Today’s Gospel reminds us to be vigilant and be prepared…”for you know neither the day nor the hour" when Jesus, the Bridegroom, will return. Jesus gave us many parables about being vigilant in this life…waiting and watching for His return. In fact, the Gospels for the next 2 weekends continue this theme as we approach the end of the church year and prepare for Advent.
After thinking about who does the best job at being vigilant and prepared, my thoughts turned to a friend of mine who is a volunteer fireman. He told me they have a training drill every week to keep up their skills. He said they also spend a lot of time maintaining their equipment to make sure everything is ready to go in a moment’s notice.
If we think about vigilance in our homes, we probably have good examples of being prepared for a house fire or tornado. Most people have smoke alarms, fire extinguishers and a plan to shelter in severe weather.
If we circle back to the Gospel, we should be able to ask ourselves this same question of vigilance regarding our faith life: is our faith prepared to handle the next emergency call that comes into our life?
The answer may depend on how our faith held up the last time we went thru a crisis. Were we able to lean on our faith and trust whole heartedly in God’s loving plan for our salvation or did we panic and fall into the depths of despair? Most of our responses would probably fall somewhere in the middle but it doesn’t mean we can’t be more prepared the next time a crisis comes up.
·So how do we become more vigilant in our faith? ·How do we maintain our faith long term so we are always ready for the Bridegroom to return?
The answers to these questions will be somewhat unique for each of us but certainly revolve around the Church and the Sacraments. The examples from the volunteer fire department may give us another perspective. Their weekly commitment to training and maintenance keep their skills sharp and equipment ready.
If we consider our eternal life as important as fighting fires…could we commit to similar disciplines? Self-study of our faith and individual prayer are important but just as the fireman drill together, we will also benefit from the faith connections we make when we worship, pray and learn together.
As it turns out, even during the pandemic, there are several opportunities to grow in our faith together. On the bottom of the 2nd page of the bulletin this weekend you will find a list. In addition to going to Mass, these activities can help us stay connected as a parish, strengthen our faith and keep us prepared for anything.
So how do we know if our faith is strong enough…either individually or as a parish? Earlier in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus told us that a tree will be known by its fruit: “…every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
As you know, an example of good fruits are the Corporal Works of Mercy. We will hear about them more from the Gospel in 2 weeks: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick and those in prison, burying the dead and giving to charity. Consider taking this question about the quality of fruit in OUR tree to God in prayer. If we discern that our faith would benefit from doing more to help others, contact the Parish Office for opportunities: Nativity’s St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Social Justice Committee and the Rosary Society all provide volunteer opportunities. And don’t forget that praying and fasting for others during this pandemic are virus free opportunities to bear good fruit. Of course, there are many examples of people who volunteer their whole life and contribute large sums of money without the benefit of faith. What makes our situation different?
The difference is that our desire to produce good fruit and to help others should be a response to our faith, driven by our love for God. Our good works should be a natural reaction to the example we have from the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus. Helping others is an opportunity to lead by example…following the examples set by the Apostles, Saints and other people of great faith that we have known in our lives.
At the end of the Gospel today the foolish virgins try to enter the wedding feast after the door is locked. They call out: “Lord, Lord, open the door for us!” In reply, Jesus says the words that we should fear the most: “Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.” Getting to know God is the main reason He gave us the gift of life. You may remember the Baltimore Catechism asks and answers the question very precisely:
Q. Why did God make you? A. God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in heaven.
Getting to know Jesus as the Bridegroom and the love He has for us can be an incredible blessing in our lives. Spending time connecting with our faith will help us to grow in a loving relationship with God that keeps us vigilant in this life and prepares us for the next.
Please note a correction for #5 in the bulletin. Instead of a Men's Bible Study on Tuesday mornings....there is a Men's Fellowship Group that meets in the parish office at 10:30am on Thursday mornings. Jim Unsen is the contact.