Vatican City, Nov 8, 2020 / 08:40 am
Pope Francis said Sunday that it is important not to forget that at the end of one's life there will be "a definitive appointment with God."
"If we want to be ready for the final encounter with the Lord, we must cooperate with Him now and perform good deeds inspired by His love," Pope Francis said in his Angelus address Nov. 8.
"Being wise and prudent means not waiting until the last moment to correspond to God's grace, but to do so actively and immediately, starting right now," he told pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square.
The pope reflected on Sunday's Gospel from chapter 25 of the Gospel of Matthew in which Jesus tells a parable of ten virgins invited to a wedding feast. Pope Francis said that in this parable the wedding feast is a symbol of the Kingdom of heaven, and that at Jesus' time it was customary for weddings to be celebrated at night, which is why the virgins needed to remember to bring oil for their lamps.