Aug 20, 2026 Written by 

The sense of the Invitation

Wise souls, or mad ones

(Mt 25:1-13)

 

The theme is not that of moral vigilance, but punctual: sooner or later all the baptized in Christ fall asleep (v.5).

And the environment does not seem the best: the groom is late, the girls are sleepy, some without oil and others... sour.

But sometimes we are like madmen who go to build houses on the sand: at the first trickle is landslide, and everything collapses.

The enthusiasm was there, the harmony with the Lord and his desire to embrace and transmit fullness of being... maybe not.

It lacks a dimension of depth, or of living hope that animates motivations and lubricates energy, in the impulse to the mission.

It is the outcome of those who seem to have welcomed the Beatitudes at all points, but do not make them their own...

Not for the fact that they do not fulfill well the role - a task - but because they do not relate the listening to the practice (not distracted, exquisitely evangelical).

Powering the torch is promoting life!

And the Appeal, the opportune moment, comes suddenly; it does not set itself up through a general or formal choice that evolves without correlations, personal tracks, attention to events and wisdom to correspond.

Here the relationship of Faith is not oil that can be lent.

There are anxious or perfectionist souls who rush to intervene, but lack perception. There are fearful and paralyzed hearts: they must acquire flexibility.

Some stare at the "no" moments and do not know how to turn them into occasions of awakening, or they heal too late. Others depend on the season or live on adrenaline and lack awareness.

Someone has to slow down and recollect himself, rediscover himself and the instinctive vocational lightness, his own infinite part - but avoiding childish strategies.

Others who have already accepted the divine, would need to wake up from numbness, to set in motion the wise and innate light they possess in deep inclinations.

Some need to throw ballasts, become more subtle in hearing and in offering themselves, or less dirigist; others need to prepare for the Encounter in a more relational and visible dimension.

There are people who must complicate their stories and then simplify [without dispersing] eventually becoming sharper; others and perhaps more, learning to donate. And so on.

So... better some with light than all in the dark. The actions and risk for wisdom, love and completeness of being build the Person and his dialogue.

One often imagines having provided for own practice with God by enrolling in parish registers, without elaborating his commitment.

But the person who neither edifies nor communicates life has nothing to do with God himself (v.12).

In this way, even the crisis can have an evolutionary sense; in not feeling absolute, in the logic of options, in personalisation, in the unexpected and different encounter.

Threshold of every Exodus, to Freedom and the Feast.

 

The paradigm of this high and strong Call of the Gospel is the therapy that can regenerate the world subjugated by external homologations, so that it goes Elsewhere - and does not renounce the dimension of Mystery that arouses it.

 

 

To internalize and live the message:

 

Have you lost the meaning of the Wedding Invitation? Or do you simply prefer to cross the Banquet threshold unscathed?

Is there an Encounter that you feel can awaken your life, or has the habit of waiting turned into a habit of waiting nothing any longer?

 

 

[Friday 21st wk. in O.T.  August 28, 2026]

159 Last modified on Friday, 28 August 2026 12:02
don Giuseppe Nespeca

Giuseppe Nespeca è architetto e sacerdote. Cultore della Sacra scrittura è autore della raccolta "Due Fuochi due Vie - Religione e Fede, Vangeli e Tao"; coautore del libro "Dialogo e Solstizio".

We see this great figure, this force in the Passion, in resistance to the powerful. We wonder: what gave birth to this life, to this interiority so strong, so upright, so consistent, spent so totally for God in preparing the way for Jesus? The answer is simple: it was born from the relationship with God (Pope Benedict)
Noi vediamo questa grande figura, questa forza nella passione, nella resistenza contro i potenti. Domandiamo: da dove nasce questa vita, questa interiorità così forte, così retta, così coerente, spesa in modo così totale per Dio e preparare la strada a Gesù? La risposta è semplice: dal rapporto con Dio (Papa Benedetto)
The lamp is a symbol of the faith that illuminates our life, while the oil is a symbol of the charity that nourishes the light of faith, making it fruitful and credible (Pope Francis)
La lampada è il simbolo della fede che illumina la nostra vita, mentre l’olio è il simbolo della carità che alimenta, rende feconda e credibile la luce della fede (Papa Francesco)
Jesus wants our existence to be laborious, that we never lower our guard, so as to welcome with gratitude and wonder each new day given to us by God. Every morning is a blank page on which a Christian begins to write with good works (Pope Francis)
Gesù vuole che la nostra esistenza sia laboriosa, che non abbassiamo mai la guardia, per accogliere con gratitudine e stupore ogni nuovo giorno donatoci da Dio. Ogni mattina è una pagina bianca che il cristiano comincia a scrivere con le opere di bene (Papa Francesco)
And this is the problem: when the People put down roots in the land and are the depository of the Law, they are tempted to place their security and joy in something that is no longer the Word of God (Pope Benedict)
Ed ecco il problema: quando il popolo si stabilisce nella terra, ed è depositario della Legge, è tentato di riporre la sua sicurezza e la sua gioia in qualcosa che non è più la Parola del Signore (Papa Benedetto)
Despite the scarcity of information about him, St Bartholomew stands before us to tell us that attachment to Jesus can also be lived and witnessed to without performing sensational deeds. Jesus himself, to whom each one of us is called to dedicate his or her own life and death, is and remains extraordinary (Pope Benedict)
La figura di san Bartolomeo, pur nella scarsità delle informazioni che lo riguardano, resta comunque davanti a noi per dirci che l'adesione a Gesù può essere vissuta e testimoniata anche senza il compimento di opere sensazionali. Straordinario è e resta Gesù stesso, a cui ciascuno di noi è chiamato a consacrare la propria vita e la propria morte (Papa Benedetto)
Faith is more than just empirical or historical facts; it is an ability to grasp the mystery of Christ’s person in all its depth [Pope Benedict]
La fede va al di là dei semplici dati empirici o storici, ed è capace di cogliere il mistero della persona di Cristo nella sua profondità [Papa Benedetto]
More than 600 precepts are mentioned in the Law of Moses. How should the great commandment be distinguished among these? (Pope Francis)
Nella Legge di Mosè sono menzionati oltre seicento precetti. Come distinguere, tra tutti questi, il grande comandamento? (Papa Francesco)
The invitation has three characteristics: freely offered, breadth and universality. Many people were invited, but something surprising happened: none of the intended guests came to take part in the feast, saying they had other things to do; indeed, some were even indifferent, impertinent, even annoyed (Pope Francis)

Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 1 Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 2 Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 3 Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 4 Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 5 Dialogo e Solstizio I fiammiferi di Maria

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