In the Angelus prayer, Pope Francis reflected on Sunday's Gospel parable of the 10 virgins who awaited the bridegroom, saying that it is an example of the conditions to enter Heaven.
POPE FRANCIS
“What does Jesus want to teach us with this parable? He reminds us that we must be ready for our encounter with Him. Jesus often exhorts in the Gospel to watch and He does so also at the end of this story, 'Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.'”
He explained that in the parable, the lamp each bridesmaid held is a symbol of faith, that lights up each person's life. Also, the oil is symbolic of charity that feeds and contributes to the light of faith.
POPE FRANCIS
“With this parable, He tells us that to watch doesn’t mean only not to sleep, but to be ready. In fact, all the virgins slept before the bridegroom’s arrival, but when they awakened, some were ready and others not. Here, therefore, is the meaning of being wise and prudent: it’s about not waiting for the last moment of our life to collaborate with God’s grace, but to do so already from now on.”
Pope Francis also remembered a specific group of martyrs killed during the religious persecution from 1936-1937 in the Spanish Civil War and beatified over the weekend in Madrid. They were Vicente Queralt Lloret and the 20 martyrs with him, also Jose Maria Fernandez Sanchez the additional 38 martyrs with him.
