AA’s OF THE WISE

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November 12, 2017
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings:
First reading (Wisdom 6:12-16)
Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 63:2-8)
Second reading (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
Gospel (Matthew 25:1-13)

While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came...

During my semestral break,  I admit to not being very faithful to my formation. I was not able to attend and serve at mass every day and I contributed in making a mess out of our common bedroom at home. It was only after losing my wallet that I started cleaning up. Then it struck me: Why did I have to wait for my wallet to disappear, before deciding to finally clean up my mess at home. If that situation were to be blown up to my seminary formation, would I have waited for something drastically negative to happen before making a move, before finally deciding to take things more seriously?

In the gospel reading for this Sunday (according to St. Matthew), Jesus tells the parable of the ten virgins who waited for the bridegroom in the night. Five virgins were wise to bring more oil than normally for the wait. Five virgins were foolish to have prepared only what they thought was enough for the wait. But that bridegroom came at a later time than expected. The wise virgins had enough oil to light their lamps through the night, while the foolish virgins went to have their lamps refilled with oil by the time the bridegroom came. In the end, only the wise virgins were allowed into the wedding feast because they were present upon the arrival of the bridegroom while the foolish ones were away. What is unique in this parable is the emphasis on the wisdom of the virgins who prepared for the worst possible thing that can happen. Wisdom has two manifestations: awareness and anticipation.

Awareness means being conscious of the motivations behind our actions. When I left for the semestral break, I was sure that I could carry on with my habits in the seminary as fruit of formation, yet ended up being less of a seminarian at home. I was not faithful in nourishing my my spiritual needs. I was being too complacent. I was behaving without being really aware of the reason for going home for the semestral break. I was supposed to carry on with my formation at home, yet the opposite happened. Awareness means being awake and alert so that we may not fall into complacency and idleness.
Anticipation means planning ahead of the situation. The wise virgins anticipated the delay in the arrival of the bridegroom. They did not know the actual time of the bridegroom’s coming, so they prepared more. I failed to anticipate the temptations that come when being brought outside the structured life of the seminary. I easily gave in to complacency and dependence on whoever was around. I only had what I thought I could do, my plan A. and I failed in that. I had no plan B or C.

These are the two AA’s of the manifestation of wisdom. Unless we see both in our lives, we have yet to call ourselves wise. Let us ask the Lord for wisdom with its two AA (like batteries) to power up our motivations and actions. Let us be aware of our motivations. Let us anticipate and plan ahead. Let us prepare ourselves for the truth that hurts, for the pains that hurt and for the
Wisdom that teaches.


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