Oil for the lamp.
Listening the Spirit
Lord, thank you for the gift of Your Word so that all Your people may know and love You more and understand You better.
As I go about my day, may I not forget the Scriptures You have opened up for me.
Help me to recognize how You want me to apply Your Word to my daily life. Holy Spirit, guided by Your Word, may You enlighten my mind and enkindle in my heart a greater love for You and for others in my family and in the world.
Amen.1. Where am I running low on oil right now? Of prayer, the sacraments, and the Gospel, which one have I been neglecting lately, and what small, concrete step could I take this week to refill it?
2. What happens when I "fall asleep"? When selfishness dims my lamp, what usually signals it to me, and how quickly do I turn back to the Lord through Confession or prayer instead of putting it off?
Listening the Word: 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."
Reflection
In the Gospel today Jesus concludes the parable of the ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom
with the invitation: “Stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour”.
Now, if we read the parable carefully, we see that all the ten virgins, both the foolish and the
wise ones, fall asleep while waiting for the bridegroom. But when they are wakened by the cry
“Behold, the bridegroom…”, the wise ones get ready in just a minute, because they have with
them oil to refill their lamps. Instead the other five, the foolish ones, have to waste a lot of time
looking for a place where they can buy oil.
The difference between the wise virgins and the foolish ones is not that one group fell asleep and
the other did not. The difference between the two groups is made by the oil: the wise ones had
some spare oil with them, the foolish ones did not.
We all are like the ten virgins. We are all waiting for the Lord to come, but sometimes we fall
asleep. It happens when we let our hearts be directed by selfishness and so we sin. Then the lamp
of our faith gets dimmed and our actions are darkened, instead of being light for all the people to
see. But we can use the oil of prayer, the oil of the sacraments – especially the Eucharist and the
Confession – and the oil of the Gospel to refill our lamps and to get ready again.
Let us always keep a good supply of this oil in our life.
Reflection Questions
1. Where am I running low on oil right now?
2. What happens when I "fall asleep"?
