Twenty-First Friday of Ordinary Time

The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise ones replied, ‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’ While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked. Afterwards the other virgins came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’ But he said in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

We all fall asleep from time to time, not just physically, but also morally. We have lapses of judgment, we fall into temptation, and then into sin. The foolish are those who after falling into sin are not prepared to relight the lamps of their souls. They fail to make ready their hearts to receive God's graces through acts of contrition, reconciliation, and penance. They do not see what they have done as wrong. Instead they try to cover up their faults or buy their way out of their problems. And in the end, they delay coming to Christ and discover the door to Heaven is locked and that they have made themselves strangers in the eyes of God. However, if we are wise, then we prepare ourselves for those moments when our light fails. We know we are sinners and so we make sure that the sacrament of reconciliation is close at hand so that we can refill the lamps of our souls with the graces of God's Love and Mercy. Once we do this, our light glows again for God and His children and our souls burn brightly for all to see and we will be ready to enter into the heavenly feast with God when He calls us to His side.

Have we fallen into sin? What can we do to relight the fires of our hearts? What can we do to stay awake once we have reignited the lamp of our holiness?

O Lord, make us ready to enter into your heavenly feast.

Amen.

The Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.  There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.”

The foolishness of the rich man is not so much in the building of bigger barns to store his excess grain, but rather on the reason he builds the bigger barns. He does not build them because we wants to avoid wasting his good harvest, but rather he decides to build them because he wants to “rest, eat, drink, and be merry.” Instead of using the bountiful harvest to better himself, his lands, or his workers, he plans to use it on selfish pursuits and as an excuse to be lazy. God doesn’t give us gifts and talents to hoard them or use them to make our lives easier. He gives them to us to multiply them, to share with others, and thereby give glory to Him. We cannot do that if we store up our gifts and only use them for our personal enjoyment.

Are we storing up treasures for ourselves on earth? Or are we doing everything we can to multiply the bountiful harvests of graces that God has given us? How can we become rich in what matters, namely knowing, loving, and serving God and His children?

O Lord, inspire us to use the graces you’ve given us to store up heavenly merits rather than earthly treasures.

Amen.