Gospel Reflections for November 12 2017
I am ready!
There are special people in the Church at the 10:30 Mass. They have been thinking for several months now about becoming Catholic, and are in our religious education program called the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults” or “RCIA” In a short ceremony they are asked if they will be serious students of our faith. Each has a moment to reflect, and then stand and proudly say, “I am ready.”
Today’s Gospel pictures twenty people who also face a decision. Ten are ready …and ten are not. When the moment of truth arrives, the ten foolish and unprepared people ask to borrow what they need from the ten who are wise and prepared. However, that “borrowing” cannot happen and so ten foolish people suffer. Why is that?
Well, there are some things you can borrow …and some things you cannot.
You can easily borrow a dollar from a friend, but you cannot borrow faith, or honesty, or integrity from someone else, or any of the virtues that make up your character. They are personal goals that only you can develop by learning and practicing those virtues yourself. The foolish ones in the Gospel did not take the time to shape their own character, and when faced with a crisis, they could not survive.
But the Gospel has a happy ending for those who do prepare. When we shape our life in the image of Christ we naturally feel more fulfilled and at peace. We feel ready for anything! That is why Our Lord is worth studying for a deeper understanding each week. Most worthwhile things are worth the effort.
Our RCIA candidates will continue to study Our Lord so that He will stay with them at every moment, and be useful for those challenging times when they must be ready. Let us do the same. You can join them in knowing our faith more as well.
Please download our free app FORMED.ORG. Between Sundays you will have many great resources for you and your family to enjoy anytime night or day.
“I am ready” is a beautiful thing to say. With an even deeper understanding of our faith you will be ready to face life’s challenges in a new and better way.
God Bless!
Fr. Dave
Your opening says… “In a short ceremony they are asked if they will be serious students of our faith. Each has a moment to reflect, and then stand and proudly say, “I am ready.”…I would suggest the word “humbly” instead of “proudly” would be better suited?
God Bless+
Yes, I can now see that using the word “humbly” is probably a better choice of words. Thank you for that correction.
As you know, Father Dave, I have been attending the RCIA classes for over 20 years. Every time I go I learn something new–about the Scripture or about some other aspect of our great Christian Journey.
YEs, isn’t it amazing that even 20 years cannot exhaust the insights from the journey.
Loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee our precious Faith Father Dave!! Learning and appreciating our Faith is a gift!! Dick and I are ready to keep learning, loving,, living our life with Jesus at its heart!!Loveeeee our lovisng God, our beautiful Blessed Mother and her precious Son Jesus and loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee you!!!! Ours is a beautiful, precious Faith of loveeee and joy!! How blessed we are!! Loveeeee it!!
Love, Franca and Dick
Dittos! Well said, Franca.
Thank you!
Dear Father Dave,
Yes, you’re so right … we can’t borrow integrity, honesty, or faith! What an interesting thought and a great idea for a story.
Indeed, God’s love does bring peace and prepares us for whatever it is that we have to face. For me, this has never been more apparent.
God bless you.
Kathleen
Well said!
i tried rcia and hand pain terminated
the study half way through.
i have not been able to return to mass since then. that was 3 years ago.
i also suffer from mental illness.
please pray for me to return to church.
afi.
Please be assurred of my prayers for you.
Your reflection on “Being Prepared” is something to think about!
“I like; You can borrow a dollar…but you cannot borrow faith, or honesty, or integrety
from someone else…They are personal goals that only you can develop…by yourself
Thank you Fr. Dave.
You are welcome!
Alejandro… Please come back to church and RCIA. You are needed there. The body of Christ needs you.
I too went through RCIA 21 years ago and was baptized into the church. I have tried to grow and learn as much as I possible can. I too have mental issues that only God can heal and I pray that you can trust him to do so.
We don’t need to worry that we are not perfect only Jesus is perfect. He loves us just as we are.
He LOVES you too Alejandro.
💖💖💖😘🙏🏼TRUST HIM.
Your sister in Christ,
Jane
Alejandro… You just reached out with your need. We all reach back to you in your need. Most important so is Our Lord. You can do it. We all stand with you in prayer. Be not afraid … In Jesus there is strength … He loves you and desires you come to Him….
“The foolish ones in the Gospel did not take the time to shape their own character, and when faced with a crisis, they could not survive”
I like that Father, it reminded me of my English teacher from way back. Well, she had a very hard life, she balled quite a number of pupils in public quite often, she was a busy bee, she’s the always on the rush/run Larry Csonka type, and a no non-sense type of individual.
One day in class she said that if only our grammar was perfect she wouldn’t mind us writing tons and tons of essays. Since she was the perfectionist type she’d limit writing activities, and drill us with grammar rules. We wondered then, what she’s been preparing us for?
Obviously, it was College. But even in today’s world it seemed like standard English is walking out the window. Last week my boss, successfully programed an “intelligent robot” to speak perfect English. Which by the way can only recognize scripted voice commands coming from humans–who may or may not be familiar with grammar rules.
In other words Father, aside from the college preparation, there are still some things that we might not be ready for until it is there for us to see. Quite scary to me–that’s my honest confession, because I have never taken this parable for granted since my monastery days with the Benedictines.
Maybe Jesus meant that, staying awake doesn’t necessarily mean falling asleep, instead it is His warning to us that we should be prepared for the unexpected? For instance, to live our lives with faith alone without charity may be foolish.
Dee
Thank you for your thoughtful message. Yes, there are may ways to be prepared, from knowing how to communicate using the English language well, to preparing our souls with the virtues. We do not know what the future holds but we know who holds the future, and anything we can do to stay connected with Our Lord will help!
….sorry just a minor correction on the last paragraph, it should read, “Maybe Jesus meant that, staying awake doesn’t necessarily mean NOT falling asleep……”.
Happy Monday Father,
Dee
Thank you!
Oh, what a beautiful explanation for Sunday’s gospel. Wish I had seen it sooner. It would have been easier to explain it to the inmates that way.
Oh shucks, maybe next time!
God bless,
June
Next time!