Most of the world is either asleep or dead. The religious people are, for the most part, asleep. The irreligious are dead. Those who are asleep are divided into two classes, like the Virgins in the parable, waiting for the Bridegroom's coming. The wise have oil in their lamps. That is to say they are detached from themselves and from the cares of the world, and they are full of charity. They are indeed waiting for the Bridegroom, and they desire nothing else but His coming, even though they may fall asleep while waiting for Him to appear. But the others are not only asleep: they are full of other dreams and other desires. Their lamps are empty because they have burned themselves out in the wisdom of the flesh and in their own vanity. When He comes, it is too late for them to buy oil. They light their lamps only after He has gone. So they fall asleep again, with useless lamps, and when they wake up they trim them to investigate, once again, the matters of a dying world. Thomas Merton
About This Quote

The story of the Wise and the Foolish Virgins is a parable that illustrates the difference between those who are wise and those who are not. The Wise Virgins have a light in their lamps but, unlike the Foolish Virgins, they do not use it for themselves. They have no interest in themselves or what they have to offer. Their lamps have oil, meaning that they have been enlightened by God to know how to live a holy life based on virtue and self-control.

The Foolish Virgins, on the other hand, burn out their lamps as soon as they light them. Because their lamps are burning out quickly, instead of keeping their lamps filled with oil, those who are foolish waste money trying to refill them, buying it from those who sell it and often charging very high prices for it.

Source: No Man Is An Island

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