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Gospel Reading for November 08, 2026 – Matthew 25: 1-13
IN THE NOW
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.”
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St. Paul exhorts us to be “fools for Christ”—to follow Jesus’ life and teachings faithfully, even when, in the eyes of the world, we may appear foolish, eccentric, or irrational.
However, if we are like the foolish virgins in today’s Gospel, then we are truly “foolish Christians.”
It does not matter what the world may say or think. Remaining faithful to Christ’s teachings will always keep us ready for his coming into our lives each day and on the last day.
We cannot claim that we will be saved simply because we have been baptized. We need to live out our baptismal promises: to be prophets by witnessing to Christ through our lives; to be kings by serving Christ in those who are in need; and to share in Christ’s priestly mission through prayer and offering our lives to God. We cannot depend on others to fulfill our baptismal promises for us and expect to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Neither can we procrastinate, thinking that we still have plenty of time, because we do not know how much time we have left.
A Christian must always be alert lest he or she fall into the traps of the devil. We must constantly nurture our relationship with the Holy Spirit, live lives of prayer, equip ourselves with the Word of God, and bear fruit through charity and fortitude.
SPIRITUAL PREPAREDNESS happens IN THE NOW, not in the future.
Lord Jesus, teach us to live each day as if it were our last. Amen.
