Michel DeVerteuil
General Comments
Today’s passage is a teaching on “what the kingdom of heaven will be like” (verse 1). This biblical expression means the coming of grace into the world. The passage therefore is a teaching on grace, inviting us to recognise and celebrate our experiences of grace, and to prepare ourselves for future comings.
“Will be” is a reminder that the final and definitive coming of grace lies in the future, but the teaching also refers to the many partial but real comings of grace that we and our communities (including the worldwide human family) have experienced.
The teaching is parabolic so it is important to remind ourselves of how we meditate on a parable:– The parable comprises different characters; we choose the one(s) we want to identify with and read the parable from his or her (their) perspective.
– A “crunch point” occurs at a certain stage of the story, a turning point which jolts us so that
we know instinctively that this is the central moment in the parable. The “crunch point” will
be different for different people; indeed it will be different for us at different stages in our lives.
In this parable there are four possible “crunch points”:
1. -The moment of the cry, “the bridegroom is here” (verse 6) – grace always takes us by surprise.
2. -The foolish bridesmaids find out that their lamps are going out and the wise ones will not give them oil
(verses 7 to 9) – grace is always “disturbing”.
3. -The wise bridesmaids go with the bridegroom into the wedding hall (verse 10) – grace is pure joy.4. -The foolish bridesmaids come late and are told “I don’t know you” (vs 11 and 12) – grace brings feelings of remorse, despair even, but as a step to conversion.
In each case the bridesmaids represent two possibilities and we have been both at different times of our lives. The “wise” (a better word than the Jerusalem Bible’s “sensible”) are ourselves at our best, the “foolish” ourselves at our worst.
We can also focus on the bridegroom, remembering times when someone waited a long time for us to come to the best of ourselves (I took this approach in one of the prayers below).
Focussing on the person of Jesus can help bring the passage alive for us. At this point in his life, he is in
Jerusalem, about to be arrested and crucified. The parable then becomes a testimony to his own attitude –
he is a wise bridesmaid, ready for his moment of grace. It is also a heartfelt warning to his beloved disciples that they must not be like the foolish bridesmaids and miss their moment of grace when he is arrested. Who does he remind us of?
Textual comments
– It does not happen instantly, we have to wait a long time for it, so long that we “grow drowsy
(get a feel for that) and fall asleep”.
– When it comes, it is a surprise, like being wakened from sleep by a peremptory cry (“a rude awakening”).
Verses 7 to 9: Grace always disturbs. It makes us fumble, look for solutions that are both impractical and
unreasonable – like expecting the wise bridesmaids to give of their oil supply even though they risk not
having enough, neither for themselves nor for others.
We must make the effort to identity what Jesus meant by the “extra flask” of oil. It is what makes the
difference between “good” and “great”, “courageous” and “heroic”, “run-of-the-mill” and “special”.
Verse 10: The moment of grace is like entering into a great festive hall, accompanied by one we have
waited long for. We think of:
– our marriage ceremony (or 25th or 50th anniversary);
– the first sexual experience;
– the return home of an addict;
– a moment of national reconciliation.
Verses 11 and 12: These verses are almost unbearably sad. We enter into the feelings of the rejected
bridesmaids, the finality of the door being closed while the bridesmaids shout, “open up,” the hopelessness
of hearing the words “I don’t know you”. We can imagine the remorse – “why wasn’t I ready when
he came?”
We think of similar experiences:
– parents wanting their children to open up to them after years of neglecting them;
– abusers faced with the break up of their families;
– national leaders trying in vain to get warring parties to be reconciled.
The teaching reminds us that we must live with the consequences of our choices.
There is nothing airy fairy about Jesus – or about teachers like him.
Though this particular relationship can never be recovered, there will be other chances of healthy
relationships – so the teaching is positive and a call to repentance.
The concluding verse 13 stands on its own. It is not strictly a comment on the parable since none of the
bridesmaids actually “stay awake”. The verse is rather a general teaching on “staying awake”
to the grace of the present moment – “the day and the hour”.
The deepest truth of every “day and hour” is that the bridegroom has arrived.
We give the word “know” its full meaning of “perceiving all the possibilities latent in…”.
Scriptural Prayer reflection
Lord, you really like to keep us waiting:– for long years we struggled with an alcohol problem;
– we thought that a difficult child would never settle down;
– the parish youth group kept going from one crisis to the next.
Then, all of a sudden, out of the blue, the moment of grace came.
It was as if at midnight, when everybody had gone to sleep,
there was a cry, “The bridegroom is here! Go out to meet him!”
We thank you that we did not give up hope;
somehow or other we had left ourselves open to the possibility of better things:
we had kept an extra flask of oil alongside our regular supply,
so that we were able to trim our lamps and welcome the bridegroom when he came.
Thank you, Lord.
“My mother don’t have time to talk to me. I don’t have her to tell me things.
When she comes home from work, she only has time to clean the kitchen, go to
sleep and back to work again.” …A young boy in Trinidad
Lord, we pray for parents.
It is not easy for them.
They are frequently so tired at the end of the day
that when the children come to share their lives with them
they have grown drowsy and fallen asleep.
Give them that reserve of energy
so that they may never have to come knocking at the door of their children’s hearts
and hear the terrible words, “I do not know you.”
Lord, we thank you for the experience of the sacrament of reconciliation
celebrated after many years being away.
It was like arriving late at night, long after we were due,
and yet being welcomed with great joy
like a bridegroom being escorted into the wedding hall.
Lord, nowadays we are accustomed to doing things instantly,
turning a switch or putting in a plug.
So we tend to think that we can know people instantly too.
But having someone open up to us always takes a long time.
It is like being a bridesmaid and having to wait late into the night
for the bridegroom to come, and then continue to wait,
and when we have almost given up hope that he will come,
to hear that he is there and we must go out to meet him.
It is only after that kind of waiting that two persons can enter into deep intimacy.
“I promise by thy grace that I will embrace whatever I last feel certain is the truth,
if I ever come to be certain.“ …Cardinal Newman as he wondered whether he should join the Catholic Church
Lord, we pray for those who are searching:
– those who, like Cardinal Newman, ask themselves if they should leave their Church and join another;
– young people not sure what their vocation in life is;
– friends who cannot decide on marriage.
Give them the grace to continue waiting,
not pretending that the bridegroom has come if he hasn’t,
confident that when at midnight there is the cry, “He is here!”
they will go out to meet him.
Lord, we spend a lot of energy fighting against the present moment
– blaming ourselves or others for mistakes of the past;
– regretting that things are not as good as they could be;
– anxious about how the future will be.
And so our eyes are closed to the possibilities that are there in the present.
Teach us always to stay awake, because we do not know the day or the hour of your grace.
“Care for the dying is founded upon two unshakeable beliefs:
that each minute of life should be lived to the full,
and that death is quite simply part of life,
to be faced openly and with hands outstretched.” ….Sheila CassidyLord, we thank you that you call some of us to minister to the dying.
Some are afraid, others angry or confused.
You want us to help them all to welcome you;
to teach people, as Jesus did,
that it is all right if we fall asleep when you are long in coming,
because we know that when the cry goes up, “The bridegroom is here!”
we will merely trim our lamps and go into the wedding hall with him.
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Thomas O’Loughlin
Introduction to the Celebration
Sisters and brothers, each week when we assemble for the Eucharist we enter into the presence of the Father, and offer him the sacrifice of praise in union with Christ Jesus. We enter into the presence of Christ, and through him into the presence of the Father. Today we reflect that as the people of the Lord Jesus we are called to be always awake and ready to bring his wisdom to our world and to be his presence among all the people we encounter.Homily Notes
1. How do we learn to be Christians? This question assumes that we already have a clear sense of who we are when we gather here.
2. Let’s think of some groups that we are all familiar with. The first is a group of people on a plane: they all want to go to the same place at the same time, so they have something distinctive in common; but would you call them a community? They are really a collection of individuals who just happen to have something in common, and it is easier to get a service if the costs are distributed. Imagine someone offered that group a free lottery: ten lucky people could win a chance to travel in a private jet to the same destination at the same time: there would be them (either on her /his own, or if they are travelling as a couple or a family, then just the couple or family on the private jet). How many would want his/her name in the draw? I suspect, virtually everyone. The group travelling together is only a collection with little that matters in common.
Now imagine a long-distance train or bus journey: the train/bus goes along a fixed route each day from A to Z, and there are a few who are on it for the whole journey. Others get on at C and off at K, while others get on at K and go on to X; still more get on somewhere else and get off at yet another stop. It is a friendly train, the conductor reminds people that they are approaching a station and warns them to be ready to get off, if that is their stop and reminds them to check that each has all personal belongings with them. Sometimes those who take a train often, recognise other travellers by sight, sometimes they might even speak, sometimes not a word is uttered. And, while they all go along the same journey together, each has individual interests: some are reading, some chatting to friends, others listening to music on headphones, others texting on their mobiles, and here and there you can see people with a look of deep concentration: they are doing Sudoku.
3. Now shift your imagination to a birthday party. Again, lots of people in the same place at the same time with a common interest. But the dynamics are completely different: they all have a sensed of being there because of something that unites them. There would be no sense in asking if they wanted to eat separately or go off on their own: their whole purpose is to be together. This is what celebration means. People are doing different things, but it is the whole group that makes the party.4. Now consider this: is gathering today for this Eucharist just people together in the sense of the plane (all want the same thing and cannot get ‘it’ individually) or the bus (people just joining in for the bits they need) or is it a celebration: all invited to be the party at the banquet?
5. Jesus came to form a community. We say that we are called to his supper, and he wants the way we behave here at his table to be a model for how we treat one another and all people.
6. But is this our attitude? We offer a sign of peace, but are we ready to make common cause with those around us? Do we seek to get to know them? This is the great open meal, so if someone has just joined us today, would they feel welcome?
7. We have to learn to be Christians by learning to live and work together; but Jesus realised that a primary first step was to learn how to share with one another at this meal. Here we learn how to be Christians; here we learn how we must communicate the welcoming love of the Father; here we are acclimatised as a group for the banquet prepared for us in heaven.
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Donal Neary SJ
Jesus always new
The lamp is the light of love and hope, and at its centre is the light of Christ. The light is given to us in many ways in our lives – it shines within as an eternal joy, and outwards to many others. Jesus often advises, ‘keep your lamps burning’ and ‘Let you lights shine.Like when the bulb goes out when the electricity fails, the lamp can go out without oli. The people of the gospel felt foolish that they had not brought oil with them to light their way. The oil is prayer an our relationship with Jesus. This is the essence of the Christian life. Our Christian life is following a real, loving person: it is an invitation to get to know Jesus, and to find ourselves drawn from our hearts to follow him. Without this living relationship with Christ, words sound empty. We sometimes hear someone speaking of their Christian faith and cannot help wondering if it comes from the inside or is just a list of things to be believed and read.
Ignatius of Loyola’s famous prayer is the prayer of the follower of Jesus; ‘Lord, teach me to know you more, love you more and serve you more faithfully in my life.’ (Spiritual Exercises). The more indicates that this is never a finished product: like love and friendship it grows in our lives. It is exciting that Jesus is never gone from us.: risen from the dead he is always alive, always new. Our reading of the gospel, our sharing at Mass and the sacraments and our personal prayer keep this relationship always alive, always new.
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Fr. John Speekman:
Wisdom 6:12-16; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13
That door is the most important door in the whole of existence, it is the door to the wedding banquet, to the Kingdom of God - the door to heaven.Wisdom herself:
What does all this tell us?
Those who want wisdom go looking for her.
Wisdom wants to be found and gives herself readily to those who seek her.
Those who receive her desire her even more.
Look at the amazing soul who is ‘thirsting’ for God in the Psalm.
Wisdom is something we ‘choose’ like the five bridesmaids did. Having chosen it wisdom becomes second nature to us.
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Homily from Father Joseph Pellegrino
I want to begin today by asking you to imagine that you are the main beneficiary of a distant relative's will. It seems this relative was quite eccentric as well as quite wealthy. A great deal of money is left for you to spend, but there are certain rules. Everyday for a year, your bank account would be credited with $86,400. If you wanted to spend any of this money, you had to produce bills showing why money was being withdrawn from your account. You could not save the money in another account. At the end of the banking day, whatever you did not spend would be removed from your account. The next day you would start with a fresh $86,400. I am sure that you and I would find some really creative things to do with the money. Now, let's return to reality. Every day we are given 86,400 seconds to make the best use of. Every night, God writes off as lost whatever portion of this time we have not used well or have wasted. In the bank of time, there are no balances and no overdrafts. Each day a new account is opened for us. Each night, what remains is written off, lost, gone forever.
Every day's 86,400 seconds has to be invested wisely in commodities that will hold their value from day to day, quarter to quarter, year to year and beyond. Lasting values need to be found, values like justice, compassion, forgiveness, and love. There were five wise virgins and five foolish ones. The five foolish virgins squandered their time. The five wise virgins made the best use of every moment. The wise virgins entered into the banquet of the Master's love. The foolish virgins were too busy wasting time to be ready for their Master's return. How much time do you and I have left? We really don't know. Recently, we have had young members of our parish come down with sudden illnesses and die just a few months after the diagnosis. Others have been killed in accidents. In our American denial of death, we all like to think that sudden death happens to other people. There is no reason why it shouldn't happen to any of us. But it does.
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Illustrations:
Fr. Jude Boteho:
The first reading from the Book of Wisdom personifies wisdom, as Lady Wisdom, who is to be found by all who seek her. Through divine wisdom God communicates to mankind the meaning of life and living. What we need most in life is wisdom; when we have found God we become truly wise since He guides our every step. True wisdom in a person is that quality that shows that one is truly in contact with God, and that He is, in a large measure, acting in one’s life. Wisdom can be said to be the inner light, given by God, which, is given only to those who thirst for it, seek it, love it and carefully nurture it when received.
The Parable of the Cave
Three wise men were encouraged to find what had been called the Cave of wisdom and life. They made careful preparations for what would be a challenging and arduous journey. When they reached the place of the cave, they noted a guard at the entrance. They were not permitted to enter the cave until they had spoken to the guard. He had only one question for them, and he demanded that they answer only after talking it over with one another. He assured them that they would have a guide to lead them through the regions of the cave. His question was a simple one, “How far into the Cave of wisdom and life do you wish to go?” The three travelers took counsel together and returned to the guard. Their response was, “Oh, not very far. We just want to go far enough into the cave so that we can say that we have been there.” The reaction of the guard manifested none of his great disappointment as he summoned someone to lead the three seekers a short distance into the cave, and then watched them set out again after a very short time, set out to make the journey back into their own land.Paula Ripple in ‘Walking with Loneliness’
In today’s Gospel Jesus tells a parable of the five wise and five foolish virgins to remind us that we should be awake and prepared for the coming of the Lord, because we do not know at what hour he will come. The virgins stand for people who are waiting for the coming of the Lord. To be wise is to be ready and prepared for any eventuality, for what might happen. Jewish wedding ceremonies were celebrated at night. The girls who formed the procession accompanied the groom to the house of the girl’s father. No time was set. Those who were prepared were welcomed, while the unprepared were left out. Their fault wasn't to sleep but to be unprovided for their part in the torchlight procession. Missing the feast meant losing the kingdom. The virgins typify mankind in search of purpose. Some lack resolution, others are preoccupied with the distractions and trivialities while some stay focused on their ultimate purpose.
The kingdom of heaven is like…
God comes to
us in spite of ourselves!
A woman was at work when she received a phone call that her daughter was very sick with fever. She left her work and stopped by the pharmacy to pick up some medication for her daughter. On returning to her car she found that she had locked her keys in the car. She was in a hurry to get home to her sick daughter. She found a coat hanger there. Then she looked at the hanger and said, “I don’t know how to use this.” So she bowed her head and asked the Lord to send some help. A man got out of his car and asked her if he could help. “Please can you use this hanger to unlock my car?” she said. He said, “Sure.” He walked over to the car and in less than one minute, the car was opened. She hugged the man and through tears, she said, “Thank you so much! You are a very nice man.” The man replied, “Lady, I am not a nice man. I just got out of prison today. I was in prison for car theft and have only been out for about an hour.” The woman hugged the man again and with sobbing tears cried aloud, “Oh, Thank you God! You even sent me a professional!” –While we are all sinners, the Lord sees the good within us and keeps coming, knocking at the door of our hearts, encouraging us to come closer to him.
In today’s Gospel Jesus tells a parable of the five wise and five foolish virgins to remind us that we should be awake and prepared for the coming of the Lord, because we do not know at what hour he will come. The virgins stand for people who are waiting for the coming of the Lord. To be wise is to be ready and prepared for any eventuality, for what might happen. Jewish wedding ceremonies were celebrated at night. The girls who formed the procession accompanied the groom to the house of the girl’s father. No time was set. Those who were prepared were welcomed, while the unprepared were left out. Their fault wasn't to sleep but to be unprovided for their part in the torchlight procession. Missing the feast meant losing the kingdom. The virgins typify mankind in search of purpose. Some lack resolution, others are preoccupied with the distractions and trivialities while some stay focused on their ultimate purpose.
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Fr. Tony Kadavil:
1) Forgetting the parachute: In April, 1988 the evening news reported the
sad story of a photographer who was also a skydiver. He had jumped from a
plane along with several other skydivers and filmed the group as they
individually dove out of the plane and opened their parachutes. As the
video was being shown of each member of the crew jumping out and then pulling
their rip chord so that their parachute opened to the wind, the final skydiver
opened his chute and then the picture went out of control. The announcer
reported that the cameraman had fallen to his death, having jumped out of the
plane without a parachute. It wasn’t until he reached for the ripcord
that he realized he was in free fall, taking pictures without a
parachute. Tragically he was unprepared for the jump. It did not
matter how many times he had done it before or what skill he had. By
forgetting the parachute, he made a foolish and deadly mistake. Nothing
could save him, because his Faith was in a parachute which he had never taken
the trouble to buckle on. It is a story not unlike the parable which
Jesus tells about the foolish bridesmaids forgetting to bring something very
important and necessary.
2) "What's your purpose in life, Bob?" Josh McDowell tells about an executive "head-hunter"
(recruiter) who goes out and hires corporation executives for large firms. This
recruiter once told McDowell that when he gets an executive that he's trying to
hire for someone else, he likes to disarm him. "I offer him a drink,"
said the recruiter, "take my coat off, then my vest, undo my tie, throw up
my feet and talk about baseball, football, family, whatever, until he's all
relaxed. Then, when I think I've got him relaxed, I lean over, look him square
in the eye and say, ‘What's your purpose in life?' It's amazing," said the
recruiter, "how top executives fall apart at that question." Then he
told about interviewing one fellow recently. He had him all disarmed, had his
feet up on his desk, talking about football. Then the recruiter leaned over and
said, "What's your purpose in life, Bob?" And the executive who was
being recruited said, without blinking an eye, "To go to Heaven and take
as many people with me as I can." "For the first time in my
career," said the recruiter, "I was speechless." [Stories For the Heart, compiled by Alice
Gray (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Books, 1996), p. 112.] No wonder -- he had
encountered someone who was really prepared! In today’s Gospel parable of the
ten virgins Jesus warns us to be ever prepared to meet God our Creator at the
end of our lives to give an account of how we have lived.
3) “Be prepared” and “Don’t
run out of gas.”: One thing that all Scouts, young
and old, never forget is the Boy Scout Motto: "Be prepared." If
you’ve ever set up a tent and didn’t tie your lines securely, you know what
happens when the wind and rain hits! A tent collapse in the middle of the night
is a rude awakening! Or, if you get a brand-new pair of hiking boots and don’t
properly break them in, then go on a ten-mile hike, it’s pretty painful! You
might forget bug-spray during mosquito season. Or if you bring a flashlight on
a campout, but not extra batteries; that can make it somewhat challenging
finding the latrine in the middle of the night! We sometimes learn the hard way
to anticipate our needs. We need to plan ahead, before it’s too late. It wasn’t
raining when Noah built the ark! Through the parable of the ten virgins, Jesus
warns us to be ever prepared for the end of our lives. How many of you have ever run
out of gas? In most audiences, this would be nearly everyone. I cannot verify
these statistics, so I caution you that they may be flawed. It would appear
that every year at least a half million people call for help because they have
run out of gas. Besides flat tires, dead batteries, and misplaced keys, running
out of gas ranks right up there in the reasons why people call for roadside service.
One might understand this happening a generation ago, when gas gauges were not
entirely accurate, and when all the warning lights of our day were
non-existent. But now we have warning messages that our fuel is running low
(giving us perhaps an hour more of driving), and then additional, progressively
urgent warnings indicating just how many estimated miles of driving we have
left. One must say that most people who run out of fuel are “without excuse.”
4. A tour group was riding in an
elevator to the top of the Empire State Building. At about the 102nd
floor, a woman asked the tour guide, “If the cables on this elevator break, do
we go up or down?” The tour guide answered, “Well, that depends on how
you are living.”
5. A Sunday school teacher was
testing the children in her class one morning to see if they
understood the concept of "getting to Heaven." She said,
"If I sold my house and my car, held a big garage sale and gave all my
money to the Church, would that get me into Heaven?"
"NO!" the children answered.
"If I cleaned the Church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything
neat and tidy, would that get me into Heaven?"
Again, the answer was, "NO!"
"Well, then, if I was kind to animals, gave candy
to children and loved my husband, would that get me into
Heaven?"
Again, they all answered, "NO!"
“Well," the teacher continued, “how do I get into Heaven?"
A five-year-old boy shouted out, "YOU GOTTA BE DEAD."
6. When Bishop Philip Brooks, author of “O, Little Town of Bethlehem,” was seriously ill, he requested that
none of his friends come to see him. But when an acquaintance of his
named Robert Ingersoll, the famous anti-Christian propagandist, came to
see him, Brooks allowed him to enter his room. Ingersoll said, “I
appreciate this very much, especially when you aren’t letting any of your close
friends see you.” Bishop Brooks responded, “Oh, I’m confident of seeing
them in the next world, but this may be my last chance to see you.”
7. Bush’s comments a few years ago about her husband? She said,
“George always says he’s delighted to come to these press dinners.
Baloney. He’s usually in bed by now. I’m not kidding. I said
to him the other day, ‘George, if you really want to end tyranny in the world,
you’re going to have to stay up later.’ I am married to the president of
the United States, and here’s our typical evening: Nine o’clock, Mr. Excitement
here is sound asleep, and I’m watching “Desperate Housewives” on
television. One day in February 2003, with America on the verge of a war
with Iraq, Secretary of State Colin Powell was reminded that, notwithstanding
the stress, President George W. Bush was in bed by 10 o’clock every night and
slept like a baby. “I sleep like a baby, too,” Powell replied. “Every
two hours I wake up screaming!” Ronald Reagan insisted on taking a nap
every afternoon. Even so, he was so sleepy that he nearly overslept
his own presidential inauguration. On one occasion, he did in fact drop
off at an awkward moment ... in an audience with Pope St. John Paul II.
23- Additional anecdotes:
1) “At last I've met a man more stupid than myself." There is an old legend
about a man who had a rather stupid servant. The master often got exasperated
with his servant. One day in a fit of frustration he said to the servant,
"You've got to be the stupidest man I've ever met. Look, I want you to take
this staff and carry it with you. And if you ever meet a man stupider than you
are, give him the staff." So the servant carried the staff. Often out in
the marketplace he'd meet some pretty stupid people. But he was never sure they
were worse off than he. Years passed with the servant carrying his staff. Then
one day, he came back to the castle and was ushered into the bedroom of his
master. His master was quite sick. In the course of their conversation, the
master said, "I'm going on a long journey." The servant said,
"When do you plan to be back?" The master said, "This is a
journey from which I'll not return." The servant said, "Sir, have you
made all the necessary preparations?" The master said, "No, I have
not." The servant said, "Could you have made preparations?" The
master said, "Yes, I guess I've had my life to make them, but I've been
busy about other things." The servant said "Master, you're going on a
journey from which you'll never return, you could've prepared for it, and you
just didn't?" The master said, "Yes, I guess that's right." The
servant took the staff he'd carried so long and said, "Master take this
with you. At last I've met a man more stupid than myself." Telling us the
parable of the 10 virgins Jesus warns us to be ever prepared to meet him as our
judge on the day of our death.
2) “I'll tell you what's more important; it's the will to prepare.” In 1976, Indiana University's basketball team was undefeated throughout
the regular season and captured the NCAA National Championship. Controversial
and colorful coach Bobby Knight led them to that championship. Shortly
afterwards, Coach Knight was interviewed on the television show 60 Minutes. The commentator asked him,
"Why is it, Bobby, that your basketball teams at Indiana are always so
successful? Is it the will to succeed?" "The will to succeed is
important," replied Bobby Knight, "but I'll tell you what's more
important; it's the will to prepare. It's the will to go out there every day,
training and building those muscles and sharpening those skills!" [John R.
Noe, Peak Performance Principles for High
Achievers (New York: Berkley Books, 1984).] No wonder Bobby Knight has been
so successful as a coach!
3) "Don't fool yourself.” Another famous coach believed the same thing. "Hurry Up" Yost
was the football coach at the University of Michigan. A player once assured
Coach Yost that their team was sure to win on Saturday because the players had
"the will to win." "Hurry Up" Yost answered: "Don't
fool yourself. The will to win is not worth a plugged nickel unless you have
the will to prepare." That is true. Whether we are talking about sports,
or education, or science, or business, or any worthwhile endeavor in life,
success goes to the person who has the will to prepare!
4) “Keep your lamps lighted
and your fork in hand.” There was a young woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness
and had been given three months to live. As she was getting her things in
order, she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to
discuss her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung
at the funeral Mass, what Scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she
wanted to be buried in. Everything was in order and as the pastor was
preparing to leave, the young woman suddenly remembered something very
important to her. "There’s one more thing," she said excitedly.
"What’s that?" asked the pastor. "This is very
important," the young woman continued. "I want my body to be
buried with a fork in my right hand." The pastor stood looking at
the young woman, not knowing quite what to say. "That surprises you,
doesn’t it?" the young woman asked. "Well, to be honest, I’m
puzzled by the request," said the pastor. The young woman explained.
"My grandmother once told me this story, and that’s where I got the idea.
I have, also, always tried to pass along its message to those I love and those
who are in need of encouragement. In all my years of attending Church
socials and potluck dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main
course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, ’Keep
your fork!’ It was my favorite part of the meal because I knew that
something better was coming, like chocolate cake or deep-dish apple
pie. Something wonderful, and with substance! So, I just want
people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to
wonder, "What’s with the fork?" Then I want you to tell them: "Keep
your fork--the best is yet to come."
5) Can you “sleep when the
wind blows”? A young man applied for a job
as a farm hand. When asked for his qualifications, he said, "I can sleep
when the wind blows." This puzzled the farmer, but he liked the young man
and hired him. A few days later, the farmer and his wife were awakened in the night
by a violent storm. They quickly began to check things out to see if all were
secure. They found that the shutters of the farmhouse had been securely
fastened. A good supply of logs had been set next to the fireplace. The farm
implements had been placed in the storage shed, safe from the elements. The
tractor had been moved into the garage. The barn had been properly locked.
Everything was fine. Even the animals were calm. It was then that the farmer
grasped the meaning of the young man’s words, "I can sleep when the wind
blows." Because the farm hand had performed his work loyally and
faithfully when the skies were clear, he was prepared for the storm when it
broke. Consequently, when the wind blew, he had no fear. He was able to sleep
in peace. In the parable that is our Gospel lesson this morning, Jesus is
talking about exactly the same thing, being able to sleep when the winds blows,
in other words, being prepared.
6) Victory goes to those who are prepared. Graham Greene once observed: "There is always one moment when the
door opens and lets the future in." Will you be ready when your time
comes? Robert Runcie was. During a battle in WWII, a British tank was hit. The
crew, except for the co-driver, scrambled out. The turret on the tank was stuck
in such a position that it could not be opened, pinning the co-driver inside.
Under heavy fire, a soldier jumped out of his own tank, ran to turn the turret,
and dragged the copilot out. That soldier, Robert Runcie, was ready to do what
was needed in WWII. He was also ready to do what was needed when he became
Archbishop of Canterbury many years later. Victory goes to those who are
prepared. Preparation and character go hand in hand. One more thing needs to be
said. It is amazing that many of us who are prepared for life fail to prepare
for eternity. We get our degrees in school. We position ourselves for the right
jobs. We set our goals ten years in advance. We know where we want to retire.
Each year we sock away the limit in our IRAs. And we totally disregard the most
important reality of all our relationship with God – until it's too late and we are unprepared.
7) "Eight Steps Toward a
More Satisfying Life." In a recent TIME magazine sidebar, there were
"Eight Steps Toward a More Satisfying Life." Here are the Eight Steps: 1. Count your blessings. 2. Practice acts of
kindness. 3. Savor life's joys. 4. Thank a mentor. 5. Learn to forgive. 6.
Invest time and energy in friends and family. 7. Take care of your body. 8.
Develop strategies for coping with stress and hardship. (TIME, 17 (January 2005), A8-A9.] This morning when we reflect on
the parable of the ten virgins, we add one more step, a 9th Step to the
strategy: Be prepared. Be prepared to step off life's planned paths, and trust
the Spirit. After all, the Spirit can appear in many guises, disguises, and
surprises. (Rev. Leonard Sweet)
8) “You are given three minutes to get into the boat.” There's a true story that comes from the sinking of the Titanic. A
frightened woman found her place in a lifeboat that was about to be lowered
into the raging North Atlantic. She suddenly thought of something she needed,
so she asked permission to return to her stateroom before they cast off. She
was granted three minutes, or they would leave without her. She ran across the
deck that was already slanted at a dangerous angle. She raced through the
gambling room with all the money that had rolled to one side, ankle deep. She
came to her stateroom and quickly pushed a side her diamond rings and expensive
bracelets and necklaces as she reached to the shelf above her bed and grabbed
three small oranges. She quickly found her way back to the lifeboat and got in.
Now that seems incredible because thirty minutes earlier she would not have
chosen a crate of oranges over the smallest diamond. But death had boarded the
Titanic. One blast of its awful breath had transformed all values.
Instantaneously, priceless things had become worthless. Worthless things had
become priceless. And in that moment, she preferred three small oranges to a
crate of diamonds. There are events in life, which have the power to transform
the way we look at the world. Jesus' parable about the ten virgins offers one
of these types of events, for the parable is about the Second Coming of Christ.
9) Unprepared. Forgetful. Irresponsible: These are the ten best
things to say if you get caught sleeping at your desk: #10. "They told me
at the blood bank this might happen." #9. "This is just a 15-minute
power-nap like they raved about in that time management course you sent me
to." #8. "Whew! Guess I left the top off the White-Out. You probably
got here just in time!" #7. "I wasn't sleeping! I was meditating on
the mission statement and envisioning a new paradigm." #6. "I was
testing my keyboard for drool resistance." #5. "I was doing a highly
specific Yoga exercise to relieve work-related stress. Are you discriminating
against people who practice Yoga?" #4. "Darn! Why did you interrupt
me? I had almost figured out a solution to our biggest problem." #3.
"The coffee machine is broken . . . " #2. "Someone must've put
decaf in the wrong pot . . . " And the #1 best thing to say if you get
caught sleeping at your desk . . . " . . . in His name. Amen." Jesus
tells a parable in today’s Gospel about ten young women--bridesmaids— five of
whom forgot their specific responsibility in a wedding celebration.
10) Lighted candle race: The Greeks had a race in their Olympic games that was unique. The
winner was not the runner who finished first. It was the runner who
finished with his torch still lit. Some of our schools used to have its
imitation in the form of a 50-meter race for girls in the primary schools with
lighted candles. Let us run all the way of our life with the flame of our
torches still lit for God.
11) Spiritual Intelligence: Scientists are working feverishly on AI—Artificial Intelligence.
But Jesus' parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids tells us
more about what we might call "Spiritual Intelligence” than about mere
high IQ. Researchers are advancing NEW ideas of what intelligence is, how it
should be measured, and which values should be invoked in considerations of the
human intellect. Harvard University professor Howard Gardner points out
that psychologist and journalist Daniel Goleman has achieved worldwide success
with his 1995 book “Emotional Intelligence." Contending that
this new concept (sometimes nicknamed EQ) may matter as much as or more than
IQ, Goleman draws attention to such pivotal human abilities as controlling
one's emotional reactions and 'reading' the signals of others.
Psychiatrist Robert Coles, author of The Moral Intelligence of Children,
argues that we should prize character over intellect, and work to cultivate
human beings with a strong sense of right and wrong. Others are pushing
leadership intelligence (LQ), executive intelligence (EQ) and even financial
intelligence! A quick cruise through cyberspace reveals numerous types of
intelligences, including Visual-spatial intelligence, Verbal-linguistic
intelligence, Musical-Rhythmic intelligence, Logical-mathematical intelligence,
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, Interpersonal intelligence, Intrapersonal
intelligence etc. Finally, the research these days is in AI -- Artificial
Intelligence -- an area in which researchers have created conversational
computer programs that imitate psychotherapists, and programs called
"chatterbots" that simulate paranoid-schizophrenics, that chat on the
Internet and that control Webcams. (For details, confer www.scbe.on.ca/mit/mi.htm).
Today we hear the parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids, a story
told by Jesus to illustrate the character of the Kingdom of God, and to
describe what constitutes Spiritual Intelligence. In this passage, we
encounter a tale that is nothing less than a test of spiritual IQ, a
cutting-edge research project that measures spiritual wisdom.
12) Unprepared Mayflower
Pilgrims: One of the most cherished events in our history was the landing of the Mayflower on these shores. One hundred
and two Pilgrims stepped from their storm-tossed little ship with unsteady legs
and huge relief. It would be difficult to imagine a group of people more
ill-suited to a life in the wilderness, according to Bill Bryson in his book, Made in America. These Pilgrims packed
as if they had misunderstood the purpose of the trip. They found room for
sundials and candle-snuffers, a drum, a trumpet, and a complete history of the
country of Turkey. One man named William Mullins packed 126 pairs of shoes and
thirteen pairs of boots. Yet the Pilgrims failed to bring a single cow or
horse, plow or fishing line. Among the professions represented on the Mayflower’s manifest were two tailors, a
printer, several merchants, a silk worker, a shopkeeper, and a hatter--not
exactly the most appropriate occupations when one thinks of surviving in a
hostile environment. With the uncertain exception of their captain, Miles
Standish, probably none in the party had ever tried to bring down a wild
animal. Hunting in seventeenth-century Europe was a sport reserved for the
aristocracy. Even those who labeled themselves farmers generally had scant
practical knowledge of husbandry, since "farmer" in the 1600s, and
for some time afterward, signified an owner of land rather than one who worked
it. These Pilgrims were, in short, dangerously unprepared for the rigors ahead,
and they demonstrated their incompetence in the most dramatic possible way: by
dying in droves. Six expired in the first two weeks, eight the next month,
seventeen more in February, a further thirteen in March. By April, when the Mayflower set sail back to England, just
fifty-four people, nearly half of them children, were left to begin the long
work of turning this tenuous toehold into a self-sustaining colony. [(New York:
William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1994), pp. 2-3.] What are we thinking of when
we spend our lives accumulating funds for old age, but ignore the spiritual
side of our lives so that old age will be worth living?
13) His name was Alexander Graham Bell. In early 1874 an inventor named
Elisha Gray transmitted a few musical notes over a telegraph wire. He thought
to himself, "If I can send music, perhaps I could send the human
voice." The New York Times
reported predictions of a "talking telegraph" and the public began to
grow eager for it. Just one-year later Gray believed he had the answer. Tin-can
like voice chambers connected by a wire in a liquid that could turn vibrations
into signals is what came into his mind. But inexplicably, he did not put his
idea on paper for two months. After finally making a sketch, he waited four
more days before he went to the patent office. When he arrived, Mr. Gray was
told that just two hours earlier a school-teacher had come through that same
door with his own sketch and had already applied for the patent. His name was
Alexander Graham Bell. When you compared the sketches, the voice chambers, the
wire, and the liquid everything was identical. The reason we know the name
Alexander Graham Bell and until today, never heard the name Elisha Gray is
simply because one man seized the opportunity when he could. The other one
waited until it was too late That’s what happened to the five foolish virgins
in today’s Gospel story. . (Rev. James Merritt).
14) "If the end of the world came.” A mother wrote to Catholic Digest
saying that one day when she was heading up the stairs with a basket containing
the last load of folded clothes, herding her three little ones in front of her
for bedtime, her eldest child, Peggy, who was then in kindergarten, picked that
moment to begin one of those questions that seem to intrigue all children at
some time. "Mommy," she asked, "If it were the end of the world,
and everyone was getting ready to die..." The mother stopped, shifted the
basket on her hip, and said an ultra-quick prayer for wisdom to answer this
question. "Yes?" The mother prodded her daughter. The little girl
finished her theological inquiry: "If the end of the world came, would you
have to take your library books back?" That young lady did not want any
unfinished business in her life.
15) End-time or Beginning-time? On September 14, 2005, an Australian Jesuit
colleague and friend, Paddy Meagher, bade farewell to India after more than
four decades of dedicated service here. He was suffering from melanoma (skin
cancer) that had struck suddenly and spread over his face leaving lumps
likely to affect his brain and throat. Bravely enduring his pain, he said, “I
know I’ll die soon and I’m prepared. Nonetheless, I’ll continue reading and
writing until death comes!” Paddy died on January 5, 2006. For wise virgins
like these, there is always oil in their lamps. And for many of the victims of
earthquakes who call God Abba or Allah, what we see as end-time is more likely
to be a beginning-time for the eternal wedding feast.
(Francis Gonsalves in Sunday Seeds
for Daily Deeds; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
16) Timing: General Douglas MacArthur’s autobiography, Reminiscences,
is full of World War II stories. One such story is about Capt. Thomas G.
Lanphier, a pilot of the 339th Fighter Squadron who “Became the
unsung hero of an extraordinary exploit” on April 18, 1943. The Japanese code
had been broken, and our Intelligence learned exactly where and when Admiral
Yamamoto was going to fly in to one of the Solomon Islands. Yamamoto was the
commander-in-chief of the Japanese combined Fleet. So eighteen P-38s were sent
from Guadalcanal, 400 miles away to attack Yamamoto. At the exact hour of
rendezvous, Yamamoto’s squadron appeared and were met by our waiting planes.
Sixteen P-38s went after his Zero escorts, while Tom Lanphier and another pilot
were assigned to attack the two bombers carrying Yamamoto and his staff.
Yamamoto’s pilot used every artifice to escape, but eventually Lanphier’s
gunfire hit his bomber causing it to explode and crash. Washington lauded
Lanphier’s feat as one of the most significant strikes of the war but labeled
it top secret and forbade its publication until 1945 when Tom was awarded the
Navy Cross. Timing, alertness and readiness were key factors in this air strike,
which proved to be a turning point in the war. These same themes are found in
today’s readings, but for different reasons. (Albert Cylwicki in His Word Resounds;
quoted by Fr. Botelho).
17) How will he find us? Nineteen
hundred years ago, the volcano Mt Vesuvius erupted in Italy. When the eruption
ended, the city of Pompeii lay buried under 18 feet of volcanic ash. The city
remained that way until modern times, when archaeologists excavated it. What
they found amazed everyone. There were carbonized loaves of bread, fruit still
retaining its flavor, and olives still swimming in their oil. But there were
even more amazing discoveries. The volcanic ash had frozen people in the exact
position they had occupied when the disaster struck. The bodies of the people
decayed. As they did, they left behind hollow cavities in the hardened ash. By
pouring liquid plaster into these cavities, archaeologists were able to make
casts of the victims. Some of the casts evoke an emotional response. For
example, one is that of a young mother hugging her child tightly in her arms.
Another is that of a Roman sentry still at his post, standing erect fully
armed. He had remained calm and faithful to his duty to the end. A third that
of a man standing upright with a sword in his hand. His foot is resting on a
pile of gold and silver. Scattered about him are five bodies, probably would-be
looters he had killed. The plaster casts illustrate in a dramatic way the two
themes of today’s readings. The first theme is that of the suddenness with
which the end of the world and the second coming of Jesus will take place. (Mark Link in
Sunday Homilies; quoted
by Fr. Botelho).
18) Eternal preparedness: From time
immemorial, people have resorted to stories, especially fables, to teach some
moral points for our instruction. In the West, Aesop’s Fables were famous. One such fable from this
collection, which every child reads, is “The Hare and the Tortoise’. Once upon
a time a hare and a tortoise decided to run a race. The hare, which by nature
was swifter, was not only snobbish, but also very presumptuous. Both started
the race at the same time. The hare ran fast and in the midway, turned back to see
how its competitor was progressing – the tortoise was way behind. Meanwhile,
the hare thought of taking a nap before the tortoise caught up with it in the
race. The tortoise was working up slowly but steadily towards its goal. When
the tortoise reached the finishing line, suddenly the hare woke up and tried to
finish the race, but it was too late. The tortoise had won the race. —The moral
of the story is “You snooze, you lose!” In other words, “Constant preparedness
is the key to successes.” This is not only true in the mundane life, but also
true in the spiritual sphere. In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches that eternal
preparedness is the price of salvation. Every disciple of Jesus must be ever
prepared to meet the Lord—whenever He may come. (John Rose in John’s Sunday Homilies; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
19) “Let us trim our lamps and fill them with charity in silence.” When Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk and author died in 1968, he
left behind a literary legacy which has continued to feed the spiritual hungers
and prod the social and political consciences of believer to this day. Merton’s
death, by accidental electrocution, while attending a conference of Buddhist
and Catholic monks in Bangkok, Thailand, was unexpected and untimely.
Nevertheless, there is little doubt that Merton was prepared, like the wise
virgins in today’s Gospel, to meet the Lord. In one of his best-known books, No Man Is An Island, the holy monk
wrote: “We must learn during our lifetime to trim our lamps and fill them with
charity in silence. . . if the spirit that kept the flame of physical life
burning in our bodies took care to nourish itself with the oil that is found
only in the silence of God’s charity, then when the body dies, the spirit
itself goes on burning with the same oil, its own flame. But if the spirit has
burned all along with the base oils of passion or egoism, or pride, then when
death comes, the flame of the spirit goes out with the light of the body
because there is no more oil in the lamp.”(Patricia Datchuck Sánchez).
20) This guy got the job! Several years ago, a Fortune 500
company advertised in the New York Times
to fill a vacancy in its sales force. They received an application unlike any
other. This particular job-seeker wrote: "I am at present selling
furniture at the address listed below. You may judge my ability as a salesman
if you will stop in to see me at any time, pretending that you are interested
in buying furniture. When you come in, you can identify me by my red hair. I
will have no way of identifying you. Such salesmanship as I exhibit during your
visit, therefore, will be no more than my usual workday efforts and not a
special attempt to impress a prospective employer." From among more than
1500 applicants, this guy got the job! So how do you keep plenty of oil in your
lamp?
21) “Don’t forget nothing!” I spent 25 years
in the Army; do you know the difference between the Army and the Boy Scouts?
The Scouts have adult leadership! When I was stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland,
I was assigned to a battalion that had 24 hours to be alerted and arrive at any
location ready to fight. We were called a Rapid Deployment Force. We would
conduct random EDREs—Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercises. We’d get a call,
usually in the middle of the night (at 0-dark-thirty), and we’d have to
scramble to get on our uniforms and equipment, our weapons, dispatch our
vehicles, and be ready to roll! We were in a constant state of readiness. I
kept my duffle bag and chaplain kit ready to grab-and-go at all times. When I
was called on to deploy to Desert Storm, I had 5 days to get from Fort Sam
Houston, Texas, to Fort Knox, Kentucky (where I was issued desert gear) to
Saudi Arabia. And I did it! The US Army Rangers also have a motto, like the
Scouts. Theirs is simply: “Don’t forget nothing!” (Rev. Robert Leroe). L/17
22) Staying Awake: In his autobiography, Report to Greco, Nikos Kazantzakis recounts a
conversation he once had with an old monk. Kazantzakis, a young man at the
time, was visiting a monastery and was very taken by a famed ascetic, Father Makarios,
who lived there. But a series of visits with the old monk left him with some
ambivalent feelings as well. The monk’s austere lifestyle stirred a certain
religious romanticism in Kazantzakis, but it repelled him too; he wanted the
romanticism, but in a more-palatable way. Here’s their conversation as
Kazantzakis records it: Yours is a hard life, Father. I too want to be saved.
Is there no other way? More agreeable? asked the ascetic, smiling
compassionately. More human, Father. One, only one. What is that? Ascent. To
climb a series of steps. From the full stomach to hunger, from the slaked
throat to thirst, from joy to suffering. God sits at the summit of hunger,
thirst, and suffering; the devil sits at the summit of the comfortable life.
Choose. I am still young. The world is nice.
I have time to choose. Reaching out, the old monk touched my knee and
said: Wake up, my child. Wake up before death wakes you up. I shuddered and
said: I am still young. Death loves the young, the old man replied. The inferno
loves the young. Life is like a lighted candle, easily extinguished. Take
care—wake up! Wake up! Wake up before death wakes you up. In a less dramatic
expression that’s a virtual leitmotif in the Gospels. (Fr. Ron Rolheiser).
23) Preferring three oranges to a crate of diamonds: There's a true story that comes from the sinking of the Titanic. A frightened woman found her place in a lifeboat that was about to be lowered into the raging North Atlantic. She suddenly thought of something she needed, so she asked permission to return to her stateroom before they cast off. She was granted three minutes or they would leave without her. She ran across the deck that was already slanted at a dangerous angle. She raced through the gambling room with all the money that had rolled to one side, ankle deep. She came to her stateroom and quickly pushed a side her diamond rings and expensive bracelets and necklaces as she reached to the shelf above her bed and grabbed three small oranges. She quickly found her way back to the lifeboat and got in. Now that seems incredible because thirty minutes earlier she would not have chosen a crate of oranges over the smallest diamond. But death had boarded the Titanic. One blast of its awful breath had transformed all values. Instantaneously, priceless things had become worthless. Worthless things had become priceless. And in that moment she preferred three small oranges to a crate of diamonds. (Sermons.com).
****From The Sermons.com
There's a true story that comes from the sinking of the Titanic. A frightened woman found her place in a lifeboat that was about to be lowered into the raging North Atlantic. She suddenly thought of something she needed, so she asked permission to return to her stateroom before they cast off. She was granted three minutes or they would leave without her.
She ran across the deck that was already slanted at a dangerous angle. She raced through the gambling room with all the money that had rolled to one side, ankle deep. She came to her stateroom and quickly pushed a side her diamond rings and expensive bracelets and necklaces as she reached to the shelf above her bed and grabbed three small oranges. She quickly found her way back to the lifeboat and got in.
Now that seems incredible because thirty minutes earlier she would not have chosen a crate of oranges over the smallest diamond. But death had boarded the Titanic. One blast of its awful breath had transformed all values. Instantaneously, priceless things had become worthless. Worthless things had become priceless. And in that moment she preferred three small oranges to a crate of diamonds.
There are events in life, which have the power to transform the way we look at the world. Jesus' parable about the ten virgins offers one of these types of events, for the parable is about the Second Coming of Christ. But Jesus doesn't come right out and say this. Rather, he lets the story describe it for him. The woman on the sinking Titanic understood, in the light of her current circumstances, that she must make preparations for living on a lifeboat. Diamonds would not suffice, only the precious resources of an orange were good enough. Likewise, in this world where Christ may return at any moment, the parable warns, we must be ready....
Some literature students at the University of Chicago once asked Ernest Hemingway what hidden meanings were in his stories. He merely shrugged and said he didn't know of any and that they could make of his stories whatever they wanted.
