Untitled Post

Post date: Nov 10, 2020 4:52:4 PM

November 8, 2020 Homily by Fr. Karl Schray

The other night I found myself walking towards the gate of heaven.

On the way there I ran into some figures in the dark who were crying.

I asked them ‘why are you crying?’ The replied,

“Because the Lord refused to let us in. He said he didn’t know us.”

I arrived at the gate to find it locked. So, with some hesitation and fear,

I rang the bell- knowing that it was the Lord himself who would answer.

As I stood there waiting, a terrifying question arose in my mind:

Will he know me? Of course, he’ll know me.

Yes, but will he recognize me as his disciple? That is the question.

And there is nothing I can do about it now.

I dreaded the thought that I, too, might find myself excluded.

What’s he going to look for, I asked myself?

Then I thought of today’s parable.

Oh YES, Jesús will look for a lamp that is burning brightly.

What have I done with my lamp?

Oh good, I still have it. But when I looked at it,

I found to my horror that it had gone out.

At that moment, I woke to find it was only a dream. What a relief!

I think the Lord had given me a warning to shake me out of my

procrastination and carelessness.

There is no such thing as just a warning.

Do something about it now, Schray!

When two airplanes nearly collide, they call it a near-miss.

No, it is a near-hit!

Another point about the oil—we should not interpret the oil in the story

too literally. If we think of it as a material object that could be shared,

we are going to think how selfish of those five wise virgins.

But it is something symbolic, intangible,

something that cannot be given to someone else.

It is something that we have worked for -like a loving relationship with God,

or the good works we have done, or

the wisdom we have gained through prayer and meditation.

The person we have come to be through God’s grace

cannot just be put into a bottle and given to someone else.