Gospel (Mt 25,1-13) - At that time, 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 groom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise; the foolish ones took their lamps, but did not take the oil with them; the wise ones, however, together with their lamps, also took oil in small vessels. Since the groom was late, they all dozed off and fell asleep. At midnight a cry went up: “Here is the groom! Go and meet him!”. Then all those virgins awoke and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise ones: "Give us a little of your oil, because our lamps are going out." The wise ones replied: “No, so that we and you may not fail; go instead to the sellers and buy some for yourselves.” Now, while they went to buy oil, the groom arrived and the virgins who were ready entered with him to the wedding, and the door was closed. Later the other virgins also arrived and began to say: "Lord, lord, open to us!". But he replied: “Truly I say to you, I do not know you.” Therefore keep watch, for you know neither the day nor the hour."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

The reading of the last part of the Gospel of Matthew brings us today the parable of the ten women who await the arrival of the groom. The evangelist notes that five of them are foolish and the others wise. Wisdom, according to the narrative, consists in taking with you not only the lamp with its ordinary supply of oil but also other reserve oil. Those ten women are therefore all of us, often locked into a stingy and sleepy way of life, without big dreams and great ideals. After all, often for us the important thing is to stay calm, not have any trouble, problems or hassles. Or we worry above all about our own things; we worry and persist in defending ourselves. This is the night of a gray life, always the same, without flashes of lights, without stars; it is the night of widespread selfishness that arises from the depths of everyone's heart, wise or foolish, it does not matter. But on this night a cry suddenly arises announcing the arrival of the groom. What is this cry? It is the cry that rises from the distant lands of poor countries, it is the cry that comes from peoples at war, it is the cry of the lonely elderly who ask for company, it is the cry of the increasingly numerous and abandoned poor, it is the cry of those who sink into 'anguish; and it is also the cry of the Gospel. If we do not have that extra oil in our hearts, that is, a little of the evangelical energy, we will neither respond nor be able to accompany nor will we enter into a happy life because it is full of meaning.