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."
Dawg's thought:
Today's prayer intention is for children in foster care situations, for an abundant outpouring of grace in their lives.
I used to think about this parable and think to myself, "those greedy wise virgins!" After thinking about it for a while, though, how could they give what they didn't have? In our own lives today, we cannot ask someone to give me virtue because I don't have enough. We can only go to Our Lord, who is the giver of all good gifts. By nature of what virtue is, virtue is good. Therefore, only Our Lord can give us the oil that we need.
We should never assume that we have enough virtue in our own lives. We must never grow complacent with seeking purity. The pure of heart will see the Face of God, so we must make seeing the Face of Our Lord our desire. The virgins who the Gospel calls "foolish" will never see the face of the bridegroom. Will we be just as foolish? Take care and God Bless.
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