Reading 1
1 Thes 4:1-8
Brothers and sisters,
we earnestly ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that,
as you received from us
how you should conduct yourselves to please God?
and as you are conducting yourselves?
you do so even more.
For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
This is the will of God, your holiness:
that you refrain from immorality,
that each of you know how to acquire a wife for himself
in holiness and honor, not in lustful passion
as do the Gentiles who do not know God;
not to take advantage of or exploit a brother or sister in this matter,
for the Lord is an avenger in all these things,
as we told you before and solemnly affirmed.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 97:1 and 2b, 5-6, 10, 11-12R. (12a)
Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
Justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the LORD of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The LORD loves those who hate evil;
he guards the lives of his faithful ones;
from the hand of the wicked he delivers them.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
Light dawns for the just;
and gladness, for the upright of heart.
Be glad in the LORD, you just,
and give thanks to his holy name.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
Gospel
Mt 25:1-13
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.
Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
The foolish ones, when taking their lamps,
brought no oil with them,
but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.
Since the bridegroom was long delayed,
they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
At midnight, there was a cry,
"Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!"
Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.
The foolish ones said to the wise,
"Give us some of your oil,
for our lamps are going out."
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."
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.
Afterwards the other virgins came and said,
"Lord, Lord, open the door for us!"
But he said in reply,
"Amen, I say to you, I do not know you."
Meditation: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
God did not call us to impurity but to holiness.” (1 Thessalonians 4:7)
Moved by his affection for them, Paul urged the Thessalonians to hold fast to all that he had told them. Judging from this passage, it seems that he didn’t tell them only about faith in Jesus Christ but also about personal issues as well. It seems that Paul had been forced to leave Thessalonica hastily while still in the early stages of establishing the community there (Acts 17:1-14). He knew that the new believers— most of whom came from a pagan background—lacked much basic teaching. So he tried to fill in some of the missing pieces through his letter.
Though strong in their faith and love, some of these new converts had not fully understood that the message of salvation carried with it practical implications for everyday life, including such matters as sexual conduct. So Paul reminded them of God’s design for human sexuality and exhorted them to avoid immoral behavior. God is holy, and he wants his people to be holy too!
This wasn’t always easy. Thessalonica was the most cosmopolitan city in the province of Macedonia. Every day the believers there faced temptations against the purity and holiness God called them to. And it’s not so different today. Sex outside of marriage is widely accepted. Pornography has become commonplace. Contraceptive “medicine” that causes abortions is gaining acceptance. In such an environment, we can find it very difficult to remain pure and chaste.
All is not lost. God has given us his Spirit to empower us against sin and safeguard our purity. And even if we should fall, we can receive mercy and healing, as well as the grace to try harder next time. It can be so tempting to give in to the culture and dismiss sexual sin as “not so bad.” But God knows that such sins can strike at the heart of who we are, whittling away at our self-worth and self-esteem. So never stop fighting the good fight. We really can live in the freedom and dignity of a chaste life.
“Holy Spirit, purify my heart so that I can live a life pleasing to God. Help me to turn aside from sin, and strengthen all that is good in me. Give me grace to live in your purity now, so that I may live forever with you.”
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