Friday, August 28, 2020 - 21st week of Ordinary Time - Gospel of Jesus Christ according to St. Matthew 25, 1-13 - Stay awake and pray at all times: so that you may stand before the Son of Man.
We have heard Christ's teaching on the Kingdom of Heaven, following the example of the ten virgins, preparing to meet the bridegroom who has come for the wedding.
He is the bridegroom ;
The Church or the faithful is the bride;
The coming of the bridegroom is the time of judgement, the end of the world;
The friend of the bridegroom is the army of angels;
The virgins, on the other hand, are those who claim to be Christians;
The lamp is the Christian way of life as a disciple of Christ;
The oil is the grace received, the faith shared and lived in love, i.e. the life of faith manifested in charity and fidelity to Christ ;
The hour of midnight symbolises the imminent return of Christ;
The bridegroom's palace is paradise, a place of holiness, peace and eternal joy.
Do we want to be part of the wedding feast and live in peace? We can imitate the preparation of the wise virgins. Let us not only be Christians in name, but let us truly live what we preach, believe and celebrate, especially the Eucharist. Let our light shine before men. And may our desires not bog us down in the world, but let us always look towards eternity. Many in the Church are drowsy, they think that the end is still far away and they are tired in their spiritual life. Wisdom, the key to happiness is to live a life of effort and perseverance.
