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Doctrinal rightness and rightness of ecclesiastical position are important, but only as a starting point to go on into a living relationship--and not as ends in themselves.
- Francis A. Schaeffer (1912-1984)
(How does doctrine influence your journey of faith?)
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1 Thes 4:1-8; Psalm 97:1 and 2b, 5-6, 10, 11-12
Mt 25:1-13
Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins
who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
The foolish ones, when taking their lamps,
brought no oil with them,
but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.
Since the bridegroom was long delayed,
they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
At midnight, there was a cry,
‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.
The foolish ones said to the wise,
‘Give us some of your oil,
for our lamps are going out.’
But the wise ones replied,
‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you.
Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’
While they went off to buy it,
the bridegroom came
and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him.
Then the door was locked.
Afterwards the other virgins came and said,
‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’
But he said in reply,
‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’
Therefore, stay awake,
for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture
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“It is God’s will that you grow in holiness.” —1 Thessalonians 4:3
The Lord told Paul to tell the Thessalonian Christians to grow in holiness (see 1 Thes 4:3) and to please God by their conduct even more than before (1 Thes 4:1). The Lord expects and delights to see His children grow holy in every aspect of their conduct (1 Pt 1:15).
In fact, the Lord probably wants us to have a growth spurt in the last part of this year. Little children and teenagers commonly grow several inches in a short time. Likewise, we who are God’s children can grow in holiness in a greatly accelerated way. The Lord delights to see His children grow quickly to great levels of holiness.
Because we love the Lord, we want to please Him by growing holy as deeply and as quickly as possible. Let us commit ourselves today to obey the Lord in any and every way so as to grow holy. Let us live, suffer, and die for holiness. May holiness be the greatest desire of our hearts because it is the greatest desire of the Lord’s heart.
Prayer: Father, may I want holiness more than anything else.
Promise: “Keep your eyes open, for you know not the day or the hour.” —Mt 25:13
Presentation Ministries
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Growing in Inner Freedom: A Guide for Today
- by Philip St. Romain. Liguori Publ., 1986.
5. Do What You Are Doing
“Their amazement went beyond all bounds: “‘He has done everything well’” (Mark 7:37)
There is a story told about a student of the spiritual life who visited a great master with the hope of learning how she was to spend her life. “Teacher, what is the most important thing in the world for me to do?” she asked expectantly.
“What are you doing right now” replied the master. “I am waiting for your reply, Master.” “And what were you doing yesterday at this time” “I was helping with the yard work,” stated the young woman, confused.
The master gazed at her expectantly for a few moments, awaiting comprehension. Noting only bewilderment, he finally said: “The most important thing for you to do now is to pay attention to yourself and to listen to my words. The most important thing for you to have been doing yesterday at this time was to be paying attention to yourself and working in the yard. Throughout life, your most important task is to do what you are doing right now, and to do it well.” The student
looked at the master in disbelief. Convinced that she had wasted her time making this journey, she left immediately.
Most of us are very much like this young student of the spiritual life. We tend to think that certain moments are more unimportant, and we concentrate only on the activities we consider most important. If we think this way, we will find it difficult to live in the present. Consider briefly the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus never forgot the importance of ordinary life lived well. He taught that those who do small things well can be entrusted with larger
ones. But he also reminded us that those who do not do well what they are doing now are not yet ready for other things (see Luke 16:10). The reign of God is now, and nothing we do is unimportant in the eyes of God. That is one implication of the Incarnation.
Even those big moments of life—the conception and birth of a child, Baptism, weddings, funerals, etc.—are meaningless if we do not live well what has gone before them. In fact, celebrations are hollow and empty if they do not celebrate something that is already there. Big moments can help to affirm the dignity of small moments, but only if those small moments have been lived well.
At each and every moment of the day we must decide what is the most important thing for us to be doing. Perhaps we will decide to pray, to work, to play, to reminisce, or even to do nothing. This decision may not be entirely ours to make; our work schedule or a crying child may decide for us how we must spend our time. The important thing is to remember that life is calling for a response from us, then to surrender ourselves completely to doing what we decide to do in the best
way we know how. Know that all moments are equally sacred in the eyes of God and that no task is too unimportant to be done well.
Suggested Practices
1. Stop several times a day and greet yourself and God. Ask yourself, “What am I supposed to be doing now?” Listen to your heart for a response; then do what you are doing and do it well in gratitude.
2. Take a few minutes each evening to look back on your day.
- Were you living in the present?
- Did you strive to do well what you were doing at the moment?
- Thank God for those moments you lived well; ask his pardon for times lived in complacency and inattentiveness.
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