32nd Sunday Ordinary Time - November 12th, 2023 (Click Here for Readings)

When Jesus states the unpredictability of his return in the parable of the virgins, our death on earth will likely be unpredictable as well. But whatever comes first, we’ll have no time at the 11^th hour to “fill our lamps” with oil to deserve entry to his eternal banquet.

Our spiritual preparation for both our death and Christ’s Second Coming cannot be put off. To say, “I’m going to start living for Christ more fully as soon as I straighten out my affairs, get a new job, retire, move away or join a new church” exhibits the same folly as the foolish virgins who acted too late.

The code Jesus sets for us in his beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12) must frame our conduct. We must keep our spiritual lamps filled 24/7 unlike the foolish virgins who professed their faith superficially with empty lamps not illuminated with authentic love and devotion to him. 

Wisdom Over Hypocrisy

The foolish virgins chose hypocrisy over wisdom just like the false prophets in Matthew 7:22 who said, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?” They were the fool’s folly. But the prepared and wise virgins applied their wisdom as proclaimed in the first reading, portrayed as a woman to be attracted to. If we desire her and seek her and keep vigil for her, she will seek us out as well.

We do not know what will come first; the end time of the earth or our life on it. We have no control over either but what we can control is our state of readiness for whatever come first.

We must keep the lamps of our God-given lives filled with the oil of our whole-hearted love and devotion to Jesus. We can either cultivate our relationship with him and make it more intimate, or neglect it and lose the opportunity to meet him as the foolish virgins did.

We must strive to keep our lamps burning brightly by pouring more of our love and faith into Jesus with our minds, hearts and souls, by prayer, love and good deeds toward others, the Holy Eucharist and frequent confession.

Faith without deeds is dead, as said in James 2-26. We must not only profess, but practice and apply our faith on an ongoing basis to keep our lamps filled. We can't be part-time Christians.  

No Heart Transplants

It’s a solo mission. Nobody can save us except Jesus. Not family or friends, mentors, pastors, prayer groups or parish communities. We can’t expect their deep faith and personal intimacy with Jesus to rub off on us enough. That's between them and Jesus alone and we can’t just borrow a little oil from them to be invited to Jesus’ banquet as the foolish virgins tried to do.

We have to fill our personal lamp of intimacy with Jesus on our own. The oil of one’s internal intimacy with Jesus cannot be shared. We can’t hang on to someone else’s faith. No coat tails allowed on this journey. 

So let us never let our lamps run dry by merely going to church once a week for an hour or so and then heading back to our half-baked Christian lives. Instead of merely observing those with their lamps continuously filled with their love and commitment to Jesus 24/7, let us become envious enough to emulate them.  

As St. Paul tells the Thessalonians, though we may not be living when Christ returns, know that dead or alive, we will be taken up to him in proper order; first the dead, then the living.
Let us pray for the gift of wisdom to keep our lamps of love and intimacy with Jesus filled for his coming regardless of whether we are dead or alive at the time.

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