Saint Paul gives us the centre of the Christian faith today:
“We preach Christ crucified.”
Not Christ adjusted to the spirit of the age.
Christ crucified.
To the world, the Cross looks like failure.
To human pride, it looks foolish.
But Saint Paul says that Christ crucified is “the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
That is the great reversal of Christianity.
The world says strength means avoiding weakness.
Christ conquers by accepting the Cross.
The world says wisdom means protecting yourself.
Christ saves by giving Himself away.
The world says life is found by grasping.
Christ teaches that life is found by sacrifice.
Saint Augustine knew both sides of that struggle.
As a young man, he searched everywhere for wisdom.
Philosophy. Ambition. Pleasure. False religion.
He wanted truth, but for a long time he wanted it on his own terms.
Then grace broke through.
Augustine discovered that the Truth he had been searching for was not an idea.
It was a Person. Jesus Christ.
And once he found Christ, the whole direction of his life changed.
That brings us to the Gospel.
Ten virgins are waiting for the bridegroom.
All have lamps. All appear to be ready. But only five have oil.
The difference is hidden until the bridegroom comes.
The Fathers often saw the oil as the interior life of grace and charity.
The lamp is the outward profession of faith.
The oil is what gives it life.
That is a serious warning.
It is possible to look Christian from the outside and still be spiritually unprepared.
To know the prayers. To attend Mass. To call ourselves Catholic.
Yet neglect the life of grace.
The foolish virgins discover too late that readiness cannot be borrowed.
Another person’s faith cannot save me.
Another person’s holiness cannot replace my own conversion.
The door eventually closes.
Our Lord says: “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
Saint Augustine eventually understood that delay is dangerous.
His famous prayer was once, in effect: give me holiness, but not yet.
Grace eventually taught him to stop postponing.
My brothers and sisters, the Cross teaches us what wisdom really is.
The Gospel teaches us not to delay receiving it.
Keep the lamp burning. Remain in grace.
Love Christ crucified.
And through the prayers of Saint Augustine, may we seek the Truth until we find Him, and having found Him, never turn away.
St. Mary's, St. John Bosco and St. Edward's 