Last Sunday's Gospel left me speechless [1]. I became thoughtful and, why not say it, postponed a necessary meditation. I have always been intrigued by this Gospel. It was therefore only Thursday, four days later, that I was able to better understand why the five wise virgins did not share their oil with the others and why the latter, said to be foolish, were rejected.
The homily I listened to at Mass (on TV) had already given the necessary explanations [2], but I had to read the text of Father Paulo Ricardo – in Portuguese [3]. He always helps me, with his unique didactic exegesis. I found a wonderful explanation too, in the words of Pope Francis [4].
The subject is perfect for the times we live in, with the Coronavirus pandemic. We don't know if we will get away with it, if we will get the disease, and if so, how our body will react. Are we ready to go through the "door"? Like the virgins of the gospel, we await the arrival of the Lord, each of us, but we do not know when He will arrive.
Our oil is what we have with us to nourish our faith, to keep it alight in order to glorify the Lord. We cannot give to others what we cultivate in ourselves, deep inside. We can give advice, just like the wise virgins. We must be present with our faith, when we are called, so that we are “recognized”.
Through intelligence we learn about God, and by will we are ready to use intelligence in order to deepen our faith. I invite you to read the text [4], where we can find inspired teachings.
I'll stop here, so as not to interfere with the meditation reading the links below.
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Related links:
[2] Homélie du 8 novembre 2020
[3] Por que perdemos o "óleo" da devoção?
[4] 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
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