It is 26th August 2016. The readings are from 1 Corinthians 1:17-25; and the Gospel from Matthew 25:1-13. St. Paul teaches us that there is a profound meaning and reason for our suffering in the Cross of our Lord. True and everlasting wisdom comes from the Cross. Our hope and salvation is in and through the Holy Cross. We need to accept the sufferings and pain as the means of our personal and communal salvation. Let us not complain, and compare with the sufferings of others. The responsorial Psalm praises, “The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” (Psalm. 33:5). The Gospel reminds about our preparedness and vigilance in welcoming and serving the Lord because we do not know when the Lord will return or when he will call us to himself. This passage stresses the importance of the day of the Lord. The faithfulness is the wisdom of the wise virgins and the unfaithfulness is the foolishness of the foolish virgins. Wisdom comes in the way we manage time for the Lord. The people who are anxious and worried waste time and eventually become less prepared. They are foolish because of their lax and unmindful choices. They are just worried about trivial matters of the present and forgetting God and the work of the Lord. And therefore, we all require the adequate oil of Christ which symbolises our spiritual and intellectual formation. Only then we could withstand any pain, trials and temptations. May the Lord help us to bear witness through our preparedness for welcoming the Lord every moment of our lives. May you have a good day.