SUNDAY, THIRTY SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Wis 6: 12-16; Ps 63: 2-8; 1 Thes 4: 13-18; Mt 25: 1-13
WISDOM, READINESS AND FAITHFUL LOVE
Wisdom does not usually force itself upon us. It is discovered by those who genuinely seek it, by those who are willing to pause, listen and recognize the presence of God amid ordinary life. The first reading reminds us that wisdom is not something distant or inaccessible. She makes herself known to those who love her and allows them to be guided by her. The real question, therefore, is not whether God gives us wisdom, but whether we are attentive enough to recognize and receive it. This is beautifully seen in the prayer of Solomon. When entrusted with the responsibility of leading God’s people, he does not ask for wealth, power or a life free from difficulties. He asks for an understanding heart, so that he may discern what is right and govern wisely. His prayer reveals something important about genuine wisdom: it is not merely knowledge or intelligence. It is the grace to see life from God’s perspective and to use what has been entrusted to us for the good of others. Each of us has been entrusted with something. We have received time, abilities, relationships, opportunities, responsibilities and, above all, the gift of faith. None of these gifts is given merely for ourselves. God’s grace always carries a mission within it. The question is whether we are allowing these gifts to bear fruit.
This is where the Gospel’s image of the lamps becomes deeply meaningful. The ten young women are all waiting for the bridegroom. All have lamps. All have received the same invitation. From the outside, there appears to be little difference between them. Yet the difference becomes visible when the waiting is prolonged. Some have prepared themselves for the unexpected delay; others have assumed that what they have will be enough. The Gospel invites us to look honestly at our own lives. Faith cannot simply be something we possess; it must be something we nurture. Our relationship with God cannot survive merely on yesterday’s prayer, yesterday’s generosity or yesterday’s encounter with grace. Love needs to be renewed. Faith needs to be nourished. The inner lamp needs oil.
This oil can be understood as the life of grace expressed through prayer, love, fidelity and good works. Spiritual readiness is not anxiety about the future. It is living the present faithfully. It means cultivating an intimate relationship with God, allowing our conscience to be formed by truth, and becoming available to the needs of others. It means being prepared not simply to meet Christ at the end of our journey, but to recognize Him whenever He comes to us: in the people entrusted to our care, in unexpected demands, in moments of suffering, and in opportunities to love.
There is also something sobering in the Gospel. The foolishness of the unprepared is not necessarily found in some great act of rebellion. Sometimes it is simply neglect. A small failure to pay attention, a little postponement, a habit of taking grace for granted, an opportunity to love that we repeatedly ignore, such things can slowly make the heart inattentive to God. What we repeatedly postpone today may eventually become a way of life, and what we fail to nurture can quietly lose its place within our hearts. This is why St Paul’s words to the Thessalonians are so consoling. Christian hope is not founded on the denial of death or suffering, but on the conviction that our lives are held within God’s promise of communion with Him. Because our destiny is ultimately union with Christ, the way we live now matters. Our present choices are not disconnected from our eternal hope.
We are therefore called to live awake: not frightened, but attentive; not anxious, but faithful. God has entrusted each of us with gifts that can create, heal, encourage and give life. Love that is never offered gradually becomes stagnant, whereas love expressed in service grows stronger. The more generously we give ourselves, the more capable we become of loving. Perhaps, then, the prayer we need today is not simply, “Lord, give me more,” but “Lord, teach me to recognize what You have already given me, and give me the wisdom to use it faithfully.” The bridegroom comes. The invitation has already been given. The lamp is in our hands. What remains is to keep the flame alive.
Response: For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord, my God.
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