Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Resplendent and unfading is wisdom,
and she is readily perceived by those who love her,
and found by those who seek her.
She hastens to make herself known in anticipation of their desire;
Whoever watches for her at dawn shall not be disappointed,
for he shall find her sitting by his gate.
For taking thought of wisdom is the perfection of prudence,
and whoever for her sake keeps vigil
shall quickly be free from care;
because she makes her own rounds, seeking those worthy of her,
and graciously appears to them in the ways,
and meets them with all solicitude.
Second reading 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,
about those who have fallen asleep,
so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose,
so too will God, through Jesus,
bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord,
that we who are alive,
who are left until the coming of the Lord,
will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself, with a word of command,
with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God,
will come down from heaven,
and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive, who are left,
will be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air.
Thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore, console one another with these words.
Jesus told his disciples this parable:
"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."
By Art B. Reyes
In the United States, Thanksgiving is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, holidays being observed. It is an annual national holiday celebrating the harvest and other blessings of the past year.
As a tradition, the Filipinos living there take turns in hosting the Thanksgiving dinner for their friends and their families. There was a year when I was chosen to host the occasion for our big circle of friends. And because I love to cook, I prepared several dishes that they love. Several nights before the actual day, I listed down all the necessary items that I needed to buy and bought them the following day. And on the Thanksgiving day itself, I finished preparing the meals well ahead of time so I would have some time to do some more house cleaning. Later on that day, when every guest was around, we excitedly started to partake the foods. There was one food missing though. The rice, I forgot to cook the rice!
On this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, teaching His disciples the importance of being prepared. Jesus talks about what it means to be prepared to receive the Kingdom of Heaven. He told His disciples to understand that the exact day and time cannot be predicted. He teaches the disciples that they must remain vigilant so that they will not be caught unprepared.
Sometimes in our life, no matter how prepared we thought we are, there is still something that is left out. No matter what we do, we can never really be prepared for surprises and eventualities. There are struggles that come our way unexpectedly, sometimes in the dark chapters of our life, when we are close to giving up. But this is where our faith comes in. Never give up! Let us do our part, to the best of our abilities! And whatever we can control, let us take care of it, and to God we leave the rest.
We all know that our “time” will eventually come. Everyone will one day face our Creator. Can we say that we are well prepared to meet Him? How do we best prepare for that time? A life well-lived!
Let us live not only for ourselves but also for others! And let us not be driven by our ambitions alone but by godly missions. May we also prepare our hearts for the unexpected blessings that come our way! Our God is the greatest provider! His blessings are abundant and sometimes given by surprise!
Let us be vigilant and forget not to be grateful!
Prayer
Lord, help me walk with You in holiness so that I will fulfill my destiny and the purpose of my existence. Give me the wisdom and the grace to live a life that is pleasing to You. Amen.
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