Reflection for Friday August 28 Memorial of Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church: Matthew 25:1-13

Gospel: Matthew 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.”

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Reflection:

What is the advantage of being prepared? When we are prepared, we are ready for whatever may happen at any time. More importantly, when we are spiritually prepared, we are ready to meet the Lord whenever He calls us.

Jesus said to His disciples, “Stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Matthew 25:13). Indeed, none of us knows the moment of the Lord’s coming. This is why we must always strive to be spiritually prepared by faithfully following His teachings and allowing His words to shape the way we live. We must continually turn away from whatever leads us into sin and draw closer to Him.

It is easy for us to say that we are prepared for the Lord’s coming, but sometimes our words can become mere lip service without a genuine commitment to live out what we profess. We can easily be tempted to fall into sin again—to hurt others, to ignore those who are in need, especially the poor, to become selfish, or to develop a sense of superiority over others.

Many of us can sometimes be like this. We may remain spiritually prepared for a short period of time, only to fall back into our sinful ways. We may sincerely promise to change, yet find ourselves returning to the same weaknesses and temptations. Why does this happen, and what can we do to avoid falling back into our old ways?

We need a continuous and meaningful encounter with Jesus. We strengthen our relationship with Him through our participation in Holy Mass, through prayer, and through reading and reflecting on the Bible. These are not merely religious practices that we perform out of habit; they are opportunities for us to encounter the Lord, listen to His voice, and allow His grace to transform our hearts.

When we continually remain close to Jesus, we become more aware of our weaknesses and more willing to seek His mercy when we fall. Our spiritual preparation is not something we accomplish only once. It is a daily journey of conversion—a daily decision to choose God over sin, love over selfishness, humility over pride, and compassion over indifference. In this way, we remain spiritually vigilant and ready for the Lord’s coming.

In the Gospel, we read about the ten virgins: five were foolish, and five were wise. The wise virgins came prepared by bringing extra oil for their lamps so that their lamps would remain lit even if the bridegroom arrived late.

And sure enough, the bridegroom arrived late for the wedding feast. But the five wise virgins were prepared because they had brought extra oil for their lamps. When the bridegroom arrived, they were ready and were allowed to enter the wedding feast and take part in the celebration.

What happened to the other five virgins who were foolish? The bridegroom did not allow them to enter because they were not prepared.

This Gospel reminds us that preparation cannot be postponed indefinitely. There may come a moment when we can no longer say, “I will prepare later.” We do not know when our earthly journey will end, nor do we know when the Lord will come. What we have is today—the opportunity to pray, to repent, to forgive, to love, to serve, and to return wholeheartedly to God.

Our persistent attachment to sin makes us spiritually unprepared for the coming of the Lord. But whenever we sincerely turn back to Him, His mercy invites us to begin again. Let us not wait for a crisis before we seek God. Let us not wait until our final moments before we make peace with Him and with one another.

Let us therefore remain spiritually awake and vigilant. Let us continually seek Jesus, nourish our faith through prayer and participation in Holy Mass, listen to His Word, and live out His teachings in our daily lives. Let us remember that being prepared is not something we do only once; it is a daily commitment to remain faithful to God and to allow His love to transform us.

May our lives become living lamps that continue to shine with faith, love, mercy, humility, and service. And when the Lord comes, may He find us not merely saying that we are ready, but actually living as people whose hearts are prepared to welcome Him.

Are our lamps truly burning with the light of Christ today, or are we still postponing our conversion and telling ourselves that we have plenty of time? If the Lord were to come tonight, would He find our hearts awake, our faith alive, and our lives prepared to welcome Him?— Marino J. Dasmarinas