Vatican City, Nov 12, 2017 / 05:36 am
On Sunday Pope Francis encouraged people not to wait to reflect on their lives, but to ask themselves: If this was my last day on earth, am I prepared? Am I cooperating with God's grace?
"It would be nice to think a little bit: one day will be the last. If it was today, am I prepared?" he asked Nov. 12. "Here, therefore, is the meaning of being wise and prudent: it is not to wait for the last moment of our life to cooperate with the grace of God, but to do it already, from now."
The basis of the Pope's Angelus reflection on preparing for the Kingdom of Heaven was the day's Gospel passage of the parable of the ten virgins: five wise and five foolish.
In the parable, which he said, "tells us the condition to enter the Kingdom of Heaven," we hear the story of five virgins who are wise and prudent, bringing oil for their lamps while they wait for the bridegroom. The other five, however, are foolish and are not prepared with oil.