The Catholic Calendar for Friday, September 1, 2006
Friday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
1 Corinthians 1:17-25
Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 10-11
Matthew 25:1-13

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

"Stay awake for you know neither the day nor the hour." (Matthew 25:13)

Today's readings describe problems in the early Church that are still present today. Paul was distressed by Christians in Corinth who had formed factions, each allied with one particular evangelist--Paul, Appollos or Kephas. Presently, we see the faithful being drawn to a wide range of teachings ranging from orthodoxy, total faithfulness to Church dogma, to the more liberal belief of doing what is expedient, what "feels" right or is in harmony with secular values.

Paul reminds them that there is only one Faith based upon Christ's death on the cross and the promise of new life gained for us through His resurrection. Present teachings often fail to make clear that our death to sin must precede any hope of our living the resurrection life of Christ. It seems our clergy has developed a phobia of mentioning sin, fearing that they will drive people away through the negative idea of self-denial.

Today's Gospel enlarges on the theme of unity by adding that the Christian life should also be one of constant preparedness for the second coming of Christ. Unlike the five virgins who lived in the light of Christ, the foolish virgins in His parable became lax in how they lived, allowed their inner fire to be extinguished. Christian values and virtues do place demands on us and are in conflict with the "easy" ways preferred by sinful humanity.

Relatively few take Jesus seriously when He tells us that we also are to be the light of the world, on fire with His love. Some fear being thought different or peculiar. Others think that they will wait to live better lives "tomorrow," not realizing that they may not have a tomorrow. The list of reasons for disobedience is endless. Christ is the bridegroom of the Church, and on "that day" of His return, He will gather only the faithful to participate in His nuptials, to join in celebration with Him our entrance into His holy kingdom.

O Blessed Lord, infuse our minds and hearts with the fact that we were created to be holy as our Father is holy, through obedience to You, Christ, His One true and eternal Word. Amen.

- Marie Bocko, OCDS
(mlbocko at earthlink dot net)