it with as much honesty and courage as possible. Those who do so will emerge enriched as persons. Grief has great purgative value. God cannot fill the soul until it is emptied of trivial concerns. And a grief can be a tremendous “bonfire” in which all the “trash” of life is consumed. Faith should never be used as a barrier against grief. Sometimes people say about someone who does not grieve, “What great faith they have!” But we should recall that even Christ grieved. To grieve over the loss of a loved one is a good, and necessary thing. While faith doesn’t do away with the necessity of grieving, it is a wonderful comfort and support at a time of death. It doesn’t dispense us from grief—it enables us to grief with hope. The “Wedding Feast” to which Christ invites us will be all the more joyful for those who have walked through the dark valley of grief and emerged with the lamp of love still burning brightly. May God Richly Bless You! “We should wake up, open our eyes to see, our ears to hear and our hearts to understand our appointment and position before the Lord.”~~Wilford Woodruff To see a live stream of the Holy Mass for today, click here: https://youtu.be/qGmt_UOV3Cs Light of Peace.docx Light of Peace.mp3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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