📖Epistle (Sirach 51:1-8, 12)
I will give glory to thee, O Lord, O King, and I will praise thee, O God my Saviour. I will give glory to thy name: for thou hast been a helper and protector to me. And hast preserved my body from destruction, from the snare of an unjust tongue, and from the lips of them that forge lies, and in the sight of them that stood by, thou hast been my helper. And thou hast delivered me, according to the multitude of the mercy of thy name, from them that did roar, prepared to devour. Out of the hands of them that sought my life, and from the gates of afflictions, which compassed me about: From the oppression of the flame which surrounded me, and in the midst of the fire I was not burnt. From the depth of the belly of hell, and from an unclean tongue, and from lying words, from an unjust king, and from a slanderous tongue: My soul shall praise the Lord even to death. Because thou, O Lord our God, deliverest them that wait for thee, and savest them out of the hands of the nations.
🕊️Gospel (Mt 25:1-13)
🕊️Gospel (Mt 25:1-13)
At that time, Jesus spoke this parable to his disciples: The kingdom of heaven shall be like to ten virgins, who taking their lamps went out to meet the bridegroom and the bride. And five of them were foolish, and five wise. But the five foolish, having taken their lamps, did not take oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with the lamps. And the bridegroom delaying, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made: Behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise: Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out. The wise answered, saying: Lest perhaps there be not enough for us and for you, go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. Now whilst they went to buy, the bridegroom came: and they that were ready, went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. But at last came also the other virgins, saying: Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answering said: Amen I say to you, I know you not. Watch ye therefore, because you know not the day nor the hour.
🤔Reflections
💡The life of Saint Catherine Labouré is a living embodiment of the parable of the wise virgins. While the world slept, immersed in indifference or agitation, her soul kept watch in prayer and service, keeping the lamp of faith lit with the oil of charity and humility. The oil, which the foolish virgins lacked, represents the interior disposition, the life of grace that cannot be improvised at the last moment. Saint Augustine teaches that this oil is charity, "for charity cannot be borrowed. It is an intimate possession of the heart" (St. Augustine, Sermon 93). Saint Catherine did not seek visions, but she prepared her heart in such a way that Heaven found her ready. Her hidden life, dedicated to the poor and the sick, was the silent way of accumulating this spiritual "oil," making her worthy to enter the heavenly wedding feast and to receive a message for the entire Church.
🛡️The Epistle of the day resonates deeply with Saint Catherine's mission, as it celebrates a God who is a helper and protector "from the snare of an unjust tongue, and from the lips of them that forge lies." The Miraculous Medal, whose design was revealed to her, is precisely a sacramental, a visible sign of divine protection mediated by the Immaculate Conception against the snares of the devil and the dangers to soul and body. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that sacramentals "prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it" (CCC 1670). The medal is not a talisman but an invitation to faith and trust in the intercession of the Virgin Mary, whom God has established as the protectress of humanity. Catherine's life, guarded by silence, was itself a testimony that the greatest protection against evil lies in an interior life united with God, of which external signs, like the medal, are an aid and a reminder.
🌟Uniting the Gospel and the Epistle, we realize that Christian vigilance is not a passive waiting but an active cooperation with God's grace. Saint Thomas Aquinas explains that although grace is a free gift, our good works, done in a state of grace, are meritorious for eternal life. The life of Saint Catherine demonstrates that the "oil" of charity and humility is accumulated through constant acts of fidelity in small things, in daily service and persevering prayer. The door shut on the foolish virgins is a solemn warning, echoed in the Roman Missal, about the seriousness of the particular judgment and the need to be always prepared. The message of Saint Catherine and the Miraculous Medal is, therefore, an urgent call to conversion and vigilance, so that when the Bridegroom arrives, He may find our lamps lit and invite us into the eternal feast of the wedding of the Lamb.
➡️See English version of the critical articles here.
🤔Reflections
💡The life of Saint Catherine Labouré is a living embodiment of the parable of the wise virgins. While the world slept, immersed in indifference or agitation, her soul kept watch in prayer and service, keeping the lamp of faith lit with the oil of charity and humility. The oil, which the foolish virgins lacked, represents the interior disposition, the life of grace that cannot be improvised at the last moment. Saint Augustine teaches that this oil is charity, "for charity cannot be borrowed. It is an intimate possession of the heart" (St. Augustine, Sermon 93). Saint Catherine did not seek visions, but she prepared her heart in such a way that Heaven found her ready. Her hidden life, dedicated to the poor and the sick, was the silent way of accumulating this spiritual "oil," making her worthy to enter the heavenly wedding feast and to receive a message for the entire Church.
🛡️The Epistle of the day resonates deeply with Saint Catherine's mission, as it celebrates a God who is a helper and protector "from the snare of an unjust tongue, and from the lips of them that forge lies." The Miraculous Medal, whose design was revealed to her, is precisely a sacramental, a visible sign of divine protection mediated by the Immaculate Conception against the snares of the devil and the dangers to soul and body. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that sacramentals "prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it" (CCC 1670). The medal is not a talisman but an invitation to faith and trust in the intercession of the Virgin Mary, whom God has established as the protectress of humanity. Catherine's life, guarded by silence, was itself a testimony that the greatest protection against evil lies in an interior life united with God, of which external signs, like the medal, are an aid and a reminder.
🌟Uniting the Gospel and the Epistle, we realize that Christian vigilance is not a passive waiting but an active cooperation with God's grace. Saint Thomas Aquinas explains that although grace is a free gift, our good works, done in a state of grace, are meritorious for eternal life. The life of Saint Catherine demonstrates that the "oil" of charity and humility is accumulated through constant acts of fidelity in small things, in daily service and persevering prayer. The door shut on the foolish virgins is a solemn warning, echoed in the Roman Missal, about the seriousness of the particular judgment and the need to be always prepared. The message of Saint Catherine and the Miraculous Medal is, therefore, an urgent call to conversion and vigilance, so that when the Bridegroom arrives, He may find our lamps lit and invite us into the eternal feast of the wedding of the Lamb.
➡️See English version of the critical articles here.