This beautiful parable in today’s gospel invites us to ask ourselves an important question: “Am I ready for the bridegroom to come?” #Honestly If Jesus were to come, would I be ready for him?  We know that our God is merciful. That’s for sure, His mercy endures forever, says one of the psalms… but it’s important to remember that we cannot be presumptive, we cannot assume he will be merciful if we have ignored the many opportunities, he has given us to trim our lamps and to be with Him.  The foolish virgins were…too busy they did not do the one thing they needed to do: getting the oil and being ready for the bridegroom:  they were exhausted, they fell asleep… they were not ready. We are always busy, and with Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching, our lives will get even busier but…   do we do the one thing we need to do?  Do we prepare our lives, our family, our parish community for the Lord?  On a scale of one to ten …what´s the quality of my spiritual life? What kind of care do I give to my soul? Sometimes we live so focused material stuff, on the economic part, on politics and politicians that we forget that we have a covenant of love with Jesus that we forget that we have a soul and that soul will live forever; And there are only two options: heaven or hell… Often we regret having made a bad decision, Or not being able to finish a project, or having entered the wrong romantic relationship … well, all this happens because we do not stop to think, because we are always in a hurry, because there are no spaces for silence…it´s time to slow down! Time to be quiet and to spend more time in real conversation with the Lord. It’s now or never. Right now, in the midst of all this chaos, this political turmoil, everything that the pandemic has brought, the best we can do is take care of our spiritual lives. The best we can do is reinforce our personal relationship with the Jesus #Honestly: When was the last time you grabbed the book of the Gospels to read and learn more about the life of Jesus? We constantly need to ask ourselves questions: What are my priorities? What place does God have in my life? MyBmyS we could be super busy, having days full of activities but may be are we totally empty inside …And from there comes the bad mood, anger, resentment, the desire for revenge …That void can only be filled by the Lord, the Bridegroom; He is the only one who gives meaning to everything that happens to us, He is the only one who can give an authentic direction to our life. How many times have we put our hope, trust, in things, people, institutions, political parties, money, power, presidents, bishops, stuff that only leave us even more empty…? Only Christ fills the heart; and far from him we cannot find true peace or happiness; substitutes, maybe. We call ourselves Christians, and we are, because we have put our faith in Christ, our love is His; Jesus Christ is our owner! Yes: owner, we belong to him! That sense of belonging; that feeling that comes from knowing that we belong to him that feeling… does a lot of good to our soul! The world constantly invites us to be independent from everything, but depending on Christ, his love and his mercy is a good thing. Anyway, here comes Thanksgiving and Christmas; In the weeks coming the frantic race of preparations will begin, we could be lost in the middle We could lose sight of the Lord, with our lamps not lit. On Christmas Eve the angels are going to announce «The Bridegroom, the Messiah is coming!”, if we have not prepared ourselves, if we do not have the oil of silence, meditation, we will pass before the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God distracted, cold, and full of superficiality. We’re still on time! The liturgy of the Church presents to us this parable today as an invitation to be aware of the time we are given. The parable says that the Bridegroom has a banquet, and we have to be prepared to enter. Now is the time! Now we can rearrange our schedule with a small daily spot that is just for the Lord. Now we can decide that this is not the time to spend on things we don’t really need; Now we be sensitive to the fact that eating and drinking more would not make our Christmas Eve better. In the responsorial psalm we have repeated six times: My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God. Are we really thirsty for God? Let us ask our Lady for her help to be always thirsty for her son. Mary is the Virgin who always has her lamp lit. She is the woman always ready to receive the Lord Jesus. This morning we can renew our commitment of love and with St. Ignatius we could say:

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,

my memory, my understanding,

and my entire will,

All I have and call my own.

You have given all to me.

To you, Lord, I return it.

Everything is yours; do with it what you will.

Give me only your love and your grace,

that is enough for me • AE

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[1] Cfr. Matthew 7:21.

Fr. Agustin’s Schedule for the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time (November 8-9, 2020)

Saturday, November 8, 2020.

4.00 p.m. Sacrament of Confession

5.30 p.m. English Mass @ St. Peter Prince of the Apostles Catholic Church

Sunday, November 9, 2020.

9.00 a.m. English Mass @ St. Peter Prince of the Apostles Catholic Church

11.00 a.m. English Mas @ St. Peter Prince of the Apostles Catholic Church

5.30 p.m. English Mas @ St. Peter Prince of the Apostles Catholic Church

XXXII Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario (Ciclo A)

Los hombres no podemos vivir sin esperar en algo o en alguien. De una manera u otra siempre andamos buscando una felicidad, una seguridad, una satisfacción que todavía no poseemos. Naturalmente las esperanzas que marcan nuestra vida son muy distintas. Mientras uno espera encontrar trabajo, otro espera salir curado del hospital. Aquel espera el descanso del fin de semana y el otro vive esperando el nacimiento de su hijo. El punto es que todas estas esperas no constituyen todavía la esperanza real, la que verdaderamente llenará el corazón. Todos necesitamos una esperanza más honda y fundamental cuando sentimos que no vale la pena vivir la vida que tenemos. En esos momentos en que no encontramos ya nada grande ni seguro en medio de nuestros miedos y sufrimientos, fácilmente se despierta en nosotros una pregunta: ¿Esto es todo? ¿No hay nada más que esperar? Hay quien dice que el origen de nuestros miedos todos es ese temor a la soledad y a la pérdida del amor. Ese miedo a no ser amados es el que destruye de raíz la esperanza del hombre. Pero, incluso en las experiencias más gozosas de la vida, cuando uno puede disfrutar de la cercanía misteriosa del otro y sentirse comprendido, aceptado y querido, aún entonces surge una pregunta aún más compleja: ¿Es esta la plenitud a la que puedo aspirar? La verdad es que cuando reducimos el horizonte de nuestra vida y nos limitamos a vivir de pequeñas esperas, nos empobrecemos. Las esperanzas, como flores que nacen por la mañana y por la tarde ya están secas, se desgastan[1]; el optimismo se nos consume, el mal humor llega cada más más pronto. Hay dos caminos. Seguir actuando movidos por la ambición, la envidia o el deseo de triunfar, o buscar la esperanza del amor de Cristo[2]. Esta preciosa parábola de las jóvenes a las que se les gasta el aceite de sus lámparas mientras esperan al esposo podría esta mañana ayudarnos a recordar que ser cristiano es saber esperar en Dios. Esperar con toda esperanza[3]. Con fe, con anhelo ¡con alegría! ¡Sí: ya falta menos! Si esta esperanza se apaga en nosotros, hemos perdido lo más importante. Nuestra vida se hace estéril. San Pablo nos diría que entonces vivimos «sin esperanza y sin Dios en el mundo»[4] y así ¡difícil asunto este de vivir! • AE

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[1] Cfr. Sal 90, 6.

[2] J. A. Pagola, Buenas Noticias, Navarra, 1985, p. 125 ss.

[3] Cfr. Rom 4, 18-21.

[4] Cfr. Efe 2, 12.