Jesus uses 1st century Palestinian wedding custom of bridesmaids awaiting the arrival
of bridegroom to start the wedding procession. This usually took place in the night and
required lighted lamps. If sufficient oil was not saved, the maids could be delayed in
entering the celebration hall. The wedding feast is life of a Christian and ones daily
encounter with Christ the bridegroom of human hearts. The wise virgins [bridesmaids]
are the ones who strived to live the gospel and foolish virgins represent our unpreparedness,
Our wrong decisions that make life a mess, our indifference to values and
good counsels and our ignorance that keeps Christ out of our life. Wisdom makes her
round seeking those worthy of her! We receive wisdom of God, grace of discernment
and desire for God in baptism and confirmation, which is enriched in the Eucharist! But
nobody can make choices for us, how to live these gifts! Gifts are given to us to imitate
the bridegroom Christ, then at the final encounter he would recognize his image in us.
The challenge is to burn brightly the light of Christ we were given in baptism. Jesus
invites us to a gospel thinking and unbiased seeing, to let the gifts of the Spirit we
received come alive in us. Do not let the oil of faith and love run out in us.
Anne is a young Australian woman who was born with a severe disability shares her
story how the oil of love removed the despair and darkness she felt. “During my
adolescence,” she shares, “I wondered why I was still alive, because the burden of my
disability was so great. My parents, who were in a bible study group, tried to live the
gospel and always gave me the same answer: ‘Anne, God loves you immensely and
has a special plan for you.’ “They helped me avoid being closed in on myself and
totally blocked by my physical difficulties. They encouraged me to ‘be the first to love,’
as God had done with us. “I have seen that many situations around me have changed:
people have become more open toward me and toward others. “My father wrote to me
a personal message that he told me to open only after his death. He had written just
one sentence: ‘My night has no darkness.’ “This has been my daily experience: every
time I choose to love and serve those around me, there is no more darkness, and I can
experience the love that God has for me.” Oil of God’s love never runs out, if the
container, your heart, is alert and use it wisely to shine like a lamp!
The foolish virgins had the means to buy the oil they needed. But they indulged in selfpity
and laziness; they lacked the focus and forgot their roles that they had to be
available for the bridegroom. They needed a shock to come to their senses. Sadly,
many are blind to eternal dimension of life and would let the light go out in life! Be alert,
be prepared is an encouraging counsel to us. Like the phone alerts you get, our faith
must constantly alert us to use our gifts wisely! Wisdom of God wants to dwell in human
hearts to remove the darkness of despair and to help overcome the ills of this world. It
gives strength to face challenges and not to run away from them. Wake up, this is the
time of grace; you can make a positive change in your life. Ask what is it that you have
within yourself, you can draw upon; if it doesn’t enrich your life, wake up to change of
heart and empower yourself with God’s love, forgiveness. Time you spend in prayer,
time you spend with your spouse, children, friends, dedicated time in your work, etc.
awakens you to the richness of life, if you know what matters is love! Today, awake your
heart to see what happens to your life! Christ and his gospel is the oil that keeps our life
burning with the love of God!