As we draw closer to the end of the Church’s Liturgical Year, the mother Church focuses her attention to the Second Coming of Christ. Everyone is being invited to be prepared for this Second Coming. We must not allow ourselves to be taken unaware!

The Gospel presented us with the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. One of the important parts of a wedding ceremony during Jesus’ time was when the bridegroom went to the house of the bride to bring her to his house where the wedding reception with guests would take place. Marriages in those days were pre-arranged by the parents of the bride and groom. We do not know if this part of the wedding ceremony always took place at night or whether the late arrival of the bridegroom in this parable made it take place at night. None-the less, central to the story was that ten bridesmaids were chosen to lead the procession to the groom’s house with torches. The torches were oil-soaked rags at the end of a stick. Small lamps would not produce the required light needed for the procession.

As per the parable, the ten bridesmaids fell asleep as they waited for the arrival of the groom. However, at midnight, there was a cry, “the bridegroom is here, go out and meet him.” The bridesmaids woke up to lead the procession to the groom’s home. Five of them came with flasks of oil to top up their torches while five did not. Hence, the five bridesmaids whose torches were burning led the procession from the bride’s father’s house to the groom’s house while the five bridesmaids who did not come with flasks of oil had to go in search of oil to buy. By the time they returned, their services were no longer needed since the bride and the groom had arrived at the groom’s home and the wedding party had started!

The bridegroom in this story represents Christ during his “Parousia” (that is, Second Coming). The bridesmaids represent the members of the Church. The five sensible ones are Christians who espouse good deeds of justice, mercy and faith as amplified in the judgement day scene in Matthew 25:31-46; I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink and so forth. The five foolish virgins represent the Church members who acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Lord but have no good work to show. These are those who would say to Jesus on the last day, “we ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets!” But he will reply: ‘I do not know where you come from. Get away from me all you workers of evil.’ (Lk 13:26)

However, the virtuous though they sleep in death (second Reading), will arise to glory during the Second Coming of Christ! And together with Christ they will be happy for ever!