Hastening with Lighted Lamps
Collect
Grant that your people, we pray, almighty God, may be ever watchful for the coming of your Only Begotten Son, that, as the author of our salvation himself has taught us, we may hasten, alert and with lighted lamps, to meet him when he comes. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
Hasten and Be Alert with Lighted Lamps
Today’s Mass Collect reminds me of the Gospel reading a few weeks back concerning the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins:
Then the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those maidens rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you; go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut. Afterward the other maidens came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
Matthew 25:1-13 RSV
The Collect today is urging us to be alert with lighted lamps so we can meet Him when He comes. Living out our Christian faith demands watchfulness and readiness. It is not enough to be on the “inside” of the Kingdom (the Church)—we have to be on watch by doing good works and living a life of charity. Peter reminds us to “be sober, be watchful. [Our] adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour.”
St. Augustine writes:
Watch with the heart, watch with faith, watch with love, watch with charity, watch with good works […]; make ready the lamps, make sure they do not go out […], renew them with the inner oil of an upright conscience; then shall the Bridegroom enfold you in the embrace of his love and bring you into His banquet room, where your lamp can never be extinguished.
St. Augustine, Sermon §90
In this Advent season, let us find solace in the peace of Christ's Sacred Heart, a refuge from the world's turmoil and anxiety. In His Sacred Heart, we gain the strength and tranquility to remain vigilant for His coming. Let us not allow the usual challenges of our Christian journey—the disappointments, periods of spiritual emptiness, betrayals, or dryness in devotion—to hinder our readiness for His arrival. It is through our steadfast faithfulness that we prepare ourselves to welcome Him when He comes.
Today’s Mass Offertory
Be pleased, O Lord, with our humble prayers and offerings, and, since we have no merits to plead our cause, come, we pray, to our rescue with the protection of your mercy. Through Christ our Lord.
