Readings: Wisdom 6:12-16; Psalm 62 NIV; 1Tess 4:13-18; Mt 25:1-13
Father Tomislav: Dearest brothers and sisters, we already mentioned yesterday that over the next two weeks, we would observe our communal self-offering to God in preparation for the feast of Christ the King. As you may have noticed in today’s liturgical readings, the central theme is keeping watch, waiting for the Lord. In the Gospel, we find the parable of the ten virgins who were waiting for the Bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and did not bring oil with them, while the other five were wise and brought oil. At a certain point, due to human weakness, they all fell asleep; yet, suddenly the Bridegroom arrived. The wise virgins were prepared and entered the wedding room, while the others were left outside. This parable raises a question because we know that parables are images; they do not explain every detail. We may wonder: where was the bride? These virgins were accompanying the bride.[1] We may not have a clear answer, but I believe the main point is that we are all virgins, called to keep watch and then meet the Bridegroom, so that we may enter into His glory.
In our journey of faith, it is normal to have weaknesses. Even the virgins all fell asleep because it was late at night; yet, there is something we must understand: within us – at least within those who believe – there is a continuous prayer, “Come, Lord Jesus.” We long to encounter the glorious Lord. When He comes, what will it be like when He arrives? What happens to the deceased? What happens to us who are still alive? We have many questions. As we await the glorious Jesus Christ, we yearn for Him in the depths of our being, for we cannot live without God, nor can we find fulfilment without entering into perfect harmony with the life of God. However, we must be mindful that this will take place when we are fully awakened, on all levels. The wise virgins were prepared. In this sense, the Psalm points towards the attitude that each of us should adopt: “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.” The Psalm continues, speaking of seeking God during the night watches: “I will praise you as long as I live,“ as the psalmist says, and even at night: “On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.”
Therefore, today, we particularly seek the wisdom of God, the theme highlighted in the first reading, taken from the Book of Wisdom. If we seek God, if we seek the glorious Jesus Christ, we can attain Him, for He Himself is the Wisdom of God. The passage underscores several aspects of wisdom:
“Wisdom is radiant and unfading, and she is easily discerned by those who love her, and is found by those who seek her. She hastens to make herself known to those who desire her. … And she graciously appears to them in their paths, and meets them in every thought.”
In Sacred Scripture, wisdom refers to our ability to discern, not merely through a rational process but an orientation of our entire being, our whole existence: the ability to discern good from evil, and never to lose sight of the life of God in its fullness. Thus, wisdom comes to meet us, and thus fill us, awakens us, and brings us to God.
In our spiritual life, it is not difficult to speak of the second coming of Christ; however, we must not skip the resurrection, for we must first rise in spirit. As we wrote in the book, The Universe and Its Inhabitants,[2] the risen, glorious Jesus visits the faithful planets, yet He cannot visit us. What is it within us that prevents His visit? It is that we do not want to change ourselves; our souls have not yet reached the capacity to see, hear, perceive, and absorb the energy of those extremely high frequencies. We are like children who, so to speak, cannot grasp the subject matter of a university course. Thus, the wisdom the Lord wishes to bestow upon us is a grace that leads to our gradual awakening, which involves our entire being, stirring what our memory cannot recall, and fostering the development of our whole selves. Just as Jesus Christ passed from suffering to glory, so too must we, and the entire universe, pass from suffering to glory. We are currently in a time of awakening and resurrection.
As we read in today’s scripture passages, the Earth has been left behind because it remains stagnant; this is not intended as a punishment; it is the consequence of humanity’s refusal to move forward. Furthermore, even the extraordinary experiences of individuals throughout the history of the Church – souls who longed to reach Christ in His glory – have often led us astray; for even those who have had such extraordinary experiences sometimes remained trapped within themselves, confined to their own reasoning and interpretations, which they then passed on to others. Like the simple believers, these individuals must allow themselves to be drawn into the resurrection of Christ, to be awakened in their entire being, and to attain true wisdom. Then, whether the Lord manifests Himself at midnight or at midday, they will be ready. There is no need for anyone to instruct them, because then they are entirely ready to unite with their Lord. Let us therefore continue in this direction over the coming weeks, so that our whole being may awaken, so that we do not remain superficial Christians, spiritually weakened or lame, but rather awakened, for God desires us to be whole.
I bless you, together with all the saints and all the extraordinary and ordinary instruments in God. I bless you together with Most Holy Mary, Saint Joseph, and Saint Michael, who stands at the head of the people of God. He reflects God’s light upon us all, so that we may know how to receive this light, how to grasp the wisdom of God, and how to embrace every grace that leads us towards transformation, resurrection, and life. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
[1] The tradition was that when the bridegroom arrived at the bride’s house for the wedding, the virgins would hasten to the bride’s house to accompany her.
[2] See, Stefania Caterina, Tomislav Vlašić, 2014, The Universe and Its Inhabitants, Luci dell’Esodo,
