De decem virginibus

De decem virginibus

After the Lord revealed certain things regarding the judgment and warned us to stay alert, He describes the judgment itself. And because the whole of humanity to be judged is divided into three states—namely, those who are active, those who are contemplative, and those who are prelates—He therefore sets forth three parables that pertain to these three groups. The first is about the ten virgins, and it pertains especially to those who live the contemplative life; for virginity signifies the contemplative life, since chastity lifts the mind above carnal things and thus prepares it for the contemplation of truth. The number ten signifies the entirety of those who contemplate, because numbers only go up to ten; or, it is ten because of the observance of the works of the Law. Nevertheless, this parable can be applied to every kind of person, and it sets forth merit and demerit, first regarding the life of those who contemplate, and consequently, that of others as well. Second, the judgment of examination. The Lord truly desires that when He comes, He may find us prepared, so that we may enter the door of the heavenly kingdom with Him, and so that we aren't excluded by the thoughtlessness of foolishness, and the door of the heavenly Bridegroom isn't closed to us; therefore, we must stay awake, because we don't know when the Bridegroom will come. He teaches why it's necessary to stay awake, and to this end, He introduces the parable of the ten virgins. The kingdom of heaven will be like this—that is, the present Church militant, especially regarding the state of those who contemplate, and nonetheless regarding the state of others—the ten virgins, that is, those who are continent. Five of them, however, were foolish, because they served the vanity of the five senses and, not ordering their good works toward the proper end, they sought primarily their own glory, favor, or the praise of men, or profit in them. And five were prudent, because they served the Truth for the sake of eternal things and ordered their good works toward the proper end—namely, primarily toward the glory of God, and consequently toward their own perfection and the edification of their neighbor. The Church is rightly compared to these, because both the good who live religiously and the bad who live superstitiously are contained within her. They are understood through the five wise and five foolish virgins, who signify the five-fold restraint of the senses against the allurements and pleasures of the flesh. For anyone who performs good works for the sake of empty glory or profit is foolish, even if they appear wise. That is why they are called virgins, because they perform good works and are seen as good by men. They are virgins in their actions and in their intention, yet they are corrupt because they do not perform the good they do with a pure and sincere intention; and they are rightly called foolish virgins because they lose the good work itself due to a lack of right intention: for it is a great folly to undertake and sustain difficult and arduous things without fruit or benefit. It's a great folly to fast, to keep watch, to afflict the flesh, to pray, and to do similar things while expecting no other reward than empty glory; for of such people the Lord says, 'They have received their reward.' The wise virgins, however, direct their whole intention toward God and receive their reward from Him, whom alone they desire to please. It's a great wisdom to acquire great things from small ones, and eternal things from temporal ones. The whole world and the entire multitude of the faithful are divided in this way, because, as Jerome says, 'The Holy Church has wise virgins who do good for God, and foolish ones who labor for empty glory.' Let everyone, therefore, see to it that they perform a good work well and with a good intention: for it is not doing good, but doing it well, that is praiseworthy; for we do not earn merit by our words, but by our adverbs—that is, not in the fact that we do something, but in the fact that we do it well. So says Jerome. All these virgins, both the foolish and the wise... They took their lamps—that is, good works of a good kind—and went out to meet the bridegroom and the bride; for the exercise of our life ought to be ordered toward this, so that a person may meet Christ, who is coming to judgment, securely and fittingly. But the five foolish ones, having taken their lamps—that is, their works— did not take oil with them; that is, they lacked the spiritual joy that comes from good works done for God's sake, due to a lack of right intention. For as Augustine says: "Whoever does not rejoice because he is pleasing to God inwardly does not have oil with him." But the wise ones took oil in their vessels—that is, within their consciences—along with their lamps—that is, with their good works. This is, as Augustine also says, because they placed the joy of good works in their heart and conscience, rejoicing in the Lord because their intention in their good works was right. This joy is called oil, because it nourishes and fosters the fire of charity. For it is from the fact that someone finds delight in a work that they perform it more strongly and better, and consequently, they are disposed to have greater charity poured into them. The virgins—both the foolish and the wise—all took oil in their vessels along with their lamps; the foolish, however, took it only in their lamps and not in their vessels, leaving their vessels empty. In the same way, some in the Church take oil in their lamps so they might appear good to others, yet inwardly they are empty of goodness and are evil. Because the Bridegroom—that is, Christ—is delaying the judgment until the number of the elect is complete, all the virgins grew drowsy as far as the weakness of the body is concerned, and they fell asleep. They either fell into the sleep of death, or they slept through sloth and negligence. As Chrysostom says: 'As the end of the age lingers, not only sinners but even the just and the spiritual are prone to fall into negligence and turn toward carnal pleasures, so that the word of the Psalmist may be fulfilled: "Save me, O God, for the holy one has failed; for truths have diminished from among the sons of men."' Death is well compared to sleep, because from death there will be an awakening to life. Then the judgment of examination is set regarding the aforementioned works of those who contemplate and others, when it is said: "At midnight," that is, suddenly, with no one knowing or expecting it; for just as it is, so the day of the Lord will come in the night. Since the time of judgment is hidden from us, it is signified by midnight, because those things that happen at midnight are hidden from people. Therefore, at midnight, a cry was made by the trumpeting angels, waking the dead and calling them to judgment: "Behold, the Bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him." Oh, what a cry that will be, for no soul will be so high in heaven, nor so deep in hell, nor any body in the grave, that it won't hear this cry and tremble! Literally, at midnight. According to some, the judgment will take place in the night. For at the hour when the Angel devastated Egypt and the Lord despoiled hell, at that same hour He will deliver His elect from this world; but, according to others, it is said to be celebrated during the day, because it is written: "That day will be illuminated like the day." Then all the virgins rose—both the foolish and the wise—because all, both good and bad, will rise to appear in judgment; and they trimmed their lamps, that is, they prepared the accounts of their works to be rendered, thinking over and counting up their deeds for which they expected a reward. This kind of adornment is nothing other than a turning back to the mind, reflecting on the justice of one's works, the goodness of the circumstances, and the account that must be given for them; this is common to both the foolish and the wise, but in the foolish it is a vain confidence, while in the wise it is true. The true adornment of the lamp requires three things: the clarity of the glass, which signifies purity regarding oneself; the fullness of the oil, which signifies mercy regarding one's neighbor; and the flame of the fire, which signifies faith with love regarding God—all of which are present in the wise, but lacking in the foolish. The foolish, deceived by their own confidence, said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil.' It was as if they were saying, 'Your justice is enough.' They were essentially saying, 'It is your place to glorify and to excuse us; excuse us, then, or bear witness to the works of ours that you have seen, because we are continent and faithful.' Their lamps were going out—that is, the works that used to shine for them and appear bright to others on the outside were being obscured on the inside at the coming of the Judge, for they were deprived of the oil of true glory and right intention. As Augustine says, those whose deeds are supported only by the praise of others fail when that support is withdrawn. The wise answered, 'Lest there not be enough for us and for you.' This vain request and the negative response signify that no one will be able to run to another, however just, for help, nor will anyone, however just, be able to help another; rather, one's own justice will barely suffice for oneself alone. As Augustine says: "Each person will give an account for themselves; no one will be helped before God by another's testimony, but each will barely be enough for themselves, so that their own conscience may bear witness for them." And Jerome adds: "They say this not out of greed, but out of fear." For everyone will receive their reward for their own works; and on that day of judgment, the virtues of others cannot relieve the vices of others. Go instead to those who sell, and buy for yourselves—as if they were saying to them, in the words of Augustine, while calling their crime to mind: "Let us see now what those who were accustomed to sell you praise, and to lead you into error so that you would seek glory not before God but from men, will do to help you." This is a reproach for their past foolishness, in that they gave away good works for the sake of human praise; for those who sell it are flatterers. It is as if to say to them: "Consider what it is worth." What good is it to you to live continuously for such favor? The phrase 'while they were going to buy' is used figuratively; it means that if they were still alive and could find a way, they would go to buy. According to Augustine, this implies that the attachment and habit of past vanity remain. For while they were leaning toward external things and seeking their usual pleasures, the Bridegroom—that is, Christ the Judge—came to reward the good. Those who were prepared through works formed by charity, namely the wise virgins whose conscience bore good witness before God, as Augustine says, entered with Him into the wedding, which is the glory of the heavenly kingdom. With the foolish excluded and left to their punishment, the door was shut—meaning that access to the kingdom of heaven is no longer possible for anyone after the judgment. The door, I say, is threefold: the door of mercy for forgiveness, which is open to everyone now; the door of grace for earning merit, which is offered to everyone now; and the door of glory for entering in, which is unlocked for all who repent now. Therefore, it is shut. It is shut because the wicked are excluded, the cast-out are locked away, and the works are finished. For, as Augustine says, after the judgment there is no room for prayer or merit. Hence Chrysostom also says: 'That judgment is so terrible that not even innocence can be confident in itself.' There will be such fear for everyone, even the saints, that no one will hope to be found righteous, but will instead fear that they might turn out to be guilty. But. How, then, can the saints intercede for sinners when they themselves are afraid for their own sake? For: Just as the time of mercy does not allow for judgment, so the time of judgment does not allow for mercy; and where mercy has no place, intercession is of no use. Hence Gregory also says: 'Oh, if only one could taste in the palate of the heart what wonder there is in the words: The Bridegroom is coming!' What sweetness in the words: 'They went in with him to the wedding!' What bitterness in the words: 'And the door was shut!' Then the door of the kingdom is shut to those who mourn, which is opened daily to those who repent, because anyone who wastes the time of mercy while it is open will by no means find forgiveness then. There, you cannot earn from the Lord what you ask for if you refused to listen to what He commanded here—so says Gregory. Finally, through a repentance that is far too late and fruitless, the other virgins arrive, saying: "Lord, Lord, open to us." By calling him "Lord," it is signified that they believed in Christ. Jerome says: "There is indeed an excellent confession in the title of 'Lord,' and it is a repeated judgment of faith." But what good is it to call out with your voice if you deny him with your deeds? These things aren't done with words; the conscience speaks for itself. And because their faith was unformed, and according to Augustine, his severity is great after the judgment—a judgment for which unspeakable mercy was offered beforehand—therefore he answers, saying: "Amen I say to you, I do not know you," that is, I do not recognize you with the recognition of approval by which only the elect are known by God. It is as if he were saying: "I abandon you for this reason: because I do not recognize in you the merit of life." He does not know them and rejects them, for according to Augustine, they do not enter into his joy because they did not act before God, but rather appeared to do something according to his commandments so that they might please men. At the end of this parable, he includes the intended conclusion for our instruction. He says: 'Stay awake, therefore, to possess a faith formed by love, and by carefully preparing yourselves for death and judgment before the Bridegroom comes to call you suddenly to this; for you do not know the day or the hour of death or judgment, but you are uncertain of both.' See where the parable leads: because we don't know the day of judgment, and even the day of our own death is uncertain. We must carefully prepare the testimony of a good conscience for ourselves, so that if the Judge finds us unprepared, we do not remain outside the door with the foolish virgins. For the actions of each person will be examined, with their conscience accusing or excusing them. Hence Jerome says: 'From this that he adds: "Stay awake, therefore, for you do not know the day or the hour," all that has been said is understood to be implied, so that because we do not know the day of judgment, we may carefully prepare for ourselves the light of good works; for vigilance is the work of the mind before the death of the body.' But as Augustine says, everyone is ignorant of the day and hour, not only of that final time when the Bridegroom is to come, but also of their own passing. Whoever, however, is prepared until death—which is owed to everyone—will be found prepared even when that voice sounds at midnight, at which we shall all be awakened. As Chrysostom says, let's remember the story of the virgins who were shut out of the Bridegroom’s chamber because they lacked oil. How can we not see ourselves in those who were shut out? And what pain, what fear, should we feel if we consider that we might suffer the same thing when we are negligent? Is there anyone so stone-hearted that they aren't moved by this example and afraid they might suffer the same fate? That is what Chrysostom says. Therefore, let's keep watch, and by doing the works of light in this life, let's trim our lamps and our deeds; so that, having oil—that is, glory and joy in our consciences—we may be prepared to enter with the Bridegroom into the wedding feast of the heavenly kingdom. Hence Chrysostom says that the Jews, when they were about to leave Egypt, were ordered to eat the lamb while ready and girded, showing us that whoever eats the Eucharist of our Lamb must be just as ready, as if they were to leave the world that very day. This parable points to this: that we may open the eyes of our heart to the future, escape evil by abandoning our guilt, and earn the good. Let us pursue justice; and with all diligence, let us wait daily for the coming of the Lord, whose day and hour we do not know. Gregory says: "Because God accepts repentance after sins, if everyone knew when they would leave this life, they might set aside one time for pleasure and another for repentance; but He who promises forgiveness to the penitent has not promised tomorrow to the sinner." Therefore, we must always fear our final day, which we can never foresee. We must always keep that hour of our departure in view and place this warning from the Redeemer before our minds: 'Stay awake, therefore, because you do not know the day or the hour.' So says Gregory. Those who wait until the final hour to be converted may be deceived, but those who persevere in good cannot be. For every person is judged in the state in which they are found; therefore, those who are always found in good are never judged except in good. Therefore, as Richard says, the perfect soul, which is constantly devoted to the contemplation of the highest things, ought at every hour of its pilgrimage to keep the end in view... ...to await the departure of this life with its own longing; to suspend its mind toward that spectacle of divine contemplation which we hope for in the life to come; and in such expectation, to pant with vehement desire, so that it may deserve to see face-to-face that which it meanwhile sees through a mirror and in a riddle. PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, good Spouse, grant that I may perform good works and act with a right intention alongside the wise virgins, and that I may vigilantly persevere in them, so that, being found prepared, I may be able to enter joyfully into Your wedding feast. Lord, I ask that You let me know my end before it comes, and don't let my life finish before You have forgiven my sins. At the hour of my passing, keep divine vengeance from falling upon me, and don't let the power of darkness meet or harm me; instead, may the day of judgment find me just as the font of regeneration first made me. Amen.