FRIDAY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME. Mt 25:1-13 - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

"Stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour." (Mt 25:13)

READING OF THE DAY

A reading from the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians

1 Cor 1:17-25

Brothers and sisters:

Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the Gospel,

and not with the wisdom of human eloquence,

so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,

but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

For it is written:

I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

and the learning of the learned I will set aside.

Where is the wise one?

Where is the scribe?

Where is the debater of this age?

Has not God made the wisdom of the world foolish?

For since in the wisdom of God

the world did not come to know God through wisdom,

it was the will of God through the foolishness of the proclamation

to save those who have faith.

For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,

but we proclaim Christ crucified,

a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,

but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike,

Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom,

and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Matthew

Mt 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."

FRIDAY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - Mt 25:1-13

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

 Dear People of God,

Today's Word of God teaches everyone to live vigilantly in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus compared the Kingdom of Heaven to the parable of ten virgins holding lamps waiting for the groom to come to the wedding feast. Five foolish virgins brought lamps but no oil, while five wise virgins brought lamps and oil. The Lord used the parable to tell everyone: The Kingdom of Heaven will be reserved for those who are always vigilant in waiting for the Lord to come.

What does it mean to be vigilant in waiting for the Lord to come? It is to always have a heart filled with love, a heart that always knows how to share and live in charity.

- The image of the five wise virgins lights up the lamp to shine for all people: that they are shining examples of good deeds before God.

- The image of the five foolish virgins: they are the images of people who live selfishly, live in passion for sin, and lust, are not awake, and do not know how to fear God.

- The image of the five foolish virgins are not allowed to attend the wedding feast with the groom: it is a warning for those who are living in sin, living in passion for lust, living far from God, far from faith, not obeying God. Then the day the Lord comes and suddenly calls them out of this world, their fate is the same as the foolish virgins, not being able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

God’s Word today presents the image of the five wise virgins and the five foolish virgins for everyone to look at and decide: do I want to become one of the five wise virgins or one of the foolish virgins?

Choosing to live according to the example of the wise virgins is to always be awake, prepared, and ready. Lamp always full of oil: that is to always keep your soul full of love for God and for others while waiting for the day the Lord comes to call you into the Kingdom of Heaven. And choosing to live like the five foolish virgins: that is to live in passion, sin, far from God. Then that person will be excluded from the wedding feast, and will not be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven when the day God comes to call them out of this world.

God calls everyone: to follow the example of the five wise virgins, to always be awake and ready to wait for the Lord to come. That is the wisest choice to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and enjoy happiness with God.

Thanks be to God. Amen.