Jesus’ parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Mt 25:1–13) remains relevant in our own time as part of His “eschatological discourse.” Let us therefore ask ourselves: Do we, too, have enough oil to guide those who sincerely seek the Bridegroom’s presence in their lives?
The final major section of Matthew’s Gospel invites us to reflect on the Parousia (the Second Coming of Christ) and on our watchfulness. This section includes the well-known parable of the ten virgins.
The Wise and Foolish Virgins
The parable tells the story of bridesmaids who are expected to await the Bridegroom, ready to welcome Him, go out to meet Him with lamps filled with oil, and accompany Him to the wedding feast.
Five of them are well prepared for the bridegroom’s arrival. Not only are they ready to keep watch, but at the decisive moment they also have enough oil to do what is expected.
The other five succumb to drowsiness and fall asleep. The bridegroom surprises them with His sudden arrival. When a cry awakens them in the middle of the night, only then do they realize that they do not have enough oil.
They go out to buy some, but it is already too late. There is no longer enough time to save the situation. In the end, they remain outside and cannot enter the wedding feast.
Their desperate pleas are of no avail. They can no longer claim a place in the bridegroom’s presence. They hear the harsh rejection: “I do not know you!”
As Shakespeare once aptly wrote: “Friendship, which wisdom has not bound together, folly may easily untie.”
The contrast between wisdom and foolishness runs like a thread throughout the whole of Scripture. The wisdom books in particular praise prudence and warn against foolishness.
Wisdom, however, is not a matter of cunning or mere intelligence. Rather, it is an attitude toward life characteristic of a person who has transformed personal experience into a prudent way of thinking and acting.
Jesus also speaks of this contrast in other parables, for example, in the story of the wise man who built his house not on sand but on rock (Mt 7:24–27).
Above all, true wisdom means placing our trust in the Lord.
Continually Going Out to Meet the Lord
The story of the ten bridesmaids also offers an important lesson to all those who postpone their duties until the last moment and eventually become victims of their own foolishness.
They fail to accomplish what they should because they have spent too much time on other things—activities that are more entertaining, less demanding, and more comfortable.
Their misfortune lies in the fact that they repeatedly follow the same pattern of behavior, even though their negligence has already caused them so much trouble.
For example, they may have found themselves exhausted, watching a train depart without them, or knocking in vain on the doors of a public office after closing time.
An proverb says, “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”
Yet we often seem to follow a different principle: “What you can do today, put off until the day after tomorrow, and you will have two days off.”
In reality, only a person who has developed the habit of acting without unnecessary delay can avoid constant pressure and find inner peace.
However, it is only through the repeated practice of prudent behavior that we can gradually overcome the bad habits that leave us outside the doors of the wedding hall, where nothing remains but “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (cf. Mt 24:51; 25:30).
Nevertheless, the parable of the bridesmaids contains a much deeper spiritual meaning.
The earthly life of every Christian, from the cradle to the grave, is marked by a continual journey toward the Lord.
We, too, are awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom. We are called to remain watchful, always prepared to give an account of the gifts that have been entrusted to our care.
The vessels without oil can symbolize a life without trust in God, a religious practice consisting merely of a series of empty rituals.
At the same time, we should not understand the wedding feast only as a metaphor for our future communion with God at the end of time.
This parable reminds us that even now we can encounter God and become united with Him.
God enters our everyday lives whenever we willingly rise above what we have been and move toward what we can become through His power.
For the Church is not meant to be merely a group of prudent virgins who are permitted to sit at the same table as the Bridegroom. She is called to become His Bride.
In our secular society, we encounter many people who long for an authentic spiritual life.
Yet quite often they do not find it within the Church. Consequently, they seek answers to their questions about the meaning of life outside institutional religion.
Christians who are satisfied with merely fulfilling religious customs and traditions do not have enough oil to illuminate the path for those who sincerely seek the presence of the Bridegroom.
On the other hand, we will bear credible and convincing witness to our faith only when we take the Gospel seriously and refuse to be satisfied with mediocrity.
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