His
Holiness Pope Francis dedicated the catechesis of his 24 April 2013 General Audience
to three Gospel texts that help us to enter into the mystery of one of the
truths professed in the Creed: that Jesus “will come again in glory to judge
the living and the dead”. The three
texts are: the parable of the ten virgins; the parable of the talents; and the
final judgement. They all form part of Jesus' teaching on the end of time in
the Gospel of St. Matthew.
Pope
Francis spoke of the “'immediate time' between Jesus' first and final comings,
which is precisely the time in which we are living. The parable of the ten
virgins is located within this context.” They are awaiting the Bridegroom but
fall asleep because he is late in arriving. Five of them, who are wise, keep
oil aside and can light their lamps when the Bridegroom arrives unexpectedly.
The other, foolish ones, do not have it and, while they look for it, the
nuptial celebrations have already begun and the door to enter into the banquet
is closed to them.
“The
Bridegroom is the Lord and the time of awaiting his arrival is the time that He
gives us, with mercy and patience, before his final coming. It is a time of
vigilance, a time in which we must keep the lamps of faith, hope, and love lit.
[It is a time] to keep our hearts open to the good, to beauty, and to truth; a
time to live according to God because we do not know either the day or the hour
of Christ's return. What is asked of us is to be prepared for the encounter,
which means knowing how to read the signs of his presence, to keep our faith
alive with prayer and the Sacraments, and to be vigilant so as not to fall
asleep, not to forget God. The life of Christians who are sleeping is a sad
life, not a happy life. Christians must be happy, [feeling] the joy of Jesus.”
The
second parable, of the talents, “makes us reflect on the relationship between
how we use the gifts we have received from God and his return when he will ask
us how we have used them. … This tells us that our awaiting the Lord's return
is a time of action … time to make the most of God's gifts, nor for ourselves,
but for him, for the Church, for others. [It is] the time in which to always
seek to make good grow in the world. Particularly in this time of crisis,
today, it is important… to open ourselves, to be compassionate, to be attentive
to others.”
Our
Holy Father then spoke of the story of the final judgement that tells of the
second coming of the Lord when He will judge all human beings, living and dead.
At his right hand will be those who have acted in accordance with God's will,
helping the hungry, the thirsty, the foreigner, the naked, the ill, the
imprisoned…. At the Lord's left hand are
those who did not assist their neighbour. “This tells us that we will be judged
by God on charity, on how we have loved our brothers and sisters, especially
the weakest and most needy of them. Of course, we always have to keep in mind
that we are judged, we are saved by grace, by an act of God's gratuitous love
that always precedes us. Alone we can do nothing. Faith is foremost a gift that
we have received. But, to bear fruit, God's grace always requires our openness
to him, our free and concrete response. Christ comes to bring us the mercy of
the God who saves. We have been asked to entrust ourselves to him, to make our
good lives—made of deeds inspired by faith and love—match the gift of his
love.”
“Looking
to the final judgement must never frighten us,” the pontiff concluded. “Rather,
it urges us to live the present better. With mercy and patience, God offers us
this time so that we might learn every day to recognize him in the poor and the
small, might strive for the good, and might be vigilant in prayer and love. The
Lord, at the end of our existence and of history, may then recognize us as good
and faithful servants.”
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