Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 154
8 NOV 2020 A.D.


Reading 1
WIS 6:12-16

Resplendent and unfading is wisdom,
and she is readily perceived by those who love her,
and found by those who seek her.
She hastens to make herself known in anticipation of their desire;
Whoever watches for her at dawn shall not be disappointed,
for he shall find her sitting by his gate.
For taking thought of wisdom is the perfection of prudence,
and whoever for her sake keeps vigil
shall quickly be free from care;
because she makes her own rounds, seeking those worthy of her,
and graciously appears to them in the ways,
and meets them with all solicitude.


Responsorial Psalm
PS 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

O God, you are my God whom I seek;
for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary
to see your power and your glory,
For your kindness is a greater good than life;
my lips shall glorify you.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Thus will I bless you while I live;
lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.
As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,
and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

I will remember you upon my couch,
and through the night-watches I will meditate on you:
You are my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.


Reading 2
1 THES 4:13-18 OR 4:13-14

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,
about those who have fallen asleep,
so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose,
so too will God, through Jesus,
bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord,
that we who are alive,
who are left until the coming of the Lord,
will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself, with a word of command,
with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God,
will come down from heaven,
and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive, who are left,
will be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air.
Thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore, console one another with these words.

or

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,
about those who have fallen asleep,
so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose,
so too will God, through Jesus,
bring with him those who have fallen asleep.


Alleluia
MT 24:42A, 44

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Stay awake and be ready!
For you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.


Gospel
MT 25:1-13

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."

Overview of the Gospel:

• As we get closer to the liturgical season of Advent, the Gospel readings are beginning to
stress the themes of vigilance and preparation. Since last Sunday’s gospel, we have skipped
over Matthew chapter 24, the so-called “Olivet Discourse” delivered by Jesus on the Mount of
Olives outside Jerusalem. In this discourse, he prepares his disciples for, primarily, the
destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans some 40 years later and, by allegorical extension,
prepares all Christians for his Second Coming at the end of time.

• Jewish weddings typically took place in the evening, though the exact time was kept secret.
Prior to the ceremony the groom would go to the bride’s home and lead her, along with the
villagers, in procession to the wedding. The virgins in this story were waiting for the groom and
were probably bridesmaids who had the responsibility to prepare the bride to meet the groom,
lighting the way with their lamps.

• Christ is often referred to in Scripture as “the Bridegroom” (Mark 2:19-20; John 3:25-30), while
the Church is often referred to as his Bride (Revelation 21:2, 9-10; 22:17).

• According to the Church Fathers St. Gregory and St. Augustine, the lamps in this story may
stand for “the light of faith”, while the oil stands for “the oil of good works”.
(Special thanks to Vince Contreras' "Sunday Scripture Study for Catholics."


"Watch with the heart, watch with faith, watch with love, watch with charity, watch with good works…make ready the lamps, make sure they do not go out--renew them with the inner oil of an upright conscience. Then shall the Bridegroom enfold you in the embrace of his love and bring you into his banquet room, where your lamp can never be extinguished."  ~St. Augustine

The homily this week was given by one of our vicars, who, in his prior life, was a lawyer.

What he said sort of struck a chord with me.

He said that most people look at their relationship with God as something passive. As of coming to mass every Sunday for an hour was sufficient to prepare oneself for the hereafter.

Then he bluntly stated that if he’d only prepared an hour a week for the bar exam, he never would have passed.

He went on to ask us if we thought that passively listening for an hour a week to a woman (or man) that we wanted a relationship with, was sufficient?

It made sense to me, but as a run of the mill heathen, I’m at a loss as to how to proceed.