21st Friday in Ordinary time, yr 1 September 1, 2023
1 Thes 4:1-8; Ps 97:1-2,5-6,10-12; Mt 25:1-13
On August 6, 2015, Pope Francis declared today to be the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. It is a time for us to reaffirm our personal vocations to be stewards of creation, and to thank God for the wonderful handiwork He created that we know as our home, the Earth. A time for us to implore our God for help in protecting His creation and for pardon of our sins committed against the world in which we live.
I totally agree. We have done much damage to our environment, not only physically, but in our sins against humanity. St. Paul lays it out in his letter to the Thessalonians, “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 you are conducting yourselves-you do so even more.” Paul goes on to say that our holiness is what matters most; that we should refrain from all those things that breed immorality, both physically against the earth, and against ourselves and those around us.
One does not have to look too far in the world today to see this. Immorality is everywhere, from the TV shows we watch, to the information we glean off the internet, to the garbage we see alongside the road. It is sometimes hard to watch, and we get weary. We get worn down, but God is there. In the psalm today we hear: “The Lord loves those who hate evil; He guards the lives of the faithful ones.” Brother and Sisters, you are those faithful ones, you are the ones who hate evil. Believe it and live it out.
Jesus tells the story of the wise virgins who built up their faith by preparing, unlike the ones who wasted their treasures. Today is the day we give thanks to God for being loved by Him, and for being there for us as we stand up for what is right. Let us be like the wise virgins, who are ready and waiting and doing the right things. Let us be the ones whom Jesus says, “Welcome my beloved, I have been waiting for you. Come, enter into the banquet.”
Saint James Catholic Church 