A meditation a sister gave in an online discernment was that they used olive oil for their lamp, and in order to make them, the olives needed to be crushed, so we could think that the wise ones underwent a crushing of themselves. They allowed the Lord to work in them and through them in order to produce oil so they can participate fully in the celebration with the bridegroom. Whereas perhaps i thought the foolish ones were overcome with fear or maybe they had acedia or something which lead them to not bring with them any spare oil for them see him. So we could say that they lived their lives in accordance to the will of God and that they prepared for the Time and didn’t let fear stop them from doing so.
This sort of awoke in me a sense of urgency—that I can’t and don’t want to be foolish in living my life because, well, I would very much like to see and be with our Lord and it gives a sense of courage to act on His will.
(Pardon if i seem all over the place)
Have you guys ever meditated on this parable from our Lord? I’d like to hear you thoughts on it if you wanna share it. Also, do you think its possible that the wise maidens could’ve shared their extra flask? Spritually,
do you there’s meaning behind when they told the foolish ones to go and buy one?
@miwmiw
July 29, 2026
The Parable of the Ten Maidens
5 comments
5 Comments
Want to reply?
@r0bertJul 30English Lit was never my strong suit, so I always appreciate the passages where the disciples as Jesus to explain the parable directly. I get lost in how to interpret parables otherwise. That being said, I was curious to see what the famous theologians (Sts. Augustine, Gregory the Great, Thomas Acquinas, etc) have said about this parable:
The oil cannot be shared because it represents the interior life and virtue (like charity). One cannot transfer the love of God to another person like a material possession that can be divided. We cannot give another person our own sanctifying grace or personal holiness.
They also interpret that this parable represents the time of Judgement, and the period of mercy is in this life. One cannot perform charity after judgement has begun. “Buy” is interpreted as acquiring virtue during earthly life through cooperation with God’s grace.
These wise saints inspire me to reads their writings.
The oil cannot be shared because it represents the interior life and virtue (like charity). One cannot transfer the love of God to another person like a material possession that can be divided. We cannot give another person our own sanctifying grace or personal holiness.
They also interpret that this parable represents the time of Judgement, and the period of mercy is in this life. One cannot perform charity after judgement has begun. “Buy” is interpreted as acquiring virtue during earthly life through cooperation with God’s grace.
These wise saints inspire me to reads their writings.
@r0bertJul 30St. Augustine of Hippo — Sermon 93 (On the Ten Virgins)
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=3403
* St. John Chrysostom — Homily 78 on the Gospel of Matthew
https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/200178.htm
* St. Thomas Aquinas — Catena Aurea on Matthew 25
https://www.ccel.org/ccel/aquinas/catena1
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=3403
* St. John Chrysostom — Homily 78 on the Gospel of Matthew
https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/200178.htm
* St. Thomas Aquinas — Catena Aurea on Matthew 25
https://www.ccel.org/ccel/aquinas/catena1
@miwmiwJul 30@r0bert Woah, this is awesome!
@lucaJul 30Amazing interpretation!
@misericordiaJul 30Beautiful reflections! Agree with both of your reflections. For me, it really inspires me to work on my interior life now that we have this time of Mercy and to not let God's graces go in vain.
