CCC Cross Reference:
1 Thes 4:7 2518, 2813
Mt 25:1-13 672, 796; Mt
25:1 672; Mt
25:6 1618; Mt
25:13 672
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Reading 1
1 Thes 4:1-8
Brothers and sisters,
we earnestly ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that,
as you received from us
how you should conduct yourselves to please God–
and as you are conducting yourselves–
you do so even more.
For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
This is the will of God, your holiness:
that you refrain from immorality,
that each of you know how to acquire a wife for himself
in holiness and honor, not in lustful passion
as do the Gentiles who do not know God;
not to take advantage of or exploit a brother or sister in this matter,
for the Lord is an avenger in all these things,
as we told you before and solemnly affirmed.
For God did not call us to impurity but to holiness.
Therefore, whoever disregards this,
disregards not a human being but God,
who also gives his Holy Spirit to you.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 97:1 and 2b, 5-6, 10, 11-12
R. (12a) Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The Lord is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
Justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The Lord loves those who hate evil;
he guards the lives of his faithful ones;
from the hand of the wicked he delivers them.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
Light dawns for the just;
and gladness, for the upright of heart.
Be glad in the Lord, you just,
and give thanks to his holy name.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
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.”
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading 1 Thessalonians 4:1 – 8
Finally, brothers, we urge you and appeal to you in the Lord Jesus to make more and more progress in the kind of life that you are meant to live: the life that God wants, as you learnt from us, and as you are already living it. You have not forgotten the instructions we gave you on the authority of the Lord Jesus.
What God wants is for you all to be holy. He wants you to keep away from fornication, and each one of you to know how to use the body that belongs to him in a way that is holy and honorable, not giving way to selfish lust like the pagans who do not know God. He wants nobody at all ever to sin by taking advantage of a brother in these matters; the Lord always punishes sins of that sort, as we told you before and assured you. We have been called by God to be holy, not to be immoral; in other words, anyone who objects is not objecting to a human authority, but to God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 96(97):1-2,5-6,10-12
Rejoice, you just, in the Lord.
The Lord is king, let earth rejoice,
let all the coastlands be glad.
Cloud and darkness are his raiment;
his throne, justice and right.
Rejoice, you just, in the Lord.
The mountains melt like wax
before the Lord of all the earth.
The skies proclaim his justice;
all peoples see his glory.
Rejoice, you just, in the Lord.
The Lord loves those who hate evil;
he guards the souls of his saints;
he sets them free from the wicked.
Rejoice, you just, in the Lord.
Light shines forth for the just
and joy for the upright of heart.
Rejoice, you just, in the Lord;
give glory to his holy name.
Rejoice, you just, in the Lord.
Gospel Matthew 25:1 – 13
Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of heaven will be like this: Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were sensible: the foolish ones did take their lamps, but they brought no oil, whereas the sensible ones took flasks of oil as well as their lamps. The bridegroom was late, and they all grew drowsy and fell asleep. But at midnight there was a cry, “The bridegroom is here! Go out and meet him.” At this, all those bridesmaids woke up and trimmed their lamps, and the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, “Give us some of your oil: our lamps are going out”. But they replied, “There may not be enough for us and for you; you had better go to those who sell it and buy some for yourselves”. They had gone off to buy it when the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding hall and the door was closed. The other bridesmaids arrived later. “Lord, Lord,” they said “open the door for us.” But he replied, “I tell you solemnly, I do not know you”. So stay awake, because you do not know either the day or the hour.’
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Friday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time
From: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
He Calls for Holiness and Purity
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[1] Finally, brethren, we beseech and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, you do so more and more. [2] For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. [3] For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from immorality; [4] that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, [5] not in the passion of lust like heathen who do not know God; [6] that no man transgress, and wrong his brother in this matters because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we solemnly forewarned you. [7] For God has not called us for uncleanness, but in holiness. [8] Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
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Commentary:
1. St Paul encourages the Thessalonians "in the Lord Jesus" to follow his advice: he does not make this plea in his own name or using his personal influence but in the name of the Lord Jesus. Those who have positions of authority in the Church should be obeyed, above all, for supernatural reasons (that is what God desires) and not for any personal qualities they happen to have or simply because they are "superiors". It is this outlook which causes St Ignatius Loyola to say that "laying aside all private judgment, we ought to keep our minds prepared and ready to obey in all things the true Spouse of Christ our Lord, which is our Holy Mother, the hierarchical Church" ("Spiritual Exercises", 353).
The Thessalonians already knew the commandments, but knowing them is not enough; they must be put into practice. St John Chrysostom comments: "Good land does something more than give back the grain put into it; and therefore the soul should not limit itself to doing what is laid down, but should go further [...]. Two things make for virtue -- avoiding evil and doing good. Fleeing from evil is not the be-all of virtue; it is the beginning of the path that leads to virtue. One needs, in addition, to have an ardent desire to be good and to do good" ("Hom. on 1 Thess, ad loc.").
3. What the Apostle says here reflects our Lord's teaching in the Sermon on the Mount: "You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt 5: 48). The call to holiness is a universal one: it is not addressed only to a few, but to everyone: "Christ, the Son of God, who with the Father and the Spirit is hailed as 'alone holy', loved the Church as his Bride, giving himself up for her so as to sanctify her (cf. Eph 5:25-26); he joined her to himself as his body and endowed her with the gift of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God. Therefore all in the Church, whether they belong to the hierarchy or are cared for by it, are called to holiness, according to the Apostle's saying: 'For this is the will of God, your sanctification' (1 Thess 4:3; cf. Eph 1:4)" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 39).
In the Old Testament holiness is the highest attribute of God. He is holy, and he asks men to be holy, pointing out that the model and cause of man's holiness is the holiness of God: "You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy" (Lev 19:3).
The universal call to holiness was the core of the teaching of the founder of Opus Dei; it was a message he preached constantly from l928 up to his death in 1975: "We are deeply moved, and our hearts profoundly shaken, when we listen attentively to that cry of St Paul: 'This is the will of God, your sanctification' [...]. He calls each and every one to holiness; he asks each and every one to love him --young and old, single and married, healthy and sick, learned and unlearned, no matter where they work, or where they are" ("Friends of God", 294).
"Christ's invitation to holiness, which he addresses to all men without exception, puts each one of us under an obligation to cultivate our interior life and to struggle daily to practise the Christian virtues; and not just in any old way, nor in a way which is above average or even excellent. No; we must strive to the point of heroism in the strictest and most exacting sense of the word" ("ibid.", 3).
4-8. Man "is obliged to regard his body as good and to hold it in honor since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day [...]. His very dignity therefore requires that he should glorify God in his body (cf. 1 Cor 6:13-20) and not allow to serve the evil inclinations of his heart" (Vatican II, ("Gaudium Et Spes", 14).
"Immorality" (v. 3): the word used would be translated as "fornication", were the style classical Greek; however, by St Paul's time the word had come to refer to any kind of sexual practice outside marriage or not in accordance with the aims of marriage. The word translated as "body" literally means "vessel" and it can refer either to one's body or to one's own wife. If "wife" is meant, then the passage should be taken as an exhortation to married fidelity and to proper use of marriage. Whichever meaning is correct, the sacred text is saying that God calls us to exercise self-control in holiness and honor; that means that one's body and its functions should be used in the way God means them to be used. The Lord of life has entrusted to men and women the mission to preserve life and to transmit it in a manner in keeping with human dignity. "Man's sexuality and the faculty of reproduction wondrously surpass the endowments of lower forms of life; therefore the acts proper to married life are to be ordered according to authentic human dignity and must be honored with the greatest reverence" ("Gaudium Et Spes", 51).
"Therefore," St. Escriva comments, "when I remind you now that Christians must keep perfect chastity, I am referring to everyone -- to the unmarried, who must practise complete continence; and to those who are married who practice chastity by fulfilling the duties of their state in life. If one has the spirit of God, chastity is not a troublesome and humiliating burden, but a joyful affirmation. Will-power, dominion, self-mastery do not come from the flesh or from instinct. They come from the will, especially if it is united to the Will of God. In order to be chaste (and not merely continent or decent) we must subject our passions to reason, but for a noble motive, namely, the promptings of Love" ("Friends of God", 177).
In addition to giving reasons for practising the virtue of chastity, the Apostle warns that God will punish those who commit sins against this virtue. "These crimes we are commenting on", says St John Chrysostom, "will in no way be overlooked. The enjoyment they give us is quite outweighed by the pain and suffering their pu- nishment earns" ("Hom. on 1 Thess, ad loc.").
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From: Matthew 25:1-13
The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Maidens
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(Jesus said to His disciples,) [1] "Then the Kingdom of Heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. [2] Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. [3] For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; [4] but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. [5] As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. [6] But at midnight there was a cry, 'Behold the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' [7] Then all those maidens rose and trimmed their lamps. [8] And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' [9] But the wise replied, 'Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you; go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.' [10] And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut. [11] Afterwards the other maidens came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.' [12] But he replied, 'Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.' [13] Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour."
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Commentary:
1-46. The whole of chapter 25 is a practical application of the teaching contained in chapter 24. With these parables of the wise and foolish virgins and of the talents, and His teaching on the Last Judgment, our Lord is again emphasizing the need for vigilance (cf. note on Matthew 24:42). In this sense, chapter 25 makes chapter 24 more intelligible.
1-13. The main lesson of this parable has to do with the need to be on the alert: in practice, this means having the light of faith, which is kept alive with the oil of charity. Jewish weddings were held in the house of the bride's father. The virgins are young unmarried girls, bridesmaids who are in the bride's house waiting for the bridegroom to arrive. The parable centers on the attitude one should adopt up to the time when the bridegroom comes. In other words, it is not enough to know that one is "inside" the Kingdom, the Church: one has to be on the watch and be preparing for Christ's coming by doing good works.
This vigilance should be continuous and unflagging, because the devil is forever after us, prowling around "like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). "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, Sermon", 93).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
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