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A reflection on the Gospel of Matthew 25:1-13, the parable of the wise and foolish virgins.
Transcript
00:00 When you hear that parable of the five wise and the five foolish virgins, which is the
00:07 Gospel for the Mass this Sunday, doesn't it raise a question that just seems very confusing
00:14 and hard to answer?
00:16 And the question is, why don't the virgins that have all the extra oil, why don't they
00:22 share it with those who need it?
00:25 It doesn't seem to make sense.
00:26 It looks like they're being selfish or greedy, but obviously that can't be the answer.
00:31 So why don't they share it?
00:33 And the answer is because, the only answer that makes sense, is that the oil is something
00:41 that can't be shared.
00:44 And you say, well, wait, that doesn't make sense.
00:46 What is there that I have that I can't share with somebody else?
00:50 Well, think of it this way.
00:52 Let's say that you're getting ready for the big geometry exam next Tuesday in school,
00:59 and geometry is not your thing, it was not my thing, and you're really worried.
01:03 So you go to your friend who's a whiz at math, and you say, listen, I'm just afraid about
01:07 this exam.
01:08 You're so good at this.
01:09 Can I please borrow your math aptitude so that I can take that test with your brain
01:17 so that I can get a good grade?
01:19 And your friend loves you.
01:20 She'll do anything for you, but she can't give you this.
01:23 Why?
01:24 Because it can't be shared.
01:26 It's hers.
01:27 It's part of her being.
01:28 And that's what the oil represents.
01:30 Carol Houseland says, "The oil is the potency of life.
01:35 It is the will and the desire to love."
01:38 And that is what makes the wise virgins wise.
01:42 They spend the whole of their life dedicated to the love of the bridegroom, who is Jesus.
01:48 The whole of their life given over to loving.
01:52 And that is what Jesus is calling us to as he prepares for his death.
01:55 Let's be wise in the way that we live, using all of our spiritual powers right now in expectation
02:04 of the bridegroom by loving, by giving ourselves over to all that God asks of us so that when
02:10 he arrives, we can welcome him with the joy which he makes possible because we have lived
02:18 our life in union with him.
02:20 "
02:21 "I am not a slave to the law.
02:22 I am not a slave to the law.
02:23 I am not a slave to the law.
02:24 I am not a slave to the law.
02:25 I am not a slave to the law.