Soul is the Lamp of our life

 GOSPEL THOUGHTS

21^st Week – Friday

Gospel – Matthew 25: 1-13

St Augustine - Saint of the Day

 

Soul is the Lamp of our life

1) Lamp is the identity of Light

Wherever there is lamp there should be light. Usually they go together.

Without light life is impossible. Light is very much necessary for all forms of being 

Even the plants need light for its growth. Without light there is no growth.

2) Lamp and light are the two sides of the same coin

The purpose of the lamp is to produce light. Therefore lamp and light are inseparable things. They always represent together.

Whenever a lamp ceases to produce light, it no more remains as lamp. Such lamps are thrown out and no one bothers about such lamps 

They are good only to keep in museum. 

3) Lamp always needs some energy to produce light

Lamp is unable to produce light without the energy. 

Today we have electricity which is used as energy to  produce light 

During the time of Jesus lamps were lit through the energy of oil. 

Oil was used in the lamps to produce light. 

4) Jesus uses the three things in today's Gospel Reading - Lamp, Oil and Light

Lamp, Oil and Light - This is a perfect combination. This combination is very much necessary to get the final results 

If any one of the above things are missed the desired result will not come, and the whole purpose is defeated. 

Lamp heavily depends on oil and light also depends on oil and the lamp. 

5) One who maintains the perfect combination is a wise person

The Gospel of the day makes a distinction between wise virgins and foolish virgins 

The differentiating aspect is very simple. 

Those who maintained a perfect balance between the *Lamp, Oil and Light* were called as wise virgins

Those who failed to see the connection and perfect balance between Lamp, Oil and the Light were called foolish virgins 

6) Our Soul is the Lamp of our body

Since our souls are the lamps of our body, body depends on the soul for the light. 

Without the light the body can't function. And our body needs a special light, which is called divine light. 

Soul has a special capacity to shed the divine light on the body, which makes us to live our life in a meaningful way. 

In order to shed the divine light by the soul we need to fill this soul with special oil. 

By our good deeds we can fill our souls with pure oil which will help the soul (Lamp) to brighten its light on the body. 

7) Soul / Lamp is a great gift from God

All of us are given this lamp. We need to thank God for the same 

God has filled this lamp with oil of grace at the time of Baptism, which makes us to see and understand what the Christian life is.

At the same time God also gives us the special responsibility to refill this lamp with pure oil through our good way of life. Only then this lamp will shine

8) What type of Oil I am filling the the Lamp/Soul

If I fill the pure oil through the good deeds, this lamp will burn with bright light 

If I fill this lamp with lower quality of oil, through my mischievous way of life,  the light may be clear or it may go off at any time. 

If I fail to fill this lamp, there will not be any light in my life, and my life will have only darkness, which will make my life miserable. 

So what type of oil do I want to fill? 

Am I wise servant who fills the lamp with oil? 

 Am I a foolish servant who takes only the lamp without filling the oil and then I suffer in darkness? 

Think about it

9) St Augustine - Saint of the Day

Bishop confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church (354- 430)

Born on 13 November 354, Augustine was 42 when he was made Bishop of Hippo

He died of a fever on 28 August 430

“God usually deserts the negligent - kills the errors, yes but loves the erring”

“Our hearts were made for You, O Lord, and they are restless until they rest in You.”

God bless you and your family. Praying for you and your dear ones.

Fr Maxim D’Souza

Jeppu Seminary

Mangalore