Allocution, Sunday, November 8, 2020
Today the gospel according to Saint Matthew, chapter 25, verses 1 to 13, is read in all the Catholic churches of the world.
The groom is Christ who comes to celebrate the final wedding with his wife the Church in the palace of heaven.
The girls represent all of us waiting for the return of Christ. The people of Israel waited for him for centuries as Messiah and Savior but did not recognize him. His own did not receive him, they did not recognize him in the manger of Bethlehem except the wise men and the shepherds. They did not listen to him when he preached to his people. And they crucified him. They did not see his light and by not believing they remained in darkness, without a lamp, without faith, without light. The resurrected Lord is in heaven and one day he will come at the end of time. But also before that he will come to receive our soul, full of goodness at the end of our life.
How wonderful that when he comes he will find us at Sunday Mass, in a merciful action, in family prayer, in teaching the catechism, in forgiveness of those who have wronged us, in family love! Thus the lamp of our faith will be fully lit with the oil of love.
How bad it is that he finds us angry, with hatred, with resentment, with insults that have forgotten God and his kingdom! They will find us without oil, without light, without faith, without love, with the lamps turned off.
(Song)
Jesus said to his disciples:
“You are the light of this world.” (Matthew, chapter 5, verse 14 to 16).
Before the era of electricity, the streets were lit with oil lamps. Those who lit them did so with a lit torch.
One night a couple was standing next to their window. They could see the torch that was lighting the lamps, but because of the darkness, they could not see the man who carried the torch from place to place. They only saw the lights of the torch. Then the husband said to his wife who was standing next to him:
-Those who light the torches are a good example for Christians. They may never be seen, but you know they have been there by the trail of lights they leave in their wake.
What is the trail of lights that I am leaving in my wake? People will doubt what we say, but they will believe what we do.
(Song)
The seconds, the minutes, the hours, the days, the weeks, the months, the years, are blessings and opportunities to fill our oil lamp with good works.
Time does not wait and if we fill it with service to God and our neighbor, the Lord can come at any time. God always offers you an opportunity. It’s called today.
-To realize the value of a year:
Ask a student who has failed a final exam.
-To realize the value of a month:
Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.
-To realize the value of a week:
Ask the editor of a weekly magazine.
-To realize the value of a day:
Ask a child who waits for the Three Wise Men to arrive tomorrow.
-To realize the value of an hour:
Ask the bride and groom who are waiting to see each other.
-To realize the value of a minute:
Ask a person who has missed the train, the bus or the plane.
-To realize the value of a second:
Ask a person who has survived an accident.
-To realize the value of a hundredth of a second:
Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics.
(Song)
Hello Jesus! How are you?
I am writing to greet you and because now I do have to stock up, because the lamp with which you sent me into the world has been running out of oil throughout these years.
For example, my patience completely ran out, as did my prudence and tolerance. I have little hope left and the lamp of faith is also empty. Imagination is also in short supply these days. So I would like to order you new products for my lamp.
To begin, I would like you to refill the jars of patience and tolerance. But, to the top! And please send me the intensive course: “How to be more prudent”, volumes 1, 2, 3, 4.
Also send me several large bottles. But great!, of maturity that is so needed. I would also like a big tank of smiles, the kind that brightens anyone’s day. I ask you to send me two large and heavy stones to tie to my feet and always have them on the ground.
If you have a compass stored away to guide me and take the right path, I would greatly appreciate it.
Give me imagination again; but not too much, because I must confess that on some occasions I drank large quantities and it made me sick. New hopes and a double portion of faith and hope would also be excellent for me.
I also ask you for a color palette to paint my life when I see it gray and dark. A trash can would be very useful to throw away everything that hurts me.
Please send me a small bottle of menthiolate and a small box of band-aids to heal my heart, because lately it has stumbled a lot and has many scratches.
I ask you for a lot of carrots, to have good eyesight and not miss opportunities by not seeing them. I also need a big watch, very big, so that every time I see it I remember that time is ticking and I shouldn’t waste it.
You could send me a lot of strength and self-confidence. I know I’m going to need them to endure the tough times and to get up when I fall.
I would also like a small box of pills that make my willpower and determination grow, so that I can do well in life. And I ask you for three or four tons of desire to live, to fulfill my dreams.
I also need a pen with a lot of ink, to write all my achievements and my failures.
But more than anything, I ask you to give me a lot of life, to achieve everything I have in mind and so that you see that I do not waste the time you gave me on earth.
I thank you in advance for whatever you can send me and I thank you twice as much for everything you sent me the first time.
With love… your son…
(Song)
To those who do not have time, to those who are eternal in their love, we turn confidently as children.
Our father…
To the Mother who has all the time for us, we turn to Her fully confident as her children.
God save you, Mary…
And the blessing of Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, descend upon each and every one of us, our family and friends and lead us to eternal life. Amen.
(Song)