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Showing posts with the label The Parable of the Ten Virgins

Homily for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 8, 2020, Year A

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Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) Wisdom is one of those often-used words the meaning of which, for many in our world, can be elusive. From time to time we ought to pause for a few moments and reflect on its meaning. It’s a word that frequently appears in both the Jewish and Christian Testaments, particularly in the Jewish Testament, a word having a great deal of religious significance. Thus, we hear Jesus speaking of it in today’s Gospel account. Prudence is a word closely associated with wisdom. From Our Blessed Lord’s statements we might associate foresight even more closely with wisdom. Certainly wisdom moves beyond mere data processing or the accumulation of facts. Facts and data are necessary in order to arrive at wisdom but wisdom is something greater than simply knowing facts or processing data. The purpose and meaning of our lives should always guide our choices. It is wise for us to remember that we came from God and are r

Seat of Wisdom: Reflection for the Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

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Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. La Salette Missionaries of North America (Wisdom 6:12-16; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13) Confucius says: By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest. The foolish virgins of the parable suffered the bitter consequences of experience. Parents and teachers try to help children avoid just such situations. Ideally, youth will learn to reflect before they act. That is the goal of Wisdom, personified in the first reading. Wisdom is described as resplendent; and “she makes her own rounds, seeking those worthy of her, and graciously appears to them.” How can I read these words without thinking of the Beautiful Lady? One of the titles in the Litany of the Blessed Virgin is: Seat of Wisdom. Explanations differ, as does the iconography. Essentially, however, we are to understand that Jesus in his humanity learned some of his w

Homily for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 12, 2017, Year A

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Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) Wisdom is one of those often-used words the meaning of which, for many in our world, can be elusive. From time to time we ought to pause for a few moments and reflect on its meaning. It’s a word that frequently appears in both the Jewish and Christian Testaments, particularly in the Jewish Testament, a word having a great deal of religious significance. Thus, we hear Jesus speaking of it in today’s Gospel account. Prudence is a word closely associated with wisdom. From Our Blessed Lord’s statements we might associate foresight even more closely with wisdom. Certainly wisdom moves beyond mere data processing or the accumulation of facts. Facts and data are necessary in order to arrive at wisdom but wisdom is something greater than simply knowing facts or processing data. The purpose and meaning of our lives should always guide our choices. It is wise for us to remember that we came fr

Homily for the Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 12, 2017, Year A

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Fr. Philip N. Powell OP, PhD Church of the Incarnation Priest of the Archdiocese of New Orleans ( Click here for today’s readings ) I believe that most of us are idolaters. Now there’s a way to begin a homily! Idolaters. Most, if not all, of us. Think about what it is that you spend the most time worrying about, mulling over in your head. What is it that claims the most time, most attention in your day? What is that you call on when you are anxious or feeling insecure or doubtful? What is it that you call on to build up your confidence, your trust? Does stress become an occasion of sin for you: some form of gluttony—food, drink, sex, public piety. Or maybe some form of pride: a false sense of self-sufficiency, or an arrogance that comes from your created beauty or talent. What gods do we run to when things get stressed out, ragged around the edges? What gods do we worship in the silence of our hearts? Ah, but the temptations are legion, right? A whole pantheon of worthl

Seat of Wisdom: A Reflection for the Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

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By Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Provincial Superior, La Salette Missionaries of North America (Wisdom 6:12-16; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13) Confucius says: By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest. The foolish virgins of the parable suffered the bitter consequences of experience. Parents and teachers try to help children avoid just such situations. Ideally, youth will learn to reflect before they act. That is the goal of Wisdom, personified in the first reading. Wisdom is described as resplendent; and “she makes her own rounds, seeking those worthy of her, and graciously appears to them.” How can I read these words without thinking of the Beautiful Lady? One of the titles in the Litany of the Blessed Virgin is: Seat of Wisdom. Explanations differ, as does the iconography. Essentially, however, we are to understand that Jesus in his huma