A reading of the holy gospel according to Saint Matthew. Our lord told this parable to his disciples. Now remember, a parable is not a fact. It's a story to emphasize emphasize all points. So a good parable has really a single focus.
So our lord said to this gave this parable to his disciples. The reign of god can be likened to 10 bridesmaids who took their torches and went out to welcome the groom. Five of the bridesmaids were foolish, while the other five were sensible. The foolish ones, in taking their torches, brought no oil with them. On the other hand, the sensible girls took flasks of oil as well as their torches.
The groom delayed his coming as, of course, was usual, so they all began to nod and then to fall asleep. At midnight, somebody shouted, the groom is here. Come out and greet him. At the outcry, all the virgins woke up. They'd all been sleeping and got their torches ready.
But the foolish one said to the sensible ones, give us some of your oil. Our torches have gone out. But the sensible ones replied, no. There may not be enough oil for both of us. You'd better go to the dealers and buy yourself some oil.
But while those young ladies went off to buy the oil, the groom arrived. And the bridesmaids who were ready, that was their torches burning, went out to greet him. Then when they come in, they barred the door. And later on, however, the other bridesmaids came back. Master, master, they cried out.
Open the door for us. But he answered, tell you, I don't know you. Now our lord tells us what the moral of this story is. He says the moral is keep your eyes open for you do not know the day nor the hour. He's talking about death, And this is the gospel of the lord.
This is Paul speaking to the Romans. Now remember, he would had come all the way from the East. He'd been brought west to be tried in Rome, and now he's speaking to the Romans. And remember, there already was a Christian community in Rome when Paul got there. Keep that in mind.
Paul did not establish the church in Rome. It was already there. So now he's speaking to the Romans. None of us, he says, lives as his own master. Now master with them means that you call the shots.
There was no ifs or buts around it. There were no negotiations. There were no compromises. It was not a democracy. A master told the rest of the gang what to do.
So keep that perfectly clear. Master here means master, magister. So Paul says, none of us lives as his old master, and none of us dies as his old master. While we live, we are responsible to the lord. And when we die, we are his servants.
Both in life and in death, we are the lord. As I've said Sunday after Sunday, what I try to do is to have these texts summarize what I want to say. So keep that in mind. Whether we live or whether we die, we are the lord. We don't belong to ourselves.
Now listen to what our lord says. He says this in today's parable about the foolish. That that that's very those words are crazy there. These girls weren't foolish. They were irresponsible.
So we have today this parable of the of the responsible, the thoughtful girls, and those who were rather thoughtless. They weren't foolish. That's the what the translators put in. So what our lord says is this, what are we to think of that parable? So he doesn't leave it to our thinking at all.
He says, keep your eyes open for you know not the day nor the hour. He's talking about our death. So let's not be afraid of saying we're talking about dying, death and dying. We're talking about who's running the show. We're talking about who is the master, who is calling the shots day after day.
I mean all of them, what we call evil. Remember, God has a hand in the evil, in the tragedies. There is nothing that happens in the universe that is excluded from God's purpose, from God's design. Now when I stand up here and say that, I know I'm on the absolute solidest ground. But I know very well.
When I'm seasick, I like to die. Don't come to me when I'm rolling around the bottom of a boat or trying to get to the rail telling me that god's running the show. I'm not listening. I'm sick. I'm ill.
I'm an invalid. I'm suffering. So keep this I'm aware of that. I'm aware of that. But on the other hand, while we have our faculties, while we're sitting here in Garrett Park this Sunday morning, let us listen to god's words and pray that when our time of crucifixion comes, when we're on the cross, we may hang on to those words.
You are not the master of your faith. You don't hang from your own will. God, you didn't give yourself life. You have no right to take your life directly any more than you have a right to take mine directly. We are the lords.
We belong to the lord. And god will tell us when he wants us, and he'll tell us how he wants us to come to. He'll call the shots. Well, you can guess what's back of my head. It came out of yesterday's paper.
I heard about it Friday night. The doctor of death, Jack Kevorkian, is out of the game. He, violated Michigan's law that was especially made for him to catch him. So that he he assisted at the suicide of his nineteenth victim. So they hauled him into court.
He refused bond, so they yank him into jail. Says he's gonna go on a hunger strike. Now yesterday morning, I was on an elevator in a retirement home. I was with a young man. Well, he's not so young.
He's a father. He's a grandfather. Friend of mine. And in the elevator, the third party was a very elegant lady. She wasn't 23.
She was more than twice that, but she very elegant. I said to Joe, I said, what do you think of doctor Jack DeVorkin? What do you think of his attitude? So Joe says to me, I'd shoot him. You know, a nice forth right man.
He speaks very delicately. The lady, who neither of us know knew, she didn't know us either, she spoke up in a very firm voice and said, I adore him. I adore him. So when three got off the elevator, nobody said anything to either anyone. Now that's that's very stimulating to me.
Very stimulating. Because you see, the world today, I mean, at least our world around The USA, the Dvorakian has taken a very prominent part. There he has a multitude of followers. I can assure you that. I've had a lot of arguments on this subject which end up with me by saying, where do you get the right to kill yourself?
And I never get a reply. But you see, to work in wants to get the law to give me a civil legal right to kill or to have a doctor to assist me. Now remember, get it straight. If I am not allowed to kill myself, I then anybody who helps me to do it is equally guilty of my suicide. Keep that in mind.
If I cannot do an action legally and morally, I cannot have someone else help me to do it. And whoever helps me to do it, and this goes for abortion, is equally responsible for the act, for the morality of the act. Now we're talking here about direct killing. I can't go into the ifs and the buts, but keep that word direct in mind. We're not just talking about killing, we're talking about direct, the willful, unjustifiable killing of another human being or the unjustifiable and direct killing of me by myself.
Or I delegate someone else to help me do it. Now there are plenty of people who think that's sensible and rational and they tell you how we ought to be kind to animals and be at least that kind to ourselves. But I don't know what religion, if any, has I've never seen it mentioned. But remember this. Remember what happened last weekend, folks.
You'll say, what happened? I'll tell you what my calendar says. Halloween, put your clocks back. It doesn't say a word there about the feasts of all saints and all souls. We almost ignored it this year.
This it was not the the obligation of going to mass was eliminated, so that was that. It went practically unnoticed for the most part. It didn't go entirely unnoticed. You see those envelopes up there. But for the most part, it went unnoticed.
Did Halloween go unnoticed? That wretched thing? Absolutely not. Even as bad as the weather. The kids and the peep and the adults were out to some extent, what we call, treating or whatever it is.
For what? Halloween. What do we mean by Halloween? Happy Halloween was all over the place. What do they mean by wishing me a happy Halloween?
And usually, there's a beautiful skeleton with it. Can you imagine such absurdity? What are we talking about? I want that's gonna be happy to be a skeleton? I must prefer me as I am, if you don't mind.
I don't even look like a skeleton. Of hope yet. I don't wanna look like yet people are wishing me a happy Halloween. What? How many people have any awareness what they're talking about that is the feast of all saints and back to back with it the feast of all souls?
Now that was dramatized when I was in the seminary a hundred and seventy five years ago. What we had the vespers of all saints, all gold and light and vestments and all kinds of music and the candles burning and good and loud and joyful hymns. And then, wham, right after the first vespers, on went the black and the diezire and this no music, the organ was silent, we brought out we even took away the white candles and brought out dark candles. But you see, there was a point here. It was it was dramatizing a great truth of our religion and most basic truth of our religion that we are not destined for this world.
We are not Marxists. We are not trying to make this world a paradise, although a lot of us are doing it. But that's not what a Catholic Christian does. A Christian a Catholic Christian says, I'm a pilgrim here. I'm in the world, but not of it.
I am born to be with Christ. I am born to join with him on his cross. These are the things we say. And let me tell you, these are the things a lot of people people suffer and about that more or not. More or not.
There are plenty of people who take this with deadly seriousness. They know they're on the cross and they tolerate it because of Christ, because they say that I am not of this world. God didn't make me to be happy with him forever in this world because I'm not here forever. It comes to an end. Now just for the heck of it, during the past week, went back and read Trent.
I read I read Vatican two, then I read the new catechism on this subject. Now they use different words. You don't hear the word purgatory much anymore, but they're it's not eliminated at all. It's just they don't use the word. You're familiar with the old idea, the communion of saints, the mystical body of Christ.
Here was a vision that we presented to Christians, at least the Catholic Christians, that the church, the Catholic church is not just the people sitting in the pews of a Catholic edifice. It was the Catholic church militant. See, we don't they don't like to use the word militant now. That means a soldier. That means a warfare.
That means fighting. Trent wasn't afraid to use it, and I am not hesitant in using it at all today, believe me. It's a wonderful world. Now we wanna use the word pilgrim. But anyway, the idea that the Church of Christ was a tripartite unity.
The Christians baptized in this life, warriors working their way towards eternity, taking what that comes, carrying their cross with Christ, with Christ, not alone, not altruistic, not part of a proletariat, but because they're children of god and meant to go back to god. And then we had the view of eternity where some are saved and some are lost. They go to hell. Hell's a reality. And those that are saved, some of them are ready fully prepared for that.
They are not prepared to enjoy God. They do not mirror properly the complete direct contemplation of God. So we say they have to be purified. The mirror has to be polished up. Me.
We used to call that purgatory. I don't what you call it. It's that state of imperfection before we can enjoy heaven. Trent called it purgatory. Now Vatican 2 in the, Lumen Gentium says very very clearly.
I have the text here. Very clear that that we have some Christians are pilgrims here on Earth. Pilgrims here on Earth. Some of us are pilgrims. Some of us have died and are saved, but we have to be purified, the second state.
And what on the other hand, others are completely prepared or have been purified and now and now have a direct a direct just as much as you're getting your finger burned in the gas stove, just as direct as I'm looking at that paper, just as direct as I'm looking at you, I see god. One, triune. That is Vatican two. Well, the the the catechism uses almost the same words. I have the the I don't have the the French.
I have the French of it. But it says almost the same thing. Almost the same thing. What I'm saying is this, the Catholic church has not changed in the slightest. It's doctrine about the church.
We are a unit. Unit. The church in this world and the church in the next. Some Christians are saved, some are lost and go to hell. Those that are saved, some are perfected and ready to see god as he is.
Others are not. They need to be purified, then they see god. But that's the unity of the church. That's not a Halloween. That's not a bunch of skeletons rattling their bones.
That's not wishing me happy skeleton day. This is being this is the most realistic, the most fundamental truth of the Catholic church. Call it the mystical body. Christ. Call it the union of the faithful.
Some call it the people of God. I don't care what name you give it as long as you know what you're talking about. And you're talking about Christians united in the faith here in this world plotting along, fighting the daily battle. If you wanna call us pilgrims, fine. We're on our way.
We're on our way. But it's a battle, folks. And if you don't believe it, you're not engaged in it. It's not walking along in comfort as a pilgrim today might go to lord. It's being on the world has taken over god's creation and is using it against it.
That's the misery of it. Things that be should should be shouting to God, hallelujah, are now shouting, man. We are the center of the universe. Do what you're comfortable with. If you're in pain, take a pill.
And if it gets too bad, take five pills. And if it gets much worse, take a revolver. Treat yourself with the decency that you treat a dog. We say treat yourself with the heroism of God. God never said that he made men and women to the image of dogs.
He's made men and women to him's image. He's the master. He does the calling. All he does is to ask us to be ready, to be faithful pilgrims, to be faithful warriors, not to be discouraged, not to abandon him, not to be scandalized by the cross. He promised the cross to us.
But he says if you take it up, if you pick it up, even that cross that you are bearing today, you will find it sweet and its burden light. God said that. That is my dope or my opinion. I don't give that to you from up here. Now, conclusion.
I have a lot more, but I can't go into it. But I do wanna say this, that it's cyclical that I spent four Sundays on has something wonderful to say about this. It John Paul talks about that is Veritatis Splendor in the third chapter. He talks about martyrdom. Martyrdom.
I mean the real thing, like like Marie Goghoretti, a little girl of 12. She's assaulted by a neighboring boy. He wants to have intercourse with her. And then here's a here's an illiterate girl near Rome living in a peasant on a farm without a her father died. She's only a 12 year old girl.
How does he she face up to this guy with a knife at her throat? What does she say to him?