Gregory the Great Homily 12 on the Gospels

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Homily 12

Pronounced before the people

in the Basilica of St. Agnes,

the day of his second birthday

January 28, 591

The parable of the ten virgins

A week after her feast, a second mention of St. Agnes, a virgin and martyr, was made in Rome. It is difficult to determine whether this was an ancient octave, or whether it commemorated an apparition of the saint revealing her glory to her parents. In any case, this fact, unique in the calendar, reveals the extreme popularity that the little saint had won from the beginning.

It is on this second feast that St. Gregory explains the parable of the ten virgins. Five of them were foolish, and did not take oil in the vases of their lamps. This oil shortage is interpreted by the preacher with great subtlety. The bridegroom comes, who is the sovereign Judge, and the gate of Heaven is closed to the foolish virgins. Too late: the time of penance has passed! "Watch," said Jesus, "for you know neither the day nor the hour." Indeed, Gregory adds, he who promised forgiveness to the penitent did not promise a morrow to the sinner. And in his desire to inculcate this truth with more force, the holy pope recounts the terrifying death of the rich Chrysaorius. This story is the first of those that will now quite often illustrate the homilies. Such a narrative dispenses the preacher from insisting, and it is deeply engraved in the memories of the listeners.

Mt 25, 1-13

At that time, Jesus told his disciples this parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like ten virgins who, taking their lamps, went out to meet the bridegroom and the bride. Five of them were crazy, and five were wise. The five lunatics, having taken their lamps, carried no oil; but the wise took oil in their vases with the lamps. As the husband was slow to come, they all fell asleep and fell asleep. In the middle of the night, a cry was heard: "Behold, the bridegroom who comes, go out to meet him." Then all these virgins arose and prepared their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, "Give us of your oil, because our lamps are extinguished." The sages answered, "Lest there be not enough for us and for you, go instead to merchants and buy them for you. "But while they went to buy them, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready entered with him into the wedding-hall, and the door was shut. Finally, the other virgins also came, saying, "Lord, Lord, open to us." But this one answered, "Truly, I say to you, I do not know you."

"Watch, then, because you do not know the day or the hour."

It is often, dear brothers, that I exhort you to flee the evil works and to avoid the defilements of this world. But today, reading the Holy Gospel makes it my duty to invite you to great vigilance even in your good deeds, lest you seek the favor or recognition of men for what you do well, and that the desire of praise, by slipping into it, deprives an inner reward of what you make appear on the outside. Here indeed our Redeemer speaks to us of ten virgins. Now, if he names them all virgins, yet he does not let them all go through the door of bliss, because some of them, looking outside for glory for their virginity, did not want to keep oil in their vases.

But we must begin by asking ourselves what the Kingdom of Heaven is, and why we compare it to ten virgins, some of whom are wise, and the other foolish. Since it is clear that no reprobate enters the kingdom of heaven, why declare this kingdom like wild virgins? We must know that in Holy Scripture the Church of the present time is often called the Kingdom of Heaven. The Lord thus says in another place: "The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his kingdom all scandals" (Mt 13:41). But it is not in the Kingdom of Bliss, where peace is perfect, that they can find scandals to be removed. It is in this sense that it is said elsewhere: "Whoever breaks one of these least commandments and teaches men to do the same, he will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. . But whoever has practiced and taught them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven "(Mt 5:19). To break a commandment and to teach it is not to practice in one's life what is preached by one's mouth. But whoever does not want to practice what he teaches can not reach the Kingdom of eternal bliss. How, then, will he be called the smallest, if he is not allowed to enter it? Therefore, it is the Church of the earth that is called the Kingdom of Heaven in the words of the Lord. In this Church, the doctor who violates a command is called the smallest, because there is little case of the preaching of a man whose life is despised.

We all live in a body endowed with five senses. If we double this number five, we get ten. And since the multitude of the faithful is made up of people of both sexes, the holy Church is compared to ten virgins. As, in this Church, the wicked mingle with the good and the reprobate with the elect, it is legitimate to compare it to virgins, some of whom are wise, and the other foolish. Indeed, there is no shortage of chaste persons who do not want the external things: driven by the hope of the inner goods, they mortify their flesh, aspire from all their desires for the heavenly homeland, wait for the eternal rewards and do not want not receive human praise for their labors. Such people do not put their glory in the mouths of men, but hide it in the most intimate part of their consciousness. But there are many others who, while afflicting their bodies with abstinence, seek the favors of men for this abstinence. They are assiduous to the instructions and give liberally to the needy; but they are certainly foolish virgins, because they seek only the reward of an ephemeral praise.

This is why the Gospel rightly adds: "The five lunatics, having taken their lamps, did not carry oil; but the wise took oil in their vessels with the lamps. "Oil means the brightness of glory; the vases are our hearts, in which we carry all our thoughts. The wise virgins thus have oil in their vessels, since they retain in their consciences all the brilliance of glory, as Paul testifies: "What makes our glory is the testimony of our conscience. (2 Cor 1, 12). But foolish virgins do not carry oil, because they do not place their glory in the [testimony of] their conscience, because they ask it to the praise of others. Note: all have lamps, but all have no oil. It is because the reprobates often produce good deeds like the elect, but only those who seek to derive from their external actions an interior glory meet the Bridegroom with oil. It is in the same sense that the psalmist declares, speaking of the holy Church of the elect: "All the glory of the king's daughter comes to him from within" (Ps 45, 15).

2. "As the bridegroom was slow to come, they all fell asleep and fell asleep": while the Judge returns his coming for the last judgment, elected and reprobate fall asleep of death. Here, in fact, to fall asleep is to die. To fall asleep before falling asleep is to fall sick before dying; because the weight of the disease leads us to the sleep of death.

3. "In the middle of the night a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom who cometh, go out to meet him.'" It is in the middle of the night that the cry announcing the arrival of the Bridegroom, since the day of the judgment occurs without it being possible to foresee it. This is why it is written, "The day of the Lord will come at night as a thief." (1 Thess 5: 2). Then all the virgins get up, because elected and reprobate are drawn from the sleep of death. The virgins garnish their lamps, that is to say that each one is counting for himself the works for which he hopes to receive eternal bliss. But the lamps of the foolish virgins are extinguished, for their works, which outside have appeared so striking to men, darken from within at the arrival of the Judge. And these foolish virgins do not obtain from God any reward for what has already earned them the praises they loved from men. Why do they ask the wise virgins for oil, if not because, recognizing the Judge's coming of their emptiness, they seek an external testimony? It is as if, returning from their self-assurance, they said to their loved ones, "Since you see us rejected as if we had done nothing, say what you have seen of our good works."

But the wise virgins answer, "Lest there be not enough for us and for you." For if in the day of judgment - and here I speak of those who rest in peace with the Church - barely the testimony that he gives himself to himself can suffice for everyone, how much less he could for himself and for his neighbor.

So wise virgins immediately add, in a reproachful way: "Go to the merchants and buy them for yourself." The oil merchants are the flatterers. Indeed, those who, by their vain praises, offer some glory to the slightest benefit received, look like oil merchants, of that oil which the psalmist declares: "The sinner's oil will not overgrow my head "(Ps 141: 5). It's the head at home that dominates. So we give the head's name to the mind that dominates the body. The oil of the sinner therefore fattens our head, when the incense of the flatterer caresses our mind.

"But while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came." For while they ask their entourage for a testimony of their life, arrives the Judge, who is not only witnessing the works, but also the hearts.

4. "Those who were ready entered with him into the wedding hall, and the door was shut." Oh! if it were possible to taste with the palate of the heart! As we marvel at these words: "The bridegroom came"! What sweetness one would find in these others: "They entered with him at the wedding!" And what bitterness in these last ones: "And the door was closed!"

He comes, the one whose coming shakes the elements, and in whose presence the sky and the earth tremble. This is why he declares through the voice of the prophet, "Once again, and I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven" (Ag 2: 6). In front of his court, the whole human race appears. Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Principalities and Dominations are at his service to punish the wicked and reward the good. Measure, dear brothers, what terror will be on this day at the sight of such a Judge. No more recourse then against punishment. What a confusion for him whom his fault will make blush before all the angels and men gathered together! What a fright to see anger whose sight is already unbearable for the human soul when it is calm! Seeing this day, the prophet rightly said: "Day of wrath that day, day of tribulation and anguish, day of calamity and misery, day of darkness and darkness, day of haze and tornado a day of trumpet and trumpet ringtones. "(So 1, 15-16). On this day of the Last Judgment, dear brothers, measure what terrible bitterness the prophet must have seen him fill the heart of the reprobate so that he can accumulate the terms without being able to express it.

As for the elect, what will be their joy to enter with the Bridegroom in the wedding room, they deserve to enjoy the vision of the one they see tremble all the elements by his presence! They will rejoice at the marriage of the Bridegroom, and yet the wife is them; for in the nuptial chamber of the eternal Kingdom, God is united with us in the vision: a vision that will last for eternity, without anything ever being able to tear us away from the embraces of his love.

The door of the Kingdom, which remains open every day to those who do penance, will then be closed for those who come there crying. It will remain a penance, but it will be barren. In fact, the one who is now wasting the time for forgiveness, can not then find forgiveness. This is what makes Paul say: "Here he is now, the favorable weather; here it is now, the day of salvation. "(2 Cor 6,2) The prophet also says, "Seek the Lord as long as he can be found, call him as long as he is near." (Is 55, 6)

5. Therefore the Lord does not listen to the foolish virgins who call him; because the door of the Kingdom once closed, he who could still be close, now it will not be. The text goes on: "Finally the other virgins also came, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us.' But he answered, 'Verily, I say to you, I do not know you.'" Whoever did not want to listen to what God ordained here can no longer obtain from God what he asks of him. Whoever wasted time for penance comes in vain to beg before the door of the Kingdom. It is in this sense that the Lord declares through Solomon's mouth, "I called, and you resisted; I reached out, and nobody paid attention. You have despised all my advice, and you have neglected my reproaches. I, too, will laugh at your death, I will make fun of you when you get what you fear. When a sudden calamity melt on you and death assails you like a storm, when tribulation and anguish come upon you, then I will be summoned, and I will not listen; we will get up in the morning, and we will not find myself "(Pr 1, 24-28). See, these virgins call loudly to open them; repulsed, they exhale their grief by addressing to the Master a redoubled appeal: "Lord, Lord, open to us." But they may offer their prayers, but they are ignored; it is on this day that the Lord will abandon as strangers those whom the merit of their lives does not make him recognize now as his own.

6. The Lord rightly adds here an exhortation to all his disciples: "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour."

After sin, God accepts penance, and if everyone knew when to leave this world, he could give himself time for pleasure and time for penance. But he who promised forgiveness to the penitent did not promise a morrow to the sinner. So we must always fear our last day, since we can never predict it.

Even this day when we speak to you, we have received it only as a respite to convert ourselves, and yet we refuse to mourn the evil we have done. Not only are we not sorry for the mistakes, but we add others that we will have to cry. Let a sickness seize us, let the symptoms of this sickness announce a near death to us, and seek an extension of life to mourn our sins; but this delay, which we then ask with a very ardent desire, we enjoy, at this moment, without making any case.

7. I will tell you, very dear brothers, a story that will be very edifying for you to ponder, if your charity will listen to it carefully. There was, in the province of Valerie, a nobleman named Chrysaorius, whom the people, in his countrymen's words, called Chryserius. He was a very fortunate man, but also full of vices and resources: swollen with pride, delivered to the pleasures of the flesh and burned with a flame of avarice which excited him to increase his income. The Lord, having decided to put an end to so many bad deeds, struck him with a bodily disease, as I learned from a religious of his relatives who still lives. Having reached the end of his life, just as he was about to leave his body, he opened his eyes and saw hideous and very dark spirits stand in front of him and press him hard to drag him to the hellish prisons. He began to tremble, to turn pale, and to sweat profusely; he implored a respite

Mt 25, 1-13

"Watch, then, because you do not know the day or the hour."

There comes the one whose coming shakes the elements, and in whose presence the sky and the earth tremble. This is why he declares through the voice of the prophet, "Once again, and I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven" (Ag 2: 6). In front of his court, the whole human race appears. Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Principalities and Dominations are at his service to punish the wicked and reward the good. Measure, dear brothers, what terror will be on this day at the sight of such a Judge. No more recourse then against punishment. What a confusion for him whom his fault will make blush before all the angels and men gathered together! What a fright to see anger whose sight is already unbearable for the human soul when it is calm! Seeing this day, the prophet rightly said: "Day of wrath that day, day of tribulation and anguish, day of calamity and misery, day of darkness and darkness, day of haze and tornado a day of trumpet and trumpet ringtones. "(So 1, 15-16). On this day of the Last Judgment, dear brothers, measure what terrible bitterness the prophet must have seen him fill the heart of the reprobate so that he can accumulate the terms without being able to express it.

6. The Lord rightly adds here an exhortation to all his disciples: "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour."

Maxime, deeply moved, approached immediately, while the family was gathering, lamenting loudly. They could not see the evil spirits with which Chrysaorius was so hard to attack, but they guessed the presence of these spirits by the confusion, the pallor, and the tremblings of the one they carried away. The terror of their terrible appearance made him turn sideways on his bed. Lying on the left side, he could not bear their sight; he turned to the wall, they were still there. Deeply in a hurry, desperate to escape them, he began to beg loudly: "Take respite at least until morning!" Respite at least until morning! "But while he was shouting, in the very midst of his screams, he was torn out of his envelope of flesh.

It is obvious that if he saw these demons, it was not for his profit, but for ours, because God, in his immense patience, still awaits us. For Chrysaorius, in fact, it was useless to see these horrible spirits before his death, nor to ask for respite, since he did not obtain it.

But we dear brothers, let us now reflect on all this with great attention, lest we be allowed to waste time, and the moment when we shall ask for a reprieve to do good works, is not exactly the same. where we will be forced to leave this body. Remember these words of Truth: "Pray that your flight may not take place in winter, nor on a sabbath day" (Mt 24:20). For a commandment of the law forbids walking more than a certain distance on the Sabbath, and in the winter it is difficult to walk because of the cold that numbs and paralyzes the walkers' footsteps. So the Lord says, "Pray that your flight will not take place in winter, nor on a Sabbath." It is as if he were saying clearly, "Take care not to seek to flee your sins only. when it is no longer possible for you to walk. "This moment when we will not be able to flee, we must think of it now as we can. We must constantly think about the hour of our coming out of this world, and continually before the eyes of the spirit this warning of our Redeemer: "Watch therefore, because you know neither the day nor the hour."

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1 Famous Latin word game: sic amare, iam ire est.

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