My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

My family, joined together in the name of Christ Jesus,

We all thirst. Within us is an unquenchable desire. During the month of November we reflect even more deeply on this desire.

On All Souls Day Father Andrew and I read the names of our deceased brothers and sisters. Before each High Holy Mass throughout the month we will re-read those names, and pray for the repose of their souls. A strong symbol of our desire to remember them.

For All Souls Day we broke out the black vestments. You do not see these very often. They are however very representative of our feelings. They are symbolic of our emotions, our longing, and our need.

When I visit a funeral home before the Requiem Holy Mass, I ask people what color they would like us to use for their loved one’s funeral. They have a choice of black, purple, or white. Invariably, people choose white. White is obviously symbolic. We celebrate our brothers’ and sisters’ entry into heaven. We celebrate their life. We are supposed to be ‘happy’.

In today’s second reading, Saint Paul reminds us that death is not a time for mysterious grief, but a time for ardent hope. We know where we, as people who hope in the salvation of Christ Jesus, are going.

—We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,
about those who have fallen asleep,
so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.—

My brothers and sisters,

The fact is, we are not happy. We miss them. Even weeks, months, years later we will cry for them. Our pain might ease over time. But we are not predisposed to forget them. We cannot wash away our sadness and desire in a sea of joyful white. When we try to mask the reality of our existence, when we try to cover our true feelings, we are failing to touch the humanity that God gave us.

The first reading speaks of the gifts of wisdom. Wisdom is found in truth.

The truth is, we are thirsting. We thirst for the Kingdom of God. We thirst to be joined together. What we see now is only shadows, and what we know now is not everlasting happiness. What we do know is that we must walk the way of the cross before we can reach the Resurrection. Good Friday comes before Easter Sunday. We know that we must be truthful and deal with the pain and sadness represented in black before we can get to the white.

The ten virgins represent this difference. Five were wise. Five were prepared for and understood reality. Five knew that the bridegroom has his own schedule. Five were foolish. Five thought they knew what was going to happen and were left unprepared.

The foolish ones, when taking their lamps,
brought no oil with them, but
the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.

The five foolish virgins created their own reality. They had their own dreams and schemes. You would think that after sitting there, waiting for a while, at least a few of them would have gotten nervous. You would think at least a few would have rethought their positions on what is real. But no,

Since the bridegroom was long delayed,
they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

They waited to rethink their concept of reality and didn’t do so until it was too late.

‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him.
Then the door was locked.
Afterwards the other virgins came and said,
‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’
But he said in reply,
‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’

Now is the time to reconnect to what is real. Now is the time to worship what is real. Now is the time to buy your oil and to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Now is the time to be ready. Do not think that you have the power to define reality. That is God’s job.

Let us pray that our reality will be the truth taught by wisdom. Let us pray that we rethink our perceptions and concepts, and that we sacrifice what we think at the foot of the Cross. Lord Jesus Christ, take my life and teach me Your truth. Amen.