November 8, 2026 -All Saints Day
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
The readings this Sunday place before us a clear and urgent invitation: live ready. Wisdom is not distant or hidden; she “is readily perceived by those who love her, and found by those who seek her.” She even “hastens to make herself known” and meets those who keep vigil for her. The Church places this beautiful passage alongside Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins so that we may understand what true readiness looks like.
Ten young women go out to meet the bridegroom. All carry lamps. All grow drowsy and fall asleep when the delay is long. The difference is simple yet decisive: five bring extra oil; five do not. When the cry rises at midnight—“Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!”—only those with oil can light their lamps and enter the wedding feast. The others are left outside, hearing the sobering words, “I do not know you.”
The oil cannot be borrowed at the last moment. It represents the living relationship with Christ that is built day by day: prayer that keeps the heart awake, the sacraments that nourish faith, works of charity that keep love burning, and the quiet fidelity of ordinary life offered to God. It is the wisdom that seeks the Lord and is found by Him.
St. Paul speaks to the same hope. We do not grieve “like the rest, who have no hope.” Because Jesus died and rose, those who have fallen asleep in Him will rise. The same Lord who comes at the end of time already comes to us in the Eucharist, in the Word, and in the needs of our brothers and sisters. Every act of readiness for His final coming is also an act of readiness for His daily coming.
The delay of the bridegroom is part of the story. We do not know the day or the hour. That uncertainty is not meant to frighten us into anxious activity, but to free us for steady, joyful vigilance. We keep oil in our lamps not out of fear of being locked out, but out of love for the One who is coming. The wise virgins are not more impressive than the others; they are simply prepared. Their preparedness is quiet, practical, and sustained.
As we move through these final weeks of the liturgical year, the Church gently turns our eyes toward the last things—not to fill us with dread, but to awaken hope. The Bridegroom is coming. Wisdom is already at the gate, waiting for those who watch for her. Let us keep our lamps trimmed and our flasks full through daily prayer, frequent reception of the sacraments, and concrete love of neighbor.
May the Lord find us ready when He comes—whether at the end of the world or at the end of our lives—so that we may enter with joy into the wedding feast that never ends.
God Bless everyone always!!!
Fr. Stan
