Homily for Friday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time

For daily readings, see http://www.usccb.org/nab/083107.shtml

The Church is the bride of Christ, so one way to interpret today’s parable allegorically would be to see the 10 virgins and prospective brides as members of the Church. Salvation is the gift of Christ to his bride and his body, the Church. He wishes that all of us be saved. In this proposed allegory, Christ would have liked to have taken all of the virgins into the wedding feast. Christ wants to save his body, the Church, not as individuals, but as a group. He wishes that not one of us be lost. But the parable is clear – we will not be saved against our will – Christ will not force us to be ready. Not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who are ready to respond to the marriage invitation that Christ offers. As Catholics, this marriage invitations comes to us through the holy Eucharist. Through the first sacrament, baptism, we have a new beginning with Christ. In baptism, we have ‘virginity’ so to speak, since we are washed clean of all sin. Yet the grace of baptism must be guarded, trimmed and kept ready for us to receive the Eucharist worthily. Each time we receive the Eucharist, a marriage invitation comes to us, the bride of Christ, from Christ Himself. Christ really appears to us in the Eucharist and asks us – Do you love me? Are you ready? In the Eucharistic sacrifice Christ says to us that He loves us more than He loves His own life, and that He is ready to hand over us everything that He has received from His Heavenly Father. What are we ready to hand back to him in response to this marriage proposal?