Five of them were foolish and five were wise

1 Ts 4,1-8; Ps 96; Mt 25,1-13
30 AUGUST

Wisdom is the same Spirit of the Lord given to the Christian so that by him he is led from truth to truth until the whole truth is reached. Guided by him the disciple of Jesus knows at all times what to do and what not to do, what is right and what is unjust and what is true and what is false. The Holy Spirit does not govern only the present, he governs the present in view of the future. If the present is without truth, the future will also be without truth and if the present is lived badly even the future is lived badly. A truth without an aim to be attained is not the truth of the Holy Spirit. Nor does a present not destined for the future both in time and in eternity belong to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit knows how to give his truth to every moment of our life. The condition for Him to work is one: that he is invoked and perpetually revived with prayer and with an ever more perfect obedience to the Word of Jesus. Without obedience to the Gospel, never might the Spirit work. Because He works only in the Word to live the whole Word in fullness of truth. We leave the Word, the Spirit comes out of us. Not only must the Spirit of the Lord be asked for us, but also for others. As Paul we must ask for him. Like the Virgin Mary we must take him with us.

Therefore, I, too, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love for all the holy ones, do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of (your) hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might (Eph 1,15-19). During those days Mary set out and travelled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled” (Lk 1,39-45).

The virgins who brought the lamps but not the oil are certainly not guided by the Holy Spirit. They lack in the truth of things. We are not wise either. We are lacking in the truth of life. We lack in the truth of life because we are deprived of the truth of the Gospel, of the Church, of the sacraments, of faith, of hope and of charity. Nor can the Holy Spirit guide us, because we dwell out of the Word.

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight, there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. 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.

Lacking us faith in the Word of Jesus, who says that he does not know us, what wisdom can we have to lead our lives towards the blessed skies? None. Not only do we not believe in the Word, we transform it to the use of our sin. Between what we believe and the Word of Christ Jesus there is no longer any meeting point. Since Jesus only recognizes his Word and only is eternally faithful to it, either we get converted and live according to his Word or even for us, the door will remain closed forever.

Mother of God, Angels and Saints, give us a true faith in every Word of Christ the Lord.