This weekend, the Church celebrates the Thirty Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, and begins the final three weeks before Advent. The Gospel readings all come from Matthew 25, and week’s reading uses verses 1-13. It is the Parable of the Ten Virgins: the five wise ones brought oil, while the five foolish ones did not. When the bridegroom arrived, the wise virgins lit their lamps to greet him but the foolish ones could not enter the celebration. They thought that since the bridegroom was delayed, he would not come after all, or that they could borrow oil from the wise virgins. But they were rejected when they asked. The wise virgins, on the other hand, prepared enough oil, even when the bridegroom was late, so they did not have to worry when he would arrive. To the Church Fathers, the oil represented our own good works, which we cannot borrow from others before God. The foolish virgins cried out, “Lord! Lord!” but were rejected, just as Jesus in Matthew 7 described God rejecting those who called His name but lacked good works. If we possess true faith but do not live it out, it is useless. Mother Teresa is a good model of using our time wisely. Whenever she was delayed in transportation, she would often pray with her fellow nuns or talk with the people around her and explain the Good News. Maybe we are too well-off and are used to wasting our time on our phones whenever we have free time. We must remember: time is a gift from God and we must use it wisely to live out our faith.
「Spiritual Talk」Thirty Second Sunday of Ordinary Time – Fr. Anthony Ho
