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25:1–131. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.2. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.3. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:4. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.5. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.6. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.7. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.8. And the foolish said unto the wise,...

“I really get bored when I go to Mass… I don’t’ like the choir and the music… the preaching puts me to sleep… there are so many scandals in the Church… I am so busy that I simply do not have time for Mass… Going to Mass is for the old people; Later on in my life, I may drift back to the Church in better days…” All of the above negative comments are leveled against returning to the Church and receiving the life-saving graces that flow most abundantly through the Sacraments, especially through the greatest of all Sacraments: the...

The readings this Sunday feature two “hard sayings,” one on the Eucharist, the other on marriage. One is hard because it defies our sensibilities, the other because it is out-of-season and politically incorrect. This is a long reflection. What I present here is really two separate sermons, but both merit some attention.The first “hard saying” is Jesus’ insistence that the Eucharist is actually His Body and Blood. He says that we must eat His true Flesh and drink His true Blood as our true food, as our necessary manna to sustain us on our journey through the desert of this...

TWENTY-FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME MATTHEW 24:42-51 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus praises the faithful servant who served his master in a theo-drama. We are called to serve our Master in the same way. A theo-drama is written and directed by God. On the great stage that is the created universe and according to the prototype that is Christ, we are invited to “act,” to find and play our role in God’s theater. The problem is that the vast majority of us think that we are the directors, writers, and above all, stars of our own “ego-dramas,” with other people...