Keeping Our Lamps Trimmed and Burning

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus shares the Parable of the Ten Virgins. It is a familiar story: ten bridesmaids wait for a bridegroom. Five are wise and bring extra oil for their lamps; five are foolish and bring none. When the bridegroom arrives late in the night, the foolish bridesmaids find themselves entirely unprepared and locked out of the wedding feast.

At first glance, this parable can seem harsh. Why wouldn’t the wise bridesmaids share their oil?

The answer lies in what the oil represents. In the Christian tradition, the oil symbolizes our personal relationship with God, our faith, and our good deeds. It represents the life of grace sustained through prayer and the sacraments.

This kind of "oil" cannot be borrowed or transferred at the last minute. You cannot borrow someone else’s prayer life, nor can you stand before God on the merits of someone else's relationship with Him. When the Lord returns—or when we are called home to meet Him—we must each possess our own store of faith and love.

The Danger of Spiritual Procrastination

The tragedy of the foolish virgins wasn't that they were evil; it was that they were casual. They assumed they had more time. They expected the bridegroom on their own schedule, not his.