Today's Gospel
Today Jesus told a story. Ten bridesmaids were waiting for a wedding. They all had lamps. Five were wise and brought extra oil. Five did not. They waited a long time. It got dark. Then someone called out: the groom is coming! The five wise bridesmaids filled their lamps with the extra oil. Their lamps shone bright. The other five had no oil left. They ran to buy more. While they were gone, the groom arrived. The five with bright lamps went into the party. The door closed. When the others came back, it was too late. Jesus said: stay ready, because you don't know when I will come. One hard thing: Jesus isn't talking about a real wedding. He means: keep your heart ready for God every day.
For little ones (ages 3 to 5)
I keep my heart ready for Jesus
For older kids (ages 10 to 12)
Today Jesus told a parable about ten bridesmaids waiting for a wedding. In Jesus' time, weddings happened at night. The groom would come to get his bride, and friends with lamps would light the way. In this story, ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to wait. Five were wise. They brought extra oil in jars. Five were foolish. They brought only their lamps with no extra oil. The wait was longer than expected. All ten fell asleep. At midnight someone shouted: 'The groom is here! Come out to meet him!' All ten woke up and trimmed their lamps. The five foolish ones realized their lamps were going out. They asked the wise ones to share oil. But the wise bridesmaids said: 'No, there won't be enough for all of us. Go buy some for yourselves.' While the five foolish bridesmaids were gone buying oil, the groom arrived. The five who were ready went with him into the wedding feast. The door was shut. Later, the other five came back and called out: 'Lord, lord, open the door for us!' But he answered: 'Truly I tell you, I don't know you.' Then Jesus said: 'Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.'
What does this have to do with you? Jesus isn't really talking about a wedding. He's talking about being ready to meet God. You might think: I'm only ten (or eleven, or twelve). I have lots of time to get serious about God later. But Jesus says: you don't know when your moment will come. Not the moment you die (don't worry about that), but the moment God wants to meet you in a special way, the moment you need to make a choice, the moment when you can do something beautiful for him. The wise bridesmaids weren't smarter or luckier. They were ready. They thought ahead. They prepared. You keep your heart ready for Jesus by praying even when you don't feel like it, by choosing what's right when no one is looking, by staying close to God on ordinary days. It's like training for a sport. You don't wait until game day to start practicing. You practice every day so you're ready when the moment comes. God loves you and wants you to be ready not because he's trying to trick you or catch you off guard, but because he has beautiful things planned for you and he wants you to be able to say yes when the moment arrives.
To talk about with parents: When in your life did you feel unprepared for something important, and what did that teach you? How do you keep your own heart ready for God now?
Saint of the day: Blessed John Duns Scotus
Today we remember Blessed John Duns Scotus. He was born around the year twelve sixty-six in a town called Duns in Scotland. He became a Franciscan friar. That means he followed Saint Francis and lived a simple life serving God. John was incredibly smart. He taught at famous universities in Oxford, Paris, and Cologne. People called him the Subtle Doctor because he thought through every question with great precision. One thing John loved to teach was about Mary, the mother of Jesus. He explained that God made Mary special from the very first moment of her life. We call this the Immaculate Conception. Many years later, in eighteen fifty-four, the Pope declared this a dogma, which means the whole Church believes it. John died in Cologne in thirteen-oh-eight. He is buried there. Pope John Paul the Second beatified him in nineteen ninety-three.
To read (ages 6 to 9)
