Beloved Brothers and Sisters, Let us always be open and prudent for the Lord's coming. From the Heart, Fr. Heart, SVD

1. Welcome to our Bible Study
32nd Sunday in the Ordinary Time A
November 6, 2011
In preparation for this Sunday’s liturgy
In aid of focusing homilies and sharing
Prepared by Fr. Cielo R. Almazan, OFM

2. First Reading: Wisdom 6,12-16
• 2 Resplendent and unfading is Wisdom, and she is
readily perceived by those who love her, and found by
those who seek her. 13 She hastens to make herself
known in anticipation of men's desire; 14 he who
watches for her at dawn shall not be disappointed, for he
shall find her sitting by his gate. 15 For taking thought of
her is the perfection of prudence, and he who for her
sake keeps vigil shall quickly be free from care; 16
Because she makes her own rounds, seeking those
worthy of her, and graciously appears to them in the
ways, and meets them with all solicitude.
The focus is on wisdom.

3. First Reading: Wisdom 6,12-16
Subject
• 2 Resplendent and unfading is Wisdom, and she is readily
perceived by those who love her, and found by those who seek her.
13 She hastens to make herself known in anticipation of men's
desire;
Object
• 14 he who watches for her at dawn shall not be disappointed, for he
shall find her sitting by his gate. 15 For taking thought of her is the
perfection of prudence, and he who for her sake keeps vigil shall
quickly be free from care;
Subject
• 16 Because she makes her own rounds, seeking those worthy of
her, and graciously appears to them in the ways, and meets them
with all solicitude.
WISDOM is presented as SUBJECT Also as OBJECT
A simple outline!

4. First Reading: Wisdom 6,12-16
• 12 Resplendent and unfading is
Wisdom, and she is readily
perceived by those who love her,
and found by those who seek
her. 13 She hastens to make
herself known in anticipation of
men's desire; 14 he who
watches for her at dawn shall not
be disappointed, for he shall find
her sitting by his gate. 15 For
taking thought of her is the
perfection of prudence, and he
who for her sake keeps vigil shall
quickly be free from care; 16
Because she makes her own
rounds, seeking those worthy of
her, and graciously appears to
them in the ways, and meets
them with all solicitude.
Commentary
• V.12 talks about the nature of
wisdom (personified):
– Resplendent and unfading
– Easily perceived (identified) by
those who love and seek her.
• In v.13, wisdom makes herself
known to her prospect lover.
• Benefits of wisdom
– The person who waits for her shall
not be disappointed. V.14
– His prudence will be perfected.
– He shall be free from care (worries).
V.15
• Wisdom seeks, appears to and
meets those who are worthy of her
with all solicitude. V.16

5. Reflections on the 1st reading
• The author personifies wisdom in the feminine gender;
the beneficiary or the one who seeks her is personified in
the masculine gender.
• Given the characteristic traits of and the benefits given
by wisdom, we are encouraged to seek wisdom.
• Wisdom is active, has initiatives. She is not there sitting
down, waiting to be discovered.
• Though wisdom is portrayed as a woman, she also has
masculine qualities. She aggressively seeks us.
• For us to discover her, we, too, must be active in seeking
her. Wisdom does not encourage passivity.
• Do you value wisdom?

6. Resp. Ps 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
• R. (2b) My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
2 O God, you are my God whom I seek;
for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.
• 3 Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary
to see your power and your glory,
4 For your kindness is a greater good than life;
my lips shall glorify you.
• 5 Thus will I bless you while I live;
lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.
6 As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,
and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.
• 7 I will remember you upon my couch,
and through the night-watches I will meditate on you:
8 You are my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.

7. Resp. Ps 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
• R. (2b) My soul is thirsting for you, O
Lord my God.
2 O God, you are my God whom I seek;
for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless and without
water.
• 3 Thus have I gazed toward you in the
sanctuary
to see your power and your glory,
4 For your kindness is a greater good than
life;
my lips shall glorify you.
• 5 Thus will I bless you while I live;
lifting up my hands, I will call upon your
name.
6 As with the riches of a banquet shall my
soul be satisfied,
and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise
you.
• 7 I will remember you upon my couch,
and through the night-watches I will
meditate on you:
8 You are my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I shout for
joy.
Commentary
• The psalm is an appropriate response
to the first reading.
• But it is no longer “wisdom” that is
being sought here, but God.
• In v.2, the psalmist compares himself
to the earth – lifeless and dry.
• V.3 indicates that the psalmist is in the
Temple praying.
• V.4 indicates the psalmist’s hierarchy
of values.
• In v.5, the psalmist promises to bless
God and pray to him.
• In v.6, the psalmist will praise God
with joy.
• In v.7, the psalmist promises to pray to
God always even when in bed.
• In v.8, the psalmist joyfully affirms God
as his protection.

8. Reflections on the Psalm
• We must put God as number one in our life’s
agenda.
• We cannot do away with God, otherwise, our
lives become arid and dry, no joy.
• Like the psalmist, we must be able to praise God
for our protection and to rejoice in him.
• We can not experience that holy joy if we do not
pray like the psalmist.

9. Second Reading: 1 Thess 4,13-18
• 13 We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, about
those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve
like the rest, who have no hope. 14 For if we believe
that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus,
bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 Indeed,
we tell you this, on the word of the Lord, that we who are
alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely
not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the
Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of
an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come
down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the
air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18
Therefore, console one another with these words.
The focus is on the coming of Christ.

10. Second Reading: 1 Thess 4,13-18
• 13 We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, about those who
have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest, who
have no hope.
The dead
• 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God,
through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15
We who are alive
• Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord, that we who are
alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not
precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself, with
a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the
trumpet of God, will come down from heaven,
The dead
• and the dead in Christ will rise first.
We who are alive and the dead
• 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together
with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall
always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore, console one another with
these words.

11. Second Reading: 1 Thess 4,13-18
• 13 We do not want you to be
unaware, brothers, about those
who have fallen asleep, so that
you may not grieve like the rest,
who have no hope. 14 For if we
believe that Jesus died and rose,
so too will God, through Jesus,
bring with him those who have
fallen asleep. 15 Indeed, we tell
you this, on the word of the Lord,
that we who are alive, who are
left until the coming of the Lord,
will surely not precede those who
have fallen asleep. 16 For the
Lord himself, with a word of
command, with the voice of an
archangel and with the trumpet of
God, will come down from
heaven, and the dead in Christ
will rise first. 17 Then we who
are alive, who are left, will be
caught up together with them in
the clouds to meet the Lord in the
air. Thus we shall always be with
the Lord. 18 Therefore, console
one another with these words.
Commentary:
• Paul handles a problem posed by the
Thessalonians regarding the second
coming of Christ.
• The problem: what will happen to the
dead when Jesus comes again?
• In v.13, Paul clarifies what will happen to
the dead (fallen asleep) when Christ
comes again, to dispel sadness over
their dead loved ones.
• In v.14, Paul says that the dead, too, will
benefit from Christ’s coming.
• We who are alive will not be much better
off than those who have gone ahead of
us. V.15
• The dead will rise at Christ’s command,
at the voice of an archangel and with the
trumpet of God (concrete sound bytes).
V.16
• Together, all of us will meet the Lord.
V.18
• His explanation should console the
Thessalonians. V.19

12. Reflections on the 2nd reading
• We should not worry about the dead on the last
day.
• God will take care of them.
• What we should worry about is how we live right
now and how we will die.
• Are we living in Christ (in grace)?
• Shall we die in Christ so that we will rise again?
Take note v.16.
• We should worry if we are not living righteous
lives.

13. Gospel Reading: Matthew 25,1-13
• 1 Jesus told his disciples this parable: The kingdom of
heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went
out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and
five were wise. 3 The foolish ones, when taking their lamps,
brought no oil with them, 4 but the wise brought flasks of oil
with their lamps. 5 Since the bridegroom was long delayed,
they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 At midnight, there
was a cry, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'
7 Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. 8
The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil,
for our lamps are going out.' 9 But the wise ones replied,
'No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead
to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.' 10 While
they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who
were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the
door was locked. 11 Afterwards the other virgins came and
said, 'Lord, Lord, open the door for us!' 12 But he said in
reply, 'Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.' 13 Therefore,
stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

14. Gospel Reading: Matthew 25,1-13
• 1 Then the kingdom of heaven will be like
ten virgins who took their lamps and went
out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them
were foolish and five were wise. 3 The
foolish ones, when taking their lamps,
brought no oil with them, 4 but the wise
brought flasks of oil with their lamps. 5
Since the bridegroom was long delayed,
they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6
At midnight, there was a cry, 'Behold, the
bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' 7
Then all those virgins got up and trimmed
their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the
wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our
lamps are going out.' 9 But the wise ones
replied, 'No, for there may not be enough
for us and you. Go instead to the
merchants and buy some for yourselves.'
10 While they went off to buy it, the
bridegroom came and those who were
ready went into the wedding feast with him.
Then the door was locked. 11 Afterwards
the other virgins came and said, 'Lord,
Lord, open the door for us!' 12 But he said
in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, I do not know
you.' 13 Therefore, stay awake, for you
know neither the day nor the hour.
Commentary
• The title of the story
is the Parable of the
Foolish and Wise
Virgins.
• It points to what the
Kingdom of God is
like right now and in
the end of time.
• The parable
teaches the
listeners to be
WISE, which is
translated into
vigilance, always
ready for any
eventuality.

15. Reflections on the gospel reading
• We might be virgins, but we should not act like
the foolish virgins.
• We cannot enter God’s kingdom if we are
irresponsible.
• We must imitate the wise virgins who take
things seriously, who are prepared to meet the
Lord.
• They don’t scramble (cram) for things, when it
is time to act.
• Many of us fail in our appointments /
commitments, because we do not prepare (we
do not do our homework). We only prepare when it is
time to work.
• We cannot make God and others wait for us.
We are not gods.
• Let us stop being foolish!

16. Tying the 3 readings and the Psalm
• WE can adopt WISDOM as the focus of the three
readings.
• The first reading talks about the activities and fruits of
wisdom.
• The psalm talks about the wisdom in praying to God.
• The second reading describes how wisdom is at work
with Paul in trying to solve the problem of the
Thessalonians.
• The gospel reading suggests that we should not act like
the foolish virgins.

17. How to develop your homily and sharing
• Start your homily with your experience / your struggles to
be wise and knowledgeable or how foolish you were (are)
• Then relate your experience with the message of the
readings (you may talk about your conversion / realizations,
your becoming wise, when you were natauhan).
In your homily, you may ask your audience:
Are you a virgin? Foolish or wise?

18. • The gospel reading definitely teaches us, virgins
or not, to act wisely.
• To act wisely is to be prepared to respond or
cope with any eventuality.
• We must be prepared to welcome God when he
appears.
• He appears to us when he talks to us in his word
and sacrament.
• He comes to us through the people in need,
when there are tragedies and crises, when there
are appeals for help from our leaders and from
the poor.

19. • Acting foolishly is to live as if there is no
tomorrow.
• To act foolishly is to drown ourselves with our
own affairs, without due regard to God’s
concerns (promotion of justice, peace and integrity).
• God has no place for foolish people in his
kingdom.

20. • The first reading asks us to be keen on having or
possessing wisdom.
• It is like a person who attracts those who are
interested in it.
• Wisdom trains us to be prudent.
• With wisdom, we can not be disappointed.
• When we have wisdom, we don’t allow anything
to happen by chance. We use our brains.
• We are not fatalistic when we have wisdom.

21. • In the second reading, Paul clarifies with his
wisdom (in theology) what will really happen
with the dead when Christ comes again.
• The issue is not easy to handle. It concerns
about the unknown future.
• Can we also make tentative theological
conclusions, based on our reflections on the
mystery of Christ?
• Do we have wisdom to formulate statements
like that of Paul?
• When we evangelize and work hard for God,
we will have a lot of wisdom.

22. • In our churches, we should eradicate
foolishness and require people to act with
wisdom.
• We do this by imposing ongoing formations.
• Too bad that we have allowed our churches to
be controlled, demeaned by simpletons
– who don’t read the Bible, don’t attend ongoing
formations
– who don’t receive the sacraments
– who don’t believe in the Church’s teachings, or
– who don’t know the Church’s doctrines.

23. • Acting with wisdom requires people to keep
abreast with the latest theological trends and the
signs of the times.
• We cannot act with wisdom if we are isolated
from the community, from the Church, from the
poor, and from our authorized shepherds.

24. • The eucharist is a sacrament that makes
us wise.
• The eucharist is only for those who act
wisely according to God’s plan.
• The eucharist opens the doors for us to
heaven.

25. Our Context of Sin and Grace
• Rush decisions
• Fatalistic
• No interest in reading,
listening to experts
• No ongoing formation
• Outdated theology
and knowledge
• Insists what is
obsolete
• Discerning
• Prudent
• Wise
• Open
• Well-prepared,
delivers services with
chin up high

26. Suggested Songs
• When We Eat
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2PB-2sLAEU
• Sharing
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1ij6D6EyeI