{"id":66,"date":"2026-11-06T17:44:15","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T17:44:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.menofstjoseph.com\/blog\/?p=66"},"modified":"2026-11-06T17:44:15","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T17:44:15","slug":"sunday-november-8-2026-reflection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.menofstjoseph.com\/blog\/2026\/11\/06\/sunday-november-8-2026-reflection\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday November 8, 2026 Reflection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Don’t Just Carry the Lamp<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nothing changes until suddenly everything changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We see it in everyday life. We spend time preparing for projects, planning trips, and making sure the details are in order. We know that preparation matters, especially when something unexpected happens. Yet how much thought do we give to preparing for the one moment we know will eventually come, but cannot schedule?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this Sunday’s Gospel from Matthew 25:1\u201313, Jesus uses a familiar wedding custom to teach a much deeper lesson. Ten young women await the bridegroom, whose arrival time is uncertain. Each carries a small clay oil lamp, with olive oil feeding a wick through its spout. When the bridegroom arrives, they are expected to light their lamps and join the procession to the wedding celebration. Five bring extra oil; five do not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is striking is that, outwardly, all ten appear equally prepared. They all have lamps, they all wait, and they all fall asleep. The difference between the wise and foolish was settled long before they closed their eyes. The oil was something hidden from casual observation, just as much of our spiritual lives is hidden from others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, suddenly, everything changes. The bridegroom arrives, and what seemed like plenty of time is gone. The foolish realize they are unprepared and ask the wise to share their oil. But spiritual preparedness cannot be borrowed. No one can believe for us, nurture our relationship with God for us, or live a faithful life on our behalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus uses the bridegroom to represent Himself and the uncertain arrival to remind us that we do not know the day or hour of His coming. The oil has been understood as representing faith, the Holy Spirit, or faithful obedience. Regardless of the interpretation, the message is the same: our relationship with God must be cultivated personally and consistently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nothing changes until suddenly everything changes. While we wait, what we do may seem to have no immediate consequence. But when the waiting is over, what was later becomes right now.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Gospel challenges me personally. I spend considerable time preparing for the practical demands of life. Yet I have to ask myself: Am I putting the same effort into preparing my soul?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attending Mass, spending time in adoration, and participating in our brotherhood are important. But they must be accompanied by a daily commitment to prayer, faith, and living as Christ calls us to live. These aren’t simply activities to check off a list. They are ways we grow in our relationship with Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While we wait, what we do may seem to have no immediate consequence. But when the waiting is over, what was later becomes right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My prayer is that when my time comes, I will not be scrambling to find the oil I should have been gathering all along. I want to be ready to meet the Lord, not because I waited until the last moment, but because I spent my life growing in relationship with Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The challenge is simple: Don’t just carry a lamp. Make sure you have the oil.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

— Bill Mersch<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Don’t Just Carry the Lamp Nothing changes until suddenly everything changes. We see it in everyday life. We spend time preparing for projects, planning trips, and making sure the details are in order. We know that preparation matters, especially when something unexpected happens. Yet how much thought do we give to preparing for the one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.menofstjoseph.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.menofstjoseph.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.menofstjoseph.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.menofstjoseph.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.menofstjoseph.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.menofstjoseph.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67,"href":"https:\/\/www.menofstjoseph.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66\/revisions\/67"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.menofstjoseph.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.menofstjoseph.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.menofstjoseph.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}