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Mass Times

Weekend

Saturday Vigil:  4:00pm

Weekday

Tuesday:  8:00am

and all First Fridays

Confession Times

Saturday: 3:00pm to 3:45pm

or by Appointment

Holy Hour

Saturday: 3:00 - 4:00pm

A Note From

Rev. Joe Koyickal

Keep Your Lamps Burning!


The Gospel this weekend presents us with one of Jesus' most meaningful parables about readiness, vigilance, and our preparation for the coming of God's Kingdom.


Jesus tells the story of ten virgins who take their lamps and go out to meet the bridegroom. Five are wise and take extra oil with them, and five are foolish and did not bring extra oil. When the bridegroom is delayed, they all become tired and fall asleep. When the bridegroom finally arrives, only those who have extra oil and are ready are able to enter the wedding feast!


Through this parable Jesus teaches us two important points. First, we do not know the hour of our Lord’s coming. Therefore, we need to be always prepared and ready by doing our best to live lives of holiness, love, justice and peace. We cannot wait until tomorrow to do the work we are called to do today.


Secondly, Jesus reminds us that some things in our spiritual life cannot be borrowed at the last minute. The wise virgins could not give their oil to the foolish ones. Nobody can live our faith for us. Our parents may have given us the gift of faith, our priests or teachers may guide us, and our fellow Christians may encourage us, but each of us must personally develop and nurture our relationship with Jesus. We cannot depend only on the faith of our parents, grandparents, or others. We must make our faith our own and nurture and nourish it.


Christian life is not just about beginning our journey of faith; it is about remaining faithful and nurturing and keeping our faith alive every day. The lamps represent our Christian faith, and the oil reminds us of the spiritual nourishment we need to sustain it. We keep our lamps burning through prayer, participation in the Eucharist, reading God's Word, acts of forgiveness, kindness, and loving service to others.


Sometimes we can become so busy with work, family, farming, financial concerns, and other daily activities that prayer, Sunday Mass, and our relationship with God slowly take a back seat. This is the danger Jesus is pointing out in this Gospel. We may have our lamps, but do we have enough oil to keep them burning?


Three Take-Away Messages:


1.Keep your faith alive: Do not allow the busyness and distractions of daily life to weaken your relationship with God. Make time for prayer, the Eucharist, and God's Word.


2.Do not postpone what matters: Do not put off forgiveness, reconciliation, kindness, or making peace with others. Begin today!


3.Live each day prepared: The best way to prepare to meet Jesus is to live faithfully today – loving God, caring for our families, serving others, and showing compassion to those in need. Let us ask ourselves: Is my lamp burning brightly or is it slowly running out of oil? Let us keep alive our flame of faith.


Just want to let you know that I will be away this week from Monday to Friday.


Blessings of peace and Joy Always!


Fr. Joe

Mission Statement:

We the faith community of Ss. Simon & Jude are called to worship as a family to nurture and grow our faith and to be a welcoming, evangelizing and serving community.