REFLECTION Sunday´s Gospel

Behold the Bridegroom! Come out to meet him! Matt 25:1-13

Fr. James McTavish FMVD

Jesus tells the parable of the ten virgins today, five of whom were wise and five were foolish. What happened? The five smart ones brought extra oil for their lamps so when the bridegroom was delayed in returning their lamps had enough fuel still. Not so the foolish ones. Interestingly enough all ten virgins fell asleep waiting the return of the bridegroom but only the wise ones had enough oil to keep the lamp burning. The foolish ones ask to borrow some oil but were denied. It reminds us that there is a personal work for each one of us and no one is exempted from this vital task. Someone else cannot do it for you and you cannot “borrow” sanctity from others. One question that comes to mind is what does the oil represent? One understanding is that it represents our life of prayer. This is something that no one can “do” for you. Others can encourage us and help us but at the end it is a personal call. Prayer is a way to store up oil. When the challenges come we can be ready.

St Alphonsus described the effect of prayer in the following vivid way: “The soul in mental prayer is like iron in the fire: when the iron is cold it is difficult to work; but when it is put into the fire it becomes soft, and allows itself to be easily worked: so it is with the soul. A master of the spiritual life calls it a furnace, because as the fire softens the iron and renders it easy to work, so mental prayer makes it easy for the soul to overcome its passions. For example, someone receives an affront, an injury that wounds his self-love: before mental prayer, it is very difficult to him to overcome the passion that incites him to grow angry, to defend himself, and even to furnish him at times with pretexts to make him believe that this is necessary. The iron is yet cold, it must be put into the fire. Let this troubled soul enter mental prayer, and at once the sweet flame of the Holy Ghost touches it, and an interior voice tells him: Is it not better to bear that without resenting it? Leave rather your defence to God, as your divine Master did when he was calumniated, he who was more innocent than you! At once the iron loses its hardness; the soul is softened, is appeased: without mental prayer, it would have been otherwise.” Wow! It makes you want to pray and build up the stores of oil!

The one who prays truly becomes wise. The first reading today is from the book of Wisdom and perhaps describes the wisdom of the wise virgins of the gospel today: “Resplendent and unfading is Wisdom, and she is readily perceived by those who love her, and found by those who seek her. She hastens to make herself known in anticipation of men's desire; he who watches for her at dawn shall not be disappointed, for he shall find her sitting by his gate. For taking thought of her is the perfection of prudence, and he who for her sake keeps vigil shall quickly be free from care; Because she makes her own rounds, seeking those worthy of her, and graciously appears to them in the ways, and meets them with all solicitude” (Wisdom 6,12-16).

Once a missionary was sharing about the gospel and he asked a very interesting question. He asked us how many different characters are there in the gospel. We said the five wise virgins, the five foolish ones and the bridegroom as well as the merchants to buy oil from and Jesus with his disciples. But there was one other character we did not spot. Who was it? The voice crying out at midnight! What does the voice cry out? “Behold the Bridegroom! Come out to meet him!” Every Christian in some way or another is called to be this voice. To call out at midnight, a time when others are drowsy or sleeping, a time of darkness when things are not clear. This is the prophetic task of the Church too, to be a watchman or watchwoman.

Let us pray and stay awake. May we fill our lamps with the oil of prayer like the wise virgins. And may we always shoulder our prophetic task ready to announce the call to action to our brothers and sisters.