20261108 PILGRIMS ON EARTH, WITNESSES OF HOPE
08 November 2026, Sunday, 31st Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Wisdom 6:12-16 |
Wisdom is found by those who look for her
Wisdom is bright, and does not grow dim.
By those who love her she is readily seen,
and found by those who look for her.
Quick to anticipate those who desire her, she makes herself known to them.
Watch for her early and you will have no trouble;
you will find her sitting at your gates.
Even to think about her is understanding fully grown;
be on the alert for her and anxiety will quickly leave you.
She herself walks about looking for those who are worthy of her
and graciously shows herself to them as they go,
in every thought of theirs coming to meet them.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 62(63):2-8 |
For you my soul is thirsting, O God, my God.
O God, you are my God, for you I long;
for you my soul is thirsting.
My body pines for you
like a dry, weary land without water.
For you my soul is thirsting, O God, my God.
So I gaze on you in the sanctuary
to see your strength and your glory.
For your love is better than life,
my lips will speak your praise.
For you my soul is thirsting, O God, my God.
So I will bless you all my life,
in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul shall be filled as with a banquet,
my mouth shall praise you with joy.
For you my soul is thirsting, O God, my God.
On my bed I remember you.
On you I muse through the night
for you have been my help;
in the shadow of your wings I rejoice.
For you my soul is thirsting, O God, my God.
Second reading |
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 |
Do not grieve about those who have died in Jesus
We want you to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have died, to make sure that you do not grieve about them, like the other people who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus: God will bring them with him. We can tell you this from the Lord’s own teaching, that any of us who are left alive until the Lord’s coming will not have any advantage over those who have died. At the trumpet of God, the voice of the archangel will call out the command and the Lord himself will come down from heaven; those who have died in Christ will be the first to rise, and then those of us who are still alive will be taken up in the clouds, together with them; to meet the Lord in the air. So we shall stay with the Lord for ever. With such thoughts as these you should comfort one another.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt24:42 44 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake and stand ready,
because you do not know the hour
when the Son of Man is coming.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 25:1-13 |
The wise and foolish virgins
Jesus told this parable to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of heaven will be like this: Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were sensible: the foolish ones did take their lamps, but they brought no oil, whereas the sensible ones took flasks of oil as well as their lamps. The bridegroom was late, and they all grew drowsy and fell asleep. But at midnight there was a cry, “The bridegroom is here! Go out and meet him.” At this, all those bridesmaids woke up and trimmed their lamps, and the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, “Give us some of your oil: our lamps are going out.” But they replied, “There may not be enough for us and for you; you had better go to those who sell it and buy some for yourselves.” They had gone off to buy it when the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding hall and the door was closed. The other bridesmaids arrived later. “Lord, Lord,” they said “open the door for us.” But he replied, “I tell you solemnly, I do not know you.” So stay awake, because you do not know either the day or the hour.’
PILGRIMS ON EARTH, WITNESSES OF HOPE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Wis 6:12-16; Ps 63:2-8; 1 Th 4:13-18 (or >< 4:13-14); Mt 25:1-13]
What is wisdom? Divine Wisdom has nothing to do with intellectual or philosophical knowledge. Wisdom is when we understand the ultimate truth of what life is all about and how to live it. This is why, in the first reading, we are called to seek wisdom: “Watch for her early and you will have no trouble; you will find her sitting at your gates. Even to think about her is understanding fully grown; be on the alert for her and anxiety will quickly leave you. She herself walks about looking for those who are worthy of her and graciously shows herself to them as they go, in every thought of theirs coming to meet them.”
True wisdom begins with an awareness of one’s soul. The reason why many do not live a life of wisdom is simply because we are unspiritual beings. “For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Cor 2:12, 14) St. Augustine shared with us that our soul is restless until it rests in God. Hence, we need to thirst like the psalmist, who says: “O God, you are my God, for you I long; for you my soul is thirsting. My body pines for you like a dry, weary land without water.”
Once we are aware that we have a soul, we know we are different from other creatures on earth. We are created uniquely to share in the life of God–this is what it means to be created in His image and likeness. This means our life is more than just our existence on earth. This explains why we all desire to live forever, not just physically, but to live fully, sharing in God’s love and joy.
We are, therefore, only pilgrims on earth, just passing through a life that is short, whereas eternity is forever. As the psalmist says: “You sweep them away; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning; in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.” (Ps 90:5-6)
So, a wise person understands who he is, where he is going, and his purpose on this earth while in exile. In our times, we have gone from one extreme to the other. Before the 1900s, there was so much talk about the last things of life: death, judgment, hell, and paradise. The expectation of the Lord’s coming was very real, largely due to poverty, disease, suffering, and wars. There was a certain hopelessness in the world, and people expected that God would intervene soon.
In today’s world, we have swung to the opposite extreme, where death, judgment, hell, and even paradise are denied. There is no expectation of living beyond this life because of agnosticism and atheism. Consequently, instead of living in expectancy of the fullness of life to come, people live only for today. It is all about enjoying life to the fullest; if there is a next life, that would be good, but most likely there isn’t anything, so “don’t miss out on life–grab it and make the best of it for there is no tomorrow.” This explains why the present generation differs so much from Generation X or the baby boomers: the former lives only for today, whilst the latter prepares for tomorrow.
Yet, our faith tells us that eternity is waiting for us. As Christians, therefore, we do not live as if we are without hope. This is what St. Paul told the Christians: “We want you to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have died, to make sure that you do not grieve about them, like the other people who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus: God will bring them with him.” As Christians, our hope in eternal life–not just immortality, but a resurrected life–is rooted in Christ, who died and rose again. He is the foundation of our Christian hope.
In Christ, therefore, we have absolute assurance about tomorrow. We live in an unpredictable world where nothing is certain except the reality of death. This uncertainty about our future can rob us of joy and meaning when we realise we will eventually depart from our loved ones and all that we have built over the years. But for us Christians, we have a certain hope and future in Christ.
This is not just wishful thinking for those who have died, but also for those of us still alive. St. Paul assures us: “Those who have died in Christ will be the first to rise, and then those of us who are still alive will be taken up in the clouds, together with them, to meet the Lord in the air. So we shall stay with the Lord for ever. With such thoughts as these you should comfort one another.” For those who know Christ, grief and hopelessness are transformed into hope. Death is not the final word; rather, we will meet our loved ones together in Christ in the next life. Death is not the end of everything, but a joyous reunion with all those who have gone before us.
Recognising this truth does not distract us from our commitment to this life, especially to the service of our brothers and sisters.Instead, it helps us take this life seriously–unlike those who simply wait passively for the next life, or those who live solely for the present. A true Christian lives this life to the full in anticipation of the fullness of life that is to come after death. The wisdom of God, as given in His Word, reminds us that our time on earth is short. Therefore, we must live a life of true wisdom by using the goods of the world while orientating them toward the things of heaven.
In other words, St. Augustine’s precept of “ordered love” tells us that we must desire the things of this world in the right proportion and hierarchy, always prioritising God as the ultimate good. St. Ignatius, in a similar vein, gives us the principle and foundation of life: “The human person is created to praise, reverence and serve God our Lord, and by doing so to save his or her soul; and it is for the human person that the other things on the face of the earth are created, as helps to the pursuit of this end. It follows from this that the person has to use these things insofar as they help towards this end, and to be free of them insofar as they stand in the way of it.“
Within this context, we read the parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, because they represent all of us. From the moment of our baptism, we are invited to the nuptial feast in heaven. We must therefore prepare ourselves for that great moment when we welcome Jesus, our bridegroom, which will take place at the hour of our death or at the end of time. Until then, we must use the life we have been given to prepare ourselves to meet Him.
Unfortunately, like many Christians, although we are given the means to prepare to welcome Christ, we are often negligent in our spiritual lives. Like the foolish bridesmaids, we fail to provide ourselves with sufficient oil to light our lamps to welcome the bridegroom. We do not make full use of the sacraments given to us by Christ–especially the Eucharist and Reconciliation–nor the Word of God and the devotions provided by the Church. We often make little effort to live a life of charity and truth in our relationships with others.
Indeed, it is a lost opportunity. Like the bridesmaids, we have been given grace, opportunity, and the oil to do good. The story of the five foolish bridesmaids reminds us that through our own negligence and complacency, we may not be prepared to face the challenges and trials of life. Often, when our spiritual life is weak, we cannot handle crises creatively and positively; instead, we succumb to fear and anger.
The sad reality is that we cannot blame anyone else, because each of us must face our trials personally. People can support us, but in the final analysis, we cannot borrow the oil of merit from others. This is particularly true when we are called to face God as our Judge.
It is one thing to begin the Christian life well by believing in Jesus or responding to our vocation; it is quite another to commit ourselves faithfully to the Lord and our vocation over time. Some of us may get tired of doing good (cf. Gal 6:9). But we do not have to do it alone. As St. Paul says, “With such thoughts as these you should comfort one another.” It is vital that we support each other and belong to the right community of friends who can encourage us to remain strong and faithful to the Lord.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
