LOVE WISDOM, SEEK WISDOM.

November 12, 2023.
Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time – A.

Readings: Wis 6:12-16; Ps 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8; 1 Thes4:13-18; Mt 25:1-13.

"Five of them were foolish and five were wise." Matthew 25:2

An Ashanti proverb says: “Wisdom is like a good skin bag. Every man carries his own.” A Spanish proverb adds: “What the fool does at last the wise man does at first.”

The liturgical year draws closely to its end. We are today, the 32nd Sunday, in the Ordinary Time A. And as people walking toward the end of a time and a season, the attitude that is required from us is not only that of vigilance but also wisdom. We are urged to be wise to make the right choices and foresee things before they happen. Wisdom is a very prophetic virtue. And as such, wisdom is called to be the most Christian attitude. For, by Baptism, we are made prophets, people capable of predicting events and getting ready for them.

We are talking of the end of the liturgical year, which we are used to, for it is a repetitive cycle. We go from the Year A to the Year B and C, and we start again. But beyond this cycle, there is another end that, even though we do not know when it will happen, is more than obvious to come, that is, death, our own death, the end of our earthly pilgrimage. It will be the time for us to encounter our heavenly spouse, Christ our Lord. For this final end, wisdom should be our companion and our light.

About the end that is death, the Catechism says: "The Church encourages us to prepare ourselves for the hour of our death. In the ancient litany of the saints, for instance, she has us pray: "From a sudden and unforeseen death, deliver us, O Lord"; to ask the Mother of God to intercede for us "at the hour of our death" in the Hail Mary; and to entrust ourselves to St. Joseph, the patron of a happy death. Every action of yours, every thought, should be those of one who expects to die before the day is out. Death would have no great terrors for you if you had a quiet conscience... Then why not keep clear of sin instead of running away from death? If you aren't fit to face death today, it's very unlikely you will be tomorrow... Praised are you, my Lord, for our sister bodily Death, from whom no living man can escape. Woe on those who will die in mortal sin! Blessed are they who will be found in your most holy will, for the second death will not harm them." CCC 1014

The time will come for us to die. But the main question is, are we ever ready to face it? The attitude and virtue in front of death, we said, is wisdom. Thus, the readings invite us today to love, seek, and espouse wisdom.

There is a beautiful ancient invocation that could open us to the readings and the search and thirst for wisdom: "Maranatha" from the Aramaic מרנא תא‎ (“Lord, come"”) or מרן אתא‎ (“our lord has come”). It is a call and an expectation. We all await the coming of the Lord. Moreover, we Christians await not only the end of a liturgical year but the coming of the Lord in glory. Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and Born-again base all their preaching on it: “The Lord is coming soon…” This coming will be the time of the great and definitive encounter with the spouse. For the cry of ‘Maranatha’ to get its perfect meaning, we ought to be always ready to receive him. Thus, the calling for vigilance which links our three readings.

While Paul, in the second reading, describes the expectation of the faithful of Thessalonica and their vigilance, the first reading and the Gospel exhorts us to embrace wisdom. In the first reading, we have the great personification of wisdom. It is portrayed as a resplendent and seductive young woman. We read that her beauty is "radiant and unfading." That she makes herself found by those who love and seek her. To find her, however, one needs vigilance.

So, the Gospel will emphasize that aspect of vigilance. The Lord, through the parable of the Ten Virgins awaiting the coming of the spouse, teaches us the attitude of the genuine Christian. We are urged to be wise, that is, to be always prepared. Among the Virgins, he says, five were wise, while five were foolish.

The purpose of this parable is clear. It is to explain the Kingdom of Heaven. In our waiting for God's kingdom, we are like these bridesmaids who go out to meet the bridegroom. Where then do we stand? Are we among the foolish who did not fill their lamps with sufficient oil or among the wise, who have extra oil? The answer is up to each one of us. Our actions, our words, and our lives will prove where we stand.

The oil here can mean love and good actions. As we see, the ten Virgins went all out to meet the groom. It is just like each one of us comes to church and prays. But it is not enough to pray or be a good churchgoer. Our actions and love speak louder. Farther than being a good Christian or churchgoer, we should not lack in good actions toward the needy and in love toward our neighbor. At the end of our lives, the Lord will not ask us how many masses we have attended, nor how many sacraments we have received. He will question us about love and good actions. Faith in se is not enough if it is not nourished by love. Faith was the lamp the ten Virgins had in hand. And as we can notice, they all have it. What made the five others wise was their love and good actions, while the foolish contented themselves only on faith without action. May we not forget this strong admonition of the Apostle James: "Faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead..." Ja 2:17 The Apostle insists that we should not be foolish men, and he gave the example of Abraham and Rahab who were counted wise because of their living and active faith.

To finish, this beautiful insight I read somewhere: "One important aspect of the parable that does not usually receive a lot of attention is that all the virgins became drowsy and sleepy. In many ways, this shows that even believers will get caught up in the day-to-day trials and tribulations that can distract them from keeping their eyes on the Lord. People will be born and die, waiting. Believers and unbelievers alike are subject to the passage of time and the effects of the world. The difference between the two is that when the herald announces the bridegroom’s arrival, which in the parable represents the signs of the End of Days, the believers will be ready. When Jesus returns, they will be admitted into the Kingdom of Heaven, and attend the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, as shown in John’s Revelation. For those who are unprepared, they will be rejected, because they did not know Jesus in their life…z All people who have lived, are living, or will live in time are one of these two groups: wise or foolish, prepared or unprepared, believers or unbelievers." So, comes again our question: where do you stand? Are we wise or are we foolish?


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