A Jesuit Catholic University
in Omaha, Nebraska, since 1878

[429] 1 Thess 4:1-8 Ps 97:1+2b, 5-6, 10, 11-12 Matt 25:1-13.

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer The Daily Reflections

            Preparation, it’s a funny thing.  You never know when you’re going to need that emergency item you keep on hold or when you’re going to have to use a certain skill but you have to be prepared.  The thing is, it’s hard to prepare for something that you don’t expect to happen.  I can remember to keep band-aids on hand, mostly because people get cuts and scraps all the time.  I don’t think about being prepared for a winter storm in the summer months because the chance for a blizzard is highly unlikely.  Maybe that is what is wrong with us as humans; we don’t think long-term as much as we should.  Sure, it might seem excessive to prepare for the things we don’t expect but, if they happen and we aren’t ready, we are just like the virgins from the parable.  They weren’t expecting to run out of oil and, since this seemed unlikely, they brought no extra oil with which to keep their lamps lit.  This cost them dearly.  Not being ready for the bridegroom meant getting left outside.

This made me think of what happens when God calls us.  Sometimes we are ready and willing, other times we make excuses like Moses (he told God he couldn’t go to Pharaoh because he was slow of speech), sometimes we drag our feet, and other times we are not ready.  Unprepared, we rush off to do that last thing we forgot and when we get back, everyone is gone and the doors are shut.  If we aren’t ready when God calls us, we miss out on the amazing things He has in store for us. 

Luckily, we have a loving and forgiving Father who is always ready to accept us when we come to Him.  We might miss an opportunity (like the virgins in the parable) but we will never be permanently shut out by God.  There is nothing to fear.  Yet, I don’t want to miss out on an opportunity just because I wasn’t prepared.  I don’t always know what to do or how to be prepared, but I do know that if I trust in Him, He will equip me with what I need to do what He has planned for me.  I am so thankful for that.