November 12, 2017 — Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
WIS 6: 12-16; PS 63: 2-8; 1 THES 4: 13-18; MT 25: 1-13
“Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Christ cautions us often concerning our sense of conversion and timing. It has a lot to do with procrastination — that is, putting something off or delaying something which needs to be accomplished.
Most of us understand the importance of living up to Christ’s expectations and living life in a way to which He has called us. In other words, we comprehend that we need to be His disciples, but we seem to find excuses and reasons not to totally commit to that. That is exactly the issue Jesus is addressing in today’s Gospel from St. Matthew, which is essentially the Parable of the Ten Virgins. Are we truly prepared for the return of Christ, the Second Coming? In a sense it has everything to do with death. We may not wish to think about it but we do know that death is inevitable, and have we done everything we need to do to be prepared?
It was St. Augustine of Hippo who said, “God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination.” Like the Virgins in the parable, we cannot wait. Now, this very moment, is the time for us to do what God has called us to do, and that is live lives of stewardship in service and love to others. There are indeed no promises about tomorrow, but Christ has offered us hope for eternal life. Have we done everything we need to do to be ready?
