I read
Bishop Knecht’s commentary on the
10 virgins. I understand what he is saying about the story itself. What I
am not getting is how it compares with stories of God’s mercy. The five
virgins that initially weren’t prepared did go and prepare and knocked
on the door. They were refused. How does it all fit into the parable about
the sheep being found? Are the five virgins sheep that were found? Maybe
I am being dense, but it seems like a contradiction to the other stories
I am familiar with. It has me confused and there must be an aspect of all
of it that I have missed.
 here’s an old saying about
not trying to compare apples and oranges. It has something to do with the
fact that even though an apple and an orange may have the same basic geometrical
shape, the two fruits are different in regard to all their other
qualities.
So, in regard to your question,
let’s say that it’s important not to confuse sheep and
virgins.
In other parables, the
lost sheep are those persons who are lost in
sin and need to be called back to the Church, where,
through their repentance they can find
forgiveness for their sins.
In this Parable of the Ten
Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), the virgins represent those persons already
in the Church, and, as Bishop Knecht so astutely explains, this is a parable
about the necessity of both faith and good works in a Christian
life.
All of the virgins carry the
lamp of faith as they await the coming of the bridegroom. But the groom is
delayed; the virgins fall asleep, and while they sleep, their lamps consume
oil. Then the bridegroom arrives unexpectedly. And at this point we see the
difference between the foolish virgins and the wise virgins. The foolish
virgins, caught by surprise, and not having extra oil, must go off to acquire
more oil. The wise virgins, having brought extra oil with them, were ready
to be received into the wedding.
Now, the oil represents the oil
of good works, and the intent of the parable is
to remind us that because death often arrives unexpectedly, we must never
become lax in keeping the Faith through the good
works of sacrifice, obedience, and
prayer.
The foolish virgins, therefore,
represent lukewarm Christians through the ages who hold their faith only
intellectually and fail to nourish it with constant
prayer, penance, and sacrifice for others. Thus they will be locked out of
heaven because of their lack of preparedness for
heaven.[1]
And why wouldn’t the wise
virgins share their oil with the foolish virgins? The answer is simple: each
person is personally responsible for his or her
own salvation. No attempt to borrow on the good
works of others at the last minute will save you from what you have failed
to do yourself during the course of your life.
Notes
1. In the technical sense, Christ doesn’t
lock anyone out of heaven; souls lock themselves out through their own behavior.
It’s very similar to the Parable of the Wedding Banquet (Matthew
22:1-14), in which one man, by refusing to put on the wedding garment provided
for him by the King, is bound and cast out into the darkness. Thus those
who refuse the garment of sanctifying grace given in baptism essentially
remain bound in sin and cast themselves into the darkness of eternal
separation from God.
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