Daily Gospel Reflection
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September 1, 2023
Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins
who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
The foolish ones, when taking their lamps,
brought no oil with them,
but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.
Since the bridegroom was long delayed,
they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
At midnight, there was a cry,
‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.
The foolish ones said to the wise,
‘Give us some of your oil,
for our lamps are going out.’
But the wise ones replied,
‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you.
Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’
While they went off to buy it,
the bridegroom came
and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him.
Then the door was locked.
Afterwards the other virgins came and said,
‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’
But he said in reply,
‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’
Therefore, stay awake,
for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
Reflection
Today is the first day of Creationtide or the Season of Creation in the church calendar. As Creation Care Director for the Diocese of San Diego, it’s my job to spread the Catholic teaching on responsible environmental stewardship of our common home. Upon reading today’s gospel, I was flummoxed as the parable of the ten virgins prominently features the burning of oil.
A commentary from Saint Thomas Aquinas reveals, however, Jesus is not talking about fossil fuel. Rather, he’s making a clear distinction between members of the Church who simply profess faith and those who profess faith and do good works.
Signifying the entirety of the church faithful and the purity of their belief, all ten virgins are invited to the wedding, the “end of times,” and all carry their lamps of faith. The oil represents their good works, the fuel that lights their hearts with love for God. After having fallen asleep—earthly death—they wake to the second coming of Christ, at which time the lit lamps, reflective of lives filled with charitable action, prove inexhaustible—truly renewable energy!
How might we perform such acts? Because we are interconnected by the gift of our common home, the lives of our poorest and most vulnerable brothers and sisters around the world depend on our good stewardship of the environment. Therefore, during this Season of Creation—today through the Feast of Saint Francis on October 4th—we might prayerfully take action to minimize our impact on creation—burn less carbon, avoid single-use plastics, conserve water, and of course, recycle. Learn more at the Vatican’s Laudato Si’ Action Platform, www.laudatosiactionplatform.org.
Oh, that oil? Most likely olive oil, a carbon-neutral fuel since it’s from a live tree. So, fill up! Praised be you, my Lord, indeed!
Prayer
No one can know the day or time of the Lord’s coming for us. Therefore, Jesus says, be ready at all times, be true and faithful in our service to him, be honest and courageous in turning to him for forgiveness and mercy. Jesus called blessed the servant whom his master finds doing so. Lord, grant us perseverance and fidelity in our prayer. Give us confidence in your mercy for us. Let us be ready for your coming as we wait with the knowledge of your love for us.
Saint of the Day

St. Anna the Prophetess appears very briefly in the Gospel of Luke—she received the young child, Jesus, when Mary and Joseph brought him to the Temple to be dedicated to the Lord.
According to Jewish law, parents were to present each male child to the Lord by offering sacrifice in the Temple in Jerusalem. Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the Temple, and were greeted there by Simeon, who had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before seeing the messiah (Lk 2:25-26).
After Mary and Joseph and Jesus met Simeon, they encountered Anna:
“There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was 84. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem” (Lk 2:36-38)
This exhausts our knowledge of Anna, but even this brief description tells us what is most important about her. Unlike Simeon, who knew he would find the messiah, Anna simply recognized the Lord. After decades and decades in the Temple, seeing people coming and going with their sacrifices every day, she had the vision to recognize that one young couple and their child were unlike any of the others.
What gave her that ability to see—to recognize the divine in the midst of the ordinary? All we know is that she fasted and prayed—she cultivated a close relationship with God. She knew God—she was familiar with God because she spoke with God every day. And that familiarity opened her eyes to recognizing God’s presence in situations outside of prayer. The same is true for us—a habit of prayer opens our eyes to recognize God’s presence in the rest of our life experience.
Relics of St. Anna the Prophetess rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica. She is depicted in the fresco above standing to the far right in a brown cloak, observing Joseph and Mary presenting the child, Jesus, to Simeon.
St. Anna the Prophetess, of the thousands of people you saw in the Temple, you instantly recognized Jesus—pray for us!