Keep Your Lamps Trimmed

Gospel Reflection for November 12, 2023 - Matthew 25:1-13

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be like to ten virgins, who taking their lamps went out to meet the bridegroom and the bride.

And five of them were foolish, and five wise.

But the five foolish, having taken their lamps, did not take oil with them:

But the wise took oil in their vessels with the lamps.

And the bridegroom tarrying, they all slumbered and slept.

And at midnight there was a cry made: Behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet him.

Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.

And the foolish said to the wise: Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out.

The wise answered, saying: Lest perhaps there be not enough for us and for you, go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

Now whilst they went to buy, the bridegroom came: and they that were ready, went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut.

But at last come also the other virgins, saying: Lord, Lord, open to us.

But he answering said: Amen I say to you, I know you not.

Watch ye therefore, because you know not the day nor the hour. (Matthew 25:1-13 DRA)

In the Gospel reading for this Sunday, there is one noticeable difference between the current lectionary rendering and that used by the Church for the previous 1,700 years, as represented by the Douay-Rheims quotation provided above: the ten virgins went out to meet not only the bridegroom, but also the bride. Fr. Hugh Barbour explains that this version is due to “a less inclusive, scholarly judgment call based on the different ancient manuscripts of the New Testament”. In fact, the traditional inclusion of the bride in this context helps connect the Gospel with the other readings for today and reveals a deeper symbolism to this parable.

One of the greatest titles of the Blessed Virgin Mary is Sedes Sapientiae, or Seat of Wisdom. In her immaculate womb, she bore the Word of God, the Divine Wisdom, and so became the throne of Wisdom on Earth, in fulfillment of the Ark of the Covenant which once carried the wisdom of God’s Law in the Ten Commandments. One element of the Old Testament corpus of wisdom literature is its personification of wisdom (e.g. Wis 6-7, Prov 8-9). In 1 Corinthians 1:30, St. Paul identifies Christ with this eternal and divine Wisdom. However, it could also be said that the Blessed Virgin is the fulfillment of this personified wisdom, particularly since the female pronoun is used for it. As the sinless Mother of God, full of grace and favor, beloved of her divine Son who is Wisdom incarnate, Mary is the height and perfection of wisdom beyond all other creatures. From her seat, she not only taught Christ the Scriptures, helping Him to grow “in wisdom, and age, and grace with God and men” in His human nature, she also, as Tim Staples has explained, surpassed even St. Joseph in her comprehension of Christ’s divine identity and salvific mission: after finding her Child in the Temple and receiving the revelation of His divine Sonship, she “kept all these words in her heart.” (Lk 2:51-52)

Mary is also the Mother of the Church. By her Fiat to the gift of the Holy Spirit, Christ was conceived within her, providing the Body into which Christians are joined through Baptism and the Eucharist in the Church. From the Cross, Christ gave her not only to St. John for her safekeeping but also to all Christians as their mother, and in John’s apocalyptic vision, he sees her explicitly identified with the Church:

And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars: And being with child, she cried travailing in birth, and was in pain to be delivered… And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with an iron rod: and her son was taken up to God, and to his throne… And the dragon was angry against the woman: and went to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Rev 12:1-2, 5, 17)

In this way, Mary can be identified with the Bride of Christ’s parable, the Church whose matrimonial union with Christ is compared by Paul to that of a bride and bridegroom. (Eph 5:32) Christ, the Divine Wisdom, and the Blessed Virgin, His Bride who is the Seat of Wisdom and Mother of the Church, are coming for the ten virgins, who must remain vigilant and prepared for His arrival, the Parousia described by Paul in the Epistle (the time of which, as Our Lord made clear, no one knows “the day nor the hour”). The ten virgins, then, are in one sense all Christians; in another, they are all humans, since Christ’s redemptive sacrifice on the Cross and offer of salvation in His Church is universally open to everyone who desires it. Either way, the wise virgins must keep their oil filled and lamps trimmed by forming their intellects, which are the lamps of their souls, in the truth of the Gospel; they must also preserve their virginity against the harlotry of sin, so as to be found pure and undefiled when the Bridegroom and Bride arrive. Even now, Wisdom and His Seat “goeth about seeking such as are worthy of her”. (Wis 6:17)

Immediately after the first reading from Wisdom, God the Author of Scripture explains how to be prepared for the coming of Wisdom: “For the beginning of her is the most true desire of discipline. And the care of discipline is love: and love is the keeping of her laws: and the keeping of her laws is the firm foundation of incorruption: And incorruption bringeth near to God. Therefore the desire of wisdom bringeth to the everlasting kingdom.” (Wis 6:18-21) Thus, the virgins remain pure and incorrupt through discipline, which is trained in love and the keeping of the laws of God, in imitation of Mary.

In the world today, it could be said that there is a poverty of wisdom. Knowledge, at least information, is greatly prized, and “intelligence” is seen as synonymous with one’s memorization and quick processing of information. Yet wisdom, the knowledge which surpasses the confines of this world and perceives the divine, recognizing and obeying God’s laws and inculcating a life of virtue, is ignored, mocked and even condemned as outdated and fanatical. Instead, self-indulgence, materialism, technical power and mere curiosity are prized. This has led to a culture ignorant not only of its roots and values, of the eternal reasons for good and evil, but even of God Himself and the truth and salvation revealed in Christ. The foolish virgins have become prostitutes, adulterating their marital covenant with the Bridegroom through sin. Their intellects are darkened by pride and their wills are enslaved by vice. Sadly, this is true not only of the non-Christian world but even of the Church, which now seeks to bless sin, to replace truth with a lie and to allow those who live in states of objective immorality to participate in the Sacraments, pretending as though they are pure virgins and leading the world into scandal. May Mary, the Seat of Wisdom and Bride of Christ, correct our grave errors and return us to the clarity and love of her Son.

May St. Josaphat, on his feast day today, ora pro nobis! May he also intercede for Bishop Joseph Strickland during his time of persecution and for all those within the Church who betray the Gospel and lead the faithful into scandal.

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