Memorial of Saint Monica
August 27, 2021
Readings for the Memorial of Saint Monica
Memorial of Saint Monica
Lectionary: 429
Reading I
Brothers and sisters,
we earnestly ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that,
as you received from us
how you should conduct yourselves to please God–
and as you are conducting yourselves–
you do so even more.
For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
This is the will of God, your holiness:
that you refrain from immorality,
that each of you know how to acquire a wife for himself
in holiness and honor, not in lustful passion
as do the Gentiles who do not know God;
not to take advantage of or exploit a brother or sister in this matter,
for the Lord is an avenger in all these things,
as we told you before and solemnly affirmed.
For God did not call us to impurity but to holiness.
Therefore, whoever disregards this,
disregards not a human being but God,
who also gives his Holy Spirit to you.
Responsorial Psalm
- (12a) Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
Justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the LORD of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The LORD loves those who hate evil;
he guards the lives of his faithful ones;
from the hand of the wicked he delivers them.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
Light dawns for the just;
and gladness, for the upright of heart.
Be glad in the LORD, you just,
and give thanks to his holy name.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
Alleluia
- Alleluia, alleluia.
Be vigilant at all times and pray,
that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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: BE READY. THE LORD COMES AT ANY HOUR
A wedding is a great moment of joy for each family and their friends and relatives. The memory of the wedding lasts for a long time. Some rich peoples' weddings these days are trend setters and no one can imagine the extravaganza that is involved. Similarly, Jesus is speaking about the preparations to enter the ultimate wedding feast, kingdom of God, Heaven. Jesus, the king and the bridegroom comes at an hour that we do not know. It is beyond our guessing. He comes to take you and me to the eternal paradise. He invited us to the banquet. Do we have sufficient oil to light our lamps and go along with him to the banquet hall? By baptism, he made us children and heirs of his kingdom. The baptismal grace that we received should be nourished and maintained with prayer and love for the Lord that is manifest in our love for our brothers and sisters. This is the oil we need to acquire with our acts of love. When the Lord suddenly comes, may be at our death or in His second coming, we need to be ready to light our lamps and enter the eternal paradise with Him. We need to be like the wise bridesmaids.