My friends in Christ, another one of Christ's famous parables is the Parable of the Ten Virgins. This Parable is very similar in teaching with the Parable of the Returning Master, or as some call it the Parable of the Faithful Servant, in that it teaches spiritual readiness for the Second Coming of the Son of Man, Lord Jesus Christ. However, there is additional teaching taught within the Parable of the Ten Virgins. As you read above brothers and sisters, the Parable is about Ten Virgins, of which five were wise and brought oil with them, but five were foolish and did not bring any oil with them. But all of them fell asleep, but then at midnight the cry for the coming of the Bridegroom was heard. The foolish virgins asked the wise ones for their oil, but the wise ones couldn't because then they too would run out, and no one would be with the Bridegroom. The foolish ones went out and tried to find some oil for their lamps, but they couldn't do it in time, as the wise virgins came into the house of the Bridegroom, and the door was shut. The foolish virgins were too late for the coming of the Bridegroom.

The teaching of the Parable is this: We must be ready for the coming of the Bridegroom, who will come at an unexpected hour. It is in essence the same teaching that Christ has given to us in the Parable of the Returning Master. However, the Ten Virgins have additional teachings from Christ that are very important to know as well.

The Parable is not just about spiritual readiness for the Second Coming of Christ our Lord, but also for the virtues of charity and almsgiving. The Bridegroom is of course Christ himself. The oil that the Virgins need represent the virtues of charity and almsgiving, since the word oil and the word mercy in Greek both have the same root, and the oil can also show one's own faithful readiness in the Bridegroom, that is Christ. So then the Wise Virgins who have the oil in the Parable are the ones in this life who practice Charity and Almsgiving in a Christ-Like way. The foolish ones are the ones who use the gifts that God has given them and squandered it on themselves, hence they have no oil to account for their lamps. All the Virgins fell asleep, which indicates death, for all will have to die in this life, both the righteous in Christ, and the wicked apart from Christ. The cry at midnight indicates then the Second Coming of Christ, which happened at an unexpected hour, hence everyone must be ready for the Second Coming. That the Wise Virgins could not share any oil with the foolish ones illustrates that virtue and faith cannot be transferred in the next life. Everyone who wants to enter the Kingdom of God must have faith in God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and they must practice virtue in a Christ-like way. And once the wise Virgins enter with the Bridegroom in great and everlasting bliss and joy, the door, entrance into the Kingdom, will be shut to all the others, who were not faithful, who were not ready, and who did wicked in the sight of the LORD.

It is also important to know that the Kingdom of Heaven is often illustrated as a great wedding, and Christ is always depicted as the Bridegroom, and the Bride to Christ is the Holy Church, that Christ loved so much that he offered up himself to die for it. So also, the Parable of the Ten Virgins show the Wise Virgins as the ones who are of the Church, who have life in the Church, and who have living faith within the Church that Christ established. The foolish ones were never part of the Church, or who were part of it but then left it. So remember to keep having a good and faithful life in the Bride of Christ, the Church, so in this way you would come into the great and wonderful Messianic Wedding Banquet at the end of the age.

My brothers and sisters, if there is one thing that this parable clearly teaches and that we can apply it to our own lives, it is this: Christ the Bridegroom is going to come again at an unexpected hour, so we need to be the Wise Virgins, holding fast to our oil for our lamps, always being giving to others, and charitable to all in a Christ-like way, and not just in money terms, but also with love, with time, and with comfort. Do it in a Christ-like way, imitating Our Lord in every way. So remember my friends, keep watch, stay vigilant, and keep your oil, which is your faith, spiritual readiness, and imitation of Christ, so that when Christ comes again, you have oil to light your lamp, and so you would be recognized by Christ himself, and enter the Great Wedding Banquet, where there will be eternal bliss with God, forever and ever.

Keep remaining steadfast this Lent my brothers and sisters, and do not give up, for the LORD our God is with us always, to the very end of the age. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever unto the age of ages.