Readings: 1 Corinthians 1:17-25, Ps. 33:1-2,4-5,10-11, Matthew 25:1-13
“Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Matthew 25:13)
Watchfulness is central to today’s liturgy. Jesus emphasises an aspect of being prepared: wisdom. To be wise means to prepare ahead for any eventuality. There were ten maidens: five were foolish, and five were wise.
The foolish ones are called foolish not because of their lack of reasoning but because of their lack of preparation for the future. They carried lamps without some extra oil. They did not think the oil in their lamps could run out, so they assumed that what they had would sustain them.
The wise ones prepared for the future; they trusted little in the oil in their flask and decided to take extra oil.
To be wise spiritually is to trust little in your wealth, current status, education, connections, and devotional practices. To be wise is to have a backup, something extra, to hold on to should everything else fail. To be wise, you need some extra oil.
What is that extra oil? In the words of St. Paul in today’s first reading, it is the message of the cross. In the eyes of the world, carrying the cross is nothing short of foolishness since one can afford to be a Christian without necessarily carrying any cross.
A Christian who rejects the cross fails to carry the extra oil. For instance, as a youth, you may have the experience of your peers laughing at you and calling you a fool for not joining them to partake in the pleasures of the world.
As St. Paul puts it, “The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the cleverness of the clever; I will thwart.” (1st Corinthians 1:18-19).
Today, we celebrate an African saint, the great Augustine of Hippo. He was born in Numidia. His family were ethnic North Africans (the Berbers). His father was a pagan, but his mother was a devout Christian. Augustine left his Christian background and joined the Manichaean sect, founded by the prophet Mani in 240. He had friends who followed a hedonist approach to life. Despite his wayward lifestyle, he developed an interest in philosophy and was impressed by Cicero’s writings.
Augustine became an expert in Latin and rhetoric. In his late teens, he developed an affair with a young woman from Carthage. She gave birth to his son Adeodatus in 372. In 384, he was given a more prestigious position as a rhetoric professor at the Imperial Court of Milan. Eventually, he annulled his marriage as he made plans to become a celibate priest. In 386, at age 31, he formally converted to Christianity.
Bishop Ambrose baptised Augustine in April 388. Afterwards, they returned home to Africa, where his son Adeodatus died shortly after. Augustine gave away his wealth to the poor and converted his house into a monastic foundation for himself and a group of like-minded Christians. He later became a priest and even a Bishop who defended the Church’s true teachings. His writings helped to formulate some of the church’s doctrines.
Let us pray: Renew in your Church, we pray, O Lord, the spirit with which you endowed your Bishop Saint Augustine that, filled with the same spirit, we may thirst for you, the sole fount of true wisdom, and seek you, the author of heavenly love. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. May God’s abundant blessings be upon us all. (Saint Augustine, Bishop, Doctor. Liturgical Colour: White. Bible Study: 1 Corinthians 1:17-25, Ps. 33:1-2,4-5,10-11, Matthew 25:1-13)
@Rev. Fr. Evaristus E. Abu