Saturday, June 1 : Saint Augustine

The ten virgins all wanted to go out to meet the bridegroom. What does “going out to meet the bridegroom” mean? It is to go out with their heart, it is to live in expectation of his coming. But he delayed his coming, and “they all fell asleep.” … What do those words mean: “they all fell asleep”? There is a sleep that no one can escape. Remember the words of the apostle Paul: “We would have you be clear about those who sleep in death” (1 Thess 4:13), that is to say, those who have died… Thus they have all fallen asleep. Do you think the sensible virgin can escape death? No, whether they be sensible or foolish, they all have to pass by way of the sleep of death… “At midnight someone shouted.” What does that mean? It happens at the time when no one is thinking of it, when no one is expecting it… He will come at the time when you are least thinking of it. Why will he come like that? Because he says: “The exact time is not yours to know. The Father has reserved that to himself.” (Acts 1:7) The apostle Paul says: “The day of the Lord is coming like a thief in the night.” (1 Thess 5:2) So keep watch during the night so as not to be surprised by the thief. For whether you want it or not, the sleep of death will necessarily come. However, it will only come when a cry is heard at midnight. What is that cry if not the one about which the apostle Paul said: “in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the last trumpet. The trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (1 Cor 15:52) After the cry that will resound at midnight: “The groom is here”, what will happen? “They all got up.”

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team